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Published: August 23, 2007

The trials of “Closeted Carl”

Play promoting acceptance of homosexuality to tour Northern California middle and high schools this fall

As it has been doing every fall since 2000, the play, The Other Side of the Closet, will be touring middle and high schools in Northern California, Oct. 22-Dec. 14, said the Aug. 22 GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network News. The play, which, says the News, is “appropriate for Students Grades 6-12, Teachers & Parents,” is performed “to educate teens about diversity, acceptance and about the California School Safety Act (AB 537), which prohibits harassment in school based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.”

The play is about how five teenagers deal with the revelation that a friend, Carl, is homosexual. According to a study guide put out by the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People in Toronto, Ontario (which commissioned homosexual playwright Ed Roy to write the play), Carl, 16, is seen leaving a gay bar by two friends, Rick and Justin, who go to Church Street “to yell at the ‘faggots’ for sport.”

When Carl is outed he is “devastated by the homophobia he encounters at school.” Rick, Carl’s chief outer, is “one of the ‘coolest’ guys at school” and a “bully and gay-basher who cannot contain his anger.” Rick “doesn’t respect the feelings of his girlfriend, Paulette,” who is “more enlightened than her friends,” “has the strength to stand up for her beliefs,” “has a good head on her shoulders, and can see people for who they really are.” Only Paulette sticks by the outed Carl. She encourages him “to enroll in the Triangle Program, an alternative school system,” where he “meets Antony and Rachel, both ‘out and proud’.”

But Carl’s problems aren’t over. “Closeted Carl doesn’t exactly fit in. At home he also feels isolated; he leaves and his father cannot convince him to come home. Carl’s future is uncertain.”

The study guide defines homophobia as “prejudice and discrimination directed towards lesbians, gay, bisexuals and transgendered individuals (LGBTQ) based on negative stereotypes and a lack of knowledge.” The guide’s “How to Prepare for a Discussion of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Issues” section notes that it is important to discuss homophobia, since “misunderstandings about homosexuality can lead to potentially violent situations for both lesbian and gay students/staff and this has consequences for the assailant.”

The study guide lists among the challenges faced by teachers talking about homophobia are certain “contentious perspectives,” including, “religious and moral beliefs” and and the notion that “reproduction as the basis for sexual relationships.”

According to the Oct. 2006 PRIDE in Print newsletter of the Stanislaus PRIDE Center, a social studies teacher from Woodside High School (near San Francisco) said, “I took my class to the see the play and was impressed by their reflection and discussion both immediately after the performance and days later during class. Students were vocal about the need to keep moving beyond mere tolerance, towards celebrating and appreciating those who are different. I was heartened by the entire experience.”

© California Catholic Daily 2007. All Rights Reserved.