- OTHER MEDIA
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- 'Better Homes and Ammo': Questioning authority
- SF Chronicle (Alexandria Rocha)
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- About three years ago, Wylie Herman watched a news reporter voluntarily
get waterboarded during a live broadcast, then claim the torture technique
wasn't all that bad.
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- For a second, Herman thought the reporter could be right. Then, in
the next second, he couldn't believe how easily influenced he was. He turned
off the TV and, as he puts it, "walked away from the voices."
Permanently.
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- It was a turning point in Herman's life that ultimately led to his
first full-length play, "Better Homes and Ammo." It's a post-apocalyptic
satire of suburban American life, in which he draws on his experiences
questioning and standing up to those "voices," whether they're
religious, parental or political.
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- "It sounds dark, but it's a pretty fun comedy," he said.
"It's an all-American story."
- While Herman, 31, was inspired to start writing "Better Homes"
during the Bush administration, he has kept it relevant to the Obama presidency
by staying true to a central theme of challenging authority, rather than
addressing specific issues.
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- "Now it's questioning the voices that are saying everything is
OK. It's the same kind of fear but flip-flopped," he said. "When
people say that the economy is coming back but unemployment is on the rise,
you have to question these things."
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- Specific timing and location also remain vague in the play. (There
are a few references to San Francisco, however, including the warning sirens
that sound every Tuesday at noon.) In fact, "Better Homes" takes
place three months from tomorrow - as in any tomorrow.
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- It's then that the United States is hit by a nuclear terrorist attack.
Or so Sid (Warden Lawlor), the father of the Bosra family, has told his
wife, Angela (Molly Benson); son, Spencer (James Tinsley); and daughter,
Sally (Cassie Powell) before rushing them into a fallout shelter beneath
his military surplus store.
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- Members of the Bosra family (a name that's a play on Basra, the third-largest
city in Iraq and the place some believe was the Garden of Eden) are based
on American stereotypes that Herman wanted to see survive in an over-the-top
situation. Think Martha Stewart for Mom; radio host conspiracy theorist
Alex Jones for Dad; rebellious contrarian for Brother; and pop culture
obsessive for Sister.
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- The play explores "how these people interact for three months
and who goes crazy first," Herman said. "At first they're trying
to keep a sense of normalcy. They have weekly Bible study and family game
night. The wife keeps (the shelter) clean and spotless. By Act 2, everything
is kind of falling apart."
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