Daily Creator J.E. sent this out via his monthly newsletter but I thought it was worth sharing on this site, particularly given our current search for the identity of a country:
I absolutely love the magical, suspended moment at the end of the December holidays, just before the downbeat of the New Year. At this time each year, I try to rediscover some crucial perspective about the things that matter to me most. In this spirit, I want to share my latest epiphany about the Lark's work and the importance of supporting the unheard voices and new ideas of playwrights.
This year's revelation was prompted by a book I picked up by chance from a table in my mother's house in Madison, Wisconsin, where my wife and I traveled with the kids last week. The book is called 1421: The Year China Discovered America, and I read it straight through like a child reading the latest Harry Potter release.
The author, Gavin Menzies, a retired British submarine captain with a passion for the maps and charts of early European explorers, stumbled upon a Venetian map from 1424 that strangely contained far more information than it should have. By this, I mean that the map in question actually predates the journeys of Bartholomew Dias, Vasco da Gama and Christopher Columbus; yet it describes, in uncanny detail, the regions that each of these explorers is later reputed to have first charted.
In the book, Menzies presents compelling evidence to prove that Columbus and other European explorers arrived in the New World much later than Chinese fleets dispatched by Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Di in 1421. Zhu Di dispatched 800 ships, in what may have been the largest armada in history, to gather knowledge, seek trade partners and create colonies on every continent. Menzies' case is even supported by scientific research that suggests "recent gene flow" may explain the close links between DNA of the Chinese and Native Americans in various parts of the New World.
Of course, fortunes turn quickly in life as well as fiction. Two months after the great armada's departure from China, lightning struck Zhu Di's Temple of Heaven and burned his glorious new city to cinders - a bad omen for an Emperor anointed by the gods. The nearly bankrupt state collapsed, the people rebelled, and the Emperor despaired and died soon after. His reactionary successors adopted a fierce isolationist policy, even to the extent of burning a swath of "no man's land" nearly 100 miles wide all along the state's borders. The entire navy was dismantled, international trade was forbidden and all records of the great armada's exploration were ordered destroyed.
If it is true, Menzies' story is almost impossible to reconcile with my 21st century American world view, shaped by a collectively misunderstood history. Furthermore, this astounding case begs some important questions that relate to many contemporary controversies over land, ethics and so forth: How can we most effectively respond when bedrock ideas and prevailing truths are challenged in this way? How will we maintain an open forum for the discussion and reconciliation of inconsistencies in received history? Is it even possible for society to function in a just and orderly manner while, at the same time, remaining flexible and embracing new ideas?
As these questions raced through my mind, my New Year's epiphany struck with sudden force: The only way to support a strong and adaptable civilization is to practice debate and free expression in every possible way, and, in my opinion, the theater is the best platform ever invented for this purpose. It is every playwright's job to postulate her own revisionist history or imagined world, and every audience's responsibility to accept and respond honestly to this information. It is every theater artist and producer's obligation to assure that this work is strong and it is in the community's best interest to continually challenge itself with new and expansive ideas. Each foray in the theater is a training mission for a time when real-life conflict will arise. The more imaginative and challenging the play, the more prepared we will be when our values are truly tested. As I put down the book, I thought, "Yes! That is an epiphany of some value! That is an idea that can definitely fill the Lark's sails for the next stage of our journey! 2007 will be the best year ever!"
Warm wishes,
John Clinton Eisner
Producing Director
The Lark Theatre
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