Stick Fly Study Guide

A Supplementary Study Guide Prepared by Laurel Hostak

CONTENTS

THE PLAY Meet the Playwright

1

Synopsis

2

Glossary of Terms and References

4

Trivial Pursuit: Martha’s Vineyard Edition

6

Entomology: An Overview

7

Entomology and Stick Fly

8

Stick Fly Scramble

9

bell hooks’ Feminist Theory

10

STICK FLY AT THE ARDEN Meet the Cast

12

Building the LeVay Mansion

14

Zooming In: The LeVay Mansion

16

Zooming In: Food and Drama

17

Sources and Further Reading

18

Meet the Playwright

Lydia R. Diamond

Born in Detroit on April 14, 1969, Diamond is a nationally recognized American playwright. Stick Fly marked her Broadway debut in 2011 at the Cort Theater, but her plays, which also include Smart People and Voyeurs de Venus have been produced all over the country. Diamond graduated from Northwesten University with a BS in Theatre and Performance Studies, and has since held numerous fellowships and residencies, including Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and commissions from prominent regional theaters like Steppenwolf in Chicago and McCarter in New Jersey.

Photo by Barbara Peacock

Stick Fly was written at a time when Diamond was at work on Voyeurs de Venus, an “emotionally distubring” play about slavery. She needed to ground herself in something lighter, and decided to take a stab at a traditional “well-made” family play in the vein of Eugene O’Neill and countless playwrights of the form. This is a contrast to much of Diamond’s work, which tends to be less conventional. In addition to O’Neill, she cites Lorraine Hansberry, Anton Chekhov, August Wilson, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller as her primary influences for the style and the familial, racial, and class issues she confronts in Stick Fly. Diamond’s work has won the African American Arts Alliance of Chicago Black Excellence Award, an American Alliance for Theatre and Education Award, the Lorraine Hansberry Award for Best Writing, and Independent Reviewers of New England Award, and more.

STICK FLY

Synopsis ACT ONE

“Curtains rise to reveal the dissected front half of a two-story, Victorian Martha’s Vineyard Mansion,” the vacation home of the LeVay family. As Cheryl, the 18-year old daughter of the LeVay family maid (Ms. Ellie), casually unpacks groceries, Kent (affectionally nicknamed “Spoon”), the youngest of the LeVay boys, enters followed by his fiance Taylor. Flip, Kent’s older brother, arrives shortly after, shocked to see Taylor--whom he’s met before.

As the LeVay brothers, Taylor, and Cheryl catch up, Flip reveals that his new female friend, who will be joining them soon, is white. Taylor asks Kent if he plans on sharing his manuscript (and until now concealed ambitions of being a writer) with his father. He is still hesitant.

Later, during a game of Trivial Pursuit, Joe LeVay, Kent and Flip’s father, arrives with an immediate air of charming authority. Kent introduces Taylor--Joe did not know about her before. Joe is surprised to see Cheryl doing Ms. Ellie’s work, and Cheryl explains that her mother is very ill. Cheryl and Flip begin to ask about Mrs. LeVay’s whereabouts. Joe evades the questions.

Later in the evening, Cheryl and Joe share a brief conversation about Ms. Ellie’s illness and Mrs. LeVay’s absence. They are interrupted by Taylor, coming down for a glass of milk. Tension builds between Taylor and Cheryl when Taylor insists upon getting the milk for herself. Cheryl asks if Joe has anything to say to her. He does not.

L-R Joniece Abott-Pratt as Cheryl, U.R. as Flip LeVay, Biko EisenMartin as Kent “Spoon” LeVay, Jessica Frances Dukes as Taylor in Arden Theatre Company’s production of Stick Fly. Photo by Mark Garvin.

The next morning, Taylor, who is pursuing a post-doc in Entomology, traps a fly to observe.

Cheryl swats it. Shortly thereafter, Kimber, Flip’s girlfriend, arrives.

After a lobster dinner, the family and their guests talk about Kent’s book (which Kimber, to Kent’s surprise, has read), Kimber’s background in African American Studies and work with inner city schools, and Taylor’s college breakdown that led to a computer Solitaire addiction. Soon the discussion leads to a heated argument over class and entitlement; sparks fly particularly between Kimber and Taylor.

Taylor storms out.

After the dust has settled, Flip and Taylor find themselves alone in the kitchen. It is revealed that they slept together years before, and Flip never called Taylor afterwards. Taylor assures Flip that she loves his brother and is happily engaged.

STICK FLY

Synopsis cont’d ACT TWO

Contains Spoilers Early the next morning, Cheryl is in the middle of a highly emotional phone call with her mother, who has just revealed that Cheryl’s father did not die in the Gulf War. Kimber overhears the conversation, but she promises not to say anything.

As the family begins to rise, Flip issues an apology to Taylor, but Kimber and Taylor are still cold with one another. Taylor joins Joe on the porch and they talk entomology, Taylor’s recently deceased father (a famous intellectual), and Kimber. Inside, Kimber reveals to Flip that she knows about his hookup with Taylor.

Kent enters, excited to have received proofs for his book. He has dedicated it to Taylor. Kimber, extending an olive branch, invites Taylor shopping. She accepts. Joe and Flip head out on a fishing trip, leaving Kent at home to work.

That night, a drunken game of Scrabble resurrects some of the same topics as the previous argument amongst the women. They step into the kitchen and share an honest apology. Cheryl takes a phone call from her mother, hangs up and begins panicking. She has just learned, beyond doubt, that Joe LeVay is her father. She confronts him in front of the entire party.

The next morning is tense for everyone. The brothers argue about their father’s infidelity, and Kent finds out about Flip’s affair with Taylor. The women discuss their own tangled relationships, and begin to reach an understanding of one another.

That afternoon, Cheryl attempts to confront Joe again. This time, Taylor joins her in support, drawing on experience with her own neglectful father. Kent also stands up to Joe. He remains adamant that he has done the best he can.

Flip and Kimber prepare to leave the mansion, offering Joe a ride to the airport. Kent stops him, offering his father a copy of his book. The three of them leave. Cheryl begins packing. Taylor and Kent are left alone in the living room, their foundations shaken, but their relationship seemingly intact.

Biko Eisen-Martin as Kent “Spoon” LeVay and Jessica Frances Dukes as Taylor in Arden Theatre Company’s production of Stick Fly. Photo by Mark Garvin.

GLOSSARY

Aspen: Ski town in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, popular retreat for celebrities and affluent vacationers Pavlov: Ivan Pavlov, who pioneered the concept of “conditioned reflex.”

Pavlov studied the rates of salivations in dogs, playing a buzzer or metronome with the presentation of food. The dogs came to expect food when a buzzer played, and began to salivate even when food was not presented.

Ngo Dinh Diem: First president of South Vietnam and leader of the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam; Joe LeVay claims to have had a personal relationship with him; after multiple assassination attempts throughout his leadership, Diem was killed during a coup in 1963 allegedly with support from the CIA and Attorney General of the United States Johns Hopkins: University in Baltimore dedicated to research, well known for its medical school and associated hospital

Entomology: Scientific study of insects, categorized under zoology. See section on Entomology, p.7-8.

GLOSSARY

Cotillion: Patterned social dance originating in 18th Century France; American cotillions often function as a “coming out” ball for debutantes, also used to teach social etiquette amongst young people

Italian translation: Oh, buongiorno Bella, Signorina. Benvenuto a casa nostra. La tua bellezza e’ piu’ grande dei tutti fiori nel mondo… roughly translates to “Oh Good morning, beautiful young lady. You are more lovely than the greatest flowers in the world.”

WASP: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Latitude: Freedom from narrow restrictions; freedom of action, opinion Weber; Economy and Society: Considered the greatest sociological treatise of the century. Covers themes in religion, politics, sociology, and economy.

Octaroons and quadroons: Terms historically used to describe mixed-race people, as in having 1/8 or 1/4 African American ancestry bell hooks: Gloria Jean Watkins (pen name bell hooks), author of the books Teaching to Transgress, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Woman and Feminism and Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, among others.

Her writing often deals with race, gender, and social conditions. See section on bell hooks, p.10-11.

Exeter & Harvard: Exeter Phillips Academy is an American college prep boarding school in Exeter, NH; Harvard is a highly respected Ivy League university in Cambridge, MA. The Way We Were: Romantic drama film starring Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand. The film chronicles the lovers’ attempt to sustain a relationship although they come from vastly different backgrounds.

Omnimax: A form of IMAX film, projected on an angled dome.

Middle Passage: Refers to the triangular trade pattern between North America, Europe, and Africa, through which manufactured goods were traded for enslaved Africans.

GLOSSARY

Saab: Swedish premium car; the company has historically manufactured jets and aerospace technology.

The Black Dog: A famous tavern in Martha’s Vineyard, opened in 1971.

Founded by Captain Robert Douglas and built by townsfolk, the Black Dog is popular amongst locals and tourists.

GLOSSARY

Lilly Pullitzer: Clothing designer recognized for colorful women’s wear inspired by the Palm Beach lifestyle Ivory Coast: (French, “Cote D’Ivoire) A country in West Africa. The Ivory Coast was a long-time protectorate of France, and gained independence in 1960.

Pituitary: A gland at the base of the human brain, secretes hormones that affect growth, sexual development, metabolism and reproduction.

Inebriated: Affected by drinking too much alcohol.

DH Lawrence (novels/movies): Flip refers to Ken Russell’s film adaptations of DH Lawrence’s novels Women in Love and The Rainbow.

Cultural Anthropology: Anthropology is the study of mankind; Cultural Anthropology specifically focuses on cultural variations among humans.

Pan Africanism: Worldwide movement encouraging the solidarity of Africans: “A belief that African peoples, both on the continent and in the Diaspora, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny.”

Jack and Jill: A primarily African American organization formed during the Great Depression with the intention of bringing young people together to improve social and cultural communication.

Martha’s Vineyard Edition

South of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard is a popular island destination for affluent summer vacationers. Here are the fun facts (and the quirky ones) about this island for your next trivia game!

• While it is permanently home to roughly 17,000 residents, the summer population can reach 100,000.

• “The Vineyard” is a favorite spot for many celebrities and well-known politicians. United States President Barack Obama frequents the island, along with Bill and • Hillary Clinton, Bill Murray, David Letterman, Spike Lee, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, the list goes on.

• The cost of living in Martha’s Vineyard is approximately 60% higher than the national average. Housing prices are 96% higher.

• Like most of North America, Martha’s Vineyard was first inhabited by Native tribe: the Wampanoag. Colonization of the island began in the 17th Century, along with the purchase of other islands off the coast of New England (Nantucket, Elizabeth Islands).

During this era, Wampanoag population decreased dramatically, dropping from around 3,000 in 1642 to 313 in 1764.

• The Wampanoag tribe’s name for the island is “Noepe.” It is uncertain after whom Martha’s Vineyard is named, but some believe that Bartholomew Gosnold, who came to the island in 1602, named it after his daughter who shared the same first name as his mother in law.

• English settlers founded schools for the native inhabitants, resulting in the first Native American Harvard graduates.

• Spoon tells Taylor that his Great Great Great Grandfather Whitcomb was one of the first blacks in Martha’s Vineyard. The island has been a traditional summer home for affluent black families for the last century, and is now home to an annual African American Film Festival.

• During the 19th and 20th Centuries, Martha’s Vineyard saw a staggering pattern of hereditary deafness, with a deaf population so high that a new sign language was created: Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language (MVSL).

Entomology

An overview

“I do good honest work that helps people. You think studying the mating habits of the South Seas blue eyed friggin’ fly is more useful?”

Cheryl, Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond ENTOMOLOGY (from the Greek entomos meaning “cut in pieces of segmented”) is the study of insects.

Insects are identified by the following categories: Apiology (or melittology) - bees Coleopterology - beetles Dipterology - flies Hemipterology - true bugs Lepidoterology - moths and butterflies Myrmecology - ants Orthopterology - grasshoppers, crickets, etc...

Trichopterology - caddis flies Vespology - Social wasps

Damselfy, Act II Scene I

The common housefly

Entomology

and Stick Fly

Taylor is pursuing a post-doc in Entomology from Johns Hopkins. Her focus is dipterology, or the study of flies. In a conversation of the porch, she tells Joe LeVay about traditional methods for observing a fly.

“You know how we look at flies? I mean, you know you can’t just follow a fly around with a video-cam, it’s too fast. Film, even digital can’t pick up the nuances of a fly in motion. So, we glue a fly to a stick. ...Pretty much to a popsicle stick, with crazy glue. And we hold the stick in front of a projection screen with three sides, like those Omnimax films right. And we film his wind adjustments as we projects objects coming at him. Isn’t that crazy?

Then we just throw it away and study the digital film images.”

Taylor, Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond

Discussion Questions 1) Reflect on the title of the play in terms of this quote from Taylor. What (or whom) does the “Stick Fly” symbol represent, and why is it the title? What is the significance of the last line, “Then just throw it away and study the digital images?”

2) Kimber refers to herself as a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). How does the entomology aspect of the play create a new dimension to the “WASP” stereotype?

3) Taylor traps a fly on the kitchen counter in Act One, Scene Four. Cheryl swats it immediately. What does this event, and the two women’s reactions, say about the differences in their character?

STICK FLY How many details do you remember? Test yourself!

2

1

3

4

5

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ACROSS

DOWN

4. Joe’s preferred board game

1. Nationality Flip says Kimber is before she arrives.

5. Joe’s favorite kind of pigs feet 6. Taylor’s father’s book. “The Bonds of Intellectual ____” 8. Taylor’s nickname for the girls in her Women’s Studies course.

9. Flip’s real name

2. One of Taylor’s insect samples; looks like a dragonfly 3. Cocktail Cheryl is unequipped to make.

7. The hero of Kent’s book.

bell hooks’ Feminist Theory and Stick Fly “Class struggle is inextricably bound to the struggle to end racism.” bell hooks, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center “Is your Utopia free of color distinctions?”

In the end of Act I of Stick Fly, Taylor and Kimber plant the seeds of a heated debate about their respective capacities for suffering as defined by their racial and social constraints. Kimber is an upper-class white woman who works with inner-city youth and Taylor a lower middle-class black woman who is the daughter of a famous intellectual. Also in the circle is Cheryl, the 18-year old daughter of the LeVay family maid. In this discussion, feminist writer Gloria Watkins (nom de plume bell hooks) is briefly mentioned. hooks writes her penname, which honors her great-grandmother Bell Blair Hooks, with lowercase letters. hooks’ work generally focuses on the interconnectedness of gender, race, and class in modern society. Her feminist discourse, especially in the book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, addresses many of the topics that the characters’ of Stick Fly make in the ensuing argument.

In the opening chapter of Feminist Theory, hooks revisits Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique. Friedan’s work is historically praised for laying the groundwork for the modern Feminist movement, yet many scholars (and hooks herself) have begun to scrutinize and criticize the text’s biases. Friedan’s Feminist theory—primarily the assertion that a woman is entitled to more than the stifling, dehuminizing life of a housewife; she deserves a career— pertains most, hooks writes, to “college-educated, middle- and upper-class, married white women.” (hooks, p.1) Where are the other voices? The voices that, according to hooks, are “most victimized by sexist oppression”? Where do Cheryl, Taylor, and even Kimber fit in the “Progressive Dehuminization” of the housewife state that Friedan outlines?

Gloria Watkins (nom de plume bell hooks)

Taylor, Stick Fly by Lydia R. Diamond

bell hooks’ Feminist Theory and Stick Fly (cont’d) hooks quotes two authors within Feminist Theory with regard to women’s suffering.

“Women’s suffering under sexist tyranny is a common bond among all women, transcending the particulars of the different forms that tyranny takes. Suffering cannot be measured and compared quantitatively.

Is the enforced idleness and vacuity of a “rich” woman, which leads her to madness and/or suicide, greater or less than the suffering of a poor woman who barely survives on welfare but retains somehow her spirit? There is no way to measure such difference, but should these two women survey each other, without the screen of the patriarchal class, they may find a commonality in the fact that they are both oppressed, both miserable.”

Leah Fritz, Dreamers and Dealers

“Suffering is not necessarily a fixed and universal experience that can be measured by a single rod; it is related to situations, needs, and aspirations. But there must be some historical and political parameters for the use of the term so that political priorities can be established and different forms and degrees of suffering can be given the most attention.”

Benjamin Barber, Liberating Feminism

Discussion Questions 1) Read the above quotes by Leah Fritz and Benjamin Barber. What do these positions have to do with the ongoing debate between Taylor and Kimber? Which character would support each claim? Which do you support? Explain.

2) The three female characters in Stick Fly each represent a particular social class. What elements of each of their upbringing complicate the urge to classify them as such?

3) On page 53 of Stick Fly, Flip says, “Well I haven’t noticed it matters so much how much money you have, if you’re a nigger folks gonna see a nigger,” implying that racial prejudices overpower class considerations. Do you agree? What is an example of this, or the opposite, in current events?

Stick Fly at the Meet the Characters Biko Eisen-Martin as Kent (Spoon) Kent is 31, and the youngest son of the LeVay family. He has grown up with an artistic disposition in a family of doctors and lawyers. Though financially privileged, he has struggled to find his place in life and with his family.

Jessica Frances Dukes as Taylor Taylor is 27, the daughter from an earlier marriage of renowned, recently deceased, public intellectual, James Bradley Scott. She was raised by a single mother college professor. Though she carries his name, and so has had entree to some social privileges, her father was not a part of her life. She also has gone without financially.

Joniece Abbot Pratt as Cheryl Cheryl is18, and the daughter of the family maid. Pretty, bright, always well-intentioned, Cheryl has always had a crush on Flip.

Stick Fly at the

Meet the Cast

U.R. as Flip Flip is 36, and the oldest son of the LeVay family. The “golden boy” who, with some compromises, has fallen in line with his father’s expectations. He is an incorrigible ladies’ man.

Jerome Preston Bates as Joe LeVay Joe is 58, and the LeVay patriarch. He is a well-intentioned man, who rules the family with a firm, loving hand. He, like Flip, has always had a way with women.

Julianna Zinkel as Kimber Kimber is a 32 year old, intelligent, white woman with a quick wit and sincere warmth. Unlike Taylor, her social status matches that of the LeVays, with of course, the undeniable privilege of whiteness. Of this she is aware, and on some level appalled.

Stick Fly at the

Building the LeVay Mansion Diamond’s script calls for “the dissected front half of a two story, Victorian Martha’s Vineyard Mansion. The decor is tasteful, casual, and extraordinarily expensive in its utter lack of pretenstion. This house defines comfort--smooth, well-worn leather, cashmere throws, rustic aged wood, books, books, books, and more books.

Preliminary Sketch of the set for Arden’s production of Stick Fly

What makes a place home? Think of the house you grew up in, or a house you vacation in. You probably know all the details of this place, all the knick-knacks on the bookshelves, all the magnets on the refrigerator, all the knotholes in the floorboards, and so on. While all of those details may have been around for as long as you can remember, they probably took years to collect. For the Arden’s production of Stick Fly, designers, carpenters, and the props department had mere weeks to create an authentic home environment--details and all.

Stick Fly at the Building the LeVay Mansion

Photograph of the final set for Stick Fly, designed by David P. Gordon

...the LeVay Mansion This lattice-work is just one closeup of the details that make the Stick Fly set so authentic. Technical Director Glenn Perlman and Master Carpenter Justin Romeo also put together a shingled roof, a staircase, floorboards, and more!

Props master Chris Haig got to have a little fun when choosing books and decorations for the shelf. Here is a copy of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families with a post-it that says “You should read this!” How’s that for irony?

The Arden’s scenic artist, Kristina Chadwick, created this incredibly specific porch detail: a paint effect that looks like a flower pot sat here for years, and was recently moved.

...food and drama The LeVay family and their guests share many meals over the course of the play, which creates a fun challenge for the Props department. Some food is real and eaten onstage; these are called “Consumable” props, and they need to be replenished throughout the run of a show. For example, Cheryl shucks several ears of corn in Stick Fly. so Props Master Chris Haig will purchase over 400 ears of corn for the 68 number of performances.

Other food props used during the show are constructed. Many variables are considered when creating food props. How long is the object seen?

How is it used? What kind of light is it under?

On the left, you’ll see two kinds of berries, made of graduation tassels and glue, wrapped in original packaging. Did it convince you? How about under stage lights?

To the right are the remains of a lobster dinner enjoyed by the characters. Since live lobster coule not be used, plastic lobsters were purchased, deconstructed, and arranged as though they’ve been thoroughly consumed. For a touch of authenticity, we created a mixture of paint, glue, and wood varnish to brush on some yellowish remnants. Doesn’t that melted butter look delicious?

Food plays such a huge role in Stick Fly because of its universal significance in the family. Even in the thick of household drama, a good meal can always bring a group of people together and ease the tension, just for a moment.

Discussion Questions

1) Imagine you are directing a play in which there is a dinner scene. Would you use real food (consumables) or constructed food? What is the significance of one versus the other? What are some of the challenges you might face with each option?

2) In Stick Fly, Cheryl is the primary preparer of food for the other characters. What might this signify about her character?

Sources and Further Reading Lydia R. Diamond on Stick Fly http://dctheatrescene.com/2010/01/17/lydia-r-diamond-on-stick-fly/

bell hooks Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. Second edition. bell hooks.

Pluto Press, 2000.

Entomological Society of America http://www.entsoc.org/

Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness on Martha’s Vineyard. Nora Ellen Grace.

L-R: Jerome Preston Bates as Joe LeVay , Julianna Zinkel as Kimber , U.R. as Flip LeVay, Jessica Frances Dukes as Taylor, and Biko Eisen-Martin as Kent “Spoon” LeVay in Arden Theatre Company’s production of Stick Fly. Photo by Mark Garvin.