New play explores the gulf between political extremes

Chris and Julie are married, but these days they're constantly bickering. It doesn't help that the president of their country is someone they both despise. Living in a liberal bubble, neither Julie nor Chris can't easily think of anyone they know who might have voted for him.

"Nancy from work did, I think," says Julie.

"Yeah, but you don't know her," Chris replies. "You talk about how you can't stand her all the time."

"Yeah! I can't stand her," Julie says. "I know her and I can't stand her."

"Well, have you tried having a conversation with her?"

"What would we talk about?"

"I don't know," says Chris. "That's my point!"

Chris and Julie are characters in Trademark Theater's new play, "Understood." The play aims to bridge the cultural divide that has developed alongside the country's political divide.

Trademark Theater co-founder Tyler Mills wrote the play. He said he initially just wanted to tell the story of a couple whose marriage was on the rocks ... and then the 2016 election happened. Like many of his peers, he was angry, confused and scared. But he recognized that if the election had gone the other way, other people would have felt just the way he did.

"And it felt to me if half the people are scared regardless of what happens, that we've got a really large problem," he said.

"Understood" is still about a marriage that's falling apart, but with a twist. Over the course of the play, the characters have frank conversations about gun control, gay marriage and abortion.

"Rape is unforgivable," says Julie.

"Yes," Chris replies.

"But I look at my son, and I wouldn't want him to be ... punished for something he had nothing to do with," she says. "I just don't think the decision to take a life should be part of the equation."

"But no one is forcing anyone to get an abortion," Chris says. "It just seems crazy to take that choice away from a stranger over something you believe in and they don't."

"That's what society is, though," Julie counters. "It's choices being taken away, for the greater good."

"Understood" has earned praise for its insightful dialogue, and not just from theater critics.

"It's just so reflective of everything that's going on in America right now," said Kim Martinson, co-leader of the Better Angels' Eagan Alliance.

Twice a week, a representative of Better Angels leads a talk-back with the audience after the show.

Martinson said too often people set out to debate an issue with the intent of winning, rather than of really understanding another person's perspective. "We're trying to get people to see that the language we're using in a negative and polarizing way is really destroying our democracy," she said.

Martinson said it's easy to be angry at people you don't know, but much harder to be vulnerable and ask sincerely to learn more. Trademark Theater co-founder and "Understood" director Tyler Michaels agreed:

"The characters in this play don't have the skills to do that," he said. "And I think we have the power just as human beings to gain those skills through organizations like Better Angels and just working on it with our families and our friends to have better connections with each other."

"Understood" runs through Oct. 28 at SOMA Studios in Minneapolis.

Michaels said he hopes the play will inspire people to work a bit harder to see one another as complex human beings with valid beliefs.