Brendan Curriculum Guide

Limelight

teacher literary & curriculum guide

Brendan

BY RONAN NOONE

DIRECTED BY JUSTIN WALDMAN October 12 - November 18, 2007 Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 527 Tremont Street

HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY

Nicholas Martin

IN RESIDENCE AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

Norma Jean Calderwood Artistic Director

Michael Maso Managing Director

Brendan

BY RONAN NOONE DIRECTED BY JUSTIN WALDMAN Table of Contents STAFF

Table of Contents 3 Synopsis 4 Writer Becoming Yank: Ronan Noone 6 Ronan Noone: Traversing Dichotomies 9 The Logistics of Citizenship 10 Should We Stay or Should We Go Now? The Irish Beat a Path to Boston

This Teacher Literary and Curriculum Guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by Marisa Jones, Education Consultant With contributions by Donna Glick, Director of Education Ilana Brownstein, Literary Manager

12 Audience Etiquette

Kathryn Harris, Former Artistic Intern

12 Background & Objectives

Julie Levene, Freelance Dramaturg

13 Preparation for Brendan

Brett Marks, Assistant to the Artistic Director Amanda Rota, Education Department Manager

14 Open Response & Writing Assignments

Justin Waldman, Artistic Associate

14 Related Works and Resources

Melissa Wagner-O’Malley, Layout

15 Mastery Assessment 16 Media Assessment 17 Questions for After the Performance 18 Lesson Plans 18 For Further Exploration 20 Handout 1: Vocabulary 21 Handout 2: Roots

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Brendan

BY RONAN NOONE

DIRECTED BY JUSTIN WALDMAN October 12 - November 18, 2007 Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA 527 Tremont Street

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SYNOPSIS

Brendan B

rendan’s been in America more than five years now. A sensitive guy, he likes things the way he likes them, and though he’s found that sunny Boston isn’t much different than the life he left in Ireland, he’s happy to have escaped his overbearing mother and a whole lot of baggage. But now that he’s on the verge of gaining his citizenship, his new life is thrown topsy-turvy by the arrival of a letter from home.

Suddenly, everything he tried to forget is back, front and center, and he realizes he hasn’t quite broken free of the old Irish sod.

From his “two-pints Wednesdays” down at the local pub, to his alone time with Mozart, he can’t shake the feeling that there’s always someone looking over his shoulder, judging his choices. So what can an introverted immigrant do to make himself feel more American? Buying a car and finding himself a nice American girl wouldn’t hurt. Too bad he can’t drive and is clumsy with women — his last tryst ended with a bottle of painkillers and a one-way plane ticket.

Brendan’s clearly going to need some help, and it comes from the unlikeliest of sources: driving lessons from the escort pages, and a large dose of confidence from a sleepless neighbor. All the while, Brendan’s citizenship ceremony approaches, and he wishes more than anything for someone to share it with.

Not simply a sweetly comic tale of one immigrant’s experience, Brendan offers a universal picture of the adventure and the uncertainty that every traveler faces in the quest to leave behind what’s familiar in favor of the unknown. – IMB, JW, & JL

Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2007-2008

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WRITER BECOMING YANK

Ronan Noone

Ronan Noone; photo: John Michael Kennedy

T

hough Ronan Noone’s path eventually led him to theatre, it didn’t start out that way. Noone was born April 7, 1970 in Newry, a town in Northern Ireland, but grew up on the other side of the island, in Clifden, near Connemara National Park. His father was an engineer, and his mother stayed at home to care for Ronan and his three sisters. He did some acting in high school, but quickly decided the spotlight was not for him. “My sense of anxiety is so strong I’d faint if I’d have gone onstage. I find it hard enough to sit in the back when watching my own plays,” Noone notes with a laugh.

Eventually he found his way to the National University of Ireland at Galway, 4

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where he studied math and politics. “The social conscience was always pricking me, even back then, so I did a thesis in politics for my degree. I did it on Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge — Cambodia 1975-79. How could these assaults on people, and these genocides occur? I never understood that, so that became fascinating to me.” This affinity with the social conscience carried him to a yearlong intensive for journalism, also at Galway, immediately following his undergraduate studies.

As a reporter, Noone began by writing primarily for Ireland’s provincial papers.

He felt his goals as a journalist, however, weren’t being satisfied by the assignments he received. “At that time, those

provincial newspapers had only four or five things on the front page all the time.

One was who was the Rose of the Week, who’s the prettiest girl in the county; what football team won that week; what the priest had to say about such-andsuch; and if gold mining or oil drilling should be allowed in the area. I thought to myself, I’m not going to be dealing with Pol Pot here.”

In search of more satisfying stories, Noone moved to Prague in 1993, mostly because he heard it was inexpensive to live there, there was a large base of expatriates, and he thought he had a shot as a foreign correspondent. However, he found himself facing different, though equally frustrating, issues in Prague. “I was working for newspapers and I realized the Czech translator wouldn’t ask the question I’d asked because they’d think it might be stupid. I wouldn’t get the right answer back, so I wouldn’t ask the right follow-up question. It became a conversation between the interpreter and the person I was questioning, making me feel like I was an idiot altogether.

So I packed it in. I realized you could live off a dollar a day back then, so I said, what’s the point of working anyway?”

While living on the cheap, Noone had the opportunity to meet numerous interesting people, including some friendly Americans, who encouraged him to come to the United States and look them up on Martha’s Vineyard.

After only three months in Prague, Ronan took the Americans up on their offer. He returned to Ireland and applied for a green card in the lottery. A few months after passing his green card tests, he arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, and stayed with his new friends until he could afford a place of his own. He began to work odd jobs — bartending, waiting tables, and painting houses, while also writing and traveling. Noone mostly wrote poetry and short stories during this stretch, as well as his first play, which he unceremoniously shoved in a

Billy Meleady and Aaron Pitre in the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre production of Ronan Noone’s The Blowin of Baile Gall; photo: BU Photo Services

drawer. But Martha’s Vineyard would prove to be Noone’s jumping-off point towards becoming an American citizen.

It was there he met his wife, Jessica Roche, and in 1999, after four years and seven months, he applied for citizenship.

He became an American one year later.

Becoming a citizen was a turning point for Noone professionally. “When I became a citizen I realized then that everything was mapped out before me, and this kind of transitory lifestyle of waitering and painting houses wouldn’t be enough to fulfill the spirit. That’s when I went back into the drawer, took out the script, and rang up the local theatre to ask if they knew if there was anywhere you could learn how to become a playwright.

They recommended Boston University’s graduate playwriting program at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre.” This first play would eventually be titled The Lepers of Baile Baiste and would be a great success for Noone, with performances at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Súgán Theatre Company in Boston in 2002, and Off Broadway in 2004.

After Lepers, Noone wrote his second play, The Blowin of Baile Gall, which was produced by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in 2002. During the production, Ronan realized he was writing a trilogy, and soon after penned The Gigolo Confessions of Baile Breag, which was produced by the Súgán Theatre Company in 2004. Together, the three plays are known as the Baile Trilogy.

In 2003, Ronan became a member of the first round of Huntington Playwriting Fellows, along with John Kuntz, Melinda Lopez, and Sinan Ünel. He notes, “becoming a Playwriting Fellow has had the strongest effect on what’s occurred in my plays for the last three years. Working with American writers and working with the Huntington, seeing what plays succeed and how the audiences react — watching American humor, where they laughed and where they cried — it all had an effect on how my writing began to change.”

Since becoming a Playwriting Fellow, Ronan has seen readings of Brendan (under its former title, Smiler Becoming Yank) in the Huntington’s 2005 Breaking Ground Festival, and as a 2006 produc-

“Becoming a Huntington Playwriting Fellow has had the strongest effect on what’s occurred in my plays for the last three years.” tion with the Boston University College of Fine Arts, directed by Justin Waldman.

The Atheist, a one-character show, premiered in New York in 2006, and had a production at Theatre 503 in London this past January. Noone has also recently received a reading of his newest play, The Gigolo Game, with the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Mass. Together, Brendan, The Atheist, and The Gigolo Game make up Noone’s American Trilogy. “I realized I had to find the stories that were more apt towards my personal progression, a happier existence. Even though they’re dark plays, they also are undercoated by that black humor, and for me that comes with a sense of achievement. I couldn’t find that if I’d stayed in the Irish form. It would go too dark, which is something most Irish plays do.”

In 2005, Ronan also became a firsttime father to daughter Molly; he and his family now live in Quincy. Though it’s a long way from Ireland and journalism, Ronan Noone has found a welcome home in America as a successful playwright. – BM Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2007-2008

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RONAN NOONE

Traversing Dichotomies Born in Northern Ireland and raised in Connemara, playwright Ronan Noone studied mathematics and political science — focusing in particular on the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia — at the National University of Ireland at Galway. Spurred on by a social consciousness that came out of his exploration of politics, after graduation Noone headed for a career in journalism, but America, the land of opportunity, was calling. He made his way to the United States in 1994, where he took up playwriting for the first time. He now holds dual citizenship — a dichotomy that has revealed itself in his body of work, most particularly in Brendan. His other plays include The Lepers of Baile Baiste, The Blowin of Baile Gall, The Gigolo Confessions of Baile Braeg, The Gigolo Game, and The Atheist, which the Huntington includes in this season’s Huntington Presents series. Noone spoke recently with Huntington Literary Manager Ilana Brownstein about his path to playwriting, and his new American voice.

Ireland’s provincial newspapers — and perhaps journalism in general — proved not to be a good match for you. Why not?

I had studied other subjects, but I was most comfortable when I fell into journalism. Hunting down stories and pursuing my ambition were attractive. But the idealism of becoming a foreign correspondent was a long way off from talking about the cat and the fire brigade. The jobs weren’t plentiful back then, either — you had to freelance for a long time. It wasn’t as attractive a job as I thought it might be. Plus I was told by my professor that I didn’t fit the formula for journalism.

I was too deconstructive, but I didn’t know what he meant at the time.

When did you get involved in theatre, then?

When I came to America I wrote my first play, and then I basically left that in a box for six years, until I sent it into Boston Playwrights’ Theatre for their graduate playwriting program, and they accepted it as one of their entrants for that year. I was so new to it all, they had to explain to me what the green room was when they showed me around the place. I had gone 6

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to plays in the past, obviously, and I loved the form and all that, but I was an outsider, I never was involved in it.

Why plays?

I’d written short stories and poetry, but the genre I found myself most comfortable with was dialogue. When I tried my hand at that first play, I felt it was a real start of something, an opening of a door. And I was surprised that I could complete a full story of a hundred pages, but it came to me quite easily. Reading back on that initial draft, you’d think, “that’s not a play,” but it felt like something at the time. Eleven or twelve drafts later it was produced at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre as The Lepers of Baile Baiste.

What sort of effect did your graduate work in theatre have on you?

I was fascinated by every aspect of it. I wrote, week in, week out. Every week I tried something new because they had actors who would come in and read your work. I thought it was enlightening, and not an opportunity I wanted to miss. You were pitted against minds that were very

sharp, so it allowed you to write up to a higher level, to open your mouth and voice your opinion without feeling that you didn’t know what you were talking about. Well, even if you didn’t know, you’d learn something from it. You know in European teaching there’s a tendency to be lectured at, and maybe that’s just in the undergraduate level, but studying under Derek Walcott was much more interactive. It was eye-opening,

After a year of working on the script through the graduate program, The Lepers of Baile Baiste was selected to compete at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, where it won the prestigious Michael Kanin National Playwriting Award. What was that moment like?

That was it, really — that was the culmination of the American Dream. Here you are with a play that you’ve been working on, and you can bring it to the Kennedy Center and be lauded. I had a few friends fly over from Ireland to see it, and that was just — well, there you are, standing in the Kennedy Center, and your play’s put on for a couple of nights in a big 400seater. Do you know what I remember happening? Right after the first performance, I went back to the hotel room and I just bawled. It was the emotional release of having put over a year into refining this script — it was hard work. I’d never experienced that before and I thought that was amazing.

The Blowin of Baile Gall and The Gigolo Confessions of Baile Breag quickly followed, and were produced in Boston. Together they became your Baile — or “small town” — trilogy.

Then you changed directions to what you’ve called a more American kind of writing. Why? By the time I got to the third play, Gigolo Confessions, my writing began to tread into more symbolic and poetic Irish territory. I learned that that wasn’t the direction I wanted to go in at all, it was far too dark. What worked for both Lepers and Blowin was that you could still

could open it up to a more American sense of hope, I think, which is part of me now. Plus the challenge of it too is to see if you can command an American dialect, while still maintaining an outsider’s perspective of America. It’s challenging. Irish writing was something I could do just with the tip of my hat, but I wasn’t interested in it anymore. Brendan became the transition play, bringing in American characters while still playing with the old school Irish themes.

What other writers influence you?

If asked that question when I was writing Irish plays, I’d always bring up the usual apples of Tom Murphy, M.J. Molloy, Brian Friel, and old Irish writers like that. But ever since I’ve been open more to the American field, my appreciation for Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is immense. Watching how those scenes move forward, how compelling the narrative is (even with the characters that can go on quite good a bit), how the characters are able to grow. Williams has had a huge affect on me. I actually have a great passion for what the television writer David Milch has done as well, and seeing where his writing is going all the time. I like watching him challenge himself from an “NYPD Blue” to a “Deadwood” to a “John from Cincinnati” type thing. It’s always something different.

Justin Waldman (left), director, and Ronan Noone (right), playwright, work together this season on Noone’s plays Brendan and The Atheist (see page 62); photo: John Michael Kennedy.

play with the social conscience theme, but it was undercut by wonderful humor. I had to reclaim that, and find the stories that were more in keeping with my personal progression, which was towards a bit of a happier existence.

I couldn’t find that in the Irish form. I needed to find a new métier as such, a new form, and new dialect. That was playing into the lifestyle I was leading now, which was an American lifestyle.

So I spent that next three years then

writing Brendan and The Atheist, and rewriting Gigolo into something more American.

Does the tradition of Irish literature continue to influence you, despite your new focus on American stories?

What’s come from that Irish heritage is a strong narrative, always, and what else comes from it is black humor. There’s also usually tragedy, terrible tragedy. I found that if I pulled away from that, I

Politics and social justice are constant themes in your work. How has that sensibility evolved over the years?

Earlier on in my plays you can see the writer popping up to say, “Look at yourselves, for God’s sake, this is ridiculous.

We’re all hypocrites.” But now I’m learning as I go along that subtlety has a much better effect, and if you stay far away from what you’re trying to say, and allow the story to speak for itself, people will find on their own that there’s a question within the work that can be answered. I don’t think I’ve written a play without trying to stir the fires of social conscience each time.

Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2007-2008

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Boston Skyline; photo: Steve Dunwell

We’ve talked about the evolution in your writing from Irish to American styles, but you experienced more than just an artistic transition.

How did you negotiate the cultural shift when you first came to the States and landed in Martha’s Vineyard?

It was the greatest act of assimilation I could ever achieve. It felt safe, as I wasn’t in the urban sphere. It was familiar —small town Ireland is a lot like the atmosphere of the Vineyard. Even the topography was similar. So it was an easy transition, really. Of course the accents were different. The language became quite different in my mind — two different kinds of English, really. But I enjoyed that I was accepted quite quickly.

You had a green card to work, and were naturalized in 2000. Why did you want to become an American citizen?

Because of the opportunities it presented.

I would not be a playwright if I were in Ireland. I couldn’t pursue my dream as easily. America has a wonderful tolerance, an urging on of achievement.

Maybe that’s easier for an immigrant to see because you don’t have peers, relations, or family nearby, or any of that pressure that might be upon people who grew up here. Once you walk away from a country and you start out fresh, you don’t have any of that. If anything, your pressure now is to succeed without any of them, to be even better than you might otherwise have been. Every avenue possible was presented to me in America.

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“I needed to find a new métier as such, a new form, and new dialect. That was playing into the lifestyle I was leading now, which was an American lifestyle.”

America offers the idea that you could send a play to B.U. and be accepted, that they would actually pay for the courses, that you’d be working with a Nobel Prizewinner like Derek Walcott, that they’d bring in paid actors to read your play.

That to me was so blissful. America is a place where you can come and get a job where you’re earning money straight away to pay your bills. I mean, the land of opportunity is still quite real my mind.

A lot of people probably disagree, but I don’t see that.

What was the naturalization process like?

I was lucky, in that I basically walked in. I applied for citizenship after four years and seven months, gave them my fingerprints, and I was made a citizen a year later. I did everything down at Faneuil Hall, and they had the big band and over 400 people there. I’m still amazed at the fact that 350 of them changed their names.

What do you remember most about the ceremony?

It was big, and the ironic thing, given what I studied in college, was that the keynote speaker was a man who had been rescued from the Khmer Rouge as a twelve-year-old boy, and then adopted by American parents. He became a citizen that day, too. He talked about how he had held a machine gun, and here he was in a different life, and how wonderful America was. That played into exactly what I see America as, too.

Has becoming a dual citizen complicated your idea of where “home” is, or where you belong in the world?

I’d gone back to Ireland after the war in Iraq started, and of course Europe had turned against America in many ways, but, while I didn’t agree with the war either, I found that when I was sitting down with my relations that they were ready and willing to take a potshot at me because I was living in America. I became defensive of America to such a point that I sounded like I was agreeing with the war just to hold up my sense of pride in becoming an American. I found there was a huge split between what I’d left behind and what I’d become. One of the cousins had to step in and say — and I still remember the remark — he said, “Please now, everybody, let’s calm down here, we have a guest in the house.” So I had become a guest. That, actually, laid bare the dichotomy more than anything else. I think Brendan came out of that moment.

So what do you call yourself these days?

American? Irish?

In this country, I enjoy being allowed to be who you are. I think that answers the question better than making a choice one way or the other. I remember once asking the author Frank McCourt, “Are you American or are you Irish? You’re known for your Irish book, but are you an American writer?” And he answered in his very diplomatic Irish way of course, “Oh, I’m a New Yorker.” So I think I’m probably just a Bostonian.

The Logistics of Citizenship T he process of becoming a citizen is central to Ronan Noone’s Brendan. Even before America’s existence as an independent country, people from all over the world came here in hopes of starting new lives. According to the office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, over 700,000 immigrants are naturalized every year. So how exactly does one become an American citizen?

The process can take anywhere from six months to two years, or even longer for complicated cases. Immigrants are eligible for naturalization if they: Are at least eighteen years old.

Have permanently lived in the U.S. for at least five years before applying for naturalization.

Have physically been in the U.S. for thirty months over the previous five years.

Possess good moral character. Indicators of bad moral character include the crimes with the intent to harm, habitual drunkenness, drunk driving, and lying to gain immigration benefits.

Demonstrate “an understanding of the English language, including an ability to read, write, and speak…simple words and phrases…in ordinary usage in the English language,” and “a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, and of the principles and form of government of the United States.”

Be willing to support and defend the U.S. and the Constitution.

After meeting these criteria, immigrants must complete an application for naturalization. This application consists of the following forms and documents: • Form N-400, Application for Naturalization • Form 325-A, Biographic Information Sheet • A photocopied Alien Registration Receipt Card • Two identical color photographs of themselves Fingerprints are taken and routed to the FBI for a criminal background check, after which applicants are interviewed about their character, willingness to take an Oath of Allegiance, and evidence supporting their cases. The interview is conducted under oath, and lying results in a denial of citizenship. A civics exam is given at this time, as is the English language test. The civics test is either administered verbally, or in the form of a ten-question multiple-choice test, containing questions such as “Who elects the President?” “Who makes the laws in the United States?” and “Why do we have a holiday on the 4th of July?” Although a perfect score is not necessary to pass, most applicants score between 80% and 90%, and many score 100%. Decisions are sometimes given at the end of the interview. When this happens, applicants are able to attend an oath ceremony that same day.

Fourth of July Fireworks over Boston’s Hatch Shell; photo: Steve Dunwell

Once applicants take the Oath, they receive their Certificate of Naturalization and become official citizens of the United States.

This past July 4th, 4000 new citizens were minted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, and Boston officials provided a unique opportunity to a select group of immigrants. In addition to a ceremony at the Boston Hatch Shell during the Pops Fourth of July concert in which dozens of new citizens took their oaths, ten people were naturalized aboard the U.S.S. Constitution on its annual cruise around Boston Harbor. In ceremonies all over the country, these words could be heard: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evation; so help me God.” – KH

Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2007-2008

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SHOULD WE STAY OR SHOULD WE GO NOW?

The Irish Beat a Path To Boston S

ince Brendan offers a close look at the experiences of Irish immigrants in America, it is only fitting that the piece take place in possibly the most Irish of American cities: Boston. Originally featuring a Protestant majority of largely English descent, during its colonial period Boston’s social climate began to shift so greatly that in the span of twenty years, the city’s population came to be predominately Roman Catholic of Irish heritage.

Irish emigration to the United States can be dated to the mid-1600s, but the mid1800s marked the rise of the Irish com-

munity in Boston, when the Irish made up roughly a quarter of the city’s population. Two centuries later, almost thirtyfive million people in the U.S. claim Irish origins (the total population of Ireland is only four million), and Boston’s portion of Irish descendants has stayed constant at 25% — a larger concentration than any other city in the country.

The greatest exodus from Ireland took place in the 1840s and 1850s, when a severe blight on Ireland’s major crop led to the tragedy commonly known as the Irish Potato Famine. The famine decimat-

The first port of call in New York was the Irish Emigrant Society; illustration: The Irish Empire by Patrick Bishop

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ed roughly three quarters of the potato harvests in Ireland, and 350,000 lives were lost to starvation as the country’s staple food vanished from use — the famine and its after-effects claimed nearly one million people in total.

The conditions sparked a decade-long flight of roughly two million people hoping for a brighter future in America. In an 1850 letter to The London Times, one of those emigrants said he “would advise all my friends to quit Ireland — the country most dear to me; as long as they remain in it they will be in bondage and misery.”

Despite the opportunity that America’s western frontier represented for many, most Irish immigrants were cash poor and opted to remain mainly in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, nearest to where their boats had landed.

In Boston, the Irish formed close-quartered communities in neighborhoods such as the North End and Fort Hill.

According to the Bostonian Historical Society, as the flood of immigrants increased, these enclaves expanded into other areas such as the West End and South End, South Boston, Charlestown, Roxbury, and Dorchester. Life was hard; in 1849, a Health Committee investigated a cholera epidemic in Boston and reported that the disease had badly affected the Irish population in the city: “The average age of Irish life in Boston does not exceed fourteen years. In Broad Street and all the surrounding neighborhoods, including Fort Hill and the adjacent streets, the situation of the Irish is particularly wretched.”

As Lawrence H. Fuchs notes in his book Forgotten Doors: The Other Ports of Entry to the United States, by the late 1800s Boston grew to be the second-busiest port city in the country. In the early 1900s, Boston’s immigration numbers peaked, as did the number of immigrants coming into Ellis Island. But the pattern of immigration has reversed in recent decades, a trend that can be traced to the 1921 Immigration Act. Aiming to decrease the

Boston on the 4th of July; photo: Roswell Angier

total number of immigrants, the Act put into effect a quota system based on the countries of origin for those counted in the 1910 U.S. population — a process many look back upon as racist and xenophobic. Much later, President Truman declared that “The idea behind this discriminatory policy was, to put it boldly, that Americans with English or Irish names were better people and better citizens than Americans with Italian or Greek or Polish names.”

President Kennedy did much to reform immigration policy, pushing for legislation based on reunifying divided families, survivors of natural disasters, and those fleeing political oppression — regardless of national origin. As far as Kennedy was concerned, giving Ireland priority with other countries under Communist threat was illogical. He proposed phasing out the quota system over a period of five years, and President Johnson continued the suggested reforms after Kennedy’s assassination. “In establishing preferences,” Johnson summarized in his 1964

State of the Union, “a nation that was built by the immigrants of all lands can ask those who now seek admission: ‘What can you do for your country?’ But we should not be asking: ‘In what country were you born?’” The 1965 act that followed eliminated quotas, but capped the total number of immigrants allowed entrance from the Western Hemisphere.

Simultaneously, Ireland’s economy began to rebound, and young people were enticed to stay in greater numbers, causing unused American visas to pile up.

It wasn’t until Ireland’s economic hardships of the 1980s that a newfound difficulty in getting to America became evident, prompting a trend in illegal Irish immigration. Despite living situations right out of the 19th century, low-paying jobs of physical labor, and the constant fear of deportation, many Irish who came to America stayed. In 1986, for example, 1,839 Irish became permanent residents, but more than fifty times that number had entered on temporary visas. “It’s part of the Irish identity to become an

American citizen,” shrugged undocumented Irish immigrant Patrick Hurley in a 1987 New York Times article.

In 1990, the Immigration Act was revised yet again, giving 90,000 visas to undocumented immigrants from thirtyfive countries — over half the recipients were Irish. But, as was true in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, a new wave of economic stability in Ireland slowed the flow of emigration. In a 1997, Londonbased journalist Warren Hoge noted that Ireland suddenly was in the “unaccustomed role of no longer being an emigrant nation.” The waxing and waning flow of people across borders was complicated further in the wake of 9/11, and while numbers have dwindled in recent years, the largest, most influential ethnic group in Boston is in no danger of fading from the cultural landscape of this city.

In a town where the basketball team is named after the marauding tribes that invaded and populated early Ireland, the influence of Boston’s Irish is secure.

– KH & JL Limelight Literary & Curriculum Guide 2007-2008

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BACKGROUND

& Objectives Use the following synopsis and objectives to inform your teaching of Brendan curriculum.

BU Theatre by T. Charles Erickson

Audience Etiquette Because many students have not had the opportunity to view live theatre, we are including an audience etiquette section with each literary/curriculum guide. Teachers, please spend time on this subject since it will greatly enhance your students’ experience at the theatre.

1. How does one respond to a live performance of a play, as opposed to when seeing a film at a local cinema? What is the best way to approach viewing a live performance of a play?

What things should you look and listen for?

2. What is the audience’s role during a live performance? How do you think audience behavior can affect an actor’s performance?

3. What do you know about the theatrical rehearsal process?

Have you ever participated in one as an actor, singer, director, or technical person?

4. How do costumes, set, lights, sound and props enhance a theatre production?

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B

rendan, an Irish immigrant, flees from home to get a much-needed fresh start.

Haunted by memories of his old love and his dead mother, Brendan flounders in his personal and professional relationships. But he is determined to realize his own version of the American dream: receiving a license to drive, securing his citizenship, and finding true love. Brendan must overcome the pain and mistakes of the past before he can make a better life for himself.

OBJECTIVES Students will: 1. Identify key issues in Brendan including: • coping with loss • mother-son relationships • stranger in a strange land 2. Relate themes and issues in the play to their own lives.

3. Analyze the themes and issues within the historical and social context of the play.

4. Participate in hands-on activities that enhance understanding of the production.

5. Evaluate the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Brendan.

Preparation for Brendan Use the following ideas to engage your class in thinking about Ronan Noone, introducing them to Brendan and its major themes.

RONAN NOONE Ronan Noone, the son of an engineer and housewife, was born in Northern Ireland on April 7, 1970. He began writing as a freelance journalist while still a student at Galway University. He did not enjoy journalism, but continued writing (mostly poetry) while working as a bartender on Martha’s Vineyard. The submission of his award-winning play The Lepers of Baile Baiste gained Noone admission to Boston University’s MFA program, and he went on to become a Huntington Playwriting Fellow. Two of his plays, The Atheist and Brendan, are part of the 2007-2008 Huntington Season. Can you identify any themes or ideas that appear frequently in his work? What is the impact of his personal life and experiences on his writing?

In what ways do you think he is like his character Brendan, and how might they be different?

THE IRISH IN MASSACHUSETTS Rich in culture and tradition, Irish communities have made a major contribution to the diversity and progress of our country—especially here in Massachusetts, where roughly one of every four residents

claims to be of Irish descent. The most famous of our Irish-Catholic neighborhoods is the section of South Boston known as “Southie,” which has been the subject of many films and plays and hosts a celebrated St. Patrick’s Day parade every year. The only Irish-Catholic person ever to serve as President of the United States—John F. Kennedy—was also a Massachusetts resident. Why do you think Noone chose Boston as the setting for his play? Make the argument that Massachusetts is the only place in which Brendan could be set.

KEY ISSUES

Mother-Son Relationship Having rescued her son from the top of a mountain after an attempted suicide, Brendan’s mother could think of only one way to improve her son’s life: to send him away to America. In letters to her son, she explained that she wanted him to live a better life, even if it meant that she would never see him again. Brendan is, to some extent, unhappy with his mother for the way she raised him. He feels coddled, sheltered, and ultimately pushed away. From his mother’s point-of-view, what reasons might she give for raising him in a sheltered, even coddled environment? What lessons do you think he learned from her?

Coping With Loss Brendan struggles to cope with difficult situations and is often overwhelmed by his emotions. After his relationship troubles with Judy, he attempts suicide. He moves to America to escape his pain and the shame of a botched overdose. But his difficulties do not end with his relocation. When his good friend dies in a car accident, Brendan is unable to express his intense grief.

His mother’s death leaves him trapped by his memories, haunted by a figment of his imagination. By the play’s end, does Brendan become more resilient? Will he be able to accept his mother’s death and rid himself of her “ghost?”

Stranger in a Strange Land Brendan wants to make Boston his new home, but the transition is not easy.

Despite the city’s large Irish population, he often finds himself alone and misunderstood by his fellow immigrants. When his loyalty is questioned by his Irish brothers, Brendan reaches out to make new friends from different backgrounds. In an attempt to fit in, he speaks differently, listens more closely, and acquires new skills. Why do people often stick with their “own kind?”

Are you drawn to people with similar interests and backgrounds? What can you gain by spending time with someone whose culture is different from your own?

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OPEN RESPONSE & WRITING Related Works and Resources YOU MIGHT EXPLORE OTHER PLAYS BY RONAN NOONE, SUCH AS: The Blowin of Baile Gall. Dramatist's Play Service, 2006.

The Lepers of Baile Baiste. Samuel French, 1999.

YOU MIGHT ALSO EXPLORE THE FOLLOWING WORKS AS SUPPLEMENTS TO THIS LITERARY AND CURRICULUM GUIDE. Dezell, Maureen. Irish America: Coming Into Clover. Anchor, 2002.

Lehane, Dennis. Gone, Baby, Gone.

Harper: Reissue, 2007.

Lehane, Dennis. Mystic River.

Harper Paperbacks. 2003.

McCourt, Frank. Angela’s Ashes.

Harper Perennial, 2005.

O’Connor, Thomas H. The Boston Irish: A Political History. Konecky & Konecky, 2007.

O’Neill, Eugene. Long Day’s Journey into Night. Yale University Press; 2nd edition, 2002.

Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese. Miramax Home Entertainment, 2003.

The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese. Warner Home Video, 2007.

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Assignments Instructions for students: Please answer the following as thoroughly as possible in a wellplanned, carefully written essay. Remember to use topic sentences and examples from the text.

OPEN RESPONSE ASSESSMENT 1. Why do you think Ronan Noone, the playwright, decided to name his play after the protagonist?

2. What do you think Rose’s birthmark represents? Why is this facial feature an important part of the play?

3. Why do you think Brendan’s mother didn’t want him at her funeral? Was this request selfish or selfless?

4. Do you think Judy and Brendan were in a serious relationship?

5. Is Maria a good person? How does she defy or reinforce the stereotype of a prostitute?

6. Was Steveo a true friend to Brendan?

7. Do you think the homeless man who batters Josh in the bar had a right to be angry? How do you think he feels about immigrants?

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS 1. Brendan spends much of the play learning how to drive. Why did his mother discourage driving? Discuss the symbolism of this action. Who are Brendan’s “teachers”?

2. Why do you think Brendan became physically violent when his car was threatened, but not when Josh was in need of help fighting off the homeless man? Why was this conflict over the car a turning point for Brendan?

3. Discuss the importance of the Woman’s character in the play.

Who does she represent? Why is she simply called Woman?

4. Select one of the following quotes and discuss it in essay form.

“Then again they say your own are sometimes the best … and sometimes the worst in the world.”

“I think there’s something romantic about that. Try and kill yourself and all. I mean for love.” “…we make friends when we can make friends, and we love even when we can’t help it. Some people are lovely and some people are happy but we’re all the same and as long as we’re happy, just happy then we’re alright.” “…and you wonder where that memory comes from, but then you realize that you’re latching on to your past because you are beginning to forget it.” “…in your heart of hearts you are where you come from, but now you are what you choose, and you choose to be an American.”

5. Choose one of the main characters in Brendan and write a journal entry from his or her perspective, expanding on what we already know. Place the character at a key moment in the play, a time critical to propelling the action of the play forward.have influenced each author?

6. Write a critical review of the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Brendan and submit it for publication in your school newspaper. Be sure to send the Huntington a copy!

16. How does Victor taunt Brendan while he’s in jail?

MASTERY

Assessment SCENES 1-17 1. Who in Brendan’s family died?

How does he find out?

2. Who is Judy?

3. What happens between the homeless man and Josh at the bar? Does Brendan intervene?

4. Why does Daisy think Brendan is romantic?

5. According to the Woman, what is Rose’s most prominent feature?

8. How does Maria support herself?

9. What tragedy befalls Steveo?

10. What will happen to Steveo’s coffin?

17. What does Daisy want from Brendan?

18. Where does Brendan ask Rose to go with him?

19. Based on his mother’s last letter, what seems to have been her health problem?

20. What gift does Rose give to Brendan?

11. How does Brendan catch Mike, the car salesman, in a lie?

21. How does Rose find out about Maria?

12. Who does Brendan ask for driving lessons?

22. Does Brendan pass his driving test?

13. How is Victor related to Rose? What advice does he have for Brendan?

6. What is Steveo’s big news about Daisy?

SCENES 18-34 14. Why does Josh think that Brendan is disloyal?

7. Why does Brendan decide to get a car?

Does the Woman approve?

15. What happened to Brendan’s car?

Why does he end up in trouble?

23. What present does Maria leave for Brendan?

24. Who comes to witness Brendan’s citizenship ceremony?

25. By the play’s end, do you think Rose will be able to forgive Brendan? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

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my character, and what does my character think of them?

MEDIA

Assessment The following exercises are interactive, hands-on challenges in Drama, Music, Visual Arts and Design. They aim to give students a better understanding of the many kinds of tasks that contribute to a theatrical production.

STAGE COMBAT All fight scenes must be carefully choreographed so that the actors can simulate a physical confrontation without suffering any bodily harm. Mastering this choreography can take hours of physically demanding practice, which continues until the very day of the performance. Just before the curtain rises, a fight captain (usually a stage manager) runs one last rehearsal, called a “fight call,” to remind the actors of the necessary muscle movements. Not having undergone this training, you are not ready to perform stage combat at full speed. In groups of four,

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choose one of the various fight scenes in which Brendan or other characters are required to simulate a physical altercation. After rehearsal, share this scene with the class. Consider the following questions: (a) How do you create the illusion of physicality? (b) How do you remain in character while also communicating safety issues with your partner?

CREATING CHARACTERIZATION Have each student choose a character from Brendan to portray. As if preparing for the role in rehearsal, ask students to answer the following questions about their characters: (a) What is my objective in the play, and which obstacles stand in my way? (b) How, if at all, does my character transform during the course of the play? (c) Are there any contradictions inherent in my character? (d) What do other characters think of

MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN Brendan’s mother asks, “Do you still listen to the classical music? Same as your father.” Music is important to Brendan, and various selections are mentioned in the dialogue and stage directions of the play. Choose one of the following pieces for additional research: Barcarolle from Lakme by L. Delibes, Carmina Burana composed by Carl Orff or ‘Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi. Why do you think Ronan Noone chose these particular musical pieces? If you were designing the sound for this production how would you use music to enhance the action of the story?

DIRECTING CHALLENGE The stage directions state that the play has no intermission and that “transitions from one scene to the next should be fluid.” As a director, how would you best accomplish this task? What problems do you foresee for the actors and crew? How would you help them manage these challenges?

QUESTIONS AFTER

Attending the Performance Note to teachers: Before attending a performance of Brendan, pass out these questions to students and go over question 1 with them.

1. Above the stage of the Huntington Theatre there is an inscription that states: “To hold as ‘twere the mirror up to nature.” There is also an inscription in the theatre’s entryway that says “All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances and one man in his time plays many parts.”

From what plays are these lines? What do you think they mean? Why do you think the original owners of the theatre had these quotations inscribed?

With these quotes in mind, consider the following questions while watching a performance of Brendan.

7. Did the physical elements of the Huntington’s production (i.e., the sets, props, costuming and lighting) suggest different things about the characters? Discuss the many ways that the set, props, costumes, and light and sound designs of this pro-

duction served its director and actors.

Consider each element individually.

Note: The teacher may want to assign groups of students one production element (set, props, costumes, sound, music, etc.) to concentrate on during the performance.

2. What was your overall reaction? Were you surprised? Intrigued? Amused?

Explain your reactions.

3. What clues did the set and costumes of Brendan give you about this play’s characters before they said or did anything?

4. How did the actor’s physicalization of their characters enhance the interpretation of each character? Give specific examples such as the way the actors walked, chewed food, sat, gestured, warmed up, handled equipment, and so forth.

5. Discuss the actor’s uses of their voices.

Did each character have a distinct voice? What role did accent have in this play? Support your answers.

6. Point out some interesting details of staging. How did those particular staging touches add to the impact of the story?

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Lesson Plans Teachers’ note: Choose activities that are appropriate for your classroom period. All assignments are suggestions. Only a teacher knows his or her class well enough to determine the level and depth to which any piece of literature may be examined.

ONE-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the context and major themes of the production.

DAY ONE - Introducing the Play 1. Distribute Mastery Assessment (P. 15) for Brendan for students to read before, and to review again after attending the performance.

Optional: Distribute Handout #1: Vocabulary and ask students to define each word. A vocabulary test could be administered after viewing the play.

2. Read the Synopsis (P. 3) of the play. Discuss other works students have studied with similar themes and issues.

3. If time allows, discuss further pages from the literary guide, narrating highlights for students.

FOUR-DAY LESSON PLAN introduces students to the production and then, after viewing the performance, asks them to think more critically about what they have seen. Includes time for class discussion and individual assessment.

DAY ONE - Introducing the Play Same as Day One above; completed before seeing the production.

For Further Exploration Note to Teachers: The following ideas and questions can be used to further explore the text. They can be used as prompts for class discussion or additional writing assignments.

1. Walter Cannon, a Harvard physiologist, was the first to describe the “fight or flight” response in humans to exceptionally stressful and life-threatening situations. The brain, specifically the hypothalamus, responds by initiating a chemical reaction that prepares the body for fighting or fleeing. Consider Brendan’s behavior throughout the course of the play. When is he fighting and when is he fleeing? Do you think modern society removes the need for this primitive survival mechanism, or does it still serve a useful purpose?

2. At least twelve million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. Advocates argue that their contributions to the workforce, filling many low-wage jobs, are important to the economy’s success and stability. But opponents argue that immigrants place a strain on health care and education services. A bipartisan

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effort to pass a major immigration bill died on the floor of the United States Senate in June 2007. Continue your research of this contentious debate. How do you think the United States government should proceed with immigration reform?

3. Consider the following statement from a Boston University press release: “While most of Noone’s earlier works deal with Irish themes, he considers Brendan to be a transitional piece, in which his focus shifts to American themes and ideals.” Which American themes and ideals are discussed in the play? Do you think this play is more about being American than about being Irish? Is it important to the play that Brendan is an Irish immigrant?

4. Each ethnic group is subjected to various stereotypes and labels— and the Irish are no exception. They have been commonly characterized as heavy drinkers and prone to fighting. How do the characters in Brendan propagate these stereotypes, and how do they undermine them? What makes stereotypes so popular, and what makes them so dangerous? Expand on this theme in discussion or in essay form to examine stereotypes and labels of other ethnic and cultural groups.

DAY TWO - The Production Attend the performance at the Huntington Theatre Company.

Homework: Students should answer the Mastery Assessment (P. 15) questions.

DAY THREE - Follow-up Discussion Discuss Mastery Assessment answers in class.

DAY FOUR - Test Individual Assessment: Choose either several questions from the Open Response (P. 14) or one question from Writing Assignments (P. 14) for students to answer in one class period.

Optional: Students may choose one of the For Further Exploration (P. 18) or Media Assessment (P. 16) tasks to complete for extra credit.

SEVEN-DAY LESSON PLAN completely integrates Brendan into your schedule. Within seven school days, you can introduce the play, assign reading and vocabulary, and assess your students on both a group and individual level. Students will ideally view the play after completing Mastery Assessment questions.

DAY ONE - Introducing the play Same as Day One above.

Optional: Distribute Handout #1: Vocabulary due on Day Four.

Homework: Read Scenes 1 -17 and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment (P. 15) questions.

DAY TWO - Scenes 1-17 Discuss the first part of the play and answers to Mastery Assessment questions.

Homework: Read Scenes 18 -34 and answer corresponding Mastery Assessment questions.

DAY THREE - Scenes 18-34 Discuss the second half of the play and answers to Mastery Assessment questions.

Homework: Complete Handout #1: Vocabulary.

DAY FOUR - Group work Complete Handout #2: Roots. Leave time for performance and class evaluations.

Optional: Review Handout #1: Vocabulary.

DAY FIVE - Attend Performance Optional: Students may choose to complete one of the For Further Exploration (P. 18) for extra credit.

DAY SIX - Review/Preparation Students should answer the Open Response (P. 14) questions as preparation for their test the following day.

DAY SEVEN - Test Individual Assessment: Choose two questions from the Writing Assignments (P. 14) for students to answer in one class period.

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Name:_______________________________________________________

Handout 1

VOCABULARY arraignment brazen callous catharsis celebratory commendable delinquent diabolical discernible feign fortitude immigration malignant maudlin meticulous mitigating morgue mortified obliged parasite pedestrian podium procrastination rambunctious ration regalia solace trepidation volley

Date:_____________________

Name:_______________________________________________________

Date:_____________________

Handout 2

ROOTS: EXPLORING INDIVIDUAL HERITAGE Preparation: Ask students to speak with their parents, grandparents or other family members about their ancestry. If students have family trees, photo albums, or other memorabilia important to the family, encourage them to look through these materials.

STEP ONE: As a class, briefly discuss the ethnicities and cultural heritages of your ancestors. Create a chart that shows the diversity of the group. Is this class a homogeneous or culturally diverse group? (5 minutes)

STEP TWO: Students should pair off and discuss what they know about their ancestry. If your partner is not a Native American, discuss at what point (if known) his/her ancestors arrived in the United States. (5 minutes)

STEP THREE: Choose a specific ancestor, as recent in your family history as a parent. Create a scene in which you and your partner’s family character meet (at a train station, for dinner at a restaurant, etc.). Relay information about your cultural heritage without explicitly referring to any countries or ethnicities. These are brief scenes which should not last more than two minutes. (10 minutes)

STEP FOUR: Share your scenes with the group. (20 minutes)

STEP FIVE: Ask the audience to guess the heritage of the characters. In what ways did stereotyping play a role in the formation of the scene? (5 minutes)

STEP SIX: For homework, students should answer the following questions after watching the scenes. How can you portray a person from a particular cultural background without resorting to stereotyping? Did playwright Ronan Noone rely on stereotyping in his play Brendan?

Š Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115 October 2007 No portion of this Teacher Curriculum Guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education.

Inquiries should be directed to: Donna Glick, Director of Education Huntington Theatre Company 264 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115