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b'ASHER\\xa0HARTMAN\\xa0is a transgender playwright, director and respected practitioner in LA\'s experimental theater scene. His provocative play The Silver, the Black, the Wicked Dance was commissioned by LACMA and explores alienation, violence and the pervasive feelings of shame, anxiety and fear in American culture. (47:38) EXPLICIT \\xa0 \\xa0 EPISODE NOTES: A friend had an extra ticket to a play at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and asked if I wanted to go. I must confess, I didn\\u2019t know much about museums commissioning performance art, as LACMA had with \\u201cThe Silver, the Black, the Wicked Dance.\\u201d The dark comedic play was written and directed by ASHER HARTMAN and it was, at least for me, a real mind bender. But then, I don\\u2019t have a whole lot of experience with experimental theater. My friend knows Asher, so once the house lights in the 600-seat Bing Theater came up, I suggested we go back stage and talk to him about what we\\u2019d just seen. I had questions \\u2013 a lot of them. But, as it turns out, being back stage immediately after a show isn\\u2019t the best place and time for a PIERSON TO PERSON-style Q&A. Fortunately, Asher agreed to be my guest. In DRAMATIC EFFECTS, Asher talks about the running themes in much of his theatrical work, such as racism and gender inequality, and what he was exploring specifically in \\u201cThe Silver, the Black, the Wicked Dance\\u201d: alienation, predation, violence and the pervasive feelings of shame, anxiety and anger in American culture. Pretty over-my-heady stuff, but Asher didn\\u2019t flinch when I told him I didn\\u2019t really \\u201cget\\u201d a lot of what I experienced. Compared to what others say, I was being polite. Asher tells me some people \\u201cloathe\\u201d his work: \\u201cI\\u2019ve even had friends say, \\u2018Wow, I really, really hated that.\\u2019\\u201d Harsh criticism like that can still sting, but Asher accepts it as something that comes with the territory for practitioners of experimental theater: \\u201cWe do put people through a lot \\u2026 but I don\\u2019t think you, as an artist, really should be in the business of pleasing everyone.\\u201d Asher is an artist that strives to be his most authentic self \\u2013 not only in his work, but in every aspect of his life. Not always an easy path. It means taking risks; like coming to terms with, albeit later in life, the realization that he was not the \\u201cshe\\u201d the world knew him to be. Asher is quite candid about being transgender and I was fascinated to hear his view that humans are changing as a species: \\u201cI can\\u2019t say we\\u2019re evolving, because that implies a certain kind of progression. But we\\u2019re definitely augmenting ourselves in many ways.\\u201d This episode includes a few clips from \\u201cThe Silver, the Black, the Wicked Dance,\\u201d but be warned: Asher\\u2019s dialogue is, at times, quite coarse. However, don\\u2019t get the wrong idea. That\\u2019s not the way Asher talks in real life. In fact, throughout our conversation I found him to be a real gentleman. BP \\xa0 Many thanks to the composers of the music featured in this episode royalty free through Creative Commons licensing: 1. "Ray Gun -- Faster, Faster, Brighter" by Blue Dot Sessions\\xa0-\\xa0sessions.blue/sessions/ 2. "Dolce Beat" by Podington Bear\\xa0- soundofpicture.com 3. "Strings & Blips" by Adam Selzer'