OUT 10 OF 12
PHILADELPHIA THEATRE COMPANY 2010 - 2011 SEASON A publication of
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For David Mamet, putting a play on stage isn't about bells and whistles. You'll find one character, maybe more, who wants something VERY badly, and from that comes the play. So as the lights dim, don't look for pyrotechnics on stage - look for them in the words. e extent ires. To th h w e n ll THE CHARACTER FOOD CHAIN AN te a investiga ated me?" - SUS "Do you g ti ac k In Mamet's plays, there's always a pecking s e v tensive b t you in x h e ic n h a w d to n order and battles for success, power, and an endure h the blu , firm, Sus she struggles wit SAN U en e S m th , s to k e c control. The question is, will the big fish s, bla male, est hir e w it fe e h k n w c t e la u h B once again eat the little "We have won. By being T und check. As a d Henry speak abo he tries to remain gro an as s how Jack ing class people fish, or will the little fish fi- quick, and being brutal. f o re tu a rk n wo "The Law, s ed. s ex and Being fast and first, and nally win the day? nd unbia a women, l a n io Mr. Strickland, is s tearing off the fucking profes not an exercise bandaid." - JACK in metaphysics. CHARLES But an alley fight." STRICKLAND - HENRY A rich, White male JACK LAWSON who is accused of and HENRY raping a Black BROWN female. Used to Partners in a being in control, law firm, Jack being the defendant is White and makes him uncomHenry is fortable. He has a lot Black. It's to lose, including his ck), no secret to a (J e g a L marriage and his Jordan (Charles), ) them that n Preston public image. Unlike h mas (Henry Jo o h ): T R Anthony ast (L to y C a this diversity works to e R h d T n a ) his lawyers, Charles usan ole Lewis (S ic their advantage in the courtroom, and N sees his situation as a they're blunt when it comes to race. In their eyes, the case of morality, and he e are all I believe w h I did … legal system isn't about justice or morals, it's about g n ro w struggles with guilt, thoug I was “I believe eath the skin. And ere has winning and losing. secrets and truth. en e th brothers b sault the…I believ S E as HARL not legally derstanding.” – C n u is “She’s black. m been a HEARD OF, BUT NOT SEEN We cannot put. Though these 'characters' never step on stage, they can make or Enough White break the fate of Jack, Henry, Susan and Charcles. people. On the jury. To find one The PLAINTIFF - An African-American woman in a red sequin who is not afraid. dress with a questionable reputation, she has accused Charles of rape. Of being thought The JURY - This band of twelve men and women have the sole power to say what everyprejudiced. By one's wants to know: "Guilty," or "Not Guilty." letting him off, The MEDIA - The place where the entire nation turns to get the latest scoop, the pen, or tv on your theory.” camera is truly mightier than the sword, and the gavel, when it comes to public perception. – JACK
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DAVID MAMET
David Mamet is known as the playwright who can use few words to pack a hard, brutal punch which leaves audiences stunned. Where does his craft come from? In his own words, "There's no such thing as talent, you just have to work hard enough." He Knows His Way Around the World Mamet's father was a labor lawyer. His mother was a teacher. He was a child actor, but after college he worked any job to pay the bills, including: real estate agent, truck driver, carpet salesman, window cleaner, merchant marine, cab driver, and waiter. As they say, strong writers are inspired by their experiences!
Advice from a Master As executive producer of the television show THE UNIT, Mamet noticed he and his fellow writers were having difficulty. In a memo to his colleagues, he offered the following advice: "We, the writers, must ask ourselves of every scene these three questions: 1) Who wants what? 2) What happens if her don't get it? 3) Why now?"
The Accidental Playwright Mamet was hired as an instructor at Marlboro College in 1970, and the fact that he'd said he'd written a play helped him get the job. The problem was, he hadn't written a play! When he found out the college planned to produce his play, he quickly wrote LAKEBOAT, which was based on the merchant marines.
Short. Stunted. Sentences. When it comes to language, David Mamet is the king of clipped speech. His plays are known for being driven by what the characters say to each other, rather than by an elaborate plot or story. Why so character oriented? Mamet's wise reply, "People only speak to get something."
"I never try to make it hard for the audience. I may not succeed, but‌I try to adopt that as an absolute tenet. I mean, if I'm not writing for the audience, if I'm not writing to make it easier for them, then who the hell am I doing it for?" - David Mamet
y the fueled b is e u g rs. lo characte ols "The dia e th f o n s to tio despera , initially used a sons" s pri rd Their wo s, become their imes pon w York T e and wea N e h T ntley, - Ben Bra A
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Want More Mamet? Some of Mamet's most popular plays include AMERICAN BUFFALO, SPEED-THE-PLOW, and OLEANNA. His screen work includes THE UNTOUCHABLES, WAG THE DOG, and HANNIBAL. His Pulitzer Prize winning GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS is both a play and a film.
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Glengarry G le
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DISCRIMI-NATION? - A TUMULTOU
In his article titled "We Can't Stop Talking About Race in America," featured in T that had race and prejudice at the heart of the situation. Spanning multiple ethnici
"Race, like sex, is a subject on which it is near impossible to tell the truth. In each, desire, self-interest and self-image make the truth inconvenient to share not only with strangers (who may, legitimately or not, be viewed as opponents) but also with members of one’s own group, and, indeed, with oneself." - David Mamet from “We Can’t Stop Talking About Race in America”
1857 - Dred Scott tried to buy his freedom from his master's wife after his master's death, but she denied him. Scott went to the courts next to sue for his freedom, and the multiple failed attempts culminated in a Supreme Court decision in 1857. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that as a black man, Scott was not a citizen and had no right to file a lawsuit.
1931 - The alleged gang rape of two white girls by nine innocent black teenagers - who came to be known as the Scottsboro Boys - lead to two decades of trials, mistrials and retrials featuring heinous miscarriages of justice heavy wit prejudice. A silver lining within the twenty-year ordeal was that by the end, the ban of black people from juries was lifted.
1921 - Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were two Italian immigrants charged with armed robbery and the murder of two men in Massachusetts. Despite a lack of evidence they were sentenced to death, and it is widely believed that rising prejudice towards Italians because of the advent of Fascism in Italy fueled the verdict. Though they appealed more than once, they were executed in 1927.
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II, the US government interned Japanese Ame Relocation Camps". A response to the Japane estimate of 110,000 Japanese Americans and military secure exclusion zones. In 1944, the S internment was constitutional.
S T I ME L I N E O F R A C E I N A M E R I C A
The New York Times, David Mamet sited a number of events in American History ities, some of these moments are featured below - with a few additions of our own.
n s th t
t w wha u k no k m an. o y o blac Y: D HENR say? To a e? n ac you ca subject of r ." g e On th ES: "Nothin ct. L re CHAR That is cor : Y RACE HENR -from
1954 - The landmark US Supreme Court
decision in Brown vs. Board of Education banning racial segregation in schools as unconstitutional. In this photo taken three years later, tensions were still high and it was neccessary for a National Guardsman to escort 6 black students into Little Rock Central High School.
"America ma y have its first black preside think it's finally nt, and may itching its wa y toward post here comes th -racial detente at unreconstru , bu cted, acerbic loon-pricker fr , argumentativ t om Chicago, e balarguing that progress is e any and all o ither forced, f that cosmetic or a once)." lie (or all thre e at - Chris Jones of The Chica go Tribune a bout David M am et
1991 – When officers attempted to pull African-American Rodney King over for speeding, a high speed chase ensued as King tried to flee. When the officers finally cornered the vehicle, King’s other two passengers were arrested without incident, but King resisted. The resulting tactics used by the officers (56 hits with their batons and 6 kicks) happened to be videotaped by Citizen George Holliday. Four of the officers were tried for use of excessive force, but to the shock of the nation a jury acquitted them. Incensed by the verdict, riots erupted in L.A., resulting in 53 deaths and over 2,000 injuries before the public was subdued. 2010 - Arizona Senate Bill 1070 says it’s a crime for aliens of the U.S. to not carry their immigration paperwork with them at all times, and makes it lawful for police to stop anyone whom officers have “reasonable suspicion” of being in the country illegally. For these reasons and others many critics of the proposed bill say it condones racial profiling, but despite protesting in over 70 U.S. cities, the bill was signed into law in April of 2010.
1942 - During World War ericans in what they called, "War ese bombing of Pearl Harbor, an Japanese were brought to these Supreme Court upheld that the
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LEGAL- -EASE
LEGALESE (noun) 1. language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon. * 2. The conventional language in which legal documents, etc, are written * The Terrain of a TRIAL When a person has been accused of allegedly committing a crime, the moment they plea "not guilty" is when their case goes to trial. During the trial, two sides stand before the judge. The prosecution represents the plaintiff (who is the accuser) and the defense represents the defendant (the accused). The judge rules on objections, maintains the order in the court, and sentences the defendant if the defendant is found guilty - but only the jury can give that verdict. So the opening statements by the prosecution and defense, the introduction and analysis of evidence, the examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and the closing statements are the means lawyers go through to convince the jury that their client's story is the one that is right. d, o be performe (noun) for services t y e n r o t d n t a a t RETAINER n oa lien present the c ce payment t awyer will re l 1. The advan e h t t a h t + . e t r n ou nsu intended to i least that am from ill be paid at w r k took money e c y a J w a d l n e a h y r n e that t H f i e b that d they would , this means a retainer an s 2. In RACE a y f i n g i s d oul Charles, it w . represent him o t d e t obliga
"The le only a gal process , Char bout t hr le fear o r envy ee things. s is . H the tr ifecta. And you ju atred, " s t hi t - Hen ry
to wit (preposition) 1. A phrase which means "that is to say" + 2. In RACE, it can also be interpreted as, "so you're implying‌?"
LIT I 1. A GANT n in S (n ou di l 2. I awsuit vidual n) nR .* inv olve wom ACE, da C a h n a dres r s ar in the les an re d this e case the liti d sequ the in gan . ts i n
un) ATTORNEYS OF RECORD (noun) ENT (no rious INDICTM e of a felony (se ry 1. The attorney who has appeared in court and/or signed Ju rg 1. A cha oted by a Grand , pleadings or other forms on behalf of a client. The crime) v proposed charge er h a t lawyer remains the attorney of record until some other based on testimony and o lic ' b attorney or the client substitutes for him/her, he/she is s u witnesse esented by the p r p allowed by the court to withdraw, or after the case is evidence + e . h r t closed. + o prosecut this means that and r , E G 2 . In RACE, requesting any information from the C he 2. In RA ion convinced t ally m o f e t b D istrict Attorney's office regarding Charles' case would prosecu Charles should an m o w t e a h make Jack and Henry his Attorneys of Record. Jury th raping t with the ress, so he would d e g r a h c d d sequin in the re . ll trial (* Definitions are provided by Dictionary.com) face a fu (+ Definitions are provided by the legal dictionary of Law.com)
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AND YOUR VERDICT IS?
Obviously, RACE is about race. But it wouldn't be Mamet if there weren't other social issues boiling underneath the play's tense surface. And as Jack Lawson so eloquently puts it, "You say it isn’t fair? It is neither fair nor unfair. None of us is immune. From a false accusation."
her tion of percep usan's rrect? ns: Is S arles co Questio rception of Ch Related er p e RACEt? Is h ' correc bos s es
k eac h you thin t e c es do sequen Will anyone g hat c on s? tion: W d deed d Ques eir words an free? Relate otr th RACEACE sc face fo ter will ftermath of R charac a om the away fr
HUMAN NATURE "I do not think that people are basically good at heart; TRUTH, LIES AND CONSEQUENCES indeed, that view of human nature has both prompted In his article, "We Can't Stop Talking and informed my writing for the last 40 years. I think About Race in America", David Mamet that people, in circumstances of stress, can behave like poses, swine, and that this, indeed, is not only "The question of a fit subject, but the only subject of drama." the poor drama is ents rs pres te c a r a h e c - Playwright David Mamet 'What is the th e s is e r f th cte h one o Which chara ic truth?' but of the h W ? s: uestion ce in America ith the most? Q better drama, d te ew Rela ut ra RACE- est case abo ou sympathiz and particularly y ng the stro al? Which do "The show's of tragedy, ic th e nominally about most 'What are race, but the the lies?' elephant in the room is gender…If Hillary Clinton had been elected, would we be watching 'Sex' instead?" - Elisabeth Vincentelli, The New York Post a e given GENDER POLITICS les hav ld that r a h C ld RACE is not the first ec t c ou : Shou uestion all? What eff Q d time that the sole te Rela after RACE- to the press female character in a t n e statem on his case? Mamet play is the only ad THE MEDIA’S PERCEPTION OF RACE have h character who doesn't Byron Pitts of CBS News is not happy with how the have a last name. media handles the issues of race and social class, and he is Feminists and critics have not alone. He remarked, "the only people who are treated long argued about Mamet's representaworse on television than black people are poor whites," and tion of women and the function they serve in says that putting more people of color behind the scenes to the power struggles featured in his plays. make decisions about what's news worthy would help. Pitts added, "If the mission of journalists is to seek truth and tell “I think that women. Just like men. In the main, being self truth - and there are different shades of truth - you need a interested, will exploit every advantage they may have. wide range of people to go find that truth." Chief among theirs, youth and beauty. Just as will men, who possess the advantages of being old and rich.” – Jack
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2010-11 Drama Contact Corporate Sponsors:
Philadelphia Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the following for their underwriting support of Drama Contact:
ARAMARK Charitable Fund at the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program Beatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Foundation Connelly Foundation Fund for Children of the Philadelphia Foundation Hamilton Family Foundation Independence Foundation
All performances of RACE are presented at the
Lincoln Financial Foundation Louis N. Cassett Foundation Rosenlund Family Foundation Target TD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation Verizon Foundation The Victory Foundation Virginia & Harvey Kimmel Arts-Education Fund Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation
OUT 10 OF 12
An Actors’ Union Term
1. The two most brutal days of rehearsal. The director works the actors for 10 hours each day with 2 hours of breaktime. 10 hrs + 2 hrs = 10 out of 12! 2. The two most rewarding days of rehearsal. Without these two technical rehearsals, the show wouldn’t go on! 3. This booklet. “10 out of 12” is your rehearsal to play the part of an audience member
“10 out of 12” is a publication of Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Education Department. Each issue explores themes, ideas and questions related to a PTC production.It is designed to enrich the experience of our audiences and support the mission of our Drama Contact programming. Produced by mindy a. early, Rashanda Freeman and Maureen Sweeney
No part of this study guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the authors and Philadelphia Theatre Company. c2011