by John Guare
The North Coast Repertory Theatre, March 1998
Directed by Patrick Spike
Directorial Concept
Statement Below
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Set by Aaron Shores
Lights by Carole Wolfe
Costumes by Robin Snyder |
Of Note:
"Patrick Spike has broken all records with his directing
debut at NCRT. The details of Spike's direction can be seen, or not seen, throughout
the entire piece. His pacing and staging draws in on the character's objectives
while urging this show on to greatness. This production's quality of excellence
stamp doesn't just stop with the cast and director..."
- Brenda Bishop, The Times-Standard
"In my year as Theatre Manager I
have never received so much feedback about a play and its director. People phoned,
wrote and stopped me on the street to say how professional the production was. [They]
could see Patrick's vision and direction. At our recent Board of Directors meeting,
several members said it was one of our finest productions ever. ...Patrick made it all
possible."
- Meeka Day, Theatre Manger
Voted - Outstanding Director
(Patrick Spike) - Beti Trauth, "Beti's Best" - Humboldt Beacon
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of Patrick Spike, please do not duplicate, download, copy or print without expressed
permission. Thank you.
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Concept Statement, The House of Blue Leaves - updated March 13, 1999
Introduction
This is a show I’d wanted to direct for many years.
Truly, it is one of my favorite plays. I love the juxtaposition of humor with pain
and pathos, and how this script invites us to look into the lives of its quirky characters
and see what we are perceptive enough to see. It directly challenges the
sensibilities of the audience members by setting us up to take a fall. If we are
sensitive enough to see the pain that lies behind these characters' ridiculous humor, then
the final moments of the show become a logical and thoughtful conclusion. But if we
do not see behind the humor, if we are insensitive to what is really going on in this
play, then the final action becomes a shocking slap in the face, a brutal wake-up call to
the plight of the desperate members of our society.
Concept & Goals - (as distributed
to the design team at our first production meeting)
THEME: "Why do
my dreams, which should be the best part of me,
why do my dreams, my wants, constantly humiliate me?"
- John Guare, from his forward to the play.
1) Vision Statement
This production will explore the
ridiculous, humorous and desperate ways in which we pursue our dreams and goals and
ultimately how those dreams humiliate us. And then, how we attempt to cope with that
humiliation and avoid more of the same.
2) Journey Statement - dramatic experience for the spectator
We follow Artie
through his interactions with the people in his life and watch as the coping mechanisms
fall into or out of place. We watch the characters attempt to make changes in their
lives, how they work to improve their situations, how they plan for a perfect day, and
realize even before they do that that perfection, that bright day will never arrive.
Audience Journey:
The members of the audience first encounter Artie in performance of his songs.
Perhaps this is a dream, or did he really perform at the club? We then meet the
other characters, little by little learning the relationships and the odd ways in which
they intertwine. What is the Bunny's history? What is the relationship with
Bananas and just how "bananas" is she, or isn’t she? As the bizarre
and twisted history of these characters unfolds, the audience comes to understand their
eccentricities as well as their desires and defenses. We laugh at their foibles, at
their trials, at their dilemmas, and in the end we weep for their pain. When all is
said and done, Artie is left with Bananas, finally alone, and we watch as their only
choices, their desperate choices, lay bare their ultimate fears.
3) Style
a) Overall quality: This production must call to mind folks that we
know, or folks that we are. We must identify with these people, despite the
decidedly New York flavor of the script, so that we can see ourselves and our loved ones
in them. We are in a world of borderline farce where reality is pushed off balance.
b)
Stage world: This is a world where anything can happen, where the visit of the Pope
means magic is in the air and the stars may line up to grant your deepest wish.
Chaos and mayhem lead to insight into these people, yet they don’t see it
themselves. We are looking into the fishbowl and they look out at our friendly
faces.
c)
Cast: (See pages 4 and 5 of script)
Artie: Middle aged, blue collar, hardened but still able to be
awestruck and still has his dreams.
Ronnie: 20’s or so, hardened by the military but still
with a glimmer of childlike innocence and charm. A large manic streak.
Bunny: Feminine exterior but tough as nails inside.
She will fight for what she wants. In control and fast to act.
Bananas: Artie’s wife. Somewhat disturbed and a
bit off center. The pills Artie gives her don’t let her ‘feel’, but
instead we feel for her. She is sweet, simple, harmless, fragile, but with her own
toughness and ability to fight.
Corrina: Very chic, trendy, but also insecure and
tender. She hides her flaws with tenacity.
Billy: Slick, very much the LA convert from NY. He
can talk big and play the tycoon, but he’s still got roots in NY.
Head Nun: Tough as nails. In another life she was a
truck driver. Can manipulate in an instant.
2nd Nun: Head nun in training… her almost worthy
adversary
Lil Nun: Sweet, kind, but like an annoying child at times,
mostly sweet.
MP: Just what we think of an MP
White man: Gum chewing flunky sent to put the funny coat on
Bananas. Just doing his job.
d)
Concept Metaphor:
"The El Dorado Apartments and the main street of Jackson
Heights, a Tudor-topped building with pizza slices for sale beneath it, and discount
radios and discount drugs and discount records and the Chippendale-paneled elevator in the
apartment building that continuously goes up and down, endlessly cycling, now creaking
with age, is all carved up with ‘Love to Fuck’ that no amount of polishing can
ever erase." - taken from John Guare’s forward to the
play and enhanced.
e)
Design: It must be comfortable, welcoming, though somewhat disheveled and trashy. As
Guare tells us in the script, "Even though Artie and his family have lived here 18
years now, there is still an air of transience to the room as if they had never unpacked
from the time they moved in." This is a place that all the characters still
plan to get out of. It is comfortable, lived in, yet still a cage. We should
feel the sense that these people are being surrounded, engulfed by this bedroom community
of Queens and that it won’t let them go. It is a constant reminder of their
failures. Costumes should show us either how the characters relate to their dreams,
or what they are fighting for.
Challenges and Approach
This is an extremely challenging play to do correctly. As
I’ve indicated above, it walks a fine line between farcical humor and tragic
pathos. Additionally, it requires more energy, drive and stamina of action and
characterization than I had seen from the actors in this local area. Based on these
two things, I chose to emphasize the comedy in my direction of this production. The
last thing I wanted was for the actors to play the material too heavily or
tragically. Instead I wanted them to play against that emotion, thereby making the
pain and tragedy of the piece rise up through the humor naturally and in a layered or more
accumulated way. Additionally, I worked details to the extreme, due to what I see as
a tendency of actors and directors in this area to not pay enough attention to
detail. I felt that by emphasizing it, the actors and design team would quickly
learn how much homework they were facing and also get inspired to explore more details on
their own.
Outcome
Ultimately the above techniques, in my opinion, worked
beautifully. I am extremely proud of this production as well as the individuals I
worked with. Again, I had one actor who became a very large problem in petty power
struggles with the Stage Manager and other actors, but aside from that difficulty, the
production was very successful and satisfying. Sales of the show were far above
expectations and the show literally became "the buzz" around town.
Thematically the show had the desired effect, shocking and surprising many people who
thought the ending "should be re-written." However, even those audience
members greatly enjoyed the production for what they got out of it. For those who
were able to see the layers in the play, it was a remarkably moving experience for them,
and not soon forgotten.
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