The actor K. Todd Freeman has worked with Steppenwolf Theater since 1993. His roles, challenging as they are, usually don’t take a personal toll. Bruce Norris’s incendiary “Downstate,” which debuted at that Chicago theater in 2018, is different.
“After three or four months of playing,” Freeman said, “it’s like, okay, I have to quit.”
Like many of Norris’ works (including ‘Clybourne Park’), ‘Downstate’, a drama about a commune for men who have committed sexual crimes against children, is partly a provocation, an incitement to supposed moral certainties. It focuses on four men: Dee (Freeman), who had sexual contact with a 14-year-old boy; Felix (Eddie Torres), who molested his daughter; Fred (Francis Guinan), a former piano teacher who abused two of his students; and Gio (Glenn Davis), who committed the statutory rape.
The themes are so incendiary that after receiving threats, Steppenwolf had to hire additional security for the show. And the production, now at Manhattan’s off-Broadway theater Playwrights Horizons following a subsequent performance at London’s National Theatre, continues to spark controversy, so that anyone describing it positively risks being seen as endorsing its subject. .
After Washington Post critic Peter Marks posted a link to his glowing review on Twitter, conservatives, including Senator Ted Cruz, attacked him. They claimed that the play and by extension the review were sympathetic to pedophiles.
On a recent weekday, at a restaurant near the theater, three of the actors—Steppenwolf regulars Freeman and Guinan, and Davis, one of the company’s artistic directors—discussed what it takes to get your men in front of who have done the unimaginable and how much of their own sympathy can they offer. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Have you done much research on men who have offended children?
FREEMAN There was a literary department at Steppenwolf that provided a great research package. They gave the laws, what jail time we all would have had, what kind of rehab we would have had, how we got from crime in this house. And there were documentaries that were made available to us. It was never overwhelming for me.
Is there anything you learned that surprised you or made you wonder how the country prosecutes and treats sex offenders?
DAVIS I talked to Bruce about why he wrote the piece. He said: ‘We live in a country where you can kill someone, go to jail, get out and then live a decent life. But if you are marked with this scarlet letter, it will follow you forever.” He said, “I want to explore how we think about that as a culture.”
GUINEAN I was quite shocked that all you have to do is go online and they tell you exactly where all these people live. First of all, it ends up in really poor neighborhoods. I was simply shocked by the number of convicted child molesters within walking distance of my home in Illinois.
FREEMAN I was like, why isn’t there a killer registry? I would like to know when a convicted murderer moves into my neighborhood. That’s pretty horrible, killing people. Why aren’t we confused about that too?
Did these characters fully consider their actions?
GUINEAN Fred, while acknowledging what a terrible thing it was, then says, “I don’t know why the Lord would make me like this.” So I don’t think so. I don’t think he did.
FREEMAN There are people who like to define their lives by their past and their scars. Do they have to? And is it bad if they don’t? It’s easy to judge these people. I don’t believe in the term “monsters” for humans. I don’t like being different. It helps us think that we are better or different – that we never could. We all could.
Could we? I can’t imagine a circumstance in which I would abuse a child.
FREEMAN I can not either. But most child molesters have been abused. Maybe if you had that past? We just don’t know.
Have you ever found yourself judging or disliking the characters?
FREEMAN You just don’t do that as an artist. There’s no way you can do a good job judging the character.
DAVIS There is a part of you that understands psychologically that what this character has done is wrong, blatantly. And then by honoring the story, honoring the character, you separate yourself from that judgment. If I’m playing a character and don’t go as far as I can because of my own judgment, I should probably leave it to someone else.
If you withheld your judgment, why did the piece begin to weigh on you?
DAVIS It’s not an easy world to live in every day. You must prepare for what you are about to hear and do.
FREEMAN These four walls are actually the entire world of the characters. Trying to believe in the reality of that, just believing in the circumstances, it’s a weight.
Do you think it’s important for the audience to empathize with these characters?
DAVIS I don’t think we as artists can predetermine the reaction of the audience. What I owe to the public is a realistic representation of the given circumstance and to let them decide for themselves whether they want to feel compassion.
FREEMAN To me, this is not a play about pedophiles. To me, pedophilia is a metaphor for the limits of our compassion, our mercy, our grace.
What do you think of the criticism that this piece is sympathetic to pedophilia?
FREEMAN I don’t think there’s a single line that suggests that. But it’s about seeing them as people.
DAVIS It’s a play that forces you to look at these people beyond the worst thing they’ve ever done. For some people that is too much.
What has been the experience of extending your own humanity to the most maligned?
DAVIS It’s no different, in terms of any other character I could be playing that does nefarious things. These characters have committed particularly egregious acts. But whether I give a little grace, a lot of grace, or no grace at all, my job is simply to portray what this character was thinking, what they were looking for, why they do what they do. So I don’t know if I should necessarily put it in those terms, that I’m expanding my humanity, because it might sound like I’m forgiving them on some level. As an actor, I just have to get into it.
GUINEAN For myself, it opened up the question “what about the unforgivable in your own life?” That’s a question I really haven’t answered for myself. Do you let yourself be fooled? And how do you do that?
FREEMAN This is one of the best roles I’ve ever done. Because it’s dangerous. And because it’s scary. And flammable. Who wants to do something forgettable and fun?