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Aplayisneverfinished,statedscientist-

turned-playwrightCarlDjerassiinthewake

ofStanfordsstagingofhisplayTaboos,

directedbyRushRehm.Withthisstatement,Djerassisimultaneouslyhighlightsacentral

themeofTaboosandauniquecharacteristic

ofartthatexplainshismarriageofscience

anddrama:choice.Theplay,anexamination

ofalternatemethodsofsexualreproduction

inanageoftechnologicalreproducibility,

madeitswestcoastpremiereinStanfords

CubberleyAuditoriumFebruary10thto12th,

co-sponsoredbytheClaymanInstitute.

Taboosrelatesthestoryoftwocouples:HarrietandSally,alesbiancoupleinSanFrancisco,and

CameronandPriscilla,afundamentalistChristiancouplefromtheSouth.Thecouples,linkedbysiblingsSallyandCameron,findthemselvesfacedwithunprecedentedchoicesinvolvingreproductive

optionsfromtheold-fashionedartificialinseminationviaanundersizedturkeybastertothe

highlysophisticatedtechnologyofintracytoplasmicsperminjection(ICSI).HarrietandSallyareable

tohavechildrenwithremarkablesuccessduetomodernapproachestoreproduction.Ironically,

CameronandPriscillalookonwithdeepenvyanddisapprovalastheystruggleobstinatelytobecome

fertilebynaturalmeans.Bothcouplesareultimatelyabletohavethechildrentheywishforthree

sons,intotalwiththehelpofmoderntechnologiesandintrafamilialspermandeggdonations.

Taboosincidentallyaddressesmanycontroversialideasthroughitsstory,includingtherightsof

LGBTQindividualsandtheconflictbetweenscienceandreligion.Nevertheless,thedrivinggoal

behindTaboosisnotsolelytomakeorraisearguments,buttoconveyinformationtoenfranchise

womenbypresentingchoicesthatmostwomenarentevenawaretheyhave.Whiletheplot

ofTaboosreliesonthedichotomyofthelesbiancoupleandthefundamentalistcouple,thespirit

ofTaboosforeshadowsanerainwhichwomencanfreezeeggsatayoungageandthusextendtheir

rangeoffertility.Taboosseekstoeducatethenextgenerationofwomenaboutthewidening

spectrumofchoicecreatedbynewreproductivetechnologies,suchasICSI,aswellastheirmoral

challenges.

Harriet,Sally,Cameron,andPriscillaliveinaworldinwhichuncleswhoarespermdonorscouldalso

beconsideredfathers,andsame-sexpartnersgrapplewiththeinsufficiencyoftitlessuchasfather

FrontiersofchoicebyHeidiThorsenon03/08/11at2:06pmTaboosExplorestheImplicationsofModernScienceonReproduction

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Copyright2010BoardofTrusteesofLelandStanfordJuniorUniversity.Allrightsreserved.

todescribetheroleofthenon-birthmother.Inotherwords,theyliveinaworldoflanguagethat

simplifiesgenderintoadichotomizedchoice.Taboosrevealshowtheauthorityoflimitedlanguageto

prescribehumanchoicesneedstochange.

However,Taboosalsoacknowledgesacomplicatedscenarioin

whichsexcanbechosenthroughthespecificityofreproductive

technology.Oneofthecharacters,Harriet,consciouslychoosestohaveamalechild.Thisdecisionmightberegardedmuch

morecriticallyinthecontextofapatriarchalChinese

society.Whataretheextremeimplicationsoftechnological

reproduction?Djerassichoosesnottoaddressthemona

politicallevelbutratheronapersonallevelthelevelthat

potentiallyappliestomembersofhisaudience.Djerassidoes

notwanttoportraytechnologicalreproductionasanextreme

exception,butratherasanimpendingnorm.

Theeducationalcomponentoftheshowisemphasizedinthis

productionthroughthelocationoftheperformance.Cubberley

Auditorium,notatraditionaltheaterspace,isalsothecenterof

StanfordsSchoolofEducation.Despitethevirtualabsenceofa

backstage,theStanfordproductionmakesoptimaluseofthe

spacethroughtheuseofprojections,whichstringtogetherthediverselocationsofthestoryandserve

asasubtlereminderofthelecturehall.

Bearinginmindthecentralthemeofchoice,itisnotsurprisingthatDjerassihaslatchedontotheworld

ofart,especiallydrama,asameansofscientificexpression.Dialogue,whichpresentsissuesfroman

externalpointofviewanddealsequallywithperspectivesintimeandspace,leavesimmenseroomfor

choosinginterpretations.Theaudienceisconstantlycreatingcounterfactualsofwhatmighthappen

next.EvenintheendofTaboostheaudienceisuncertainofthenextstepforthesecharacters

whethertheparallelcoupleswillreconcilewithoneanotherorremainatoddsbecauseofcomplex

issuesofkin.Djerassihimselfhastinkeredwiththeplayandseenitevolvethroughnumerous

productionsinLondon,NewYorkCity,andseveralcitiesinAustriaandBulgaria.AsDjerassistated,aplayisneverfinishednotfortheaudienceandnotfortheplaywright.Taboossuccessfullyachieves

thestatusofaplaythatdoesnotterminate,butratheropensupmorequestionsand,most

importantly,agreaterunderstandingofthebroadrangeofchoicesthatwomenandmenwillhaveto

makeinanageoftechnologicalreproduction.

HeidThorsenisanundergraduatestudentintheDramaDepartmentatStanford.Sheispartofthe

ClaymanInstitutestudentwritingteam,reportingongendertopicsatStanford.