Dry Weather Wind, by local playwright Kai Elijah Hamilton, is part of The Magnetic Theatre's New Play Development program. It will be presented as a "live" reading on Zoom on Friday, October 2nd, 2020 at 7:30 pm. We reached out to playwright Kai Elijah Hamilton with a few questions about this production.
1. Any advice for aspiring playwrights?
I always say—A true writer literally has to write in order to live, breathe and function as a human alongside the rest of the world. That’s when you know you’re a writer. If I don’t write after long periods of time—thoughts and feelings back up inside me, and it causes anxiety as well as depression. Don’t do that to yourself. If something is crying to come out—let it. I also feel like as writers we owe it to our projects to fully dedicate ourselves to them. It’s about quality and substance over quantity. I’ve seen temptation take hold of some writers and artists that want to put a piece out there that isn’t emotionally complete. Consider dedicating yourself to only one or two things—to the point of living and breathing them. Don’t cloud your mind up with excess. If you listen close enough you’ll truly know when it’s time to “let it go” and send it out into the world. It may be years. I worked on Dry Weather Wind for over 5 year before I knew it was nearing completion. It’s all about focus. Don’t let the clock trick you into prematurely putting something out there. If something, anything in it feels wrong—that’s because it is! It may take longer than you want for it to rise to the surface, and that’s ok. Also, don’t let the bullies in life bring you down. That’s what they want. They’re threatened by a light in you that they don’t have. Keep shining. Most importantly, don’t be your own bully. It’s okay to know when something you have done is great and to smile about it. You have to truly love it before anyone else can.
2. How did the idea for Dry Weather Wind come about?
I set out to write a play that would echo a family-drama of yesteryear. Those are some of the most important pieces of theatre. Dry Weather Wind is not completely autobiographical, but I borrowed emotionally from my past. When I say I was severely bullied in High School that’s an understatement. It was during a critical time of growth and understanding of myself. I was also mentally abused in Church—a place you are supposed to feel safe. This was during a time in the 90’s south when being “eccentric-Kai'' was not accepted. I felt I had nowhere to turn to and no friends that understood that part of me. I am not big on labels—I believe in love holding no bounds, but when I was woken up to the gay culture I felt most at home there. I found peace with myself there. I’ve heard of others in similar harsh circumstances. Like me, they were told that God did not love and accept them. They remained lost far inside themselves—some tragically committing suicide as a result. I realized how lucky I was to make it through as best as I did. I vowed to do something about bullying and harassment. I even went through it recently at the workplace. My boss harassed me and the witnesses did not want to take a stand. We cannot operate this way in our society. I felt like I was diverting back to that scared child from years ago. Thinking back on going to school and being tortured has made me want to help as many people as I can. One of the best ways I can take a stand is through my creative work and writing. When I wrote Dry Weather Wind it was a call to action and a reminder of where we have come from. It is a time period in gay culture that is rarely talked about. We seemed mostly at a standstill at that point and caught in a transition stage. I want everyone to remember how hard it was and not to take for granted the road that we continue to walk to reach equal rights. The character of Rain in the play said it best “I thought God hated me. Sometimes I still do. It took me a long time to finally realize that before he can really hate me, or anyone can hate me... I have to find out who I am for myself. And it's not easy when no one will leave you alone long enough and let you find you.”
3. As you wrote this play, I’m sure you never imagined it would be performed virtually under these circumstances. What has that process been like?
I was just thinking about how rare (at this point at least) of an opportunity it is to have a play performed virtually. I’m extremely thankful for this experience—that the artist in me was able to have a voice during these difficult times. I feel fortunate to be chosen by The Magnetic Theatre, and I feel this play is more important than ever now. I’m very proud of it. There are those pieces that deeply resonate. This is one of those for me. I tend to write rather raw, but this one is one of the rawest. I hope that we can see it performed live on stage in the near future. I want to share this story with you in that format as well. I want it staged locally in this region where the play is set. The Magnetic Theatre has been so utterly supportive to me. Because the piece is so close to me, it literally brings me to tears to be able to see it performed in any capacity. I’m excited to share it with you.
4. What do you think audiences will be left thinking about after experiencing this play?
They’re going to feel heated, torn, partly unresolved, and haunted. Those feelings are intentionally placed there because if you look back at your life in chapters, that’s what we are often left with—and that’s an important lesson. Perhaps most significantly is that not a lot has changed in the school system regarding bullying. Some teachers have been allowed to turn a blind eye to students being abused by other students—similarly fellow workers have turned a blind eye to bosses doing it. Few want to rock the boat. But I’m here to rock it. The dynamics needs to change. If these bullies don’t have a conscience or even if they do—we need to hold them accountable for their actions. I want Dry Weather Wind to strike a chord with audiences after watching. I want people to realize bullying is in many different forms and situations. People still exist that choose to tear down their own children for being gay. Home and Church are often thought of as safe havens. So the wolf in sheep’s clothing hides there too. I am a spiritual person, and I can say there is nothing of God in any of that type of homophobic mentality. As much as I prayed as a child, if God had the ability to change my sexuality—it would have happened. This is who I was meant to be and I’m proud of it. We must find a way to talk about the tough subjects in this play. Audiences will also be torn with the aspects of an older man falling for a teenager. It will likely disturb them and one should question why something we already know is wrong is overtaking something we aren’t talking about—the bullying, the homophobia, and how we treat others. By the play’s end, I hope the audience will be as touched as I am.
5. What is your favorite line from the script of Dry Weather Wind and why?
This question is a hard one as there are plenty of comedic zingers I love—especially from the villainous Ms. Gates. But I am going to have to go with Billie’s line “The last of the lightnin' bugs'll be comin' up soon… Ain't it funny--we only really learn ta miss somethin' just as it starts a slippin' away...” Part of this play I wrote with my own mother in mind. She is gone now and sometimes the things the character says is like she is speaking from the grave. This line always frustrated me, and then I finally understood why. Because ultimately in life there’s no way to make someone stay and sometimes we have to make the choice to let them go in order to grow and experience the beauty in that torment. My mother was not often as bold as Billie ends up being. I guess a part of me always wanted her to be that type of hero—for me. But my mother was a different kind of hero. There was a wonderful softness to her intensity—and you see that side of her in the play. Her ability to help me understand the power of human endurance molded me. She taught me to only speak up when you know your heart and spirit has something important to say. Dry Weather Wind is just that to me. “I’m speaking up now, Ma.”
Biography
Kai Elijah Hamilton (playwright) - Kai was born and raised in Western North Carolina. A poet, screenwriter and playwright, he also writes theatre reviews and stories for Mountain Xpress. An award winning actor (Tom in The Glass Menagerie) and director (A Raisin In The Sun)—he was last seen on stage as King Henry in The Lion In Winter. He previously served as Artistic Director at Hendersonville Community Theatre during their major downtown transition. He attained his B.A. in theater and film from Western Carolina University. In 2016, Hamilton's play The Sleepwalker won a spot in the first annual Asheville National 10-Minute Play Festival by NYS3. His controversial play about racism—Blackberry Winter—was a finalist in the elite Strawberry One-Act Festival in NYC winning Best Short Film/Video Diary. Hamilton is also the author of the southern-gothic play Dry Weather Wind, Silhouette, Temptation, Dark Vignettes, The Statue of David—his most recent play written during the lockdown and several others. With his works, he aims to hold a mirror up to our faces forcing us to examine our own reactions, thoughts and emotions on a deeper level.
Grab your tickets for Dry Weather Wind on October 2nd, 2020 at 7:30 pm by clicking here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=116201