UMS is hosting “Fight Night” to highlight the importance of voting

The University Musical Society hosted its second performance of Ontroerend Goed's “Fight Night” Thursday evening at the Power Center, where more than 200 community members from the University of Michigan and Ann Arbor gathered to take part in the interactive show. The performances are part of UM's Year of Democracy, Civic Participation and Global Engagement, an initiative that seeks to highlight the important aspects of democratic societies.

“Fight Night,” directed by Alexander Devriendt, gives viewers the opportunity to vote on candidates of their choice while revealing information about their views and personalities. According to Mary Roeder, assistant program director at UMS, the goal of the show is to get viewers to think about who they are voting for and why.

“The audience is really asked to think a lot about why we vote the way we do and why we are drawn to the candidates we are drawn to,” Roeder said.

Ontroerend Goed, based in Ghent, Belgium, premiered “Fight Night” in 2013 and initially toured Europe, Australia and Asia. Roeder said the show was recently brought back with some changes to reflect today's different political landscape.

“The reason the artists have added the show back to their repertoire is because it is an election year in the United States, and based on the content alone, it always made sense as it was something that took place in advance of the election,” said Roeder. “And regardless of political affiliation, it is our civic duty to participate in elections.”

In the new version of the show, the candidates do not mention any specific policies or political opinions, encouraging viewers to question who they are voting for and why. Instead, the show invites viewers to question their views on democracy.

“I think the really important thing is that it's not a political show, so there are no Republicans, no Democrats, no socialists,” Roeder said. “It’s really just about putting the vote into action.”

Roeder said the show's format is a mix of a debate and a verbal wrestling match, with viewers deciding who wins.

“Each audience has a voting device and participates in some sort of voting process. The audience’s task is to select a winner from five candidates,” said Roeder. “It is not entirely clear who you are voting for and what these candidates are running for, but in the end we have to reach a consensus.”

The performance began with introductions from UMS President Matthew VanBesian, City Councilmember Linh Song, D-Ward 2nd, and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Ahead of November's presidential election, Benson spoke about the importance of voting and the role of the performing arts in helping voters realize their power.

“If you take nothing away from tonight, acknowledge the reality that your voice matters and that we are all better off when you choose to use your voice and your voice to advance a collective, shared future to give,” said Benson. “I look forward to all of us experiencing together the power of theater to teach us about our own voices and our own power, which is why this production is so important.”

Benson wasn't the only one focused on voting. Turn Up Turnout, a student-run nonpartisan organization focused on increasing civic engagement among UM students, had a booth in the Power Center atrium to encourage spectators to register to vote. Roeder said this is an important performance improvement for UMS.

“Having seen the show a few times now, I think it's a really effective antidote to the apathy that sets in,” Roeder said. “I think the show makes a very good argument for why participation is so important, and it also comes so close to this big election that it just feels like it's an important moment of intervention and maybe shaking it off any apathy that sets in.”

LSA freshman Natalia James said the performance allowed her to learn about the meaning of individual voices.

“When you see a large group in the room, you get a sense of what a majority looks like and how even one person not voting influences a large part of the outcome,” James said. “I think it was definitely eye-opening; Everyone should vote.”

Daily Staff Reporter Lizzie Foley can be reached at [email protected].

Related articles