A peek into ‘Heroes of the Fourth Turning’

Cast and crew discuss the powerful yet controversial upcoming play

HALEY JACOB  FEATURE EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

Every year, the University of San Diego’s Department of Theatre puts on an undergraduate fall production. This year, the department is performing “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,” a modern play written by playwright Will Arbery in 2019. The story is controversial and addresses many hot-button topics prevalent in society today, including topics relevant to Catholic ideologies and conservative-Catholic views. Performances will run from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6 in the Studio Theatre in Sacred Heart Hall, and the cast and crew are eager to see the audience’s reactions.

The department emphasizes critical thinking, creative engagement and other progressive standards that echo the values of a Changemaker Campus. According to the department’s website, its mission is to “embrace theatre as a means to inspire humanity and engage a diverse society.” Last year, the fall undergraduate play portrayed the experience of a gay woman at a Catholic institution facing homophobic bullying and harassment. It brought attention to the traditional Catholic views of homosexuality and the harm that such alienation and unacceptance causes. 

However, this year’s play covers more ground and invites the audience to experience bigotry and hatred first-hand.

The play takes place in 2017 in a small town in Wyoming. Four Catholic alumni — Kevin, Teresa, Emily, Justin — from the Transfiguration College of Wyoming, a Christian institution, return to the college town in celebration of their professor Gina’s promotion to president of the college. The students, now seven years out of college and in their late twenties, reunite; however, this leads to heated conversations and debates around their differing political views and values, despite most characters identifying as conservative. 

Gina experiences a loss of recognition for each student, as the intensity and closed-mindedness of their values are opposite to the growth mindset Gina taught her students to carry through life. This play focuses on dialogue and stresses the importance of conversation in understanding one another and discovering what it means to show humanity and open-mindedness when approaching political and religious differences.

Assistant Professor of Theatre and Director of the play Jersten Seraile believes it’s important to put on this play now, amid the current political climate in the country.

“We’re in the most divided time we have ever been, and it’s a strange time because personally, I find myself only sticking with a certain group, and other folks are only sticking with a certain group,” Seraile said. “It’s like we’re not talking to one another. How are we going to have progress if we only disagree and don’t come to solutions, if we can’t have a human-to-human conversation? There are some trigger warnings because it covers some heavy topics regarding abortion, Black Lives Matter, regarding a lot of things that are at the forefront of today’s discussion. But, the agenda is to get folks to see themselves and realize, ‘Okay, I don’t like that side of me. How can I change? How can I do better?’”

USD senior and actor portraying the character “Kevin,” James Carroll, also discussed the relevance of putting on this performance now, connecting the relevance to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.

“That is a huge landmark event that is a reversal of progress I thought we were making as a society,” Carroll said. “That is one of the topics in this play, but of course there are a lot of different conversations. We talk about race and segregation, and it grapples with social media and sort of the dual-edged sword of technology, where social media can be addictive but also helps us communicate in tremendous ways; it certainly speaks to our current political climate. It’s a lot, and it’s dicey, and it’s in your face and there’s a lot of sensitive content, but I think this is a great play to do at this time.”

Audience members will hear and experience conversations around heavy subjects. However, cast and crew members believe this approach will allow viewers to understand the alarming nature of the views held by the characters, as well as how these conversations are mere reflections of the real-life values and perspectives many people in society have toward marginalized groups and political issues.

USD senior and scenic designer Arlene Gil discussed the intense dialogue. 

“People are going to hear things they don’t want to hear, and they won’t like,” Gil said. “It’s about learning or having people be aware that there are people that actually think like this, and it’s completely normal for them to come up with a statement that’s as outrageous as anything the characters might say. It’s going to be challenging; it’s going to be hard to listen and hard to watch both for liberals and conservatives because I don’t know even if someone aligns in thought with the characters would like to hear or like to watch from an audience perspective.”

Despite the play bringing attention to harmful ideologies, the broader theme and purpose of the piece is to teach people the importance of open-mindedness, whether audience members adhere to the views of the characters or find themselves on the opposite side of the spectrum, looking in with a critical eye. A message of humanity and openness to change is at the forefront of this story, and thoughtful, introspective reflection is the goal for everyone who attends the performances.

“It’s more about dialogue and what happens when you don’t lead with love,” Seraile said. “It is also about humanity, how we’re all capable of changing for the good. That’s sort of the agenda of our story, to be able to lead with love and to be able to have conversations with one another without harming one another. In this play, we see the effects of when we don’t lead with love and when we choose to push our own agenda on other folks and how that can lead to harm. I believe firmly that we can’t make progress if we’re only talking to folks that already hold the values we hold.”

Gil shared similar sentiments on the value of engaging with opposing viewpoints.

“On the liberal and progressive side, people are so caught up in protesting and putting their voices out there that sometimes we forget what we’re fighting for because we don’t see it firsthand, and this is kind of giving us an opportunity to understand the roots of where all of this is coming from on the other side and understand the other perspective,” Gil said. “Because, even if you don’t align with someone or agree with them, once you understand where it’s all coming from, some sort of empathy might arise, and even the playwright talks about that in the beginning of the script.”

Carroll discussed the play’s ability to unite people across the political spectrum. 

“I think that will be the mark of this play — ­­­­forcing two sides that haven’t come together for anything in years to just at least begin to understand and sympathize and put yourself in the thoughts and perspective of the other side, put yourself in their shoes,” Carroll said.

Finally, Seraile hopes audience members walk away with a stronger understanding of their influence and ability to create a community centered around civility, not division. 

“This community is a place where I think we have a lot of forward thinkers and innovators and folks who are often quicker to act on things much more than the older folks, and I really appreciate that,” Seraile said. “I think this is the perfect place to have this play for self-reflection, and I’m hoping folks walk out of here thinking, ‘What can I do to contribute to the community, to change, to make things better, to be an ally, and to not lead with hate but to leave with love and be a servant of the community and make more friends and talk to more people?’”

While putting on productions addressing political and religious ideologies and values is nothing new for the Department of Theatre, the upcoming fall production and its controversial, gripping storyline crosses into new and unexplored territory.

The themes and ideas presented in the play touch on the country’s divided, tense political climate and the loss of humanity and unity that has struck the country over the last few years. The cast and crew are excited to put on the performances next month and are hopeful that audiences will leave showings with a deeper understanding and reflection of themselves, others and the spaces we share with one another.