The Plays for Presidents Festival 2012 encourages a historical view of the presidency to combat political cynicism
By Kathryn Kroeker, A&E Editor
The American presidency has inundated nearly every social sphere in anticipation of the upcoming election. It has finally, literally, made its way to center stage.
Andy Bayiates, Founder and Project Director of the Plays for Presidents Festival 2012, has capitalized on art's political potential by organizing 49 performances of the Neo-Futurist's production "44 Plays for 44 Presidents" nationwide.
High schools, universities and professional theatre groups across the country have united in a theatrical endeavor to celebrate the history of the American presidency while encouraging a more positive outlook on the election process.
"The Plays for Presidents Festival is all about combating the cynicism and fatigue that results from a typical election season," Bayiates said in an email.
"44 Plays for 44 Presidents" is a two-hour theatrical production comprised of short biographical numbers narrating the history of the presidency from Washington to Obama.
The sequences range from comedy to tragedy, as the successes and failures of each president are celebrated and satirized.
The Chicago Sun Times praised the play's "zany, clever, ambitious and often surprisingly moving historical catalogue."
Bayiates started planning the festival in 2008 after seeing the play, then called "43 Plays for 43 Presidents," and its effect on audiences during that election season.
Along with a team of theatre artists, media specialists and history buffs, Bayiates has utilized art to stimulate political interest where mainstream media often becomes redundant.
Bayiates said the organization hopes to accomplish three main goals: to organize 44 productions of the play across the country, to connect these productions in a lasting way and to decrease American cynicism about elections.
"Elections are awesome," he said. "They reaffirm the validity of what was once considered a ridiculously risky proposition: the regular, peaceful transition of power. They're history in the making."
The organization website, playsforpresidents.com, features regular blog posts ranging from production updates to political fun facts.
A post from Oct. 2 commented on how television changed the nature of public presidential debates, while a previous post analyzed facial hair styles worn by past presidents.
These posts humanize the political scene while contributing to the festival mission: to draw attention to the history of the presidency and, ultimately, to the upcoming election.
The festival has another, more lasting project in the works. Various scenes from each performance will be recorded and compiled into a video that Bayiates hopes will move beyond the abstract and into the public eye.
"Doing a nationwide theatre project is an awesome thing, but also really theoretical," Bayiates said. "We wanted people to (see) the project in some way."
Bayiates said he hopes to promote the video as a teaching tool in classrooms post-election.
Bayiates said the production's content could potentially be labeled "offensive," since two-minute musical summaries barely do justice to each president's entire term. However, he said at least one former president appreciated the endeavor.
"Jimmy Carter saw the show in Atlanta in 2002 and really loved it," Bayiates said.
The nearest production will take place at Pike Performing Arts Center in Indianapolis this weekend, and will be performed by the Pike High School Performing Arts Department.
The show opened last night and will run again at 7:00 p.m. Oct. 6.
Bayiates said the festival is significant for student performers because "it puts high school drama kids side-by-side, virtually speaking, with professional theatre companies, providing them with an experience that immerses them in their country's history."
"We need to throw history at the madness of the presidential election cycle because nothing stifles temporary insanity like history," Bayiates continued. "It reminds us of our power as voters and our ability to weather strife as a people."
