The Civil War was a struggle between the collective will (the Union) and what was deemed the greater good for all (no slavery, no succession) vs the individual will (freedom for states to continue with slavery, to succeed from the Union) as a means to get to the greater good. The struggle between these two principles will always go on, and they go on today. In 1861, when the Civil War broke out, the stress of the conflict in society (combined with the inadequacy of the the political machinery) made it impossible to peacefully reconcile the opposing forces of these two principles, thus war.
This play is not so much about Union over State or individual over the collective as it is about the two principles, part of a whole, striving for an “ideal”, being at the heart of the creative process. —the American Dream being the “ideal” when it comes to the Nation and Transcendent Beauty on stage, when it comes to the little theatre company. As with all dreams, it is ultimately unattainable in any absolute or complete sense due to the limitations of physical reality. But, it all being neither this nor that, there is something that stands between—what of long lasting value is only accomplished through love; everything else comes and goes.
