'The Bear' comes to campus

Long time activist for transgender and transsexual individuals S. Bear Bergman has traveled the country lecturing at colleges about gender and sexuality. This week, Bergman comes to Athens.

Sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center, Bergman will perform his one-man show "Monday Night in Westerbork" at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kantner Hall.

The play is based on the experiences of a group of Jewish prisoners at the Westerbork concentration camp in the Netherlands during the Holocaust, where they put on cabaret performances to cope with their certain and inevitable deaths.

While the performance will educate the audience on the horrors of the Holocaust, it will also simultaneously bring in an air of humor and lightheartedness to the time, and be extremely moving. Bergman was inspired by his own experiences being brought up around Holocaust survivors and also coming out as a transgender Jew.

"(The play) is a multi-layered piece that can touch some aspect of most audience members' lives," said Mickey Hart, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center. "I hope the performance resonates with each person on some level. At the same time, I hope audience members come to see the diversity within the LGBT community."

Ohio University's rural setting makes it a vital stop for LGBT performers and artists such as Bergman.

"Since we are located in rural Ohio, it is vital to have LGBT speakers and artists come to campus on a regular basis. In larger cities, students have more exposure to LGBT people and events. Bringing an LGBT artist is a thought-provoking way to stir students' thoughts about issues they may not deal with on a regular basis, while also reflecting the lived experience for non-majority students," Hart said.

Bergman also will participate in discussions Friday at the School of Theater Lunch Bag Forum from noon to 1 p.m. at the Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kanter Hall and at the "Perspectives: A Discussion with S. Bear Bergman" event from 2 to 4 p.m. at the LGBT Center in Baker University Center 354. All events are free and open to the public.