PLAYGUIDE Š 2014 American Blues Theater American Myth
Playguide Created by Arianna Soloway, Outreach Manager
Table of Contents Page 3
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An interview with Christina Gorman
John Adams/ Thomas Jefferson
Why We Lie
Abigail, John Adams: America's Original 'Power Couple'
Fake War Stories Exposed
Synopsis of American Myth Dr. Douglas Graham, best-selling author, beloved professor, and American history scholar, is accused by a former student of lying in the classroom about his participation in and around the Vietnam War. Exploring the line between personal and professional ethics and the difference between truth and history, American Myth poses the question: what makes a great man?
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An Interview with Christina Gorman Playwright of American Myth
How did you get into playwriting? Though while growing up I always loved to write, I actually started in theatre as a stage manager. (I am the most organized playwright you’ll ever meet.) I left theatre for a while to work in corporate America, and six months into my job at an ad agency in New York, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. I knew I’d never love anything as much as I loved theatre, so I set about trying to find my way back. In the meanwhile, I started writing in my off-time. I’m self-taught: I read books on writing and took classes and saw theatre. Eventually I landed jobs at an acting school and a theatre arts organization, continuing my trajectory as an administrator by day and a playwright by night. Eventually, my playwriting overtook everything else, and here I am.
inaugural Emerging Writers Group, which is where the play had its first reading. The play has had several other readings since then, and I’m excited for the play to have its premiere with American Blues. How did you find out about Blue Ink? I found out about Blue Ink through The Public Theater, who periodically sends out emails to its Emerging
Christina Gorman
What inspired you to write this play? In the summer of 2001, a news story broke about an American History professor who apparently had lied about his own, personal history. It was all over the media, sparking debates about ethics in the classroom and personal lies vs. professional lies, “I was fascinated by the etc. At the time, it was a big deal, and notion of someone who then September 11th happened, and we all had far more important things trafficked in the telling of the to talk about. I never forgot the story truth feeling the need to lie though. I was fascinated by the about himself.” notion of someone who trafficked in the telling of the truth feeling the need to lie about himself. While the What advice would you give to media focused on the professional aspiring playwrights? ramifications, I was drawn to the Read and see as many plays as you possible personal ramifications and to can. Analyze them. Try to figure out the “why” of it, as it were. While I why a play works for you or why it was inspired by a few of the details of doesn’t. Did you find its journey the actual event, the play is a fiction satisfying? Being able to see a play as of my own making. a whole is crucial. Learning to write engaging dialogue is important, but as important is learning how to shape a What has the development process story. of the script been like so far? I wrote the play in 2008 while I was a member of The Public Theater’s
“Many theatres give out playwriting awards, but it’s rare to find a theatre that shows how much it believes in a playwright’s work by actually producing the prize -winning play.”
Writers Group alumni about playwriting opportunities. I applied thinking the play was a good fit with American Blues. I was stunned and thrilled when I heard I’d won. The committee at American Blues didn’t know me and didn’t know my other plays; they chose my play based solely on what they read. That’s incredibly gratifying. Also, many theatres give out playwriting awards, but it’s rare to find a theatre that shows how much it believes in a playwright’s work by actually producing the prize-winning play. It’s laudable and gutsy, and American Blues deserves kudos for it.
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How has it been working with American Blues? It’s such a joy to work with a group that already has a shared vocabulary, something that grows organically out of an ensemble. American Blues also knows how to absorb new team members such as myself, making me feel welcome and making sure their shared language is understood. I have felt like an insider from day one, and that’s because the ensemble is at the same time practiced and organic. I am honored to have joined the family as an Artistic Affiliate.
Are you working on any other projects right now? I’m currently working on a new play titled Fidelis, which is about a young man who becomes a U.S. Marine and serves in Vietnam, only to be betrayed by the very principles that made him the man he is. I’m also in the beginning stages of writing a solo show for American Blues Theater Ensemble member Steve Key.
Source: as told to Arianna Soloway
American Myth is the winner of the 2012 Blue Ink Playwriting Award. ——The Blue Ink Playwriting Award was created in 2010 to support new work. The winning play is selected by Producing Artistic Director Gwendolyn Whiteside and the theater’s Ensemble. The winner of this annual competition is awarded a cash prize and receives a staged reading at American Blues Theater in Chicago. Since the contest’s inception, American Blues Theater has received over 1,000 submissions. Other winners include Elaine Romero’s Graveyard of Empires (2013) and Stephanie Walker’s American Home (2011).
Steve Key in “The Grey Ladies” written by Christina Gorman for Ripped: The Living Newspaper Festival 2013
Newspaper Reporter Considered income, stress, and hiring outlook when compiling the list. While the Worst Job In 2013 According to the website CareerCast.com, the newspaper reporter is considered the worst job of 2013. The website ranked the top 200 best and worst jobs in the United States. "Reporter (newspaper)" was ranked in 200th place. The website considered factors including physical demands, work environment,
lumberjack and dairy farmer to take its place at the bottom of the list.
reporter was ranked 200 out of 200 as the worst job of 2013, the actuary The ranking has fallen from 140th in won the top spot. 2009. In comparison, university professor is ranked number 14 in Last year, the newspaper reporter 2013, a ranking which has remained was ranked close to the bottom of the relatively stable since 2009. list, but being a lumberjack was considered the worst job. This year, Source: www.huffingtonpost.com the newspaper reporter outranked
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Thomas Jefferson and John Adams Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were two of the last surviving members of the original American revolutionaries who had stood up to the British empire and forged a new political system in the former colonies. However, while they both believed in democracy and life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their opinions on how to achieve these ideals diverged over time. Adams preceded Jefferson as President (1797-1800); it was during this time that their ideas about policy-making became as distinct as their personalities. The irascible and hot-tempered Adams was a firm believer in a strong centralized government, while the erudite and gentile Jefferson believed federal government should take a more hands-off approach and defer to individual states' rights. As Adams' Vice-President, Jefferson was so horrified by what he considered to be Adams' abuse of the presidency-particularly his passage of the restrictive Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798--that he abandoned Adams and Washington for his estate at Monticello. Thomas Jefferson There, he plotted how to bring his Republican faction back into power in the presidential election of 1800. After an exceptionally bitter campaign, in which both parties engaged in slanderous attacks on each other in print, Jefferson emerged victorious. It appeared the former friends would be eternal enemies. After serving two presidential terms (1801-1809), Jefferson and Adams each expressed to third parties their respect the other and their desire to renew their friendship. Adams was the first to break the silence; he sent Jefferson a letter dated January 1, 1812, in which he wished Jefferson many happy new years to come. Jefferson responded with a note in which he fondly recalled when they were fellow laborers in the same cause. The former revolutionaries went on to resume their friendship over 14 years of correspondence during their golden years.
Source: www.history.com
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Why We Lie by Robin Lloyd We all lie, all the time. It causes problems, to say the least. So why do we do it? It boils down to the shifting sands of the self and trying to look good both to ourselves and others, experts say. "It's tied in with self-esteem," says University of Massachusetts psychologist Robert Feldman. "We find that as soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they immediately begin to lie at higher levels." Not all lies are harmful. In fact, sometimes lying is the best approach for protecting privacy and ourselves and others from malice, some researchers say. Some deception, such as boasting and lies in the name of tact and politeness, can be classified as less than serious. But bald-faced lies (whether they involve leaving out the truth or putting in something false), are harmful, as they corrode trust and intimacy—the glue of society.
Boy Scout illustration by Norman Rockwell
Rather than defining what counts as a lie and to avoid the moral tone of the word "lie," Feldman's experimenters simply asked subjects after the fact to identify anything they had said in the video that was "not entirely accurate."
Initially, "Each subject said, 'Oh, I was entirely accurate,'" Feldman told LiveScience. Upon watching “Kidding Yourself” themselves on video, subjects were Many animals engage in deception, or genuinely surprised to discover they deliberately misleading another, but had said something inaccurate. only humans are wired to deceive both themselves and others, The study, published in the Journal of researchers say. People are so Basic and Applied Psychology, found engaged in managing how others that 60 percent of people had lied at perceive them that they are often least once during the 10-minute unable to separate truth from fiction conversation, saying an average of in their own minds, Feldman's 2.92 inaccurate things. research shows. For instance, in one experiment, Feldman put two "People almost lie reflexively," strangers in a room together. They Feldman says. "They don't think about were videotaped while they it as part of their normal social conversed. Later, independently, each discourse." But it is, the research was asked to view the tape and showed. identify anything they had said that was not entirely accurate.
Upon joining Boy Scouts, scouts must take the Boy Scout Oath and promise to follow scout law. On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. Scout Law A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
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strangers, says Jennifer Argo of the University of Alberta. A recent study she co-authored showed that people are even more willing to lie to coworkers than they are to strangers. "We want to both look good when we are in the company of others (especially people we care about), and we want to protect our self-worth," Argo told LiveScience. The experiment involved reading a scenario to a subject, telling them they had paid more than a coworker for the same new car. When the coworker, in the scenario, mentioned what they had paid, $200 or $2,000 more in different versions of the experiment, the subject was asked to report how they would respond. Argo found that her subjects were more willing to lie when the price difference was small and when they were talking to a coworker rather than to a stranger. Argo said she was surprised that people are so willing to lie to someone they know even over a small price discrepancy.
Mick Weber plays “Doug Graham” in American Myth
"We're trying not so much to impress other people but to maintain a view of ourselves that is consistent with the way they would like us to be," Feldman said. We want to be agreeable, to make the social situation smoother or easier, and to avoid insulting others through disagreement or discord.
Men lie no more than women, but they tend to lie to make themselves look better, while women are more likely to lie to make the other person feel better. “Workplace Lies” Other research has delved into prevarication in the workplace. Self-esteem and threats to our sense of self are also drivers when it comes to lying to co-workers, rather than
"I guess closely tied to this is that people appear to be short-term focused when they decide to deceive someone—save my self-image and self-worth now, but later on if the deceived individual finds out it can have long-term consequences," she said. Feldman says people should become more aware of the extent to which we tend to lie and that honesty yields more genuine relationships and trust. "The default ought to be to be honest and accurate ... We're better off if honesty is the norm. It's like the old saying: honesty is the best policy."
Source: Livescience.com
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Abigail, John Adams: America's Original 'Power Couple' Barack and Michelle Obama's fairy-tale love story has captured the attention of the American public, but their special relationship is not the first to exist within the halls of the White House. Long ago, before tabloids and the Internet were around to report on it, there was a president and a first lady whose extraordinary bond was one for the ages: Abigail and John Adams. It was a typical 18th-century love story that took place in a small town in Massachusetts, says historian Edith Gelles, author of Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage. "There is no evidence that Abigail and John did not know about each other's families from childhood, just because in small communities like that, families tended to know each other," she says. "On the other hand, historically, the evidence demonstrates that John met Abigail when she was only 15. He was 10 years older than she, so he was 25. But as she grew older, John began noticing her as a possible romantic figure. She became attracted to him John Adams as well." Abigail Smith and John Adams were married in 1764 and began a relationship extraordinary for their time, as well as for ours. "Each of them was generous towards the other," she says. "Each one was giving towards the other and sacrificed for each other and respected each other." The couple lived apart for most of the second decade of their marriage, between 1774 and 1784. John was in Europe while Abigail remained in Massachusetts, raising their children. As Gelles explains, they had to conduct their relationship through letters. "Sometimes, it was only one or two letters a year because the letters were lost or didn't make it across the ocean," she says. "You can hear them having a conversation in letters. Their letters reflected probably the way they talked to each other. What's remarkable about that relationship is that when they did get together again, it was as if there had been no break in their marriage." Continued on page 9
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When John Adams became America's second president in 1797, Abigail played an instrumental role in supporting her husband. "They were an extremely compatible couple," she says. "Abigail, who didn't really want to go on serving the public after John's vice-presidency, did so because she never questioned John's public service. She was loyal to him. She became his closest confidant and, probably, advisor. I think he was a very strong president. He made decisions on his own, but he didn't have political allies with him in the capital who could advise him. "Abigail was his best ally, and because she was intelligent, well-informed and totally sympathetic with him, she was devoted to his politics. She probably was the bestinformed and most reliable advisor to a president until Eleanor Roosevelt in the 20th century." Gelles also credits Abigail Adams with defining the role of the first lady, even before the term was used.
Abigail Adams
Gelles points to other devoted couples and other strong "As First Lady, she established many of the protocols, first ladies who have lived in the White House over the which survived. She wrote about having to have dinners, in past two centuries - including Michelle and Barack Obama. which she entertained all the members of the Senate and their wives, and the House of Representatives and their "Their relationship appears beautiful to me, in many ways wives, and the Supreme Court and their wives," Gelles similar to the Adams' relationship, in that they are playful says. "She also had to have a great Fourth of July party, in with one another," she says. "They are affectionate which everyone in the neighborhood of the capital city towards one another, intellectually compatible. Michelle was invited to attend. So she was a great social arbiter." seems a very strong person. It appears that Michelle is still carving out her role as First Lady. She is sacrificing her Gelles spent 30 years doing research for Abigail and John: independence to serve as First Lady. This is, after all, not Portrait of a Marriage. She says she got a sense for why an elected office, it's an office that comes to a woman their marriage worked so well. because of the marriage contract. It's a heavy role to have to fulfill." "I think it partially happened because there was no 'exit clause' for marriage," she says. "There was no divorce Professor and author Edith Gelles says she hopes couples except under very special circumstances. But it also had to everywhere - not only politicians - can learn from Abigail do with their personalities and their characters and the and John Adams. Their relationship, she says, remains an fact that they deeply cared for each other and that there example of how married people can support each other, was so much compatibility between them, so very much help each other navigate through tough times and enjoy devotion to each other's lives." their life together. Source: www.voanews.com
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Fake War Stories Exposed By Anne Morse When Walter Williams, America's last living Civil War veteran, died on December 19, 1959, the city of Houston gave him a funeral procession the likes of which the town had never before seen. A week of official mourning was declared, and more than 100,000 people lined the streets to salute the passing of the last link to a war that had torn America apart. There was just one problem. Williams had never served in the Civil War. He was a fraud, as writer William Marvel discovered when he began researching a story for “Blue & Gray” magazine a few years ago. Although Williams had passed himself off as a Confederate soldier for 27 years, records proved he had actually been just five years old when hostilities broke out — too young even to serve as a drummer boy. Amusingly, the man from whom Williams inherited the "Oldest Living Confederate" title, John Salling, was another phony. In fact, a dismayed Marvel wrote, "Every one of the last dozen recognized Confederates was bogus" — including all three attendees at the last United Confederate Veterans' reunion, where, one imagines, they shared made-up stories of how they whipped the Yankees at Bull Run, witnessed the burning of Atlanta, and gave Scarlet O'Hara directions to Tara.
Last meeting for Confederate Veterans
These sham soldiers have a lot of company. Over the years thousands of men have claimed to come marching home again from the Old South, the trenches of France, the halls of Montezuma, Pork Chop Hill, and 'Nam. And now, they are marching home from Iraq, their chests covered with medals they didn't earn for gallantry they never modeled. Some of these frauds never saw military service; those that did — dissatisfied with their actual deeds — invent spectacular feats of derring-do that put Sergeant York and Audie Murphy to shame. What drives men to pretend they answered duty's call when they were, in reality, otherwise engaged? For some fakers, it's a matter of money — the price of a drink, a handful of change, or a government check. Vietnam veteran B.G. Burkett, who has over the years exposed more than 1,000 phony vets, writes in his book, "Stolen Valor," that in 1932, the
federal government began offering pensions to Civil War veterans. Their numbers immediately jumped. (It was the Depression, after all.) Others lie for glory. Like the last Confederate veteran, one of the last Great War vets was also a fraud. For years, James Harris Reed entertained his nursing home pals with memories of his days as a flying ace, shooting down 13 German planes and battling the legendary Red Baron. Following his 1995 death, investigation revealed that Reed had been an 11-year-old school boy at the end of the Great War. "Action!" Many frauds claim veteran status in order to boost their careers. Phonies abound in Hollywood, on Wall Street, in politics, in academia, and in journalism. Continued on page 11
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Vietnam Memorial painting by Lee Teeter
For instance, silent screen star Tom Mix claimed to have charged up San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt. In reality, Mix never saw combat — unless one counts the time his wife shot him. Military records list Mix as a deserter.
combat — that his military experience consisted of ferrying damaged aircraft for repairs from Japan to the Philippines.
Senate candidate and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke also ran on his Vietnam "war record," claiming Then there are the political "veterans" he'd participated in rice drops behind whose war records are even more enemy lines for the CIA. Real Vietnam dubious than their campaign veterans exposed him. Duke's only promises. Iowa Senator (and later military "service," it turned out, presidential candidate) Tom Harkin consisted of brief membership in the boasted that he had flown F-4s and F- ROTC at Louisiana State University, 8s on combat air patrols and photowhere authorities kicked him out reconnaissance support missions in when Duke began airing his nutty Vietnam. No, wait, it was combat beliefs. sorties over Cuba, he corrected “Phony Vets and the Journalists Who himself when challenged by Senator Love Them” Berry Goldwater. Harkin finally acknowledged that he had never seen It's hard not to be amused when it
comes to the imaginary exploits of aging "Confederates" and Great War "aces" who fought the Red Baron, but the phony tales spun by modern imposters — especially those who claim Vietnam service — are no laughing matter.
All too often, these suffering "veterans" never set foot in Vietnam — and tell tales of Vietnam horrors to explain and excuse their failed lives, Burkett says, and naive journalists uncritically lap them up. Much research proves that — most Vietnam vets are healthy, mentally stable, successful men who deserve their country's respect.
Source: www.cbsnews.com
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