​Interview: Harsh Gagoomal, Director of Extremities

Interviewer: Kelsey Buckley, B.A. Theatre Studies: Arts Management, '15

​Director Harsh Gagoomal (B.A. Theatre Studies: Directing, '14) discusses his experience with this intense play.

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What drew you to this production?

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I first read the play about three years ago and was really taken in by how powerful and risky it is. However, I only became compelled to direct it a little over a year ago when I realized how urgently it was needed. I came back from the Winter Break of my Sophomore year with a new-found sense of purpose after learning about and continuing to uncover the numerous incidents of rape that have occurred on college campuses in Boston, Emerson included. I knew that we needed to stir a discussion and that people couldn't be sheltered from the reality of the situation anymore. We needed to break the silence.

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What have you learned from it that you can apply to future projects?

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Through this process, I've learned that being a good leader is empowering others to be leaders as well. Trust, love, and passion are what's truly needed to help others realize what they're capable of and are way more powerful than fear and criticism. I learned that as a director, you are responsible for a lot, but that the team you surround yourself with (and mine was incredible), are capable of achieving more than you could ever imagine. Trust them and be there for them: the cast and the crew. Listen to them and watch them. They deserve nothing but your complete attention. It really all comes down to passion and attention. A good sense of humor and copious amounts of food also really go very far.

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How has Extremities changed how you view sexual assault?

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Like others, I have been guilty of making crude rape jokes in the past. Yet, once I realized how severe the issue of sexual assault was I became much more sensitive to others. I just started to really listen and observe what was going on around me. So many people walk around weighed down by tragedy and incomprehensible memories of cruelty bearing down on them. I knew that I needed to let them that they are cared about and that instead of cracking a joke, some people really want to take the time to acknowledge just how real everything they went through is. Through all of our research and discussion, I freed myself of one of the worst myths about rape: that rape is about sex. Rape is done to humiliate, degrade, intimidate, and destroy. The aftermath of a sexual assault and rape is actually, in most cases, way more traumatizing than the initial experience itself. Sexual assault and rape are so complex, especially in conjunction to our justice system, that there is no one simple way to address it. That's one of the main reasons why I love 'Extremities' so much. It's layered, it's messy, it is dangerous and compelling.

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The show is very powerful, what message do you think is most important to take away from it?

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Well, I think one of the most important messages to take away from the piece is that humanity is fragile and that true healing is contingent on the support and love of others. If you want to flourish in life I think you need to free yourself of hate and start breathing. The other important message would be: put up a struggle. If not with your body, then with your words. Things can only change if people are willing to let their voices be heard.

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Extremities ran from February 15-16th in the Cabaret. The production was co-sponsored by Emerson Peace and Social Justice and Kappa Gamma Chi.