The AIDS Show

Last updated

The AIDS Show (Artists Involved with Death and Survival) is a 1984 American collaboratively written theatre piece created to address the social impact HIV/AIDS had on the LGBTQ community. A 1986 documentary film of the same name was developed by producer and writer Rob Epstein and filmmaker Peter Adair.

Contents

Productions

1984 production

The AIDS Show was first produced by Theatre Rhinoceros, a San Francisco based theatre company, in September 1984 as The AIDS Show: Artists Involved with Death and Survival. Initial inspiration for the production came from several people including Allan B. Estes, founder of Theatre Rhinoceros, who died before the shows debut. The intention was to address the fears in the community and to portray how HIV/AIDS was affecting lovers and families. This was one of the first efforts giving voice to the "emotional turmoil" created by the epidemic. [1]

Directed by Leland Moss, the show was more like a review than a play, as it consisted of a series of vignettes built predominantly from the real-life experiences of the cast. The skits or scenes presented the perspectives of nurses, mothers, gay men "friend groups", romantic relationships, older gay men/women, the straight population, and those who lost loved ones to the disease. [1] [2]

The original production was intended to run for nine shows but was extended for several months because it was so well received by audiences. Gaining notoriety, the show traveled throughout the country performing at street fairs, jails, and hospitals. Creators say it was designed to be portable. A notable tour performance took place before the Shanti Project, an organization that trained people to support and guide those who were living with terminal illnesses. [1]

The 1984 production was both criticized and applauded for giving such a candid look at how the community was dealing with the crisis. Audience members within the community praised the show for giving form to their experiences, while those in the cast said the play offered a medium for confronting the epidemic. [1]

1985 production

In 1985 the play was updated and co-directed by Leland Moss and Doug Holsclaw, a writer and actor from the 1984 original. Under the new title The AIDS Show: Unfinished Business, the revised show reflected the change in the "mood of the city [San Francisco]." By this time HIV/AIDS was not as mysterious as it once was, specific problems in the world of medicine were being addressed, and people were learning to live with the reality of the disease. This new show was designed to mirror this growth. Unfinished Business debuted in October 1985 and continued on various stages for another year. [1]

1986 Documentary

In 1986 a PBS documentary, under the same name as the stage show and created by Rob Epstein and Peter Adair, was released. Epstein and Adair state in the opening of the film that they originally intended to make a film discussing the effect of HIV/AIDS on the population of the 70,000 gay men in the San Francisco area, when a friend pointed them in the direction of The AIDS Show. [2] Upon their first viewing both men noted that the show was more social, less medical, and refused to filter itself when discussing the disease or disease transmission. The result is a film which consists of interviews featuring several members of the cast and crew, separated by scenes from the production, all in conversation with the current events of San Francisco. [1] This was one of the first films to deal with the subject of HIV/AIDS. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS in the United States</span> HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States

The AIDS epidemic, caused by HIV, found its way to the United States between the 1970s and 1980s, but was first noticed after doctors discovered clusters of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in homosexual men in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco in 1981. Treatment of HIV/AIDS is primarily via the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs, and education programs to help people avoid infection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaëtan Dugas</span> Canadian flight attendant, long misidentified as the index case of the North American AIDS crisis

Gaëtan Dugas was a Québécois Canadian flight attendant whose role in the early years of the AIDS epidemic attracted considerable attention. Initially identified as a central figure labeled "Patient Zero", Dugas faced allegations of being a primary source of HIV transmission to the United States. This narrative, popularized notably by Randy Shilts' 1987 book And the Band Played On, has been refuted through subsequent scientific scrutiny and historical re-evaluation. Dugas' story highlights the perils of misinformation and the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. Despite facing criticism in popular discourse, subsequent studies have provided a more nuanced understanding of Dugas' impact on the epidemic, emphasizing the importance of accuracy and empathy in public health narratives.

Peter Adair was a filmmaker and artist, best known for his pioneering gay and lesbian documentary Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977).

This is a timeline of HIV/AIDS, including but not limited to cases before 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobbi Campbell</span> American nurse and early AIDS activist, born 1952

Robert Boyle "Bobbi" Campbell Jr. was a public health nurse and an early United States AIDS activist. In September 1981, Campbell became the 16th person in San Francisco to be diagnosed with Kaposi's sarcoma, when that was a proxy for an AIDS diagnosis. He was the first to come out publicly as a person with what came to be known as AIDS, writing a regular column in the San Francisco Sentinel, syndicated nationwide, describing his experiences and posting photos of his KS lesions to help other San Franciscans know what to look for, as well as helping write the first San Francisco safer sex manual.

<i>The Normal Heart</i> Play by Larry Kramer

The Normal Heart is a largely autobiographical play by Larry Kramer. It focuses on the rise of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York City between 1981 and 1984, as seen through the eyes of writer/activist Ned Weeks, the gay founder of a prominent HIV advocacy group. The play's title comes from W. H. Auden's poem, "September 1, 1939".

Theatre Rhinoceros, Theatre Rhino, or The Rhino is a gay and lesbian theatre in San Francisco. Theatre Rhinoceros claims to be the world's longest-running professional queer theatre company. It was founded in the spring of 1977 by Lanny Baugniet and his late partner Allan B. Estes, Jr.. The name is based on the lavender rhinoceros, a symbol popularized by the Boston gay community in the mid-1970s. It is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the production of plays by and about gay and lesbian people.

<i>As Is</i> (play) 1985 play written by William M. Hoffman

As Is is a 1985 American play written by William M. Hoffman. The play was first produced by Circle Repertory Company and The Glines and directed by Marshall W. Mason. It opened on March 10, 1985 at the Circle Rep in New York City, where it ran for 49 performances.

<i>And the Band Played On</i> (film) 1993 American television film by Roger Spottiswoode

And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts, and is noteworthy for featuring both a vast historical scope, as well as an exceptionally sprawling cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selma Dritz</span> American physician and epidemiologist

Selma Kaderman Dritz was an American physician and epidemiologist who worked in San Francisco, California, where she began tracking the first known cases of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the early 1980s.

<i>And the Band Played On</i> 1987 book by Randy Shilts

And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic is a 1987 book by San Francisco Chronicle journalist Randy Shilts. The book chronicles the discovery and spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) with a special emphasis on government indifference and political infighting—specifically in the United States—to what was then perceived as a specifically gay disease. Shilts's premise is that AIDS was allowed to happen: while the disease is caused by a biological agent, incompetence and apathy toward those initially affected allowed its spread to become much worse.

<i>How to Have Sex in an Epidemic</i> 1983 book by Richard Berkowitz and Michael Callen

How to Have Sex in an Epidemic: One Approach is a 1983 manual by Richard Berkowitz and Michael Callen, under the direction of Joseph Sonnabend, to advise men who have sex with men (MSM) about how to avoid contracting the infecting agent which causes AIDS. It was among the first publications to recommend the use of condoms to prevent the transmission of STDs in men having sex with men, and has even been named, along with Play Fair!, as one of the foundational publications in the advent of modern safe sex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Odets</span> American clinical psychologist and author

Walt Whitman Odets is an American clinical psychologist and author. He has written about the early development, psychological and social experiences of gay men and their communities. Odets' earlier writing focused on the lives of men living in and surviving the early AIDS epidemic. The spring 1996 issue of Positive Impact Journal called him "an important voice in the AIDS education and prevention arena." Odets's 1995 study, In the Shadow of the Epidemic: Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS, was listed by The New York Times as among the "Notable Books of the Year 1995." Additionally, In the Shadow of the Epidemic was the No. 1 bestselling book purchased by gay men in the late fall of 1995, according to The Advocate, and was confirmed as a "Gay Bestseller of 1995" by the Feminist Bookstore News.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco AIDS Foundation</span> American nonprofit organization

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing services for people with HIV/AIDS, with a mission to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. They were founded in 1982, at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. SFAF is one of the largest and oldest community-based AIDS service organizations in the United States. SFAF has an 87.67% overall rating, and a 97% accountability & transparency rating, at Charity Navigator.

Reggie Williams was an American AIDS activist, who fought for culturally relevant AIDS education and services for gay and bisexual men of color. Williams served as a board member for the National Association of Black and White Men Together and as the first executive director of the National Task Force on AIDS Prevention.

New York City was affected by the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s more than any other U.S. city. The AIDS epidemic has been and continues to be highly localized due to a number of complex socio-cultural factors that affect the interaction of the populous communities that inhabit New York.

Henry M. Tavera was an AIDS activist, artistic director, and archivist based in the Mission District of San Francisco, California; his 1979 move to the region put him at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic via his involvement in various HIV/AIDS service organizations as well as AIDS theatre. He also did work around Chicano Gay Activism and teaching/advising. Tavera died on February 27, 2000, at 56 years old from kidney cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leland Moss</span> American theatre director (1948–1990)

Leland Moss was an American theatre director, writer, and gay activist who died from AIDS at age 41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIV/AIDS activism</span> Social movement advocating for a larger societal response to HIV/AIDS

Socio-political activism to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS as well as to advance the effective treatment and care of people with AIDS (PWAs) has taken place in multiple locations since the 1980s. The evolution of the disease's progress into what's known as the HIV/AIDS pandemic has resulted in various social movements fighting to change both government policies and the broader popular culture inside of different areas. These groups have interacted in a complex fashion with others engaged in related forms of social justice campaigning, with this continuing on to this day.

The AIDS–Holocaust metaphor is used by AIDS activists to compare the AIDS epidemic to the Holocaust. The comparison was popularized by Larry Kramer and ACT-UP, especially the organization's French chapter, as a way to garner sympathy for AIDS sufferers and spur research into the disease. Although the comparison is now "commonly heard" with regard to AIDS, critics maintain that it is a form of Holocaust trivialization.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pictures, Telling (2017-06-22), Watch The AIDS Show: Artists Involved with Death and Survival Online | Vimeo On Demand , retrieved 2019-12-13
  2. 1 2 3 O'Connor, John J. (1986-11-17). "Tv Review; 'the Aids Show' on 13". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-12-13.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.