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By Lyla Lopez

“Well, I’d say to look at the world around us. Authoritarian impulses seem to be rising everywhere. This play offers some perspective on that, allowing us to see that although the world of The Dragon is silly—even farcical—it's also somewhat recognizable to the world we’re  living in now.”  

- Christopher Petit, Director of The Dragon

Is that…a dragon? It absolutely is! Harper Joy Theatre’s production of The Dragon opens this week! For months, our dedicated cast and crew has been working to bring this play’s whimsical world to life. Beneath all the magic and fun, though, The Dragon holds an ever-important message. To learn more about this powerful story, I talked to some of the people closest to the show and figured out what The Dragon means to them.

The Dragon is directed by Christopher Petit, a current Professor of Theater at Whitman College. In his director’s note, he gives some important context on the play’s origin. The show was written by Evgeny Schwartz in 1942 and first performed in Moscow, Russia in 1944. Almost immediately, it was met with backlash. “In a well-practiced tradition, Soviet era authors often camouflaged their satires and criticism of government policies by presenting them as fairy tales, “ Petit writes. “This play is no different, but unfortunately for Schwartz, his attempts to avoid the censors were thoroughly unsuccessful, and The Dragon played for only two performances before being banned.”

Fortunately, the passage of time gave the show new life. The Dragon was published again in 1960 and eventually gained fame in Russia during the 1980s. Through it all, the play’s resistive nature was retained. “One could call it a plea for the freedom of the human spirit, a call for people to wake up from their slumber of fear, [and] a call to expose the corrosive propaganda and lies that had enslaved them,” says Petit

So, what does that mean for us at Whitman? I was lucky enough to get some answers from The Dragon’s stage manager and one of its lead actors. 

Joao Garcia (he/him), an English and Theatre major at Whitman, is stage managing the show. In doing so, he has had the chance to interact closely with Petit, the actors, and the various guest designers creating work for the performance. “I think one of the greatest things about our theatre department is its commitment to bringing in professional lighting, sound, and scenic designers,” he says. “As a stage manager, it gives me the opportunity to talk with these working professionals about their experiences and what they expect of a stage manager. The advice they have given me is truly invaluable.”

Onstage, Leo Patrizio (they/them), a Theatre and Film and Media Studies major, portrays Lancelot—who, according to them, is “a knight errant who travels around and helps those in need whether they like it or not.” Throughout The Dragon, Lancelot plays an essential role in revealing the true nature of the town’s government system, and it seems that Leo has taken this to heart. They say: “The Dragon is an important story to be telling right now because it not only reflects our current political climate, but also asks the audience what character they’ll play outside of the theater: the subservient citizen who allows authoritarianism to take over out of fear or the person who resists and overcomes the tyrant.”

Pictured: Leo Patrizio

Joao echoes this sentiment. He puts it like this:

“The Dragon is pretty on the nose with its messaging: [it’s] a government bent on submitting the people to its will, turned against any outsiders. Although the allegory is hidden behind a sort of children's style of theatre, the story of silencing outsiders and maintaining a status quo is one that we see happening in our country. As the child of immigrants, I think it's important to talk about what is going on in broad daylight in American society; the fear that comes with being subjected to the whims of a dragon who banishes anyone who seems to oppose his vision for the land. But, there is a sort of empowerment that comes with theatre—that, perhaps, things will someday change for the better. As long as we put in the work.”

Pictured: Joao Garcia

“This play is a delight to work on! It challenges the imagination of the whole company,” says Petit. “In many ways I see it as a kind of ‘pure theater,’ one that is continually reinforcing and celebrating the act of play. This process [has] required a lot of time and work, but it has been filled with joy and a lot of fun.” In today’s world, that fun is an act of resistance. The Dragon wonderfully integrates fantasy and reality, and the opportunity to bring it to the stage at Harper Joy is not one our cast and crew takes lightly. This show asks the questions that our world has become afraid to ask, and we hope that our audience takes the time to thoughtfully consider them.

And so, dear reader—I will now pose the show’s ending query to you: which side are you on, now?

Which side are you on?

Come see The Dragon from March 5th-8th at Harper Joy Theatre!