JACKSON, Wyo. — “It was a pleasure to burn,” opens Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.
This Saturday, Off Square Theatre and the Teton County Library Foundation & Friends will present a free staged reading of Fahrenheit 451 to cap off Banned Books Week. The annual observation, spearheaded by the American Library Association, champions the freedom to read; the Saturday performance will fall on Let Freedom Read Day, the campaign’s designated day of action against censorship.
The Bradbury classic was originally published in 1953, and then the author himself adapted his novel for the stage in 1979. The novel and play are set in a dystopian future and follow Guy Montag, a “fireman” who sets fire to forbidden books.
The reading will function more like a full-blown play than a seated read-through. Expect actors on their feet with their scripts in hand, along with the usual trimmings of costumes, projections, stage lighting and sound design. Laramie-based director Anne Mason is helming a cast composed of community members, many of whom do not have prior formal acting experience. Their first rehearsal was held on Oct. 3, meaning the show has come together in about a week. Mason said she relishes the opportunity to work with actors of varying backgrounds.
“They bring their lived experience to the world of the play, which helps enhance a sense of verisimilitude in the storytelling,” Mason told Buckrail. “We have so many members of the cast who are school teachers, librarians, politicians, youth — essentially figures that are largely absent from the world of the play — and they get to bring the value of books, and thinking, and philosophy, and conversation, and quality time with other people. They get to bring that added value to the fabric of our play. It’s a real treat.”
One member of the cast is House Rep. Mike Yin, who has dabbled in improv and performance before. Yin said he sees parallels between scenes in the play and the present moment.
“I think it’s a great week to highlight not just government censorship but cultural censorship, as well, in a way that really signifies it’s a slippery road to go down when you start banning speech,” Yin told Buckrail.
Mason and Yin will join Librarians Melissa Snider and Terri Lesley for a talkback about censorship and intellectual freedom after the performance. Lesley was fired from her position as library director in Campbell County, Wyoming, after refusing to remove books mentioning LGBTQ+ themes from the young adult and children’s sections.
The show begins at 6 p.m. in the Center Theater. Free tickets are available here.
