People
Campaign life in Iowa
Laurence Horton, a postgraduate student in the Department of
Government spent the Christmas break volunteering in Iowa for the
Presidential election campaign of Representative Dick Gephardt. Below is
an extract from his journal.
I first volunteered for the Gephardt campaign in April
2003. Back then it was a small team of ten or so people, but returning in
January things have completely changed. By caucus day there are an
estimated 100 plus staffers and at least 900 volunteers in state.
I am working with the advance team in setting up events, including
lighting, sound, seating and backdrop. I have little experience in this
field, and have to learn to do it for a campaign followed by national and
international media. This is what campaign life is all about, being
expected to instantly know things you know nothing about, and work closely
with people you just met. Oh, and the hours, working until around 2am
isn't a problem, getting up between 5am and 7am is.
Travelling around Iowa, the 'cities' fall into two categories. Some
consist of a main street, and that's about all, others are big enough to
have a square, but what many have in common is the feeling life stopped
sometime in the 1950s. Iowa has a pattern of small cities, dotted all over
the state, and all just about clinging on to survive. But whilst all are
ripe for journalistic clichés about the mid-west - 'quaint', 'homespun',
and 'staid' - they retain an individual character, be it the Dutch theme
of Pella, the hobo town of Britt, Charles City's tractor building
heritage, or even the 'tribute' to Pocahontas in Pocahontas.
The events themselves vary. The 'library events' are my least
favourite, they lack atmosphere, and are difficult to make both look and
sound good. There are farm events, always cold, dirty and involving a
tractor, which despite the misery involved in setting up, always look
good. Big events, usually held in hotels involve more effort to put
together, but are terrific events to attend. They have a great atmosphere
and give you the chance to meet supporters and campaign staff, and in one
case, rock and roll legend Chuck Berry, or in another case, the not-quite
so legendary singer Michael Bolton. Finally there is the house party, held
in someone's front room. One event in Iowa Falls becomes my favourite. The
venue is a large turn of the century house. It has beautiful wooden décor
and a stained glass window and looks fantastic. The house is packed so
that when Gephardt arrives, looking tired and with a
'yet-another-event-face,' he is clearly revitalized by the setting and
atmosphere and gives a great passionate, funny performance that lifts
everybody.
As the results come in on caucus evening, it's clear things are bad.
Very bad. Under the caucus system a candidate has to secure 15 per cent of
participants in a precinct to be 'viable'. The phones ring incessantly
with supporters asking what to do as their groups are not viable. Being on
a campaign as it crashes is a surprisingly calm situation. There's a kind
of unspoken feeling that it is not going to be us and there is nothing we
can do about it. The next day Dick joins us on a conference call thanking
everyone for their efforts. Despite the hard work and stress involved for
those on the campaign nobody works harder than the candidate. 'Fifty per
cent of politics is out of your control,' he tells us. He's right. That's
why it isn't fair.
Campaign life consists of appalling hours, stress, unrealistic demands
that are somehow met with little or no pay. And it completely takes over
your life. But the rewards are worth it. You meet some of the funniest
people you could ever find, and some of the most intelligent, dedicated,
driven, professional people there are. I miss it.
Dick Gephardt and Laurence
Theatrical impact
Practitioners working in the Centre for Theatre Studies,
part of the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, have
enjoyed success with their professional theatre work recently.
Teaching fellow, Polona Baloh-Brown's production of Bobby Baker's
Box Story received critical acclaim during its run at the Pit Theatre
at the Barbican Centre recently as part of the Barbican International
Theatre Events (BITE) Festival. The show featured as one of the 'Top Five
Plays' for more than a week in the Independent, Time Out,
and The Guardian. Playwright Bobby Baker, who regularly contributes
to the MA in Theatre, was interviewed widely about the show. Polona and
Bobby have also collaborated on, How to Live, which opens at the Barbican
on 4-5 September and then tours. Polona will also be directing at the
Slovene National Theatre in 2005.
Barbara Peirson, also a Teaching Fellow in the Department, recently
completed a run in the And All the Children Cried at the Battersea
Arts Centre. Written by Judith Jones and Beatrix Campbell, the production
as directed by Annie Castledine, a regular teacher on the MA in Theatre.
The play is based on the evidence and experience of two women,
including Myra Hindley, jailed for the murder of children. The play
examines the forces that drove the women to commit their crimes. Each
performance was followed by a discussion about the issues raised with a
panel which included, amongst others, the playwrights, Mo Mowlam and Clare
Short.
Teaching Fellow, Simon Usher, will be directing Tamar's Revenge
by Tirso de Molina in a new version by James Fenton for the Royal
Shakespeare Company (RSC). Simon returns to the RSC after ten years to
direct this production. He directed King Baby for the RSC in The
Pit in 1993 and has directed numerous productions by new writers including
Herons at the Royal Court in 2001, Sing Yer Heart Out for the
Lads in 2002, and Black Milk at the Royal Court in 2003.
Tamar's Revenge will be at the RSC's Swan Theatre at
Stratford-upon-Avon from 28 April until 25 September.
Also in the printed March edition of Wyvern:
- Honorary graduands annouced
- SU elects new team
- Retirements news
- Exam prize for Ben
- Obituary, Mary Clarke
- Obituary, Dan Goyder
