FIRST LOVE Digital Program

Artists and Community Series Under the Auspices of the Merle Debuskey Studio Program

FIRST LOVE

By Samuel Beckett Streaming February 25 at 7pm ET through March 1, 2021 at 7pm ET Featuring Bill Camp Sets & Costumes: Kaye Voyce Lighting: Jennifer Tipton Video Design: Eamonn Farrell Production Stage Manager/Assistant Video Director: Britt Berke Assistant Director: Peter Cook Directed by JoAnne Akalaitis

THIS PERFORMANCE OF FIRST LOVE IS 90 MINUTES.

FIRST LOVE by Samuel Beckett is presented through special arrangement with Georges Borchardt on behalf of The Estate of Samuel Beckett. FIRST LOVE, a novella, was written in 1946. First published in French as Premier Amour by Edition de Minuit, Paris, 1970. The English Translation was published by Calder and Boyars, London, 1973. This Production presents the text of FIRST LOVE in its entirety without omissions or alterations.

ABOUT FIRST LOVE Described by novelist John Banville as “the most nearly perfect short story ever written,” First Love is the confession of a Dublin man, one of literature’s great loners, expelled from home and hearth after the death of his beloved father.

He confides in us the highs and lows of living rough, the charms of Europe’s various graveyards, and his obsession with Lulu, the woman who, against his will, once inflamed his desire and brought him in from the cold. With Swiftian wit and savage compassion, Beckett captures the strange contortions—and the tragedy—of a solitary nature trapped in the toils of love.

FROM THE FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Samuel Beckett is an indispensable part of TFANA’s offerings.

In 2012, we presented Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord’s Fragments, five texts

by Samuel Beckett, directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Helene Estienne.

In 2017, we offered Yale Repertory Theatre’s production of Happy Days, with Dianne Wiest directed by James Bundy. And in 2020, when the pandemic shut us down, rehearsals were about to begin for Waiting for Godot, with Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks directed by Arin Arbus; we’ll return to Godot on stage when theaters reopen.

This remote collaboration between Bill Camp, JoAnne Akalaitis and the design team of Eamonn Farrell, Jennifer Tipton, and Kaye Voce embraces the constraints of Zoom to present a work whose author’s timeless, placeless visions of confinement, repetition, and alienation have reached chilling new levels of familiarity.

It’s exciting now to continue TFANA’s commitment to Beckett with this virtual exploration of First Love.

—Jeffrey Horowitz

FROM THE DIRECTOR If theaters opened up tomorrow I wouldn’t do this: this piece is made for Zoom. It’s not cinematic: it is do-ityourself with Bill in a sweatshirt with a flashlight on his head and three laptops. Part of my wanting to do this is to acknowledge that the world has changed. One of the big game players in cultural change was Samuel Beckett, to whom I owe so much. It just felt right to put this work by a young, war-damaged Beckett—this mean-spirited, mordant, misanthropic piece from the point of view of this fucked up, misogynist character— in the hermetic setting of Zoom.

—JoAnne Akalaitis

ABOUT THE ARTISTS Samuel Beckett (1906–1989) was born in the Dublin suburb of Foxrock, to a middle-class Protestant family of comfortable means. He attended the prestigious Portora Royal School and Trinity College, where he excelled in French and Italian, then taught briefly at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. There he moved in the circle of artists and writers around James Joyce and began writing prose and poetry. He traveled widely in Europe in the 1930s—including Germany under the Nazis—and ultimately settled in Paris for the rest of his life. In 1946, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre for his work with the French Resistance.

Feeling that WWII had wasted his precious time and energies, Beckett withdrew into creative seclusion afterwards, producing a torrent of astonishingly powerful and original prose, including the introspective, formally challenging, darkly hilarious novel trilogy Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable. These books—written in French, in which Beckett said it was easier to write “without style”—were ignored or dismissed when they appeared, then later hailed as paradigm-changing masterpieces and literary landmarks.

Beckett first turned to drama as a break from the novel-writing he considered his real work, but it soon became much more than a sideline. The international success of Waiting for Godot—his play about two tramp-like characters filling time while waiting for someone who never comes, premiered in 1953—made him a public figure and ensured his continued involvement in theater despite his shyness and distaste for publicity. He went on to refine his dramatic vision in Endgame, Happy Days, Krapp’s Last Tape and many other plays that featured similarly castoff, ambiguously fictional characters trapped in starkly desolate and symbolic situations. These works permanently altered the Western world’s perception of the nature and purpose of dramatic art. Beckett received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 and at his death two decades later was widely considered the 20th century’s greatest dramatist.

Bill Camp Broadway: The Crucible (Tony nomination), Death of a Salesman (Drama Desk nomination), Coram Boy, Heartbreak House, The Seagull. Off-Broadway: Homebody/Kabul (Obie Award Winner), The Misanthrope. Regional: Co-Adaptor and lead for In a Year With 13 Moons (Yale Rep) and Notes From the Underground (TFANA at Baryshnikov Arts Center, Yale Rep, La Jolla Playhouse), Olly’s Prison. Film: Dark Waters, Joker, The Kitchen, Native Son, Molly’s Game. Television: “The Queen’s Gambit” (SAG nomination),“The Night Of ” (Emmy nomination), “The Outsider.”

JoAnne Akalaitis (Director) is a theatre director and writer who has won six OBIE Awards for Direction (and Sustained achievement) and a Drama Desk Award. She is a co-founder of Mabou Mines and a former Artistic Director of The Public Theater.

Akalaitis has staged works by Euripides, Shakespeare, Strindberg, Janacek, Philip Glass, Beckett, Jean Genet, Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, and María Irene Fornés, in addition to her own work. Akalaitis was the Andrew Mellon Co-Chair of the first directing programs at The Juilliard School, chair of the Theater program at Bard College, and the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair of the Theater Program at Fordham University.

Eamonn Farrell (Video Design) is a Virginia-based theater maker and video designer.

With his Brooklyn-based company, Anonymous Ensemble, he has created dozens of original, media-infused shows, installations, and live webcasts in New York City and around the world. Eamonn’s work is focused on investigating how innovative technologies can support and elevate the work of live performers to create unforgettable experiences. Eamonn has taught video design for performance at Princeton University, City College of New York, and the University of Virginia.

Jennifer Tipton (Lighting Design) is well known for work in theater, opera, and dance.

Theater: To Kill a Mockingbird. Opera: Ricky Ian Gordan’s Intimate Apparel. Dance: Twyla Tharp’s A Gathering of Ghosts at American Ballet Theatre. She teaches lighting at the Yale School of Drama. Among many, she has received the 2001 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, the 2003 Jerome Robbins Prize, and in 2008 she was awarded the USA “Gracie” and MacArthur Fellowships.

Kaye Voyce (Set and Costume Design) TFANA: Isolde. Broadway: True West, The Nap, Significant Other, The Real Thing, The Realistic Joneses, and Shining City. Recent Off-Broadway: Mud/Drowning (directed by JoAnne Akalaitis), Coriolanus, Marys Seacole, Greater Clements, and Hamlet. Other favorite recent projects were La Fanciulla del West in Beijing, and Richard Maxwell’s Queens Row in London and at the Kitchen.

Britt Berke (Production Stage Manager/Assistant Video Director) is an NYC-based theatre director. Recent work: Round Room (Origin Theatre’s 1st Irish Festival; Best Director Nomination), Liberian Girl in Brooklyn (Mabou Mines), and Promenade in Concert (The Public Theatre’s The Rest I Make Up Marathon). Britt is an alumna of the Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellowship, 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, WP Theater Internship, and NAMT and SDC Observerships. BA, Barnard College. www.brittberke.com.

Peter Cook (Assistant Director) is the Artistic Associate at Theatre for a New Audience and a director of plays, cabaret, and site-specific performance. His work has appeared at Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub, The Brick, the New York International and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, Stella Adler Studio, Dixon Place, The Hangar Theater, and Playhouse on Park, and with companies including Lesser America, The Play Company and Opera Theater of Yale College. He is a Drama League directing fellow.

Special thanks to Bruce Odland for audio consultancy and pre- and post-show sound.

TFANA TALKS Join us for live discussion with the artistic team and Alisa Solomon of TFANA’s Council of Scholars at 8:45pm EST on Thursday, February 25 and Friday, February 26.

Alisa Solomon is a teacher, writer and dramaturg living in New York City. She directs the Arts and Culture concentration in the MA program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her criticism, essays, and political reporting have appeared in a wide range of magazines and newspapers, including the New York Times, Nation, Forward, Theater, and Village Voice (where she was on the staff for 21 years).

Her book, Re-Dressing the Canon: Essays on Theater and Gender (Routledge, 1997) won the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism. She is the co-editor (with Tony Kushner) of the anthology Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Grove, 2003). Her latest book is Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof from Metropolitan Books (Holt).

Photo by David M. Barreda.

REGISTER HERE

We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers’ Unions: ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION AMERICAN GUILD OF MUSICAL ARTISTS AMERICAN GUILD OF VARIETY ARTISTS SAG-AFTRA through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program.

Theatre for a New Audience’s 2020–21 Season is Dedicated to the Memory of Terrence McNally, American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter.

Deloitte and Bloomberg Philanthropies are the 2020-2021 Season Sponsors.

Principal support for Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs is provided by Jerome L. Greene Arts Access Fund in the New York Community Trust, The SHS Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Thompson Family Foundation.

Theatre for a New Audience’s season and programs are also made possible, in part, with public funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities; Shakespeare in American Communities, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; and from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Theatre for a New Audience’s Artists & Community Series is presented under the auspices of the Merle Debuskey Studio Program. The program is named for Merle Debuskey, legendary press agent and long-time TFANA Board Member and advocate, through a bequest from his estate. Merle Debuskey was an influential force on and off Broadway for decades, notably as chief promoter of Joseph Papp’s Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park. He represented hundreds of shows, including the Broadway hits How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, A Chorus Line, and Jesus Christ Superstar. He served as President of the Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers for many years.

Theatre for a New Audience thanks the many donors who have supported us during this challenging time.

Polonsky Shakespeare Center is Theatre for a New Audience’s permanent home.

Production photo credits: Samuel Beckett (photo by IMBD.com), JoAnne Akalaitis (photo by Dana Maxson), Bill Camp (photo by Bill Trent)

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Robert E. Buckholz Board Chair Kathleen C. Walsh Vice Chair Jeffrey Horowitz President Dorothy Ryan Vice President & Secretary

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Robert E. Buckholz Constance Christensen Jeffrey Horowitz Seymour H. Lesser Larry M. Loeb, Esq. Audrey Heffernan Meyer Philip R. Rotner Kathleen C. Walsh Josh Weisberg

MEMBERS

F. Murray Abraham* Arin Arbus* John Berendt* Sally Brody Bianca Vivion Brooks* Ben Campbell Robert Caro* Sharon Dunn*

Riccardo Hernandez* Kathryn Hunter* Dana Ivey* Harry J. Lennix* Catherine Maciariello* Marc Polonsky Dorothy Ryan Joseph Samulski*

EMERITUS

IN MEMORIAM

Francine Ballan Dr. Charlotte Frank Theodore C. Rogers Jane Wells *denotes members of the Artistic Council

Robert Arnow Dr. Robert Ascheim Cicely Berry, CBE, Honorary Doctorate of Literature Zoe Ada Caldwell, OBE Henry Christensen III

Daryl D. Smith Susan Stockel Michael Stranahan John Douglas Thompson* John Turturro* Frederick Wiseman*

Merle Debuskey Sir Peter Hall, CBE John Heilpern John Krajci Gloria Messenger Marcia T. Thompson

STAFF Jeffrey Horowitz Founding Artistic Director Dorothy Ryan Managing Director Jennifer Lam Director of Marketing & Communications James Lynes Director of Institutional Advancement Nidia Medina Director of the Studio & Associate Producer Mary Sormeley Finance Director Jordan Asinofsky Facilities Director Kathleen Dorman Interim Education Director Barbara Toy Associate Director of Development Sara Billeaux Institutional Support Manager Torrence Browne Marketing Manager Steven Gaultney Theatre Manager Michael Page Interim General Manager Zachary Longstreet Production Manager Tatianna Casas Quiñonez Executive Assistant to the Artistic & Managing Directors & Manager of Humanities & Studio Programs Allison Byrum Box Office Manager Taylor Ross Membership Manager Peter Cook Artistic Associate Rashawn Caldwell Associate Facilities Manager Philip Calabro Education Associate Arin Arbus Resident Director Jonathan Kalb Resident Dramaturg & Resident Artist Blake Zidell & Associates Press Representative Michael Kaiser Strategic Planning Consultant Council of Scholars Ayanna Thompson, Chair Jonathan Kalb Richard McCoy Tanya Pollard Alisa Solomon

@THEATREFORANEWA WWW.TFANA.ORG

SUPPORT We are so grateful to all of you who have stood with us during this time. Please consider a fully tax-deductible gift of any size to our Recovery and Revival Fund to support our present work and plans for the future. New gifts will be matched dollar for dollar by a $200,000 Challenge provided by several anonymous donors.

With your help our community can stay strong.

Our shared conversation that is at the heart of great theatre will continue.

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