Spinning Into Butter Stirs Up the Issue of Racism

Imagine for a moment that you're on the other side of the student-administrator relationship. You've recently moved to Vermont to become the Dean of Students at Belmont College when your professor boyfriend (and only real friend at the college) dumps you when his (surprise!) long-term girlfriend returns from sabbatical. As if your personal life wasn't giving you enough trouble, you learn that one of the African-American students at your school has been receiving racist, threatening notes. It is your job to address the issue. At your side to "help" you is an administrative staff whose only concern is saving the college's face by issuing anti-racist memos and holding forums. Welcome to the world of Dean Sarah Daniels, the lead character in the TheaterWorks production of Spinning Into Butter (running until October 6th).

While the play might be set at the fictitious Belmont College in Vermont, it could quite easily be set at any East Coast, predominately upper class and white liberal arts college (Trinity cough, cough).

The questions the play raises are hot ones on college campuses nationwide: how can colleges work to contribute to a better racial environment when the student body is so homogeneous? Furthermore, how can schools be sensitive to the needs of racial groups who are in the minority without either objectifying or patronizing them?

The play deals with the subject of racism in a way that goes deeper than college diversity statistics, to touch more broadly on the issue of racism in one's own personal life.

As the plot unfolds, Dean Daniels reveals that she harbors her own repressed racist sentiments.

It is interesting to note that the entire play is set in Dean Daniels's office and Simon Brick, the African-American student who has been receiving the threatening notes, never appears onstage.

In this way, playwright Rebecca Gilman is able to underscore her theme of racial objectification. Although all of the administrative staff's energy is focused on dealing with the threats made to Simon Brick, no one but Dean Daniels has actually taken the time to speak to Simon about the issue, and even she has avoided a true in-depth discussion with him. All decisions made regarding Simon's well-being are made based purely on assumptions, and even more so after the somewhat surprising revelation in the second act regarding the author of the threatening notes.

The title of the play, Spinning Into Butter, is taken from the children's book Little Black Sambo that is infamous for its exaggerated and allegedly demeaning portrayal of African Americans. The story the title references is one where Sambo is walking through the woods in a new set of clothes when a tiger leaps up in the middle of his path and does not allow him to pass until he has given up an article of clothing. Sambo agrees to give up the clothing, only to be greeted by another tiger demanding the same thing.

The same pattern continues until Sambo has entirely run out of clothing. As he is walking through the woods naked, he stumbles upon the tigers all wearing his new clothes and arguing about who looks the best in them. Finally, the tigers get so mad at each other that they throw off the clothes and begin chasing each other around a tree.

Sambo calmly dresses himself in the discarded clothing while the tigers spin faster and faster around the tree until they finally spin into butter. In the same way that the tigers chased each other around the tree, members of the administration of Belmont College have been chasing each other around with accusations of racism, whipping themselves into figurative butter.

Though it might be hard to imagine that a play dealing with such weighty subject matter could be comic, it is in fact the play's quick and witty dialogue that saves it from being a morose journey into the heart of the white man's burden.

When Dean Daniels criticizes Professor Collins's attempt to fix the problem of racism on campus by holding discussion forums she says, (to paraphrase): So basically the kids all sit around talking about how they're secretly racist, heave a collective sigh for their white man's burden, and then go drive off in their Saabs to buy sweaters.

The humor of this play lies in its so-true-it's-funny/so-true-it's-sad moments, ones that every Trinity student could probably relate to from first-hand experience.

When a play asks the daunting question: what should we do about racism? in the first act, it's not surprising that it struggles in the second act to resolve that question.

After admitting her subconscious racist thoughts, Dean Daniels decides to finally talk openly with Simon Brick. We are left with her on the phone with the young man confessing that she has questions to ask him, questions that she had been too afraid to ask him for fear of causing awkwardness between them. The message sent by this ending is that the only way to truly overcome racism is by beginning an open and honest dialogue between races. Though the ending of the play was weak compared to the first act, you can hardly expect the entire issue of racism to be neatly solved in one two-hour play.

I strongly recommend that, if you have the time, you make the trip down to TheaterWorks to catch a showing of Spinning Into Butter.

The story line is so topical that you'll feel at times that the play was written about Trinity, and in a way it is.

The play has enough humorous moments to keep you laughing, and at the same time, enough weight to its message that when you leave the theater you'll feel like you've just left a really fabulous lecture on the many faces of racism.