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Collected Stories A Reference Guide
Copyright © 2013 American Blues Theater
Donald Margulies ………………….p. 2 Interviews with the Cast and Directors ……………….p. 3-4
Mentors and Protégés……....p. 5
Delmore Schwartz ……………….p. 7-8
Greenwich Village The White Horse Tavern The San Remo ………………….p. 6
Collected Stories in Production…...p. 9
Administrative Office: 1016 N. Dearborn, Chicago IL 60610 (312) 725 - 4ABT (4228) Performance venue: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave., Chicago, IL 60614 Box office: (773) 871-3000
Created and Compiled by Kelli Marino, Dramaturg
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Donald Margulies Donald Margulies was born in 1954, and grew up in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn. His father was a wallpaper salesman with a love for musical comedy. As a family treat, he would take his children to Broadway shows across the river in Manhattan, an expensive outing for a man with a fairly modest income. But his love of theater trumped his economic limitations—an affection he communicated to his son.
more than two-dozen plays, including Sight Unseen, which won an Obie (short for “Off-Broadway”) Award for best new American play of 1992, and Dinner with Friends, which won the Pulitzer Prize in drama in 2000. Collected Stories was first developed at the Sundance Institute Playwrights’ Lab in 1995, produced in California in 1996, and in New York at the Manhattan Theater club in 1997. Like the character Ruth in Collected Stories, Margulies is also a teacher—in his case a teacher of playwriting, in the English Department of Yale University.
About Collected Stories he says that, “its themes cross cultures. Mentors and protégés exist everywhere. Most people . . . have known what it’s like to be a student or a teacher, a "In my writing I try to Margulies’s early creative child or a parent . . .. Most tell the truth. Telling interests were in drawing people have felt betrayed or the truth means being and draftsmanship, and committed betrayal, as unstintingly specific he began his college deliberately or unknowingly.” as possible, for in the education at Brooklyn’s specific lies the Pratt Institute, a school Although both characters in universal." whose curriculum this two-character play are emphasizes the visual writers, Margulies insists that arts. But, as he declared this is not a play only about in an interview in Bomb magazine, “I started writers. “[I]t is primarily a play about how to itch to write and read; and [Pratt] wasn’t human beings try to engage one another, the place to be if I had those inclinations.” pass along traditions, fulfill the powerful As a result, he transferred to the State need for family. I have always been University of New York at Purchase, a interested in the ways that we create campus that offers courses in all the arts, families out of our friends or thus allowing Margulies to satisfy his acquaintances . . ..” literary “itch.” There he majored in --from Martin Andrucki’s guide to Collected Stories, playwriting.
January 2009 for the Public Theater
In 1984 Found a Peanut was staged at the Public Theater, his first play to be produced Off-Broadway. Since then he has written
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An Interview with the Co-Directors Jessica Thebus and MaryAnn Thebus
This is not your first time working together, artistically. What was the first production on which you collaborated? JT: Collaboration is not new to us, but THIS version IS. MAT: Jessica and I have worked together before as Director to Actor at Northlight Theatre in Inherit the Wind, and then a few years later in Mornings at Seven at Drury Lane. It was an easy adjustment and great fun. The only question was whether to call me Mom or MaryAnn; it slid into Mom pretty quickly. JT: Mom will often come and see a preview of a show I am working on and give me notes, which are always right on concerning the dynamics between actors, tension in the story and truthfulness. She has a great eye for when things don't make sense, and a great ear for when they don't ring true. MAT: We welcome this opportunity to collaborate again, though in somewhat different relation to each other. How do you plan to co-direct Collected Stories? MAT: Since we have never done this before, indeed it is my first opportunity to direct a full production at all. JT: I can offer my experience with the creating of a technical world in which to tell the story.
MAT: I will contribute mostly by watching, listening and learning. The performance aspects will be more my focus since I am an actor and a teacher of acting. JT: We can both watch the play as it cooks up! MAT: I am looking forward to her input and will strongly respect her expertise in all aspects of the production. JT: I am very grateful for the opportunity to share this creative process with my mom, and am excited to share it with the audience. What have you learned from each other over the years? JT: It goes without saying that my mom is a brilliant acting teacher, and so she brings all those skills that are essential for a director. I have learned all about specificity and attack from my mom, and she's a very, very clear storyteller and story-seer. MAT: I know her to be uniquely enthusiastic, patient, insightful and imaginative. I could not learn from anyone better and I think it’s going to be an exciting journey.
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An Interview About Inspiration with Wendy Whiteside and Carmen Roman
Who is your character, Lisa? WW: Lisa Morrison is bright, ambitious, highly motivated young woman who is committed to learning. One of my favorite lines in the play refers to the privilege of sharing the same airspace as her professor. If she can absorb every word of advice, perhaps she can achieve success too. Tell me about your character, Ruth. CR: Ruth is a great character. She represents a combination of several important women in my life and there is nothing more gratifying than getting to play people you admire. From where do you draw inspiration? WW: The beautiful thing about inspiration is its ability to surprise. It can be anything! I recently saw an elderly woman hand a Jewel cashier a wad of paper money, then two handfuls of change. The older woman said, "I don't know how much that is. Does it cover the bill?" The change spilled out all over the conveyor belt, some bouncing onto the floor. There was a growing line of frustrated shoppers who were sighing audibly. The Jewel cashier looked up and sweetly said, "If you'd like to move to another line, please do. I'm going to help this woman." Only one man changed lines. The rest of the shoppers waited patiently or
helped sort pennies, nickels, and miscellaneous items like mints and buttons. Flattened dollar bills. I kept thinking of the elderly woman as a little girl saving her change for a drugstore candy during the Depression. How we all grow and all return. That is a short story waiting to happen. CR: Working in this craft of acting where the majority of learning comes from being a journeyman—learning from the talented and experienced people one is cast with makes the work on this play a bit easier than others in some ways; I get the play and the issues because I live with them in my work. Margulies has written the perfect moral and ethical dilemma and portrayed it in a personal and beautiful way. I am looking forward to the work with this powerful bunch of women, not the least of who is my mentor and dear friend MaryAnn Thebus. Does art, like love and war, have no boundaries? Rules? Exceptions? Why? WW: I received my MFA in creative writing. I was fortunate to study both from a classic (Iowa Fiction program) and experimental (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) perspective. The relationship to student/mentor in the arts is incredibly important; the student trusts the advice of their respected mentor. There is no litmus test for art and excellence. At many art schools, students undergo a critical evaluation of their semester's work. A student sits before a jury of professors, members of the professional artistic community, and school administrators. Sometimes the panel can use constructive criticism, sometimes the panel simply says whether they like it or not. My first "crit" taught me the most valuable lesson in the arts. An artist's point of view, in whatever medium used, must be confident and selfassured. 4
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Famous Mentor/Mentee Relationships Uta Hagen mentor to Jack Lemmon Bob Fosse mentor to Melanie Griffith Duke Ellington mentor to Tony Bennett, Abdullah Ibrahim (jazz pianist) and Lena Horne Rob Reiner mentor to John Cusack Milton Berle mentor to Don Rickles and Alan King Sid Caesar mentor to Neil Simon Aaron Spelling (TV producer) mentor to Darren Star (producer) Socrates mentor to Plato Woody Guthrie, Dave Van Ronk and Joan Baez mentors to Bob Dylan Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), children's book author and illustrator, mentor to many writers and illustrators including Arthur Yorinks, Richard Egielski and Paul O. Zelinsky. Delmore Schwartz (poet) mentor to Saul Bellow and Lou Reed (musician) Cal Ripken, Jr mentor to Micheal Barrett and Alex Rodriguez (major league infielders) Elijah mentor to Elisha (Israelite prophet) Saul (first king of the ancient Hebrews) mentor to David (king of ancient Israel) Aristotle mentor to Alexander the Great Warren Beatty mentor to Diane Keaton Claude Monet (French painter, 1840-1926) was a mentor to Lilla Cabot Perry (American artist, 1848-1933) Buddy Guy mentor to Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Mark Knopfler Eddie Cantor mentor to Eddie Fisher "The Mentor Hall of Fame." Peer Resources. http://www.mentors.ca/mentorpairs.html
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Mentors and Protégés and changing roles The relationship between a mentor and apprentice is pivotal. It is a relationship that builds and teaches. A mentor can be a person who inspires, guides, and pushes; they are the models after which one aspires. In the case of Donald Margulies Collected Stories, the relationship between “Influence is simply a a mentor and her transference of personality, a student is explored on mode of giving away what is a multitude of levels. most precious to one’s self, and In addition to the its exercise produces a sense and, mentor/protégé it may be, a reality of loss. Every relationship, these disciple takes away something women also touch on from his master.” the mother/daughter – Oscar Wilde relationship. In both circumstances, the growth of the protégé through the mentor’s tutelage can be exhilarating, but it can also cause strife between the teacher and student, and even more so if the two’s relationship transcends basic instruction. The bond of a successor to a legend is not always easy, even if there is a joyful past between them. There can be harsh feelings when successes are reached by the protégé, when jealousy takes control of events that cannot be controlled, and when the final moment of transition arrives as the protégé becomes self-reliant. Instances of distrust and second-guessing occur when the heir takes the reins and goes in his or her own direction, possibly leaving the mentor behind. Ultimately, the following words, which can be difficult to say, can make or break this specific relationship: “I am pleased with you.” Mentor: an experienced and trusted adviser; to advise or train. ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: via French and Latin from Greek Mentōr, the name of the adviser of the young Telemachus in Homer's Odyssey. Protégé: a person who is guided and supported by an older and more experienced or influential person. ORIGIN late 18th cent.: French, literally ‘protected.’ 5
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Greenwich Village
The White Horse Tavern
In the lower part of Manhattan, between Houston and 14th Street, and from the Hudson River to Broadway, is what is known as Greenwich Village. For nearly all of the 20th century Greenwich Village was a central location for artists and innovators from around the world. The neighborhood began to attract artists and bohemians from around the country. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s the budding artistic neighborhood found itself home to many performing artists. By the 1940s, the Village would be an international meeting ground for writers in nearly every genre. As the 1940s turned into the 1950s, the Village hit its most active time, as musicians, poets, and especially visual artists began to flock there. Two of the most exciting American movements were calling Greenwich Village their home. The New York School of Poets frequented the same bars, restaurants, and lofts. By the 1950s and 1960s, Greenwich Village was attracting the furthest ranges of diverse creative minds. In the late 1960s personalities like Andy Warhol and Lou Reed increased the publicity of this already popular neighborhood, making it increasingly desirable and expensive. Today, rising rent has made it nearly impossible for young artists to live in lower Manhattan, ending the reign of one of the most culturally impressive neighborhoods in American history. "Greenwich Village." American Masters. PBS, 29 Dec. 1999. Web. 09 Mar. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmaster s/episodes/greenwich-village/aboutgreenwich-village/620/>.
Located at Hudson and 11th Street, this tavern was once a longshoremanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bar, but in the 1950s, when literary circles appeared, its dĂŠcor reminded visiting Englishmen of their home-side pubs. Famous writers such as Dylan Thomas, Ruthven Todd, Norman Mailer, James Baldwin, Jack Kerouac, Michael Harrington and Delmore Schwartz drank there.
The San Remo
This bar attracted a less sophisticated bunch of writers in the late 1950s; a group of artists who dabbled in drugs. These drinkers were children of World War II. In The Subterraneans, Jack Kerouac's tale of interracial love at the San Remo, his Allen Ginsberg character, Adam Moorad, describe the denizens of the Remo: "Hip without being slick, intelligent without being corny, they are intellectual as hell and know all about Pound without being pretentious or saying too much about it. They are very quiet, they are very Christlike." 66
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Delmore Schwartz A promising poet of the Depression Era, Delmore Schwartz first came to success in July 1935 when he wrote his short story “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities.” It was essentially and autobiographical piece about the narrator who watches a film depicting the courtship of his parents. During the film the narrator jumps out of his seat, screaming at the on-screen couple to end their relationship before the birth of their two monstrous children. This piece was later published in the autumn 1937 issue of the left-wing magazine The Partisan Review. The story spoke to American’s second-generation Jews who were chained to their Jewish traditions, and embarrassed by their ways. Following his first success, Schwartz taught at Harvard, Bennington, Kenyon College and Princeton. He ended his professorship for New York City in 1947 and wrote The World is a Wedding, a book of short stories that portrayed the Jewish middle class. Schwartz’s love life was not much better than that of his parents (his father deserted his mother at the age of ten), and his drinking did not help. He was first married in 1937 to Gertrude Buckman, but within ten years they divorced. He married Elizabeth Pollet in 1949; she became a novelist. They separated years later after jealous fits make Pollet fearful and he was committed to Bellevue Hospital after hallucinating an affair. In 1960, Schwartz won the Bollingen Prize for poetry, continued to lecture and write, but would also continue to drink heavily at the literary bars, The White Horse Tavern and the San Remo. “In the years before his death, a disheveled Delmore could frequently be found on a bench in Washington Square Park, a worn-out body in a worn-out suit, a pathetic figure with grimy hands and greenish pallor.” He died in 1966 of a heart attack. “Many years later, in her introduction to Delmore Schwartz's posthumously published journals, Pollett would remember ‘the Delmore I loved. The Delmore who fascinated me, to be with whom meant breathing not only with one's lungs but with one's mind. Above all, there was the poet, the Orpheus, transcending this world to make music out of things he alone had penetrated to and heard.’” Quotes from MacAdams, Lewis. Birth of the Cool: Beat, Bebop, and the American Avant-garde. New York: Free, 2001.
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The Poetry of Delmore Schwartz Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day
At This Moment Of Time
Calmly we walk through this April's day, Metropolitan poetry here and there, In the park sit pauper and rentier, The screaming children, the motor-car Fugitive about us, running away, Between the worker and the millionaire Number provides all distances, It is Nineteen Thirty-Seven now, Many great dears are taken away, What will become of you and me
Some who are uncertain compel me. They fear The Ace of Spades. They fear Loves offered suddenly, turning from the mantelpiece, Sweet with decision. And they distrust The fireworks by the lakeside, first the spuft, Then the colored lights, rising. Tentative, hesitant, doubtful, they consume Greedily Caesar at the prow returning, Locked in the stone of his act and office. While the brass band brightly bursts over the water They stand in the crowd lining the shore Aware of the water beneath Him. They know it. Their eyes Are haunted by water
(This is the school in which we learn...) Besides the photo and the memory? (...that time is the fire in which we burn.) (This is the school in which we learn...) What is the self amid this blaze? What am I now that I was then Which I shall suffer and act again, The theodicy I wrote in my high school days Restored all life from infancy, The children shouting are bright as they run (This is the school in which they learn . . .) Ravished entirely in their passing play! (...that time is the fire in which they burn.) Avid its rush, that reeling blaze! Where is my father and Eleanor? Not where are they now, dead seven years, But what they were then? No more? No more? From Nineteen-Fourteen to the present day, Bert Spira and Rhoda consume, consume Not where they are now (where are they now?) But what they were then, both beautiful; Each minute bursts in the burning room, The great globe reels in the solar fire, Spinning the trivial and unique away. (How all things flash! How all things flare!) What am I now that I was then? May memory restore again and again The smallest color of the smallest day: Time is the school in which we learn, Time is the fire in which we burn.
Disturb me, compel me. It is not true That "no man is happy," but that is not The sense which guides you. If we are Unfinished (we are, unless hope is a bad dream), You are exact. You tug my sleeve Before I speak, with a shadow's friendship, And I remember that we who move Are moved by clouds that darken midnight. Selected Works Poetry 6 Poems / 6 Woodcuts (1953) Genesis: Book I (1943) In Dreams Begin Responsibilities (1938) Shenandoah and Other Verse Plays (1941) Summer Knowledge: Selected Poems (19381958) (1959) Vaudeville for a Princess and Other Poems (1950) Fiction In Dreams Begin Responsibilities (1938) Successful Love and Other Stories (1961) The World is a Wedding (1948) 8 8
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Collected Stories in Production October 1996 South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California. Kandis Chappell played Ruth and Suzanne Cryer played Lisa Directed by Lisa Peterson Los Angeles Drama Critics Awards for Best Original Play and Best Production of a Play April 1997 Pulitzer Prize finalist
Melanie Lora and Kandis Chappell in Collected Stories. Photo by Henry DiRocco
May 1997 Manhattan Theatre Club's Stage I, New York Maria Tucci played Ruth, and Debra Messing played Lisa. Directed by Lisa Peterson Drama Desk Award nominee for Best Play Finalist for the Dramatists Guild/Hull-Warriner Award for Best Play August 1998 Off-Broadway run at the Lucille Lortel Theater, New York Uta Hagen played Ruth and Lorca Simons played Lisa Directed by William Carden
Lorca Simons and Uta Hagen in Collected Stories. Photo by Carol Rosegg.
May 1999 Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, California Linda Lavin played Ruth and Samantha Mathis played Lisa Directed by Gil Cates Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play September 1999 Royal Haymarket Theatre in London, England Helen Mirren played Ruth and Anne-Marie Duff played Lisa Directed by Howard Davies January 2002 Released as a film Linda Lavin played Ruth and Samantha Mathis played Lisa Directed by Gil Cates
Samantha Mathis and Linda Lavin in Collected Stories. Film poster
April 2010 Manhattan Theatre Club, New York Linda Lavin played Ruth and Sarah Paulson played Lisa Directed by Lynne Meadow Collected Stories has been produced throughout the U.S. and in cities around the world-including Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Sydney, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Paris, Sao Paolo, Berlin, Vienna, and Warsaw.
Sarah Paulson and Linda Lavin in Collected Stories. Photo by Joan Marcus
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