Christopher Shinn's Official Website
This can be used as a tool to learn about the author.
Christopher Shinn's Official MySpace Page
This can be used to get in contact with the author
Broadway World
This is Broadway World's profile for Christopher Shinn
Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
This contains Dramatists' information on Dying City
Artslynx International Arts Resources
This is a resource for dramarurgs
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Dramaturg's Statement
Dying City is a two person show. The script requirements are minimal which leaves a lot to the imagination. The script leaves room for actors of any race or ethnicity to be cast. Craig and Peter are twin brothers and are to be played by the same actor. Craig is a straight man who studies American literature and a soldier in the US Army. Peter is a homosexual man and an actor. Kelly is a psychologist.
In the play, Kelly is visited by her late husband Craig’s twin brother Peter. She is packed up and ready to move away from her life. She is ready to move on with her life and forget about what the unusual circumstances that surround Craig’s death. She has been avoiding contact with Peter, who sent her several letters and has moved to the city to be close to her. She has a conversation with Peter that causes her to remember the last night that she spent with Craig. As the play moves forward, the real story starts to emerge. It is revealed that Craig took his own life. As the mystery surrounding the whole story is revealed, the characters are seen as they really are.
The dialogue throughout the show is humorless. There is no comic relief or light moments. The story is meant to be mysterious and somewhat dark, and it should be treated as such. It is a dark and unique story, and should not be treated like that of a soap opera. There needs to be real artistic use of the set, lighting, and costumes. The openness of the play leaves it open to artistic input from everyone.
The first problem that needs to be addressed is the costume issue. The scenes run seamlessly from present to past and back to present. It is set up so that Peter leaves the room and emerges as Craig a year earlier. The costumes would have to be made so that they can be easily altered. In the present scenes, Kelly has been watching TV and packing her things in anticipation of moving. Peter is an actor and has just left one of his plays. In the past scenes, Kelly is at a going away party that she has thrown for Craig. Craig is attending his going away party. There would need to be a subtle difference between the past and present scenes. The more minimalistic and simple the costume alterations are, the smoother the play will run.
The next problem that needs to be addressed is the set. The set would need to be altered slightly as the costumes did. All of the scenes take place in Kelly and Craig’s apartment. In the present scenes, Kelly has packed up everything and is planning on moving. The apartment is empty for the most part. In the past scenes, Craig is having a going away party. This problem could be addressed in several ways.
In the play, Kelly is visited by her late husband Craig’s twin brother Peter. She is packed up and ready to move away from her life. She is ready to move on with her life and forget about what the unusual circumstances that surround Craig’s death. She has been avoiding contact with Peter, who sent her several letters and has moved to the city to be close to her. She has a conversation with Peter that causes her to remember the last night that she spent with Craig. As the play moves forward, the real story starts to emerge. It is revealed that Craig took his own life. As the mystery surrounding the whole story is revealed, the characters are seen as they really are.
The dialogue throughout the show is humorless. There is no comic relief or light moments. The story is meant to be mysterious and somewhat dark, and it should be treated as such. It is a dark and unique story, and should not be treated like that of a soap opera. There needs to be real artistic use of the set, lighting, and costumes. The openness of the play leaves it open to artistic input from everyone.
The first problem that needs to be addressed is the costume issue. The scenes run seamlessly from present to past and back to present. It is set up so that Peter leaves the room and emerges as Craig a year earlier. The costumes would have to be made so that they can be easily altered. In the present scenes, Kelly has been watching TV and packing her things in anticipation of moving. Peter is an actor and has just left one of his plays. In the past scenes, Kelly is at a going away party that she has thrown for Craig. Craig is attending his going away party. There would need to be a subtle difference between the past and present scenes. The more minimalistic and simple the costume alterations are, the smoother the play will run.
The next problem that needs to be addressed is the set. The set would need to be altered slightly as the costumes did. All of the scenes take place in Kelly and Craig’s apartment. In the present scenes, Kelly has packed up everything and is planning on moving. The apartment is empty for the most part. In the past scenes, Craig is having a going away party. This problem could be addressed in several ways.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Production History
There have been only four performances of this show
Dying City
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs- Royal Court Upstairs
London, England
May 12, 2006 - June 10, 2006
Direction: James Macdonald
Design/Lighting: Peter Mumford
Cast:
Kelly- Sian Brooke
Peter/Craig- Andrew Scott
This was the world primire of Dying City.
Link
Dying City
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater- Lincoln Center Theater
New York City, New York
February 15, 2007 - April 29, 2007
Directed: James Macdonald
Sets and Costumes: Anthony Ward
Lighting: Pat Collins
Sound: Aural Fixation
Cast:
Kelly- Rebecca Brooksher
Peter/Craig- Pablo Schreiber
This production of Dying City was the US primire. This show was preformed off-broadway last year.
Link
Dying City
Darlinghurst Theatre Company and Gaiety Theatre
Sydney, Australia
June 27, 2007 - July 21, 2007
Director: Stephen Colyer
Designer: Imogen Ross
Lighting: Designer Gavan Swift
Music: Jeremy Brennan
Cast:
Kelly- Saskia Smith
Peter/Craig- Tom O’Sullivan
This was the world's third production of Dying City.
Link
Dying City
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 19, 2007 - Nov 11, 2007
Scenic Design: Skip Curtiss
Costume Design: Rachel Padula Shufelt
Lighting Design: Robert Cordella
Production Stage Manager: Kayla G. Sullivan
Assistant Stage Manager: Tiffany Allen
Kelly- Jennifer Blood
Peter/Craig- Chris Thorn
Link
Dying City
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs- Royal Court Upstairs
London, England
May 12, 2006 - June 10, 2006
Direction: James Macdonald
Design/Lighting: Peter Mumford
Cast:
Kelly- Sian Brooke
Peter/Craig- Andrew Scott
This was the world primire of Dying City.
Link
Dying City
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater- Lincoln Center Theater
New York City, New York
February 15, 2007 - April 29, 2007
Directed: James Macdonald
Sets and Costumes: Anthony Ward
Lighting: Pat Collins
Sound: Aural Fixation
Cast:
Kelly- Rebecca Brooksher
Peter/Craig- Pablo Schreiber
This production of Dying City was the US primire. This show was preformed off-broadway last year.
Link
Dying City
Darlinghurst Theatre Company and Gaiety Theatre
Sydney, Australia
June 27, 2007 - July 21, 2007
Director: Stephen Colyer
Designer: Imogen Ross
Lighting: Designer Gavan Swift
Music: Jeremy Brennan
Cast:
Kelly- Saskia Smith
Peter/Craig- Tom O’Sullivan
This was the world's third production of Dying City.
Link
Dying City
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Oct 19, 2007 - Nov 11, 2007
Scenic Design: Skip Curtiss
Costume Design: Rachel Padula Shufelt
Lighting Design: Robert Cordella
Production Stage Manager: Kayla G. Sullivan
Assistant Stage Manager: Tiffany Allen
Kelly- Jennifer Blood
Peter/Craig- Chris Thorn
Link
Reviews
There have only been four performances of this show, so I have listed reviews for each one.
Variety
A Royal Court Theater presentation of a play in one act by Christopher Shinn. Directed by James Macdonald.
Kelly - Sian Brooke
Peter, Craig - Andrew Scott
Bad playwrights talk too much. Or, rather, their mouthpieces do. Marvelously articulate, over-explaining characters who expound perfectly expressed thoughts and theories do wonders for collectors of bon mots but little for engaging drama. Mercifully, a dramatist as gifted as Christopher Shinn knows where character is concerned, more than a little self-knowledge is a dangerously uninvolving thing. His characters may think they know what they're doing, but it's their doubts, evasions and lack of self-knowledge that charge up his best writing, nowhere more so than in his achingly compassionate new play "Dying City."
In broad outline, it flirts with any number of second-hand scenarios. Two people meet after a long time, yet it's not a reunion play. There's a plot device about secret letters, but it's not a last-minute-revelation play. On of the characters has died in Iraq, but this is no anti-war tract.
It's nighttime and in the Manhattan apartment she used to share with husband Craig, Kelly (Sian Brooke) is doing a little light packing and watching TV when who should turn up unannounced but Craig's twin brother, Peter. From her furtive responses to his arrival, each of them -- and the audience -- immediately know something is up.
The two of them circle each other, testing the water, in a strikingly tense dance of politeness and prying that sets the almost thriller-like tone. We gradually discover the last time they saw one another was Craig's funeral after he was killed in Iraq. Yet, typically, Shinn initially leaves that military theme hanging.
Instead, focus goes first to the amusingly self-absorbed, vain actor Peter (Andrew Scott), whose current crises range from splitting up with his boyfriend to unfinished business with Kelly. His latest problem, however, is more urgent: He has just this evening walked offstage halfway through his performance in "Long Day's Journey Into Night."
True to Shinn's love of structure, Scott then walks off into the bedroom to make a call, only to return moments later. Except that now he's playing Peter's twin, Craig.
The play subsequently runs along a double time structure, present scenes interleaved with the last night all three of them spent together, the night before Craig left for war.
From here on, engrossing subtext builds to an astonishing degree. Like Harold Pinter's plot-run-backwards masterpiece "Betrayal," this play grips by using time-slips to keep shifting the relationship between what the characters know and what the audience knows.
At its simplest level, this adds tension to Peter's questioning of Kelly's memories of her marriage. We know she's lying because we've been privy to secret scenes of marital discord. At a more profound level, we gradually come to understand how, no matter how much they struggle to tell the truth, all three are lying to themselves.
Link
The New York Times
THEATER REVIEW; The Walking Wounded Who Never Saw a Battlefield
By BEN BRANTLEY
Published: March 5, 2007, Monday
If you're planning to see ''Dying City,'' the crafty and unsettling new play by Christopher Shinn -- and you should -- you need to know one thing, lest you start to question your sanity. The stage moves
Because there will come a moment in the course of this quiet, transfixing tale of grief and violence, set in the shadow of the Iraq war, when you will think: ''Wait a minute. Wasn't the sofa on the other side of the room?'' It was.
Mr. Shinn's latest work, which opened last night at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center under the astute direction of James Macdonald, is propelled by sly and disorienting shifts of perspective. So it is fitting that this process be reflected physically with a platform stage that makes a gradual, complete rotation by the show's end. Not that this play needs it to make your head spin.
Anyone who doubts that Mr. Shinn (''Four,'' ''Where Do We Live'') is among the most provocative and probing of American playwrights today need only experience the creepy, sophisticated welding of form and content that is ''Dying City,'' first produced at the Royal Court Theater in London last year.
A three-character drama performed by a bracing cast of two, Rebecca Brooksher and Pablo Schreiber, this deceptively spare work turns passive aggression into a theatrical dynamic. Not coincidentally the plot's catalyst is a charming actor who could give master classes in being passive aggressive.
Also on the conversational agenda: war, of course, and Peter and Craig's childhood, growing up with an angry father who was a Vietnam veteran; but also television shows (''Law & Order,'' ''The Daily Show''), Peter's changing cast of boyfriends, Kelly's rich parents and William Faulkner (Craig's thesis topic). There's not a word spoken that doesn't feed the idea of the struggle for power among people and how they try to categorize, and implicitly diminish, one another.
Mr. Schreiber, a Tony nominee for the revival of ''Awake and Sing!'' last year, credibly summons both brothers without overdoing the differences or the similarities. But he is absolutely terrific as Peter, a human stealth bomber who disarms with friendliness, then hits his target before you can blink.
Ms. Brooksher, a 2005 graduate of Juilliard, may well be the discovery of the season. A piquant, delicate beauty who brings to mind the aching openness of the pre-''Ally McBeal'' Calista Flockhart and the intensity of the young Shirley Knight, she expertly locates the obtuseness and vulnerability in her character's willful, careful intelligence. Kelly is a natural victim, though Mr. Shinn allows her the spark of hope of finally having realized this.
It could be argued that ''Dying City'' would be even stronger if Mr. Shinn had limited his cast of onstage characters to Kelly and Peter and let Craig emerge by inference. Of the relationships within the triangle, Kelly and Craig's feels the sketchiest, more symbolic than fully lived.
But unlike so many contemporary plays ''Dying City'' raises obvious, important issues in anything but obvious ways. And it knows too well that closure, that ghastly word, is a mass-delusional figment of the American imagination. Kelly talks about the satisfaction of watching ''Law & Order,'' in which ''the mystery of a death is solved and therefore symbolically reversed.'' Mr. Shinn knows that nothing about a death -- or a life, for that matter -- is that easy.
Link
Same Same
Dying City by Christopher Shinn
+ Location ~ Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, Sydney
+ Date ~ Wednesday 27th June, 8:00pm to Saturday 21st July, 10:00pm
+ Tickets ~ $Presale
“A transfixing tale, See it!” – The New York Times
“Dying City’s the finest new American play I’ve seen in a long while.”—The Observer
After hit seasons at The Royal Court Theatre in London and the Lincoln Center Theater in New York, Dying City makes its way to Sydney for its Australian premiere.
A soldier shoots himself, but why? For his wife, Kelly, and gay twin brother, Peter, politics and the intensely personal collide in this gripping drama.
One evening, Peter, a professional actor, is driven from the theatre, mid performance, by homophobic taunts from a fellow actor. His sudden intrusion on Kelly, at her New York apartment, forces her to face an untidy past, and the truth about her dead husband, Craig.
Baghdad is a dying city but in leading cities throughout the world, acts of emotional terrorism are enacted daily.
“The latest play by one of America’s most probing and provocative playwrights today.” – The New York Times
From the director that brought you the sell out sensations Boston Marriage and Fit To Be Tied comes this exciting production. Starring Saskia Smith from Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Tom Sullivan, soon to be featured in ABC TV’s new drama Rain Shadow.
Featuring Tom Sullivan and Saskia Smith
Director Stephen Colyer
Designer Imogen Ross
Producer Kate Armstrong-Smith
Link
Broadwayworld.com
New England Premiere of 'Dying City' at Lyric Stage
Dying City
By Christopher Shinn
Directed by Daniel Gidron
Producer, Rebecca Curtiss; Scenic Design, Skip Curtiss; Costume Design, Rachel Padula Shufelt; Lighting Design, Robert Cordella; Production Stage Manager, Kayla G. Sullivan; Assistant Stage Manager, Tiffany Allen
Featuring Jennifer Blood (Kelly) and Chris Thorn (Peter/Craig)
Performances through November 11, 2007 at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston boldly soldiers on with the New England premier of Christopher Shinn's Dying City. In this Off-Broadway hit, an Iraq war widow is unexpectedly visited by her late husband's twin brother, forcing her to confront her past, the loss, and try to reconstruct her life from the rubble. It is a fitting follow-up to Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire, last season's look at the impact of the war in-country. The play begins about a year after Craig's death. Kelly has remained in the Manhattan apartment they shared, but has not been available when her brother-in-law Peter tried to contact her by telephone or mail. True to his narcissistic form, he just shows up at her door one night after walking out on his performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night to escape a homophobic colleague. She is clearly taken aback by his arrival, but they engage in cheery, if awkward chitchat.
Which comes first, the political or the personal? Is Dying City about the devastating effects of September 11th and the Iraq war, or the damage caused by dysfunctional families and interpersonal relationships? And is the referenced city Baghdad, New York, or both? Either way, this is a difficult play to sit through, partly due to its intensity and partly due to its lack of clarity. The playwright has said that he wanted to write about truthfulness in an intimate relationship and found a parallel in the deceit practiced by the Administration to justify the invasion. While trying to focus on the former, he uses the latter to make an important, if muddied, political statement. War perpetuates pain – in the field, on the home front, and in the psyche.
Link
Variety
A Royal Court Theater presentation of a play in one act by Christopher Shinn. Directed by James Macdonald.
Kelly - Sian Brooke
Peter, Craig - Andrew Scott
Bad playwrights talk too much. Or, rather, their mouthpieces do. Marvelously articulate, over-explaining characters who expound perfectly expressed thoughts and theories do wonders for collectors of bon mots but little for engaging drama. Mercifully, a dramatist as gifted as Christopher Shinn knows where character is concerned, more than a little self-knowledge is a dangerously uninvolving thing. His characters may think they know what they're doing, but it's their doubts, evasions and lack of self-knowledge that charge up his best writing, nowhere more so than in his achingly compassionate new play "Dying City."
In broad outline, it flirts with any number of second-hand scenarios. Two people meet after a long time, yet it's not a reunion play. There's a plot device about secret letters, but it's not a last-minute-revelation play. On of the characters has died in Iraq, but this is no anti-war tract.
It's nighttime and in the Manhattan apartment she used to share with husband Craig, Kelly (Sian Brooke) is doing a little light packing and watching TV when who should turn up unannounced but Craig's twin brother, Peter. From her furtive responses to his arrival, each of them -- and the audience -- immediately know something is up.
The two of them circle each other, testing the water, in a strikingly tense dance of politeness and prying that sets the almost thriller-like tone. We gradually discover the last time they saw one another was Craig's funeral after he was killed in Iraq. Yet, typically, Shinn initially leaves that military theme hanging.
Instead, focus goes first to the amusingly self-absorbed, vain actor Peter (Andrew Scott), whose current crises range from splitting up with his boyfriend to unfinished business with Kelly. His latest problem, however, is more urgent: He has just this evening walked offstage halfway through his performance in "Long Day's Journey Into Night."
True to Shinn's love of structure, Scott then walks off into the bedroom to make a call, only to return moments later. Except that now he's playing Peter's twin, Craig.
The play subsequently runs along a double time structure, present scenes interleaved with the last night all three of them spent together, the night before Craig left for war.
From here on, engrossing subtext builds to an astonishing degree. Like Harold Pinter's plot-run-backwards masterpiece "Betrayal," this play grips by using time-slips to keep shifting the relationship between what the characters know and what the audience knows.
At its simplest level, this adds tension to Peter's questioning of Kelly's memories of her marriage. We know she's lying because we've been privy to secret scenes of marital discord. At a more profound level, we gradually come to understand how, no matter how much they struggle to tell the truth, all three are lying to themselves.
Link
The New York Times
THEATER REVIEW; The Walking Wounded Who Never Saw a Battlefield
By BEN BRANTLEY
Published: March 5, 2007, Monday
If you're planning to see ''Dying City,'' the crafty and unsettling new play by Christopher Shinn -- and you should -- you need to know one thing, lest you start to question your sanity. The stage moves
Because there will come a moment in the course of this quiet, transfixing tale of grief and violence, set in the shadow of the Iraq war, when you will think: ''Wait a minute. Wasn't the sofa on the other side of the room?'' It was.
Mr. Shinn's latest work, which opened last night at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center under the astute direction of James Macdonald, is propelled by sly and disorienting shifts of perspective. So it is fitting that this process be reflected physically with a platform stage that makes a gradual, complete rotation by the show's end. Not that this play needs it to make your head spin.
Anyone who doubts that Mr. Shinn (''Four,'' ''Where Do We Live'') is among the most provocative and probing of American playwrights today need only experience the creepy, sophisticated welding of form and content that is ''Dying City,'' first produced at the Royal Court Theater in London last year.
A three-character drama performed by a bracing cast of two, Rebecca Brooksher and Pablo Schreiber, this deceptively spare work turns passive aggression into a theatrical dynamic. Not coincidentally the plot's catalyst is a charming actor who could give master classes in being passive aggressive.
Also on the conversational agenda: war, of course, and Peter and Craig's childhood, growing up with an angry father who was a Vietnam veteran; but also television shows (''Law & Order,'' ''The Daily Show''), Peter's changing cast of boyfriends, Kelly's rich parents and William Faulkner (Craig's thesis topic). There's not a word spoken that doesn't feed the idea of the struggle for power among people and how they try to categorize, and implicitly diminish, one another.
Mr. Schreiber, a Tony nominee for the revival of ''Awake and Sing!'' last year, credibly summons both brothers without overdoing the differences or the similarities. But he is absolutely terrific as Peter, a human stealth bomber who disarms with friendliness, then hits his target before you can blink.
Ms. Brooksher, a 2005 graduate of Juilliard, may well be the discovery of the season. A piquant, delicate beauty who brings to mind the aching openness of the pre-''Ally McBeal'' Calista Flockhart and the intensity of the young Shirley Knight, she expertly locates the obtuseness and vulnerability in her character's willful, careful intelligence. Kelly is a natural victim, though Mr. Shinn allows her the spark of hope of finally having realized this.
It could be argued that ''Dying City'' would be even stronger if Mr. Shinn had limited his cast of onstage characters to Kelly and Peter and let Craig emerge by inference. Of the relationships within the triangle, Kelly and Craig's feels the sketchiest, more symbolic than fully lived.
But unlike so many contemporary plays ''Dying City'' raises obvious, important issues in anything but obvious ways. And it knows too well that closure, that ghastly word, is a mass-delusional figment of the American imagination. Kelly talks about the satisfaction of watching ''Law & Order,'' in which ''the mystery of a death is solved and therefore symbolically reversed.'' Mr. Shinn knows that nothing about a death -- or a life, for that matter -- is that easy.
Link
Same Same
Dying City by Christopher Shinn
+ Location ~ Darlinghurst Theatre Company, 19 Greenknowe Ave, Potts Point, Sydney
+ Date ~ Wednesday 27th June, 8:00pm to Saturday 21st July, 10:00pm
+ Tickets ~ $Presale
“A transfixing tale, See it!” – The New York Times
“Dying City’s the finest new American play I’ve seen in a long while.”—The Observer
After hit seasons at The Royal Court Theatre in London and the Lincoln Center Theater in New York, Dying City makes its way to Sydney for its Australian premiere.
A soldier shoots himself, but why? For his wife, Kelly, and gay twin brother, Peter, politics and the intensely personal collide in this gripping drama.
One evening, Peter, a professional actor, is driven from the theatre, mid performance, by homophobic taunts from a fellow actor. His sudden intrusion on Kelly, at her New York apartment, forces her to face an untidy past, and the truth about her dead husband, Craig.
Baghdad is a dying city but in leading cities throughout the world, acts of emotional terrorism are enacted daily.
“The latest play by one of America’s most probing and provocative playwrights today.” – The New York Times
From the director that brought you the sell out sensations Boston Marriage and Fit To Be Tied comes this exciting production. Starring Saskia Smith from Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Tom Sullivan, soon to be featured in ABC TV’s new drama Rain Shadow.
Featuring Tom Sullivan and Saskia Smith
Director Stephen Colyer
Designer Imogen Ross
Producer Kate Armstrong-Smith
Link
Broadwayworld.com
New England Premiere of 'Dying City' at Lyric Stage
Dying City
By Christopher Shinn
Directed by Daniel Gidron
Producer, Rebecca Curtiss; Scenic Design, Skip Curtiss; Costume Design, Rachel Padula Shufelt; Lighting Design, Robert Cordella; Production Stage Manager, Kayla G. Sullivan; Assistant Stage Manager, Tiffany Allen
Featuring Jennifer Blood (Kelly) and Chris Thorn (Peter/Craig)
Performances through November 11, 2007 at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
Box Office 617-585-5678 or www.lyricstage.com
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston boldly soldiers on with the New England premier of Christopher Shinn's Dying City. In this Off-Broadway hit, an Iraq war widow is unexpectedly visited by her late husband's twin brother, forcing her to confront her past, the loss, and try to reconstruct her life from the rubble. It is a fitting follow-up to Heather Raffo's 9 Parts of Desire, last season's look at the impact of the war in-country. The play begins about a year after Craig's death. Kelly has remained in the Manhattan apartment they shared, but has not been available when her brother-in-law Peter tried to contact her by telephone or mail. True to his narcissistic form, he just shows up at her door one night after walking out on his performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night to escape a homophobic colleague. She is clearly taken aback by his arrival, but they engage in cheery, if awkward chitchat.
Which comes first, the political or the personal? Is Dying City about the devastating effects of September 11th and the Iraq war, or the damage caused by dysfunctional families and interpersonal relationships? And is the referenced city Baghdad, New York, or both? Either way, this is a difficult play to sit through, partly due to its intensity and partly due to its lack of clarity. The playwright has said that he wanted to write about truthfulness in an intimate relationship and found a parallel in the deceit practiced by the Administration to justify the invasion. While trying to focus on the former, he uses the latter to make an important, if muddied, political statement. War perpetuates pain – in the field, on the home front, and in the psyche.
Link
The Theme
When watching this play, one should consider the fact that the play is not a political statement about the war. Dying City is a story about those that are left behind after a war and the effect that a death can have on someone. Craig dies while he is stationed in Iraq. He leaves behind his wife, Kelly, and his twin brother, Peter. It is important for those involved in the production to realize that the playwright, Christopher Shinn, does not make a political stance in the play. It is not propaganda play. This play explores the psyche of two individuals who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. It show the different approaches that they take in dealing with their loss.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Time
Dying City takes place in New York City, New York in January of 2004 and July of 2005. The city and nation are far from forgetting the events of 9/11. America is still at war with Iraq.
The war started in March of 2003.
Craig is a soldier in the US Army. He joined the army before the war in Iraq started. He finished his four years with the Army. He was called upon to go to Iraq. He believes in the cause.
Kelly is Craig’s wife. She does not believe in the war. She does not share his enthusiasm.
Peter is Craig’s twin brother. He says he disagrees with the war, but Craig believes that is only a front. Peter nevertheless backs up his brothers beliefs.
The people of America have mixed fillings about the war. By 2005, it was realized that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. America as a whole is losing faith in the war efforts. President Gorge W. Bush has just started his second term as president, and he is quickly losing popularity with the American people.
The action of the play takes place in an apartment over looking the city. The skyline can be seen from the window. The characters were able to watch the World Trade Center fall from their living room.
The war started in March of 2003.
Craig is a soldier in the US Army. He joined the army before the war in Iraq started. He finished his four years with the Army. He was called upon to go to Iraq. He believes in the cause.
Kelly is Craig’s wife. She does not believe in the war. She does not share his enthusiasm.
Peter is Craig’s twin brother. He says he disagrees with the war, but Craig believes that is only a front. Peter nevertheless backs up his brothers beliefs.
The people of America have mixed fillings about the war. By 2005, it was realized that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. America as a whole is losing faith in the war efforts. President Gorge W. Bush has just started his second term as president, and he is quickly losing popularity with the American people.
The action of the play takes place in an apartment over looking the city. The skyline can be seen from the window. The characters were able to watch the World Trade Center fall from their living room.
Space
Click here
New York City at night.
Click here
War protest in New York City. May 1, 2005
Click here
War protest in New York City. May 1, 2005
Click Here
A distant view of New York on 9/11.
Click here
New York City apartment.
Click here
A view of New York City streets during the day.
Click here
A view of the New York city skyline from Central Park.
Click here
Four New York City Apartments.
Click here
This is an example of the possible view though Craig and Kelly's window on 9/11.
Click here
This is an example of the possible view though Craig and Kelly's window on 9/11.
Sound
Billboard Chart
Top five songs of 2004
1.Usher Featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris
"Yeah!"
2.Usher
Burn
3.Alicia Keys
"If I Ain't Got You"
4.Maroon5
"This Love"
5.Outkast Featuring Sleepy Brown
"The Way You Move"
Billboard Chart
Top five songs of 2005
1.Mariah Carey
"We Belong Together"
2.Gwen Stefani
"Hollaback Girl"
3.Mario
"Let Me Love You"
4.Kelly Clarkson
"Since U Been Gone"
5.Ciara Featuring Missy Elliott
"1, 2 Step"
Top five songs of 2004
1.Usher Featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris
"Yeah!"
2.Usher
Burn
3.Alicia Keys
"If I Ain't Got You"
4.Maroon5
"This Love"
5.Outkast Featuring Sleepy Brown
"The Way You Move"
Billboard Chart
Top five songs of 2005
1.Mariah Carey
"We Belong Together"
2.Gwen Stefani
"Hollaback Girl"
3.Mario
"Let Me Love You"
4.Kelly Clarkson
"Since U Been Gone"
5.Ciara Featuring Missy Elliott
"1, 2 Step"
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Facts: Basics
Title: Dying City
Author: Christopher Shinn
Language/Translator: English/ N/A
Year of Original Publication: 2007
Genre/Length/Structure: Drama/Full Length/1 Act with 7 Scenes
Agency Controlling License: Dramatist Play Service, Inc.
Royalty Fee: $75 per performance
Cast Breakdown: 1 man, 1 woman (doubling)
Time and Setting: January 2004 and July 2005/New York City
Brief Bio of Author:
"Christopher Shinn was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and lives in New York. His plays have been premiered by the Royal Court, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Vineyard Theatre, South Coast Rep, and Soho Theatre, and later seen around the world. He is a winner of an OBIE in Playwriting, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting. He has received grants from the NEA/TCG Residency Program and the Peter S. Reed Foundation, and he is recipient of the Robert S. Chesley Award. He teaches playwriting at the New School for Drama."
http://www.christophershinn.com/bio_index.html
Brief Plot Summary:
Kelly and her brother-in-law, Peter, have a conversation while Kelly recalls the last night that she spent with her late husband, Craig.
Author: Christopher Shinn
Language/Translator: English/ N/A
Year of Original Publication: 2007
Genre/Length/Structure: Drama/Full Length/1 Act with 7 Scenes
Agency Controlling License: Dramatist Play Service, Inc.
Royalty Fee: $75 per performance
Cast Breakdown: 1 man, 1 woman (doubling)
Time and Setting: January 2004 and July 2005/New York City
Brief Bio of Author:
"Christopher Shinn was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and lives in New York. His plays have been premiered by the Royal Court, Lincoln Center, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, the Vineyard Theatre, South Coast Rep, and Soho Theatre, and later seen around the world. He is a winner of an OBIE in Playwriting, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in Playwriting. He has received grants from the NEA/TCG Residency Program and the Peter S. Reed Foundation, and he is recipient of the Robert S. Chesley Award. He teaches playwriting at the New School for Drama."
http://www.christophershinn.com/bio_index.html
Brief Plot Summary:
Kelly and her brother-in-law, Peter, have a conversation while Kelly recalls the last night that she spent with her late husband, Craig.
The Facts: Exegesis
Xanax-
A drug used to treat mental imbalances such as stress disorders and depression. The drug can cause drowsiness, but if taken excessively, one may experience loss of muscle control.
“Xanax is a tranquilizer used in the short-term relief of symptoms of anxiety or the treatment of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorder is marked by unrealistic worry or excessive fears and concerns. Anxiety associated with depression is also responsive to Xanax.”
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/xan1491.htm
Marlon Brando-
“Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in 1949, a decision for which he was severely criticized when his star began to dim in the 1960s and he was excoriated for squandering his talents. No actor ever exerted such a profound influence on succeeding generations of actors as did Brando. More than 50 years after he first scorched the screen as Stanley Kowalski in the movie version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and a quarter-century after his last great performance as Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), all American actors are still being measured by the yardstick that was Brando. It was if the shadow of John Barrymore, the great American actor closest to Brando in terms of talent and stardom, dominated the acting field up until the 1970s. He did not, nor did any other actor so dominate the public's consciousness of what WAS an actor before or since Brando's 1951 on-screen portrayal of Stanley made him a cultural icon. Brando eclipsed the reputation of other great actors circa 1950, such as Paul Muni and Fredric March. Only the luster of Spencer Tracy's reputation hasn't dimmed when seen in the starlight thrown off by Brando. However, neither Tracy nor Olivier created an entire school of acting just by the force of his personality. Brando did.”
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/bio
James Dean-
“James Dean was raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly bit parts: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952). He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Caleb, the "bad" brother who couldn't force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955). George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder, collided with another car in Cholame, California. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.”
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000015/bio
Rebel Without a Cause-
A 1955 film staring James Dean.
“Jim Stark is the new kid in town. He has been in trouble elsewhere; that's why his family has had to move before. Here he hopes to find the love he doesn't get from his middle-class family. Though he finds some of this in his relation with Judy, and a form of it in both Plato's adulation and Ray's real concern for him, Jim must still prove himself to his peers in switchblade knife fights and "chickie" games in which cars race toward a seaside cliff.”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048545/plotsummary
“Clinically Depressed”-
“It involves a noticeable change in functioning that persists for two weeks or longer. Imagine that for the last three months you've slept more than 10 hours a day and still feel tired, you have stomach problems, you're unable to cope with life, and you wonder if dying would solve all your problems. Or, imagine not being able to sleep more than four hours a night, not wanting to spend time with family or friends, and constantly feeling irritable. And when friends try to reach out to you, you get even more upset and bothered. You lose perspective, and you don't realize that what you're experiencing is abnormal. You want to just "wait it out," and you don't get help because you think it's weak to ask for help or you don't want to burden your friends.”
http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/lookforthesigns/clinicaldepression.shtml
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-
"An anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat."
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
Faulkner-
Born: 25 September 1897
Birthplace: New Albany, Mississippi
Died: 6 July 1962 (heart attack)
Best Known As: American author of As I Lay Dying
Name at birth: William Cuthbert Falkner
"William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying (1930) and other novels, short stories and plays. Many of his stories took place in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, and Faulkner's writings gave an almost mythological status to the culture of the southeastern United States. He also wrote screenplays for Hollywood, including the 1944 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. His most famous novels include The Sound and the Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), Absalom! Absalom! (1936), and The Reivers (1962). In 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature 'for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.'"
http://www.answers.com/topic/william-faulkner
PTSD-
An abbreviation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Special Forces-
"In most countries special forces (SF) is a generic term for highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. (In the United States, the term Special Operations Forces (SOF) is used instead of special forces to refer to the aforementioned units because Special Forces refers to a specific unit, the United States Army Special Forces aka 'Green Berets'."
"Some special forces operations, such as counter-terrorism actions, may be carried out domestically under certain circumstances. Special forces units are typically composed of relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel equipped with specialist equipment and armament, operating under principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed, and close teamwork, often transported by helicopter, small boats or submarines, parachuting from aircraft, or stealthy infiltration by land. Special forces are sometimes considered a force multiplier, as when they train indigenous forces to fight guerrilla warfare."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces
Covert Operations-
"A covert operation is a military or political activity carried out in such a way that the parties responsible for the action can be an open secret, but cannot be proved. Covert and clandestine are related terms, but not interchangeable. According to a United States Department of Defense definition, a covert operation is:
' An operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation.[1]' "
"Covert operations are generally illegal in the target state and are frequently in violation of the laws of the enacting country. Therefore covert operations are typically performed in secrecy because they break specific laws or compromise policy in another country."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_operation
Titanic-
In the context of the play, this movie is referenced because of its popularity. Kelly uses this film as an example of the kind of film that Marlon Brando would not be any good in. She is pointing out how much movies have changed. Titanic is still the highest grossing film of all time.
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/boxoffice/alltime.php
Lord of the Rings-
This film is another reference to a popular film. This is used as an example of a film that could not star James Dean.
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
22nd highest grossing film of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
13th highest grossing film of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9th highest grossing film of all time.
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/boxoffice/alltime.php
Tony Blair-
"Anthony Charles Lynton 'Tony' Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007, Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. On the day he stood down as Prime Minister and MP, he was appointed official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair
Paxil-
"Paxil is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It works by restoring the balance of serotonin which helps to improve certain mood problems."
"Paxil is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder."
http://www.drugs.com/paxil.html
Evangelicals-
"Evangelicalism is a theological perspective, most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the gospel. Although evangelicalism has been defined in a number of ways,[1] most adherents consider belief in the need for personal conversion (or being "born again"), some expression of the gospel through evangelism, a high regard for Biblical authority, and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus to be key characteristics"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism
Ann Arbor-
"Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 census, of which 36,892 (32%) are college or graduate students.[3] Believed to be named for the spouses of the city's founders and for the stands of trees in the area,[4] Ann Arbor is best known as the location of the main campus of the University of Michigan, which moved from Detroit in 1837."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Arbor,_Michigan
Valium (Diazepam)-
"Diazepam is an anti-anxiety medication in the benzodiazepine family, the same family that includes alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), flurazepam (Dalmane), and others. Diazepam and other benzodiazepines act by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter (a chemical that nerve cells use to communicate with each other) that inhibits activity in the brain. It is believed that excessive activity in the brain may lead to anxiety or other psychiatric disorders. "
http://www.medicinenet.com/diazepam/article.htm
Long Day's Journey to the Hamptons-
This is a name, used in the play, as the name of a play. This is not in fact the title of a real play.
Abu Ghraib-
"The Abu Ghraib prison (Arabic: سجن أبو غريب; also Abu Ghurayb) is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km (20 mi) west of Baghdad. It became internationally known as a place where Saddam Hussein's government tortured and executed dissidents, and later as the site of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal where the United States military's torture of Iraqi detainees was revealed in a series of photographs published in worldwide news media."
"Under Saddam's Ba'ath government, it was known as Abu Ghraib Prison and had a reputation as a place of torture and some of the worst cases of torture in the modern world. It was sometimes referred to in the Western media as "Saddam's Torture Central". The prison was renamed after United States forces expelled the former Iraqi government, which had called it the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility (BCCF) or Baghdad Central Correctional Facility. In May of 2004, Camp Avalanche, a tent camp on the grounds of Abu Ghraib for security detainees, changed its name to Camp Redemption at the request of a governing council member."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_prison
A Farewell to Arms-
"a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1929. Much of the novel was written at the home of Hemingway's in-laws in Piggott, Arkansas.[1] Considered by some critics to be the greatest war novel of all time,[citation needed] the novel is told through the point of view of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I. The title is taken from a poem by 16th century English dramatist George Peele."
"The novel is divided into five books. In the first book, Henry meets Catherine Barkley and their relationship begins. While on the Italian front, Henry is wounded in the knee by a mortar shell and sent to a hospital in Milan. The second book shows the growth of Henry and Catherine's relationship as they spend time together in Milan over the summer. Henry falls in love with Catherine, and by the time he is healed, Catherine is three months pregnant. In the third book, Henry returns to his unit, but not long after, the Austro-Germans break through the Italian lines, and the Italians retreat. After falling behind and catching up again, Henry is taken to a place where officers are being interrogated and executed for the "treachery" that supposedly led to the Italian defeat. However, Henry escapes by jumping into a river. In the fourth book, Catherine and Henry reunite and flee to Switzerland in a rowboat. In the final book, Henry and Catherine live a quiet life in the mountains until she goes into labour. After a long and painful labor, their son is stillborn. Catherine begins to hemorrhage and soon dies, leaving Henry to return to their hotel in the rain."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Arms
A drug used to treat mental imbalances such as stress disorders and depression. The drug can cause drowsiness, but if taken excessively, one may experience loss of muscle control.
“Xanax is a tranquilizer used in the short-term relief of symptoms of anxiety or the treatment of anxiety disorders. Anxiety disorder is marked by unrealistic worry or excessive fears and concerns. Anxiety associated with depression is also responsive to Xanax.”
http://www.healthsquare.com/newrx/xan1491.htm
Marlon Brando-
“Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest movie actor of all time, rivaled only by the more theatrically oriented Laurence Olivier in terms of esteem. Unlike Olivier, who preferred the stage to the screen, Brando concentrated his talents on movies after bidding the Broadway stage adieu in 1949, a decision for which he was severely criticized when his star began to dim in the 1960s and he was excoriated for squandering his talents. No actor ever exerted such a profound influence on succeeding generations of actors as did Brando. More than 50 years after he first scorched the screen as Stanley Kowalski in the movie version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and a quarter-century after his last great performance as Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), all American actors are still being measured by the yardstick that was Brando. It was if the shadow of John Barrymore, the great American actor closest to Brando in terms of talent and stardom, dominated the acting field up until the 1970s. He did not, nor did any other actor so dominate the public's consciousness of what WAS an actor before or since Brando's 1951 on-screen portrayal of Stanley made him a cultural icon. Brando eclipsed the reputation of other great actors circa 1950, such as Paul Muni and Fredric March. Only the luster of Spencer Tracy's reputation hasn't dimmed when seen in the starlight thrown off by Brando. However, neither Tracy nor Olivier created an entire school of acting just by the force of his personality. Brando did.”
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/bio
James Dean-
“James Dean was raised on a farm by his aunt and uncle in Fairmount, Indiana. He received rave reviews for his work as the blackmailing Arab boy in the New York production of Gide's "The Immoralist", good enough to earn him a trip to Hollywood. His early film efforts were strictly bit parts: a sailor in the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis overly frantic musical comedy Sailor Beware (1952); a GI in Samuel Fuller's moody study of a platoon in the Korean War, Fixed Bayonets! (1951) and a youth in the Piper Laurie-Rock Hudson comedy Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952). He had major roles in only three movies. In the Elia Kazan production of John Steinbeck's East of Eden (1955) he played Caleb, the "bad" brother who couldn't force affection from his stiff-necked father. His true starring role, the one which fixed his image forever in American culture, was that of the brooding red-jacketed teenager Jim Stark in Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955). George Stevens' filming of Edna Ferber's Giant (1956), in which he played the non-conforming cowhand Jett Rink, was just coming to a close when Dean, driving his Porsche Spyder, collided with another car in Cholame, California. He had received a speeding ticket just two hours before. His very brief career, violent death and highly publicized funeral transformed him into a cult object of apparently timeless fascination.”
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000015/bio
Rebel Without a Cause-
A 1955 film staring James Dean.
“Jim Stark is the new kid in town. He has been in trouble elsewhere; that's why his family has had to move before. Here he hopes to find the love he doesn't get from his middle-class family. Though he finds some of this in his relation with Judy, and a form of it in both Plato's adulation and Ray's real concern for him, Jim must still prove himself to his peers in switchblade knife fights and "chickie" games in which cars race toward a seaside cliff.”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048545/plotsummary
“Clinically Depressed”-
“It involves a noticeable change in functioning that persists for two weeks or longer. Imagine that for the last three months you've slept more than 10 hours a day and still feel tired, you have stomach problems, you're unable to cope with life, and you wonder if dying would solve all your problems. Or, imagine not being able to sleep more than four hours a night, not wanting to spend time with family or friends, and constantly feeling irritable. And when friends try to reach out to you, you get even more upset and bothered. You lose perspective, and you don't realize that what you're experiencing is abnormal. You want to just "wait it out," and you don't get help because you think it's weak to ask for help or you don't want to burden your friends.”
http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/lookforthesigns/clinicaldepression.shtml
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder-
"An anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat."
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml
Faulkner-
Born: 25 September 1897
Birthplace: New Albany, Mississippi
Died: 6 July 1962 (heart attack)
Best Known As: American author of As I Lay Dying
Name at birth: William Cuthbert Falkner
"William Faulkner wrote As I Lay Dying (1930) and other novels, short stories and plays. Many of his stories took place in fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, and Faulkner's writings gave an almost mythological status to the culture of the southeastern United States. He also wrote screenplays for Hollywood, including the 1944 adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. His most famous novels include The Sound and the Fury (1929), Light in August (1932), Absalom! Absalom! (1936), and The Reivers (1962). In 1949 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature 'for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel.'"
http://www.answers.com/topic/william-faulkner
PTSD-
An abbreviation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Special Forces-
"In most countries special forces (SF) is a generic term for highly-trained military units that conduct specialized operations such as reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, and counter-terrorism actions. (In the United States, the term Special Operations Forces (SOF) is used instead of special forces to refer to the aforementioned units because Special Forces refers to a specific unit, the United States Army Special Forces aka 'Green Berets'."
"Some special forces operations, such as counter-terrorism actions, may be carried out domestically under certain circumstances. Special forces units are typically composed of relatively small groups of highly-trained personnel equipped with specialist equipment and armament, operating under principles of self-sufficiency, stealth, speed, and close teamwork, often transported by helicopter, small boats or submarines, parachuting from aircraft, or stealthy infiltration by land. Special forces are sometimes considered a force multiplier, as when they train indigenous forces to fight guerrilla warfare."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Forces
Covert Operations-
"A covert operation is a military or political activity carried out in such a way that the parties responsible for the action can be an open secret, but cannot be proved. Covert and clandestine are related terms, but not interchangeable. According to a United States Department of Defense definition, a covert operation is:
' An operation that is so planned and executed as to conceal the identity of or permit plausible denial by the sponsor. A covert operation differs from a clandestine operation in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation.[1]' "
"Covert operations are generally illegal in the target state and are frequently in violation of the laws of the enacting country. Therefore covert operations are typically performed in secrecy because they break specific laws or compromise policy in another country."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covert_operation
Titanic-
In the context of the play, this movie is referenced because of its popularity. Kelly uses this film as an example of the kind of film that Marlon Brando would not be any good in. She is pointing out how much movies have changed. Titanic is still the highest grossing film of all time.
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/boxoffice/alltime.php
Lord of the Rings-
This film is another reference to a popular film. This is used as an example of a film that could not star James Dean.
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
22nd highest grossing film of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
13th highest grossing film of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9th highest grossing film of all time.
http://www.movieweb.com/movies/boxoffice/alltime.php
Tony Blair-
"Anthony Charles Lynton 'Tony' Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007, Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007. On the day he stood down as Prime Minister and MP, he was appointed official Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East on behalf of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Blair
Paxil-
"Paxil is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. It works by restoring the balance of serotonin which helps to improve certain mood problems."
"Paxil is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder."
http://www.drugs.com/paxil.html
Evangelicals-
"Evangelicalism is a theological perspective, most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the gospel. Although evangelicalism has been defined in a number of ways,[1] most adherents consider belief in the need for personal conversion (or being "born again"), some expression of the gospel through evangelism, a high regard for Biblical authority, and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus to be key characteristics"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism
Ann Arbor-
"Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 census, of which 36,892 (32%) are college or graduate students.[3] Believed to be named for the spouses of the city's founders and for the stands of trees in the area,[4] Ann Arbor is best known as the location of the main campus of the University of Michigan, which moved from Detroit in 1837."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Arbor,_Michigan
Valium (Diazepam)-
"Diazepam is an anti-anxiety medication in the benzodiazepine family, the same family that includes alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), flurazepam (Dalmane), and others. Diazepam and other benzodiazepines act by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. GABA is a neurotransmitter (a chemical that nerve cells use to communicate with each other) that inhibits activity in the brain. It is believed that excessive activity in the brain may lead to anxiety or other psychiatric disorders. "
http://www.medicinenet.com/diazepam/article.htm
Long Day's Journey to the Hamptons-
This is a name, used in the play, as the name of a play. This is not in fact the title of a real play.
Abu Ghraib-
"The Abu Ghraib prison (Arabic: سجن أبو غريب; also Abu Ghurayb) is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km (20 mi) west of Baghdad. It became internationally known as a place where Saddam Hussein's government tortured and executed dissidents, and later as the site of Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal where the United States military's torture of Iraqi detainees was revealed in a series of photographs published in worldwide news media."
"Under Saddam's Ba'ath government, it was known as Abu Ghraib Prison and had a reputation as a place of torture and some of the worst cases of torture in the modern world. It was sometimes referred to in the Western media as "Saddam's Torture Central". The prison was renamed after United States forces expelled the former Iraqi government, which had called it the Baghdad Central Confinement Facility (BCCF) or Baghdad Central Correctional Facility. In May of 2004, Camp Avalanche, a tent camp on the grounds of Abu Ghraib for security detainees, changed its name to Camp Redemption at the request of a governing council member."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_prison
A Farewell to Arms-
"a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1929. Much of the novel was written at the home of Hemingway's in-laws in Piggott, Arkansas.[1] Considered by some critics to be the greatest war novel of all time,[citation needed] the novel is told through the point of view of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I. The title is taken from a poem by 16th century English dramatist George Peele."
"The novel is divided into five books. In the first book, Henry meets Catherine Barkley and their relationship begins. While on the Italian front, Henry is wounded in the knee by a mortar shell and sent to a hospital in Milan. The second book shows the growth of Henry and Catherine's relationship as they spend time together in Milan over the summer. Henry falls in love with Catherine, and by the time he is healed, Catherine is three months pregnant. In the third book, Henry returns to his unit, but not long after, the Austro-Germans break through the Italian lines, and the Italians retreat. After falling behind and catching up again, Henry is taken to a place where officers are being interrogated and executed for the "treachery" that supposedly led to the Italian defeat. However, Henry escapes by jumping into a river. In the fourth book, Catherine and Henry reunite and flee to Switzerland in a rowboat. In the final book, Henry and Catherine live a quiet life in the mountains until she goes into labour. After a long and painful labor, their son is stillborn. Catherine begins to hemorrhage and soon dies, leaving Henry to return to their hotel in the rain."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Farewell_to_Arms
The Facts: Characters and Casting
Kelly, female, late 20’s, American (no specific race), Craig’s Widow.
Craig, male, late 20’s, American (no specific race), Peter’s identical twin brother, Kelly’s late husband .
Peter, male, late 20’s, American (no specific race), Craig’s identical twin brother.
Non-traditional casting:
There is no reference to the character's ethnicity or race. It is in some ways implied that all of the characters are white. For example, every pop-culture reference in the play is made about white people. No one in the play ever talks about there race. This show has only been produced four times. In every production, all of the characters have been white, and Kelly has always been played by a blond.
The only real requirements for the script make it apparent that Kelly must be played by a female, and Craig and Peter must be played by the same man. It would be possible for identical twins to play Peter and Craig. It is most important that they look exactly the same.
Craig, male, late 20’s, American (no specific race), Peter’s identical twin brother, Kelly’s late husband .
Peter, male, late 20’s, American (no specific race), Craig’s identical twin brother.
Non-traditional casting:
There is no reference to the character's ethnicity or race. It is in some ways implied that all of the characters are white. For example, every pop-culture reference in the play is made about white people. No one in the play ever talks about there race. This show has only been produced four times. In every production, all of the characters have been white, and Kelly has always been played by a blond.
The only real requirements for the script make it apparent that Kelly must be played by a female, and Craig and Peter must be played by the same man. It would be possible for identical twins to play Peter and Craig. It is most important that they look exactly the same.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Graduate Degree Programs
University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Degree: MFA in Dramaturgy
Length of Program: 6 semesters
"At Iowa, the tradition of new play dramaturgy extends back to the founding of the department in the 1930s. Along with such figures as Columbia's Brander Matthews and Yale's George Pierce Baker, Iowa's first Chair of Theatre Arts, E.C. Mabie, pioneered the development of drama as an independent discipline in which scholars and artists could train to create and lead the theatre of the future."
http://www.uiowa.edu/~theatre/programs/grad-dramaturgy.html
Virgin Commonwealth University
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Degree: MFA in Dramatic Literature/Dramaturgy
Length of Program: two to three year program
“The program effectively combines classes in pedagogy, scholarship, academics, rehearsal and performance, and the practice of teaching.”
http://www.pubinfo.vcu.edu/artweb/theatre/mfa.asp
Ohio State University
Location: Columbus, OH
Degree: PhD in Theatre with the option of a focus in dramaturgy
Length of Program: 90 credits beyond MA
“Each candidate, working with an adviser, develops an individual program of study that includes not only a wide range of general courses in history, critical theory, dramatic literature, performance analysis, and research methods but also a specialized group of courses in the candidate's areas of interest.”
http://theatre.osu.edu/1_academics/level_3_academics/grad/g_potential/g_phd.htm
Mary Baldwin College
Location: Staunton, VA
Degree: Master of Letters with a focus in Dramaturgy
Length of Program: Minimum of 63 hours
“The dramaturgy emphasis leaves little room for elective classes. The program advises MLitt dramaturgy students to begin taking MFA required courses during the two MLitt years because some of the required courses are offered every other year.”
http://www.mbc.edu/shakespeare/about.asp
University of York
Location: Tranto, Canada
Degree: MFA in Dance with a focus in Dance Dramaturgy
Length of Program: ????
"York’s Dance MFA is unique — the only program in the world to offer research opportunities in both choreography and dance dramaturgy within the context of diverse contemporary dance practices."
http://www.yorku.ca/web/futurestudents/graduate/programs/Dance/
Dramaturgy as a Profession
The Wilma Theater
LORT classification: C
Location: Philadelphia , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Walter Bilderback
Specific title: Dramaturg/Literary Manager
City Theatre Company
LORT classification: D
Location: Pittsburgh , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Carlyn Aquiline
Specific title: Literary Manager/Dramaturg
Alliance Theatre
LORT classification: B
D
Location: Atlanta , GA
Name of Dramaturg: Celise Kalke
Specific title: Artistic Associate/Dramaturg
The People's Light & Theatre Company
LORT classification: D
Location: Malvern , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Elizabeth Pool
Specific title: Resident Dramaturg
CENTERSTAGE
LORT classification: B
C
Location: Baltimore , MD
Name of Dramaturg: Gavin Witt
Specific title: Resident Dramaturg
Lark Play Development Center
LORT classification:?
Location: New York , NY
Name of Dramaturg: Suzy Fay
Specific title: Artistic Associate, Dramaturgy
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
LORT classification: B+
Location: Ashland , OR
Name of Dramaturg: Lue Douthit
Specific title: Director of Literary Development & Dramaturgy
Geva Theatre Center
LORT classification: B
D
Location: Rochester , NY
Name of Dramaturg: Marge Betley
Specific title: Literary Manager/Resident Dramaturg
Arena Stage
LORT classification: B+
B
D
Location: Washington , DC
Name of Dramaturg: Micheal Kinghorn
Specific title: Senior Dramaturg
McCarter Theatre Center
LORT classification: B+
B
Location: Princeton , NJ
Name of Dramaturg: Janice Paran
Specific title: Dramaturg & Director of Play Development
LORT classification: C
Location: Philadelphia , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Walter Bilderback
Specific title: Dramaturg/Literary Manager
City Theatre Company
LORT classification: D
Location: Pittsburgh , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Carlyn Aquiline
Specific title: Literary Manager/Dramaturg
Alliance Theatre
LORT classification: B
D
Location: Atlanta , GA
Name of Dramaturg: Celise Kalke
Specific title: Artistic Associate/Dramaturg
The People's Light & Theatre Company
LORT classification: D
Location: Malvern , PA
Name of Dramaturg: Elizabeth Pool
Specific title: Resident Dramaturg
CENTERSTAGE
LORT classification: B
C
Location: Baltimore , MD
Name of Dramaturg: Gavin Witt
Specific title: Resident Dramaturg
Lark Play Development Center
LORT classification:?
Location: New York , NY
Name of Dramaturg: Suzy Fay
Specific title: Artistic Associate, Dramaturgy
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
LORT classification: B+
Location: Ashland , OR
Name of Dramaturg: Lue Douthit
Specific title: Director of Literary Development & Dramaturgy
Geva Theatre Center
LORT classification: B
D
Location: Rochester , NY
Name of Dramaturg: Marge Betley
Specific title: Literary Manager/Resident Dramaturg
Arena Stage
LORT classification: B+
B
D
Location: Washington , DC
Name of Dramaturg: Micheal Kinghorn
Specific title: Senior Dramaturg
McCarter Theatre Center
LORT classification: B+
B
Location: Princeton , NJ
Name of Dramaturg: Janice Paran
Specific title: Dramaturg & Director of Play Development
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
What is Dramaturgy?
Best Online Definition:
“Dramaturgy, the art of writing for the theatre, is the discipline which unites scholarship and stagecraft. Dramaturgs use their knowledge of the Early Modern social, historical, and cultural context to contribute to choices made by actors, directors and designers in rehearsal and in production.”
http://www.mbc.edu/shakespeare/about.asp
Best Dictionary Definition:
The craft or the techniques of dramatic composition.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dramaturgy
Most Notable or Unusual Definition:
Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective stemming from symbolic interactionism. The term was first coined by Erving Goffman, who developed most of the related terminology and ideas in his 1959 book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Kenneth Burke, whom Goffman would later acknowledge as an influence,[1] had earlier presented his notions of dramatism in 1945.
In dramaturgical sociology it is argued that human actions are dependent upon time, place, and audience. In other words, to Goffman, the self is a sense of who one is, a dramatic effect emerging from the immediate scene being presented.[2] Goffman forms a theatrical metaphor in defining the method in which one human being presents itself to another based on cultural values, norms, and expectations. Performances can have disruptions (actors are aware of such) but most are successful. The goal of this presentation of self is acceptance from the audience through manipulation. If the actor succeeds, the audience will view the actor as he or she wants to be viewed.[3] This makes it an intimate form of communication, highlighting it as a micro-level sociological theory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy_(sociology)
Historical Context:
The art or technique of dramatic composition or theatrical representation. In this sense English dramaturgy and French dramaturgie are both borrowed from German Dramaturgie, a word used by the German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing in an influential series of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie (“The Hamburg Dramaturgy”), published from 1767 to 1769. The word is from the Greek dramatourgía, “a dramatic composition” or “action of a play.”
http://www.britannica.com/
dramaturgy
"Composition and production of plays, 1801, from Fr. dramaturge (1688), introduced by poet Jean Chapelain (1595-1674), from Gk. dramatourgia, from drama (gen. dramatos) + ergos "worker."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dramaturgy
Job Description:
A thorough text/story analysis.
Research into the prior productions of the text as needed.
Historical research of various sorts.
Attendance at at least one quarter of the rehearsals, the first read-through, and as many run-throughs as possible.
Oral or written notes for the director.
Attendance at some preproduction meetings.
A loyalty to the basic mission and ideas of the production and the text. Maintaining that loyalty in the midst of technical difficulties.
Program contributions.
Flexibility.
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/Job.html
My Own Definition:
Dramaturgy-
The art of researching and studying all aspects of a play in order to understand it the way in which the playwright intended.
“Dramaturgy, the art of writing for the theatre, is the discipline which unites scholarship and stagecraft. Dramaturgs use their knowledge of the Early Modern social, historical, and cultural context to contribute to choices made by actors, directors and designers in rehearsal and in production.”
http://www.mbc.edu/shakespeare/about.asp
Best Dictionary Definition:
The craft or the techniques of dramatic composition.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dramaturgy
Most Notable or Unusual Definition:
Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective stemming from symbolic interactionism. The term was first coined by Erving Goffman, who developed most of the related terminology and ideas in his 1959 book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Kenneth Burke, whom Goffman would later acknowledge as an influence,[1] had earlier presented his notions of dramatism in 1945.
In dramaturgical sociology it is argued that human actions are dependent upon time, place, and audience. In other words, to Goffman, the self is a sense of who one is, a dramatic effect emerging from the immediate scene being presented.[2] Goffman forms a theatrical metaphor in defining the method in which one human being presents itself to another based on cultural values, norms, and expectations. Performances can have disruptions (actors are aware of such) but most are successful. The goal of this presentation of self is acceptance from the audience through manipulation. If the actor succeeds, the audience will view the actor as he or she wants to be viewed.[3] This makes it an intimate form of communication, highlighting it as a micro-level sociological theory.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramaturgy_(sociology)
Historical Context:
The art or technique of dramatic composition or theatrical representation. In this sense English dramaturgy and French dramaturgie are both borrowed from German Dramaturgie, a word used by the German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing in an influential series of essays entitled Hamburgische Dramaturgie (“The Hamburg Dramaturgy”), published from 1767 to 1769. The word is from the Greek dramatourgía, “a dramatic composition” or “action of a play.”
http://www.britannica.com/
dramaturgy
"Composition and production of plays, 1801, from Fr. dramaturge (1688), introduced by poet Jean Chapelain (1595-1674), from Gk. dramatourgia, from drama (gen. dramatos) + ergos "worker."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dramaturgy
Job Description:
A thorough text/story analysis.
Research into the prior productions of the text as needed.
Historical research of various sorts.
Attendance at at least one quarter of the rehearsals, the first read-through, and as many run-throughs as possible.
Oral or written notes for the director.
Attendance at some preproduction meetings.
A loyalty to the basic mission and ideas of the production and the text. Maintaining that loyalty in the midst of technical difficulties.
Program contributions.
Flexibility.
http://www.dramaturgy.net/dramaturgy/what/Job.html
My Own Definition:
Dramaturgy-
The art of researching and studying all aspects of a play in order to understand it the way in which the playwright intended.
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