The Shipment Delivers Shock Therapy and Cultural Reset

In Young Jean Lee’s boundary-smashing 2008 work The Shipment, performed at On the Boards in Seattle on October 3, 2009, five performers confront the deeply embedded racial stereotypes that continue to infect stories about BIPOC. About thirty minutes into the taught 80-minute performance, the hackneyed story of a young black man being drawn into a life of crime is played out in an intentionally stilted performance style, and hopefully for the very last time. In this land of stereotype, we are presented with two drug dealers (one the “mentor” of our young main character) shooting it out over turf. The actors use forced gestures and stilted voices; it is clear that they are quoting their parts, presenting rather than embodying them. The stage picture in this section reinforces the quoting in that there is no attempt at realistic costuming (everyone is in and remains in eveningwear, tuxes and elegant gowns), there are no props (no requisite bags of drugs or guns), and the stage is an unadorned black box. The two drug dealers face off, in profile to the audience; they use their “guns” and threaten each other in turn, this life-and-death moment should be full of tension, but it is emphatically not. The characters take turns making generic threats and posturing. They raise their finger guns and “shoot” in slow motion. Both fall down in beautiful, choreographed slow motion. They lie on the stage in posed, remorseful martyrdom. But the worn-out pity that one might feel at the “waste of humanity” displayed in a scene like this rings false; it loudly rings fake. It fairly shouts that such scenes are little more than lazy writing and deep lack of knowledge.

Young Jean Lee’s production batters extremely forcefully at racial stereotypes. She seems to seek out the most sensitive pressure points to pound. A little later on, three performers sing forcefully: “If you can’t see the thin air, what the hell is in the way?” Really, white America, what is preventing you from seeing your black community members? How are you missing them in all their individuality and nuance? They are right in front of you.