Laura Cunningham

I have always used humor to get through life’s personal challenges. But as a playwright, I discovered that humor can also help communities come together to talk about contentious topics and/or deal with difficult topics. I will share with you two examples: fracking and aging.

I happen to live above one the largest natural gas deposits in the world – the Marcellus Shale Formation. This was not news to me, because I spent much of my childhood on my grandfather’s farm on the banks of the Chenango River. It was a lot of fun. Especially when Grandpa lit the tap water on fire. As a little kid, I thought: wow! This is really cool. We can actually light our water on fire. It didn’t occur to me that we were also drinking that same water. Maybe that’s why I turned out the way I did. A bit on the wonky side.

So we always knew there was gas. Like lots of farmers, my grandfather leased his property to gas companies for pennies an acre. But nobody ever drilled any wells because it was located in pockets of shale and couldn’t be extracted at a profit. Fast forward fifty years and south of the border, in Pennsylvania, wells are being drilled for that same shale gas. What has changed? Fracking.

At the moment, there’s a moratorium on fracking in New York. But there’s no moratorium on the debate about fracking. It’s a highly polarizing topic, predicting either economic boom or environmental doom. A lot is at stake but it’s impossible to move past talking points and shouting matches to a civil discussion of the issues.

Then I had a “what if” moment. What if I could write a comedy about fracking that didn’t take sides? You see, I believe that humor can connect people in a way that lawn signs and bumper stickers cannot. So I wrote a play about fracking. The title was a no-brainer: Frack You!. My first two characters flung themselves into my laptop: Frick and Frack. I was fearless – had no clue what the story would be – didn’t even have an ending – but how could I go wrong with Frick, Frack, and a catchy title?

To my surprise, I ended up with more than I’d anticipated. After years of debate, people were ready for a chuckle while getting their fracking facts. Long story short, the play was filmed and aired by WSKG. Wow! It started with my grandfather’s farm and now it’s on television? But it’s not just any film. It’s a film with public screenings followed by moderated talk-backs. The New York State Court System partners with local non-profit organizations, Community Dispute Resolution Centers, to moderate these discussions. “Stop shouting and start talking” was the mantra of these talk-backs. And people often come away with new information and/or a better understanding of the other side’s position. I believe that using humor and the arts to bring information about controversial issues to people in a non-confrontational setting was key to these civil discussions. The film can be viewed be found on our website, www.frackyoufilm.com.

I also wrote a youth version of the play, called Fractured, at the bequest of a teacher at the New Roots Charter School in Ithaca, New York. They subsequently staged a full production of it. How cool is that - engaging our youth in community discussion! WSKG is also applying for a grant to have Fractured included in a lesson plan on the PBS Learning Media web-site.

As I mentioned at the start, I personally find humor to be a life-saver when a personal crisis arrives on the welcome mat at my front door. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 59. She lived for twenty-two years. I funneled all the angst into a two act play called I’m Not Dead Yet, which was fully produced in 2010. It’s a comedy about aging. Belle and her sister, Ethel, have been thrown out of two assisted living centers because of their wild and zany behavior. They refuse to “act their age” – and – gasp! – want an active sex life. They are placed in Shelby Square – their last chance to remain together. The sisters face a formidable opponent: Mr. Michael, the director of Shelby Square. He runs a “tight ship” with lots of rules, regulations and pills. But these two irrepressible gals turn Shelby Square upside down, challenging conventional notions of aging as they band together with fellow residents to fight for the right to decide for themselves how to live their final years.

This play dealt with as serious a topic as fracking, but it also brought to the public mind the very significant problems of aging with dignity. The comedy opened the audience’s mind to frank discussions about both living wills and living well. More information about the play can be can be found on: www.grannygoodtime.com.  The use of humor as we, our loved ones and our neighbors age can be a lifesaver. It can also open avenues of conversation about how the elderly are treated in America and how we might enhance the experience of aging. I believe that if you can laugh about it, then you can talk about it.