Directors Note
I first became aware of No Exit when studying dramatic literature as a high school senior. Since then, Jean Paul Sartre and his philosophical ideas have continued to play a pivotal role in in shaping my personal perspective, my artistic ideals, how I approach theatrical creation, and what I expect of a well-structured play. In college, I chose No Exit for my undergraduate thesis, and it was the first full length play I ever directed. It has followed me throughout my theatrical career, and coming full circle, it makes sense for No Exit to be my first professionally produced production.
When Olivia Hardin and I were birthing Point To Where It Hurts Productions, we agreed that a major focus of our company was to explore the depths of human experience. In discerning the message of our inaugural production and reflecting upon the current socio-political state of affairs in America, we felt that No Exit captured the pulse of the current hardships we are facing, while representing the values we hold as artists.
As a leading French Existentialist of the 20th century, Jean Paul Sartre was concerned with human existence. Existentialism, really humanism, explored the moral importance of human freedom. Sartre did not believe in predestination with individuals having a predetermined purpose. Rather, he thought that humans become who they are through their actions and experiences in life. He argued that freedom comes only with self-acceptance and choice--humans must take responsibility for their actions and the impacts they have on others. Alleging that many people feared freedom of choice, they followed others, avoiding self-actualization.
Sartre’s awareness began in 1939 when he was drafted into the French Military and served as a meteorologist. In 1940, he was captured by the Germans and held as a prisoner of war for nine months. The experience of being a POW gave Sartre a purpose beyond self-survival and opened his eyes to a political reality that he had not previously understood. Ultimately, that experience changed how he saw the world. He realized that he was involuntarily bound to social forces much larger than himself. His call to action drove his creative force, and the nine months spent in captivity was one of the most productive periods of Sartre’s life, germinating the existential concepts, to which he devoted the rest of his life. The encounter, crucial and positive, catalyzed his personal and philosophical evolution.
While people often feel alone and struggle to make sense of their existences, Sartre spoke out for freedom of the oppressed. Though appearing isolated, he viewed humans as powerfully connected to one another—permitting the physical and spiritual survival for everyone on the planet. Sartre maintained that the concepts of authenticity and individuality had to be personally earned, not learned. He contended that humans cannot simply watch and learn from others; they must undergo life events for themselves. Facing the reality of death was deemed a necessary occurrence. To feel “death consciousness,” enabled people to wake up to their authentic selves—life experience, not knowledge. World War II provoked Sartre’s existential crisis and provided his wake up call.
Upon his release in 1941, Sartre returned to Paris and joined the French Resistance. No Exit, written in two-weeks at the beginning of 1944, was a direct response to the Nazi occupation of France and interestingly, premiered on the eve of the Normandy invasion. The play was Sartre’s attempt to make sense of the moral and metaphysical implications of the German occupation, responding to the sense of helplessness and despair felt by the French people. A forceful parable, it embodied the key concepts of existentialism. Sartre made a virtue of the conditions governing French theatre during the occupation, and even though the play was an allegory of Fascism, none of it was censored by the occupying Germans.
During the process of bringing this production to life, our team, with vastly different backgrounds, experienced sickness, death, heartbreak, and numerous other obstacles. We might have turned on each other with our individual stresses, but unity and purpose prevailed; we remained a cohesive group. Because we experienced Sartre’s concept of connectedness, we are acutely aware of the importance human connection has on society as a whole. Since America is becoming more divided, with increased intolerance and power held by a wealthy few, this production can serve as a call to action for all of us. Because Sartre believed that people always have the power of choice, it is my hope that our audiences will be inspired to choose wisely, listen empathetically, and act with integrity. Freedom for all of society is ultimately freedom for each individual.
- Alanna Dorsett