Humans living at any time long for deep and honest communication with each other — a chance to be vulnerable. However, most of the time, fear prevents much needed conversation from happening. Dave Ellens’ latest verbatim theatre piece, “The Other Half,” gives viewers the chance to be a fly on the wall of real, honest, open conversations. According to the program, everything that is said in the performance “comes directly from transcripts of interviews conducted, recorded, and transcribed by David Ellens.”

The people Ellens interviewed were all part of the Calvin community. The actors were not the original interviewees but were people who portrayed and reenacted parts of Ellens’ transcripts from the interviews. In this way, anonymity is maintained so that the interviewees can be completely honest without the fear of viewers knowing their deepest secrets.

Ellens has been putting on a verbatim theatre piece every year for the last six years. As a result of budget restructuring, his position at Calvin as an administrative assistant has been eliminated, and this is likely his final verbatim theatre piece.

The show’s theme is centered around “stories of gender, sex, and sexuality” and involves a wide range of perspectives and experiences from six different people. Sexuality is often one of the most difficult and sensitive subjects for people to speak openly about. A wide range of stories and experiences were expressed eloquently and honestly in the show. From a married couple’s experience of less defined gender roles to a conservative Christian who learned that her father was gay, the thought-provoking range of ideas and lives left the audience enlightened. The issues and ideas discussed developed the idea thatsexuality and life in general are a series of greys, not black and white.

The conversation surrounding the experience of LGBT individuals specifically is one that Ellens, as an LGBT individual himself, felt has traditionally been lacking at Calvin. He also noticed that gender was very present in the public discourse during and following the election. He decided it was “the right time for this discussion to come back around.”

In the program notes, Ellens gets to the root of the forces behind his shows:“This work has always been rooted in three principles: practicing vulnerability, elevating the seemingly ordinary and fostering a sense of community.” These are practices that ­­­­­Christians strive to create within their communities but often fall short of because of fear and lack of opportunity. By putting on a play, Ellens gives Christians and non-Christians alike an opportunity to experience true stories of real people.

Ellens’ goal has always been that his work might “champion responsible vulnerability” and “generate empathy,” especially within the Calvin community. Having spent his last sixteen years at Calvin, as a student and then an employee, he said that very few people have asked about or invested in his story.

He hopes to inspire the kind of intentional, attentive and empathetic conversations that he wishes he would have experienced more often as a member of the Calvin community. The show’s program even includes three pages of discussion questions meant to “get the ball rolling” after the show. Senior and actor Jeff Peterson echoed this focus in his blurb from the program: “I think it’s about a really big conversation that many of us aren’t even aware is happening, and it’s about finding little pieces that resonate unexpectedly with us.”

Another actor in the show, Sarahjean Bos, said in the program for the show, “One major reflection I have from ‘re-learning Rebecca,’ especially now as I have a few years of being in a married relationship under my belt, is the irony that no matter how many times I unpack, spread-out, rearrange or add to my understanding of growing up female, and becoming a “woman” in a Christian context, I still don’t have it all figured out.” She continued, “But, by doing it, I am that much closer to feeling at home with myself and my body, and have found friends along the way whose journeys encourage me to keep asking, keep pushing, keep learning.”

Christians are called to continue investigating those things in life that tend to be messy and unpredictable and confusing.. Learning how to navigate life in so many ways needs to be talked about and discussed.

“The Other Half” is an invitation to listen up and enter into intentional, empathetic and learning-centric conversation with one’s neighbors. There are still two more chances to accept this invitation: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Lab Theater. Both shows will be free and unticketed.