Letters from Professor D.'s Class

Hey Mr. Hansen,

My name is Kelly and I am in Jill D.'s Critical Writing course at NYU this summer. I was hoping you would answer a few questions for me concerning "I Hate This" and the New York Fringe Festival. As she mentioned we are writing a preview of the NYC Fringe Festival. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

-So, the Fringe Festival received over 800 applications. Why do you think they chose to include "I Hate This" in the Fringe Festival line up? What will it add to the Festival?

-What are your thoughts about being included in the Fringe Festival? What are you most looking forward to?

-And lastly, the subject of "I Hate This" isn't one men usually discuss their feelings about. This has to add another dimesion to the subject. What do you hope audiences walk away from "I Hate This" with?

Thank you so much in advance for you time. I hope the summer months go well for you as you prepare for the NYC Fringe Festival. I look forward to hearing from you--no rush though.

Wishing you safe travels,

Kelly B.

Hey Ms. B.,

Your first question is a good one, though not one I am sure I can answer. I first became acquainted with the festival in 2000 when I happened upon it when visiting the city. Since then I attended again in 2001 as a participant (my wife Toni wrote a play produced in 2001, I was part of the crew) and have kept tabs on it as people I know were involved in ’02 and ’03. I am curious as to what their criteria really is.

I HATE THIS brings with it a brief history of praise – Fringe organizers say they are eager to find new, untested works, but must be influenced when a show has been met with critical acclaim in its original run, and I am glad to say this show has. But I have always worried about the content – Fringe shows can be so arch, so "out there." But it’s what I got now, if you know what I mean, I didn’t create this piece to hit the fringe circuit, and so I decided to take the risk. I am very glad that they have decided to take the risk, too.

What will it add to the festival? An element of surprise, I hope. Selling the show is hard work, I think people expect to hear some sob story, maybe I will do a lot of screaming, I don’t know. When I think of it, I wonder what kind of person would want to see that. What I think I provide is a story, one the largest number of my audience is unfamiliar with, and tell it in a way that they can understand what someone goes through when a child dies. And they laugh, too. Laughing is allowed.

I am greatly looking forward to being part of this festival. I have a love for New York that has a lot to do with my relationship with Toni and am always thrilled to return. And our participation in fringeNYC in 2001, while difficult, was an important step in our recovery. This play was inspired, in part, by the shows I saw there that year.

One of the things I am most looking forward to is the challenge of getting people in the seats. My experience at the Minnesota Fringe showed how successful it is to meet people and get flyers into their hands. A lot of the people I spoke to directly came to see the show. Festivals like these create such a great community and I am looking forward to being immersed in that.

Your last question is a very good one, and strikes to the heart of this show. If I thought I were saying something that had already been said, I may not have been moved to write it. But my experiences coping with neo-natal death were significantly different from those of my wife, and I was not surprised to see how the fathers are overlooked, their feelings dismissed – and the extent to which most men in my position dismiss their own feelings and allow themselves to be ignored.

I hope audiences come away from I HATE THIS with a better idea of what to do when people close to them loses someone, anyone. It’s always better to say something than nothing.

Thanks for the questions, please feel free to ask any others. If you don’t mind my asking, I would like to read your article when you have completed it.

David