Art Shulman, an academic as well as a prolific playwright, ponders the difference between bias and discrimination in his provocative play, Bias, now onstage at the Hudson in Hollywood. You may be muttering to yourself, “What’s the problem? It’s two sides of the same coin.” But, as Shulman illustrates, knowing one’s own motivations is crucial, especially when it comes to student/teacher interactions. Based on a true incident, Shulman’s play examines what happens when these two aspects are mishandled.
Bias describes such a situation, as college professor, Joshua Goldman (Jerry Weil) struggles to deal with plagiarism among a group of foreign students who, possibly out of a sense of solidarity, take their study sessions beyond the norm. Goldman’s sympathetic chair, Dr. Kate O’Connor (Nina Bell), insists he report his findings higher up. The result is a witch hunt where aggrieved student, Ali Alkashar (Aziz Tazi), accuses him of discrimination against himself and his fellow students on ethnic grounds. It certainly could be true, since the conflict mirrors current Middle-Eastern tensions. The challenge is ferreting out the truth.
Told in short scenes, where the simple setting of desk and chair doubles and triples as various campus offices, the ubiquity of various M&M dispensers in each location lightens the mood, even as the seriousness of the charges against Professor Goldman mounts, to the point where he is threatened with his job by the overzealous administrator, April Walters (Andrée Mulia). The play crescendos mightily with an explosive Official Inquiry by Javier Ramirez (a sympathetic Sammie Wayne IV).
Playwright Shulman also directs his talented cast, which includes Rasha Elabaji and Morry Schorr in addition to the above. His cinematic scenes create momentum that guide audiences through the arguments presented. Since the play is written in staccato, it might have been interesting to include musical bridges between scenes, but none-the-less, as the tension mounts and we learn more and more about the nuances between bias and discrimination, we’ll not only be wiser, but more understanding of the stresses we’re experiencing in society today.
Bias continues at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, California 90038 through December 21st; Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 3 pm except Dec 7th. Instead, there will be a performance on Saturday, Dec 6th at 2 pm. General admission, $30; Seniors, $25 (promo code 007). Buy tickets at http://onstage411.com/bias.
