Theatre Calgary’s Play Guides and InterACTive Learning Program are made possible by the support of our corporate sponsors:
The Play Guide for The Shoplifters was created by: Zachary Moull Assistant Dramaturg
Want to get in touch? Send an email to zmoull@theatrecalgary.com Connect with us on our Facebook page Tweet us @theatrecalgary #tcShoplifters Follow our Instagram @theatrecalgary
The Shoplifters runs from September 1 to 27, 2015 For tickets, visit theatrecalgary.com or call (403) 294-7447 Front cover image by David Cooper
Table of Contents THE BASICS The Company ....................................................................01 Who’s Who? ...................................................................... 02 Time and Place ................................................................. 02 The Story .......................................................................... 02 EXPLORATIONS Breaking the Rules An Interview with Playwright Morris Panych .............. 03 The Stockroom Art Installation An Interview with Set Designer Ken MacDonald ......... 06 Five Facts on the Five-Finger Discount ................................ 09 Security and Loss Prevention .............................................. 10 Cops and Robbers ............................................................. 11 CONVERSATIONS Conversation Starters ........................................................ 12 Why Do People Steal? ........................................................ 12 Big Reads from Calgary Public Library ................................. 13 Spotlight Saturday ............................................................. 14 Meet the Cast ................................................................... 15 Sources ............................................................................ 17
THE BASICS
-1-
The Company
THE SHOPLIFTERS By Morris Panych THE CAST
Anna Cummer Stephen Hair Jeff Lillico Nora McLellan
Phyllis Otto Dom Alma
THE CREATIVE TEAM Haysam Kadri Ken MacDonald Hanne Loosen Anton De Groot Peter Moller
Director Set Design Costume Design Lighting Design Original Music and Sound Design
BEHIND THE SCENES Patti Neice Ashley Rees Catharine Crumb Chris Jacko Scott Morris Ron Siegmund
Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Head of Lighting Head of Sound Head Stage Carpenter Wig & Hairstylist, Wardrobe Master
THE BASICS
-2-
Who’s Who? Alma: A shoplifter Phyllis: Alma’s accomplice Otto: A longtime security guard Dom: A new security guard
Time and Place The Shoplifters takes places in the stockroom of a large supermarket, in the present day.
The Story Alma is a career shoplifter with a knack for getting the “five-finger discount” from the supermarket. But when she tries to steal some expensive steaks with her new accomplice Phyllis, she’s caught in the act by Dom, an overzealous security guard on his very first day. Dom and his boss Otto hold Alma and Phyllis in the back room of the store, but their interrogation reveals more questions than answers.
“Thieves respect property; they merely wish the property to become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.” –G. K. Chesterton
EXPLORATIONS
-3-
Breaking the Rules An Interview with Playwright Morris Panych One of Canada’s leading playwrights, Morris Panych has delighted and shocked audiences around the world with his darkly absurd comedies about people on the edge. At Theatre Calgary, we’ve presented Vigil, 7 Stories, and The Overcoat on the Max Bell stage. In anticipation of our Canadian Shoplifters,
premiere we
of
spoke
The with
Morris about theft, theatre, and his connection to Calgary. Morris Panych
What first sparked the idea for The Shoplifters? It was watching people steal, especially in grocery stores. They're often bad at it and somehow still get away with it. Also, I read a story about how 15% of shoplifting is done by seniors, and often it's just for something to do as much as being based on need. That made me start thinking about the different reasons that people break rules. It also happens to be a time in our country when the political rhetoric is more and more heated about criminal justice. What do you find most intriguing about theft? Theft at its worst is greed, but at its best can symbolize an act of defiance against the system. What I find most intriguing is that while none of us condones theft, we sometimes secretly applaud when something is taken from the rich and given to the poor. We all have our own internal sense of justice that doesn't always match the legal one.
EXPLORATIONS
-4-
Do you think there are grey areas where stealing can be justified? Theft is wrong, no question; how wrong is the question. We all know in our hearts that a starving person stealing food to eat is not the same, for instance, as a rich executive soaking investors or embezzling funds. There is a lot of in-between when it comes to wrongdoing. Are you a shoplifter or a security guard? I am my own thief. I stop myself more often than I let myself get away, so I guess I'm a security guard. But I wish I was more of a shoplifter. The Shoplifters premiered last year in Washington, DC. Do you anticipate any different reactions at the Canadian premiere in Calgary? Americans, I think, are innately more open with their responses, so they are a little more vocal. They also are slightly less dark in their sensibilities, so black humour can shock them a little more. Canadian audiences probably sit somewhere between British and American in their reaction to humour. That said, I really try to write from as wide a perspective as possible, hoping that my themes are more universal than local. I am interested in the human predicament. The most exciting thing for me is seeing the reception of my work in different parts of the world. Your husband Ken MacDonald designed the set for The Shoplifters, like he has for so many of your plays. How does your creative collaboration with him work? Ken has an innate understanding of the underlying absurdity of my work, while at the same time understanding that, at its core, there is a strong undercurrent of realism. Ken can magically combine these two elements so that immediately upon seeing one of his sets, one gets the intended tone. Our collaborations start almost from the inception of the idea, because often, if Ken can't see the visual component of the play I'm working on, he won't like it as much. So it forces me to explore theatrical metaphor in a much bolder way.
EXPLORATIONS
-5-
You were born in Calgary and have a family connection to the area. Is it special to have the Canadian premiere of The Shoplifters here? I'm very proud, of course. There is something deeply fulfilling about completing a circle that involves generations. My grandparents settled east of the city early in the 20th century, in Baintree, which is now deserted. My mother was born in Rockyford near Strathmore. During the depression, after my grandfather's death, they were forced to move to Calgary, living
a
bit
on
the
edge,
skipping out on rent and bills – according
to
my
mother,
although she could tell a story. Later, granary
she
worked exchange
at
the
where,
according to her, she invented a filing system only she could follow, so that they couldn't fire
Morris Panych with his grandmother at the Calgary Zoo
her. My mother has been very influential in my writing. Her dark sensibilities affected me greatly as a child and even as an adult. And in my office I have a picture of me at the Calgary Zoo, standing with my grandmother in front of a polar bear. I still remember being terrified. But my grandmother, who was a school teacher and a fierce grammarian, always had a weird nursery rhyme to console me, usually about somebody being thrown down a set of stairs. Why do you write plays, as opposed to anything else? I don't really know anything else. Theatre is the simplest, most satisfying expression of storytelling, and it's communal, so it's ultimately a social act. As we move further and further away from each other through technology, as conversations become shorter and people are swallowed by the screaming chaos of media in all its forms, theatre remains the last, best refuge of living ideas and expressed feelings.
EXPLORATIONS
-6-
The Stockroom Art Installation An Interview with Set Designer Ken MacDonald By Linda Lombardi, Arena Stage Literary Manager The set for Theatre Calgary’s The Shoplifters had its first life in the play’s world premiere at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Its designer Ken MacDonald is the longtime creative partner and husband of playwright Morris Panych, who directed that first production of his new play The Shoplifters. Linda Lombardi of Arena Stage spoke to Ken during tech week in Washington to ask him the secrets behind the 800 boxes that make up the set. Ken MacDonald
What was your inspiration for the design of the set and all those boxes? I went to Loblaws in Toronto where I live, and I asked if I could go back into the stockroom. I looked at a lot of pictures online of stockrooms, too. They all had these metal shelves and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun if it was just so magical, that there was no way of seeing how they were stacked, to not see the shelves?” So I started off by drawing a very realistic lunch room – I had a great big ventilator fan, a sink, a table, some cinderblock – it looked very real. But it was boring. And then I came up with the idea of stacking boxes and drawing them and it became an art installation. It became larger than life and theatrical. It’s funny, you start to accept it, don’t you? When you first see it, you think, “Oh my God!” but then you think, “Yeah they’re just in that back room.” And the boxes are hanging from the ceiling, piled high.
EXPLORATIONS
-7-
Are they all actually boxes? They’re boxes, but they’re not boxes that assemble like you’d find in a store. We bought them from a box company. They’re flat, and you pull them together, staple them together, and then we hand-printed on 4x8 sheets of cardboard all the logos that we had determined we wanted to use. Some of them were almost like silkscreen and a bit paler than normal. Then that piece of cardboard is cut out, put on, and folded around the top and re-glued on. Not every box is done – about 225 of the 800 boxes have logos. I knew that I wanted them randomly staggered and that they weren’t all flat, and then I just took a box cutter and went around and cut them in different places and started opening them up. I really liked that look. Then we started putting stuff inside. It’s very cool. I think people will think, “Oh well you went to the Safeway and you got a lot of boxes,” but no. Every box is chosen for its size, where it goes, what’s printed on it, whether it’s taped, and whether it has a logo on it, and a stamp, and a barcode, all that detail.
The set of The Shoplifters under construction at Theatre Calgary
EXPLORATIONS
-8-
You’ve worked with Morris Panych on more than 90 productions. We’ve been together for 35 years as partners – we’re married now. When we first started out, Morris was acting and I was writing music a bit. One day he came home and said “We’re going to write a musical.” I wrote the music, because I play the piano and sing, and he started writing the show, which we called Last Call: A Post-Nuclear Cabaret. We wrote about ten songs, and our landlady at the time was a producer at a theatre company in Vancouver, where we lived. So we played it for her and she liked it and her company said, “If you complete it, we’ll do it.” So we did it and it was a huge hit. We traveled across the country with it, it was made into a CBC television special, and it started us writing musicals. We wrote two or three more musicals after that, and that was 25 years ago! When you’ve been together for so long, do you develop a short hand? Oh totally! We get along fantastically. We do argue about design, because he’s very specific and so am I. I’m a little impractical. He’ll say, “Yes, but how does an actor get offstage?” While I’m saying, “But it looks so great!” In the last 30 years I’d say we’ve done at least three shows a year together, and there’s 90 just like that! We do have a shorthand in that we both love the same kind of look – we both like to be really theatrical, we know we want a twist to it in some way, we know that we like monochromatic things, and we like things to look quite classical, in the sense that it could be 1950, 1960, 1970... Is there a show that you have always wanted to design that you haven’t designed yet? No, there really isn’t. I like working on a new play more than anything. Like this. There are hundreds and hundreds of productions where you can look online and see what other people did. I would much rather invent it from scratch. I would much rather be the first person to do it. So any dream play I have is a new play that I have yet to design.
EXPLORATIONS
-9-
Five Facts on the Five-Finger Discount 1. Canadian retailers lose upwards of $3 billion a year to shoplifting and other forms of theft. Small shops lose an average of $1000 each month. 2. Recent studies estimate that as many as 1 in 10 people are habitual shoplifters. Men and women are equally likely to shoplift, and around 25% of shoplifters are under 18. Common motivations include poverty and need, treating oneself, and thrill-seeking. 3. The most frequently shoplifted items are razor blades, alcohol, and cosmetics. Other top-ten targets include batteries, pills, instant coffee, and packages of meat. Most shoplifters steal items for their own use or for their friends and family. 4. Shoplifters report being caught only once every 48 times they steal and being turned over to the police about half the times they get caught. 5. The penalty for theft under $5000 in Canada can range from a fine and community service to a maximum of 10 years in prison.
A loss prevention officer in the video surveillance room of a U.S. Army Exchange store (Vince Little, The Bayonet)
EXPLORATIONS
- 10 -
Security and Loss Prevention Shoplifting is a major drain on retail profit margins, so most stores have “loss prevention” policies in place to deter theft. These measures might include videocameras, bag checks, and electronic security tags. Shoplifters often need a moment of privacy to stash goods, so something as simple as salespeople greeting customers on the sales floor – known in the industry as “aggressive hospitality” – can be an effective loss prevention strategy. When passive measures fail to reduce theft, stores turn to security guards and in-house detectives. The presence of security guards can be a useful deterrent in itself. But when it comes to actually confronting suspected shoplifters, security guards can generally make an arrest only when they witness someone in the act of committing a crime. The so-called “six-step rule” was developed as a guideline in the 1990s to help security guards determine when they had probable cause to detain a shoplifter legally: 1. You must see the suspect approach the merchandise. 2. You must see the suspect take possession of the merchandise. 3. You must see where the suspect conceals it. 4. You must maintain an uninterrupted surveillance to ensure that the suspect doesn’t dispose of the merchandise. 5. You must see the suspect fail to pay for the merchandise. 6. You should approach the suspect outside. Loss prevention measures can be expensive, especially when a store needs to keep security guards on salary. One study found that American retailers spend an average of 0.46% of their revenue on loss prevention. This extra cost is passed on to paying customers through higher prices.
“There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.” –Gen. Douglas MacArthur
EXPLORATIONS
- 11 -
Cops and Robbers The endless struggle between cops and robbers (or security guards and shoplifters) goes far beyond the playground and the shopping mall. It has deep roots in legend and literature – and it’s surprisingly common for the thief to take on the role of the hero. These are just a few iterations:
Many cultures have myths in which fire is stolen for the benefit of humankind. For example, the ancient Greek deity Prometheus steals fire from Mount Olympus in a fennel stalk and gives it to mortals against Zeus’s will. As punishment, Zeus has him chained to a rock on top of a mountain, where his
Detail from “Prometheus Brings Fire to Mankind” (1817) by Heinrich Füger
liver is eaten by an eagle.
In medieval English folklore, Robin Hood is an archer and outlaw who supports the lower classes by stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. The Sheriff of Nottingham, his nemesis, chases him through Sherwood Forest to try to maintain order.
In Les Misérables, the novel by Victor Hugo and subsequent stage musical, Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s children and goes to prison for many years. When he takes an assumed name upon his parole so that he can live a productive life, he is pursued relentlessly by the police office Javert.
In tales of the Old West, the exploits of real-life outlaws such as Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and Billy the Kid take on legendary proportions. The legends surrounding James, who robbed several banks and trains, compared him to Robin Hood (although there’s no solid evidence that he actually gave any of his stolen money to the poor).
CONVERSATIONS
- 12 -
Conversation Starters
Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?
Which grocery store aisle are you most likely to be found in?
Do you think of yourself as a have or a have-not?
Under what circumstances could you justify stealing something?
If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take?
How much power do you think store security guards should have to detain people they suspect of shoplifting?
Is there any moral difference between stealing from an individual and stealing from a corporation?
Do you think that theft can ever be completely eliminated? If yes, how? If no, why not?
Why Do People Steal? Motivations for theft are remarkably varied, from poverty and need to thrill-seeking and fighting authority. The reasons are often deeply personal. One study, for example, found that many first-time shoplifters had recently experienced a significant loss or other emotional stressor. Episode #135 of the public radio show This American Life explores the many kinds of theft and the many kinds of thieves, and includes a fascinating interview with a senior-citizen shoplifter. It was one of Morris Panych’s resources for his play. “Stories about crime,” says host Ira Glass, “are a kind of snapshot of someone’s life and their problems at a certain moment. Through our crimes, we express who we are.”
Listen: www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/135/allure-of-crime Watch: CBC Doc Zone’s “The Secret World of Shoplifting” www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/the-secret-world-of-shoplifting (video) www.cbc.ca/doczone/features/fact-sheet-shoplifting1 (factsheet)
CONVERSATIONS
- 13 -
Big Reads from Calgary Public Library By Rosemary Griebel
Shoplifter, by Michael Cho Graphic Novel, 2014. Corrina Park supplements her dead-end social life and mind-numbing urban existence with the thrill of shoplifting. It’s not even particularly adventurous theft, selfdescribed as both “small time” and “magazines only, honest.” Between grumpily writing advertising copy and catering to the whims of a banshee-howling cat, Corrina comforts herself with frozen dinners and second-guessing her own apathy. Illustrator Cho’s debut novel is a funny and touching portrait of urban angst.
The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, by Rachel Shteir Non-fiction, 2011. The first serious study of shoplifting, tracking the fascinating history of this ancient crime. Dismissed by academia and the mainstream media and largely misunderstood, shoplifting has become the territory of moralists, mischievous teenagers, tabloid television, and self-help gurus. Tracing the evolution of shoplifting through history (Eve, Shteir quips, was the very first shoplifter when she swiped that apple), the author’s fascination for the topic and sense of humor are infectious and make the history of this curious crime compulsively readable.
Not For Nothing, by Stephen Graham Jones Mystery, 2014. The town is Stanton, Texas, population 3,000; the private investigator is disgraced detective Nicholas Bruiseman, who's so down on his luck that he's forced to take a job as a live-in security guard for the town's lone storage facility. This is his new life, starting over with nothing in the town in which he grew up, where every person he encounters – friend, enemy or ex-lover – is from his school or the child of someone from his school. A plot with twists, turns, and memorable characters.
CONVERSATIONS
- 14 -
Catch Me If You Can, by Frank W. Abagnale Memoir, 2002. Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and co-piloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged cheques, all before he was 21. Now Click on the book covers to check availability at Calgary Public Library!
recognized as the U.S.’s leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-thanfiction international escapades and ingenious escapes make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.
Spotlight Saturday Dig deeper into the ideas! Join us in the lobby after our fourth Saturday matinee for lively conversations around the themes of our shows. Our Spotlight Saturday events are free and open to all – no ticket required.
Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz of the Buy Nothing Year Project Saturday, September 26, at 3:30pm in the Max Bell Theatre lobby In 2013, two Calgarian roommates received international attention when they embarked on a experiment many thought would be impossible to complete. For one year, Julie Phillips and Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz took part in Buy Nothing Year, a project that would almost completely limit their purchasing from August 2013 to August 2014. By July 2014, Julie and Geoffrey had fully converted to “freeganism,” acquiring essentials such as food items only through their garden, their friends, and even the dumpster. The project fundamentally changed the way Geoffrey and Julie approach consumerism. “Consumerism can be viewed as a mindless activity,” they write on their blog, while “to share resources with each other forces us to connect and establish social community.”
CONVERSATIONS
- 15 -
Meet the Cast ANNA CUMMER (PHYLLIS) Grocery store aisle: Bakery Heist film: The Thomas Crown Affair (the first one with Steve McQueen) If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take? An original Van Gogh (The Starry Night) Are you a shoplifter or a security guard? A shoplifter with a security guard’s conscience
STEPHEN HAIR (OTTO) Grocery store aisle: Pizza Heist film: The original Pink Panther If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take? I wouldn’t do it Are you a shoplifter or a security guard? Neither
“Property is theft!” –Slogan of the 19th-century French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
CONVERSATIONS
JEFF LILLICO (DOM) Grocery store aisle: I’m a bit ashamed, but my wondrous girlfriend usually does the grocery shopping Heist film: High Life, based on the play by Canadian playwright Lee MacDougall If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take? I’d steal home plate for the Blue Jays to win the World Series this year Are you a shoplifter or a security guard? In this day and age, when most of us want the best for the world yet still unwittingly contribute to its degradation, I’d have to say a bit of both
NORA MCLELLAN (ALMA) Grocery store aisle: International Heist film: The Italian Job If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take? Someone’s heart! Are you a shoplifter or a security guard? Both
- 16 -
CONVERSATIONS
- 17 -
Sources “Allure of Crime.” This American Life #135, prod. Ira Glass. WBEZChicago. Jul 23, 1999. www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/135/allure-of-crime Cromwell, Paul. “Shoplifting.” In The Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment, ed. David Levinson. New York: Sage, 2002. “Fact Sheet: Shoplifting.” CBC Doc Zone. Jul 28, 2012. www.cbc.ca/doczone/features/fact-sheet-shoplifting1 Hampson, Sarah. “The Thrill of Shoplifting.” The Globe and Mail. Jul 18, 2011. www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/the-thrill-of-the-stealshoplifting-is-retail-therapy-of-another-kind/article625886 Haygood, Will. “A Story of Myth, Fame, Jesse James.” Seattle Times. Sep 17, 2007. www.seattletimes.com/html/living/2003885037_jessejames17.html “Psychological Studies.” National Association for Shoplifting Prevention. www.shopliftingprevention.org/what-we-do/learning-resourcecenter/psychological-studies “Retail Crime and Shoplifting.” Calgary Police Service. www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Community-programs-andresources/Crime-prevention/Retail-crime-and-shoplifting.aspx “Shoplifting and Theft.” Calgary Legal Guidance. clg.ab.ca/programs-services/dial-a-law/shoplifting-and-theft Shteir, Rachel. The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. New York: Penguin, 2011. “Theft of Fire.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_of_fire