• About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News and Features
    • Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
      Professor Phillip Levine Discusses “A Problem of Fit”
    • CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
      CS Department shifts CS 111 course structure
    • WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
      WAMI and WRJ host discussion on criminalization of abortion
    • News
      • News in Brief
      • Nation & World
      • President’s Corner
      • Senate Report
    • Features
      • Alumnae Spotlight
      • Eye on Science
      • Faculty Focus
      • LGBTQIA+ Column
  • Opinions
    • Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
      Why Art Basel is partially responsible for Miami’s gentrification
    • It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
      It’s time to put traditional grading to the test
    • What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
      What can the fall of Z-library teach us about textbook accessibility?
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
    • The Elephant in the Room
  • Arts
    • No image
      Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy
    • No image
      Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand
    • Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
      Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)
    • Arts In The News
    • Reviews
    • Music Peek
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • Student-Athlete of October
      Student-Athlete of October
    • Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
      Athletics Update Oct. 19, 2022
    • The Case for Body Neutrality
      The Case for Body Neutrality
    • Athlete of the Week
    • Boston Sports Update
    • The Vegan Digest
    • The SHE Corner
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
      Top 10 Girlbosses who aren’t alumnae, but I would totally believe you if you told me they were
    • Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
      Wendy Wellesley’s Thanksgiving Menu
    • The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
      The Snooze Awards for the Best Tanners of 2022
  • Miscellanea
    • President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
      President’s Column: The Butterfly Effect
    • Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
      Administrators shocked to learn that students dislike being left in dark
    • 50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
      50 Lies You Tell Yourself in Order to Survive Until Graduation
    • The Dose
    • The Olive Branch
    • Multimedia
      • Galleries
      • Infographics
      • Videos
By Delaney Morgan Arts, ReviewsNovember 20, 2019

Good f******g question: How Stupid F******g Bird approaches art

Graphic Courtesy of Wellesley College Theater

The first five minutes of “Stupid F*****g Bird” are a good indicator of how the remainder of the show went. It revels in its use of profanity, hoping to provoke the audience. If the title did not already do that, the show will not begin until someone in the audience says, “start the f*****g play.” Then, a few minutes in, Mash (Jessi Kim ’23) expresses that plays are stupid in that they are people pretending to be other people. The show seeks to constantly reminds the audience that what they are watching is not really happening. It couches this in profanity and mocks the audience. Despite this, the play still aligns itself with themes of love and art. 

We can see both these things in the way the director and actors have approached the show. Although the character Con (Micah Fong ’22) says that the show we are watching is not a great piece of art, the creative team approached it as if it was. They put care and thoughtfulness into “Stupid F*****g Bird” presumably because they believed it was a good piece of art. The time and dedication put into the show by the actors, director and remainder of the creative team reveals their love for the show. Without the creators loving the show and seeing it as an important piece of art, we would not have these kinds of noteworthy performances. 

And they certainly are noteworthy performances. Actors are required to tackle two different aspects that can be challenging for college theatre: actors play characters much older than themselves and characters of another gender. This requires immense thoughtfulness in terms of movement, voice and behavior that are clear in the actors’ performances. Young adults playing middle aged women or aging men believably are certainly hard to come by. Yet, the cast of “Stupid F*****g Bird” did so quite well.

Does “Stupid F*****g Bird” do anything new? Not really. Quite obviously, it is not even an original show, but based on Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” There are plenty of shows that play with profanity and metatheatre. There are plenty of other plays about art. But does that make it less important? It is a question asked by the characters themselves and presented to us as an audience

A quick Wikipedia skim of Chekhov tells you he believed that plays should ask questions, not answer them. And for all the mocking of Chekhov the show does, Posner, the playwright of “Stupid F*****g Bird,” follows suit in this piece. It is a piece of theatre that queries: what is the point of theatre? Should it simply offer entertainment or catharsis that keeps the audience in their comfort zone? Or, should it attempt to change the audience? Or the world? It leads the audience to ask their own questions as they exit the theatre: what can we take away from this show to change the way we think about the world? And what should we take away to change the way we live?

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleThe Lighthouse (2019) Teaches Audiences One Essential Lesson: Never Put Two Men in Isolation
Next articleLast Christmas falls flat as a holiday rom-com

You may also like

Pentimento’s Open Mic is Like an Old Patchwork Quilt–Worn, Yet Cozy

Kanye’s Antisemitism Steps on his Shoe Brand

Lousy Realities: Luca Guadagnino (2015)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

Top Articles

Sorry. No data so far.

Recent Tweets

Tweets by @Wellesley_News

The independent student newspaper of Wellesley College since 1901.

Sign up to receive our weekly digest in your inbox

* indicates required

  • About
  • Editorial Board
    • Staff Writers
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top