Josh Roberts: Application

One State, Two State, Red State, Blue State

College
Reed College '05, Portland, OR
B.A. - Theater

Rushing to finish an application for this awesome fellowship I only found out about 3 days ago!

Other than that, I'm spending every waking moment preparing for the most mind-blowing journey of my life. Hitting up libraries for every possible source of research material; surreptitiously internet-hunting while I'm at work; reading Tocqueville, Lincoln, Talk to Me by Anna Deavere Smith, books about U.S. election history, interviewing guides, and anything else that might be relevant; contacting potential interviewees, making transportation arrangements, and planning a fundraiser. Not to mention familiarizing myself with ten of the most interesting U.S. counties I may ever visit.

I gave notice to my "survival job" today.

Fastweb

It is, matter-of-factly, the most awesome project ever.

Over the course of ten weeks, I will visit the most ideologically extreme places in the American political geography. In an effort to investigate the red state/blue state framework that seems to underpin our current political conversation, I will spend a week each in ten American counties: the four reddest, the four bluest, and for good measure two of the purplest (i.e., the most narrowly divided). There I will interview anyone and everyone I can about politics, from mayors to mill workers, from game hunters to gays, from truckers to treehuggers, using the transcripts and recordings from these interviews to create and prepare for performance a play about the nature of American political dialogue and its relationship to the places we live.

For my purposes, the reddest and bluest counties will be those with the widest victory margins in the 2004 presidential election—when the idea of a red/blue divide seems to have settled into common wisdom. In my interviews, I will seek to discover what binds communities together in America's most politically homogeneous places, how the people who reside in them see themselves within our political landscape, and how they feel about the connection between the places they live and the rest of the country. I am big on the premise that good listening is at the heart of acting, so I will pay extremely close attention to the way people speak, stutter, pause, swear, er, um, and uh, because those moments where normal speaking rhythm is broken are the moments where true character is revealed.

In an age increasingly dominated by the excerpting and distillation of ideas—through sound bytes, video clips, talking points—I'd like to find out what kind of conversation is possible when politics is attended with an artistic ear and voice, when theater is invented with a journalistic tilt, and most of all, when people are given enough space to speak with complexity, nuance, reflection, and uncertainty. What happens when we broach politics with depth rather than speed?

Mason County, Idaho (pop. 30,975)
Votes cast: 11,367
Victory margin: 84.79% (RED #1)

Ochiltree County, Texas (pop. 9,385)
Votes cast: 3,177
Victory margin: 84.07% (RED #2)

Glasscock County, Texas (pop. 1,406)
Votes cast: 533
Victory margin: 83.30% (RED #3)

Garfield County, Montana (pop. 1,279)
Votes cast: 655
Victory margin: 82.14% (RED #4)

Washington, D.C. (pop. 588,292)
Votes cast: 227,586
Victory margin: 79.84% (BLUE #1)

Shannon County, South Dakota (pop. 4,549)
Votes cast: 4,214
Victory margin: 72.14% (BLUE #2)

San Francisco County, California (pop. 764,976)
Votes cast: 356,298
Victory margin: 68.04% (BLUE #3)

Bronx County, New York (pop. 1,361,473)
Votes cast: 342,979
Victory margin: 66.27% (BLUE #4)

Monroe County, Pennsylvania (pop. 138,687)
Votes cast: 56,342
Victory margin: 0.01% (4 votes, PURPLE #1)

Chatham County, North Carolina (pop. 49,329)
Votes cast: 25,922
Victory margin: 0.02% (5 votes, PURPLE #2)


...AND THE ROAD!

Few but presidential candidates have ever had the chance to wind their way across the country on a door-knocking, hand-shaking, ear-bending adventure to put their finger on America's political pulse. In tradition of the cross-country campaign tour, but with the intent to listen rather than persuade, I'll work my way from New York City to San Francisco by car (pausing for a week at a time in the above counties on the way), absorbing the vastness of the land and the subtlety of the changes in the landscape, physical and political. I fully expect I'll have my picture taken hunting, kissing babies, and eating chili on the way.

Politicians, usually spend the most time in “swing” regions. But I picked the reddest and bluest places in America because as our national debate becomes increasingly dominated by ideological extremes, it would be easy to think that the most extreme places are overrepresented in our political discussion. I am more concerned about the richness of genuine dialogue, and as such I worry that we are losing the depth of their perspectives to the shallowness of caricature.

For a rough idea of the route I'll be taking and more county info, check out the interactive map I’ve been working on: http://tiny.cc/redstatebluestate

11 weeks beginning mid-June, 2008, including one week budgeted for travel time.

After transcribing the interviews, I will workshop the script in rehearsals and staged readings with M.F.A. students at the American Conservatory Theater, where I will be delaying the real world further by entering grad school. I imagine it will take six months to a year to assemble the play, at which point I will begin finding it a home for a fully staged commercial production. A portion of the proceeds from the eventual production will benefit an organization focused on enriching voter participation.

During the road trip portion of this adventure, I'll be completely on my own. Except, of course, for the bartenders keeping me company. And the mayors, diner owners, priests, county clerks, retirees, hunters, teachers, journalists, subway conductors, congressmen and -women, veterans, shamans, pundits, professors, ranchers, students, and anyone else who will speak with me. I'll be finding companionship with the people who form the backbone of communities.

For the production, I'll be working with any non-profit theater companies, funding organizations, and production companies willing to lend their support.

Total Budget: $6,000
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Car rental: $3,000
Gas: $1,000
GPS navigator: $350
Tape recorder: $250
Digital camera: $200
Lodging: $750*
Incidentals: $450

*To defray the cost of lodging, I'll be staying with friends, friends' parents, friends of friends, etc. and arranging home-stays with as many of my contacts as possible to avoid lodging costs. On those occasions where I am unable to arrange lodging (mostly, I expect, in the central states) I will find accommodation at budget motels, or sleep in the car when safe and feasible.

I will be raising additional funds by inviting potential donors to "sponsor a day" of the trip. For a $30-50 contribution toward one day's expenses, on whatever day they pick, they will get a phone call from the road, an email with photos taken that day, as well as a local postcard, and they will receive thanks in the program when the production is staged. I will supplement these donations with money from my savings as much as I can.

Not applicable.

I could get lost. Seriously lost. In fact, I probably will. That's what the GPS navigator will be for. I'll also have a huge U.S. Atlas to guide me in case of electronic failure. The best part about being lost is that it means you have to ask for help, and provides the impetus to meet and converse with someone you may not have met otherwise. Regaining your bearings becomes part of the journey. I imagine some of my best interviews will come from situations in which I am completely disoriented.

I could break down or have car trouble. I am already in possession of a sufficient tool kit and enough knowledge to make basic car repairs and perform routine service, but car trouble could still cause serious delays. I have built extra time into my schedule to allow for unscheduled setbacks and since the car I am driving will be rented, I will have access to roadside repair service through the rental agency. The cost for such a policy will be minimal for such a long rental period.

I could get arrested. It wouldn't be the first time in history that an out-of-towner asking lots of questions wound up in the clink. Fortunately, by the time it happens, I'll already be so beloved by the rest of the local residents that they'll stage a jailbreak to bust me loose.

I spent three years at Reed as a House Advisor and peer counselor, where I received thorough training and plenty of experience as an active, attentive listener, providing the kind of comfortable, easygoing rapport that encourages others to speak freely. There I also wrote my thesis on solo performance, studying closely the electrifying work of artists like Anna Deavere Smith (Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992), Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues), and Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project). The knowledge I gained from my research strongly informs the foundation of this project.

My spirit of adventure, though, I’ve had from an early age. My high school, like DTRW, interestingly, was also centered on pillars—though only five. One of those pillars was Outdoor Adventure. (Probably why I've used the word adventure about five million times throughout this application.) In order to graduate, everyone at The Athenian School was required to undertake a 24-day backpacking trip called the Athenian Wilderness Experience (A.W.E.).

The structure of the trip was simple: spend 24 days in Death Valley with ten students in your class and two instructors, and backpack your way through the wilderness. We carried our own food, water, and gear, and met up with logistical assistants every seven days for resupply. Of the 24 days, we spent four days rock-climbing and rappelling, three days on individual solo experiences, and seven days hiking independently, without our instructors. At the end of it all, we were dropped off eight miles away from school and ran the final distance to our waiting families, classmates, and teachers, to be received with tears and hugs despite our repellant desert funk. A.W.E. was designed to challenge us physically, emotionally, and interpersonally, with the ultimate goal of pushing us to exceed our perceived potential and emerge as compassionate, responsible adults. Kurt Hahn, on whose philosophy Athenian was based, captured the spirit of A.W.E. in saying, “There is more in you than you think.” And he was right. A.W.E. taught me confidence, compassion, self-reliance, resourcefulness, perseverance, kinship, and more. I have been forever changed by it.

I have also undertaken road trips by myself from Seattle to San Francisco, and from Boulder, Colorado to Sacramento, California, driving often 12 or 14 hours in a day by myself without any of the stir-craziness that seems to affect other people flying solo. I'm confident that with the time I'll be spending in between travel days surrounded by the communities I visit, I am well prepared for this journey, too.

I certainly hope so. Regardless of whether or not it changes the world, I’m certain it will have a profound impact on the people I interview. I volunteered for primary election campaigns in New Hampshire and Philadelphia this year, and it never ceased to amaze me how eager people are to share their stories—often incredibly personal—with interested strangers. One woman confided in me the frustration she felt confronting her daughter's drug addiction. A young man, recently back from his second tour in Iraq, told me about the challenges he faced dismantling improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Everyone always seemed to carry him- or herself a little more lightly when the story was through.

It stuns me even more how much humor is often in the most serious stories. People are amazingly resilient. To most people, I think, their lives are simply their lives. Even the most harrowing experiences can be recounted and shared with nonchalance and sometimes joy. I hope that the play I develop from this project will share some of that with its audience, as well.

I'm fairly confident that it's different than anything ANYONE has ever done before!

I just found out about this fellowship three days ago and haven't been able to get hold of a copy!

However, I have absolutely been inspired by what I've read from the three most recent awardees. Andrew, Daniela, and Alexandra’s free-spiritedness and commitment to their projects is enviable and evident in their applications. I was particularly inspired by the scope of their projects: every single one extended far beyond the amount or duration of the funding they received! They demonstrate a real engagement with the idea that these kinds of adventures can be sustaining not just for the immediate future but for the foreseeable future. That idea reminded me of a favorite quote of mine by the poet Robert Browning:

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?"

As long as we're delaying the real world, why not delay it indefinitely?!