Est and The Forum in Popular Culture - Theatre

Theatre

In February 1995, the Broom Street Theatre in Madison, Wisconsin produced a play entitled: Devil In Paradise, The Fall and Rise of Werner Erhard. The play was written and directed by Joel Gersmann, and performed with a cast of seven actors. The play was described as "a fascinating character study of the man who founded the wildly successful "human potential movement," as well as the many people who bought into it." The work was a satire of Erhard, which educated the audience about a (fictionalized) rendition of his early life, but the piece was also criticized for its lack of structure. Short scenes and blackouts were described as confusing, and yet Gersmann's script itself was seen as a success.

The production was reviewed in The Capital Times in March 1995, and the staff of The Capital Times was later contacted by representatives of Werner Erhard, and asked to issue a correction regarding statements made in the review. The paper later issued a correction, which emphasized that the play was indeed a fictionalized account, and stated that: "Erhard never admitted abusing his children, and his daughter retracted in July 1992 her earlier allegation of sexual abuse by her father." The correction also noted that Erhard did not leave the United States to avoid any Internal Revenue Service investigation, but rather was contesting certain business deductions and had not been charged with tax evasion. The statement sent by Erhard's representatives concluded by noting: "Erhard denies that the programs he created, est and the Forum, were or are pyramid selling schemes, self-help programs or mind therapy movement."

In 2008, Climate Theater in San Francisco, California showed a play called The Group, written by Robert Quillen Camp and performed by Ryan Eggensperger. Climate Theater described the play as "Inspired by the largely American tradition of packaging and selling self-empowerment, from EST and the Landmark Forum to Norman Vincent Peale and The Secret". The play's performance ensemble cite "EST and the Landmark Forum" among inspirations for the parody. The play is an immersive performance piece, and Robert Quillen Camp explained: "Our aim is to create a fun but ultimate unsettling experience reflecting simultaneous attraction to and repulsion from organizations that promise a better and happier life." Audience members sit in a circle and wear audio headsets, through which they listen to the charismatic leader's voice and sound effects. The production ran from May 29, 2008 to June 14, 2008.

Robert Avila of the San Francisco Bay Guardian called The Group: "in-your-face comedy in a droll send-up of EST-like self-actualization programs," and a spoof of "recent incarnations" including The Secret and Landmark Forum. Avila gave the play a positive review, noting its "inspired writing, sharp humor, and simple yet slick production". In a review of the play for the San Jose Mercury News, Karen D'Souza wrote: From est to 'The Secret,' this is a playful lampoon of 'healing philosophies'". D'Souza also reviewed the play positively, writing: " Writer-director Robert Quillen Camp slyly pokes fun at reducing the human experience to one-size-fits-all platitudes and besmirching belief systems with "cash-only" workshops." Pat Craig wrote in Contra Costa Times: "After a lifetime of enduring various human potential programs, from the chanted mantras of transcendental meditation to the institutionalized loathing of est, 'The Group' seems a bit tame for satire to a veteran of the high-profit mind games." In a review for the San Francisco Examiner, Leslie Katz described The Group as "one of those parodies that's so good, you almost don't know it's a fake," and commented: "In the end, the show provides excellent therapy. As those who aren't swayed by expensive self-help seminars know, laughter is indeed the best medicine."