Download Our Town - California State University, Long Beach

Our Town
by Thornton Wilder
directed by Trevor Biship
Study Guide
October 9th to October 24th, 2009
Players Theatre
University Players
Theatre Arts Department
California State University Long Beach
Table of Contents
Characters
.
.
.
.
.
.
A Play and Its Playwright
.
.
.
.
Quotes from Thornton Wilder; Comments on Our Town
Dramatic Influences in Our Town .
.
.
Literary Themes in Our Town.
.
.
.
Interview with Director Trevor Biship
.
.
Questions
.
.
.
.
.
.
Internet and Library Resources for Our Town
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Page 2
Page 2
Page 3
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 6
Characters
The Stage Manager (a separate character in the original script): This role is taken on by other characters in
this production. The lines are shared among characters. The cast narrates the play; they describe the setting,
provide background information, and provide exchanges that were traditionally performed by the stage
manager.
Mr. Webb: Editor of the Grover's Corners Sentinel. Father of Emily and Wally.
Mrs. Webb: Wife of Mr. Webb.
Emily Webb: Daughter of Charles and Myrtle Webb.
Wally Webb: Little brother of Emily.
Dr. Gibbs: Town physician
Mrs. Gibbs: Wife of Dr. Gibbs.
George Gibbs: Son of Frank and Julia Gibbs.
Rebecca Gibbs: Daughter of Frank and Julia Gibbs. Little sister of George.
Howie Newsome: Milkman
Joe Crowell: Newspaper boy
Si Crowell: Joe's younger brother.
Sam Craig: Emily Webb's cousin.
Joe Stoddard: Undertaker
Constable Warren: Law enforcement officer
Professor Willard: Expert on the geological and anthropological background of Grover's Corners
Simon Stimson: Choirmaster at the Congregationalist church and the town alcoholic.
Mrs. Soames: Choir member and friend of Myrtle Webb and Julia Gibbs.
A Play and Its Playwright
Thornton Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1897. Wilder spent his childhood traveling back and forth
to the Far East where his father was posted as the United States Consul General to Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Wilder attended high school in China until 1912, when political conditions became too unstable for his family
to remain. Wilder’s family returned to California where he graduated from Berkeley High School. After
dropping out of Purdue University Law School and serving in the Coast Guard, Wilder went on to earn his B.A.
from Yale University. At Yale he focused on honing his writing skills. He later earned his M.A. in French from
Princeton University in 1926.
The following year Wilder achieved critical and commercial success with his novel The Bridge of San Luis Ray,
which won him his first Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Roughly ten years later, Wilder began work on Our Town. In
January of 1938 the play opened to unenthusiastic audiences in Princeton, New Jersey. Revisions were made
to the script and two weeks later the play opened on Broadway to rave reviews. Our Town earned Wilder a
second Pulitzer Prize, this time in drama, making Wilder the only American author to win both honors. Wilder
himself took on the role of the Stage Manager for two weeks in the Broadway production and in summer stock
productions in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. In 1988, the play's 50th anniversary revival on Broadway
earned the Tony Award for Best Revival; the 2003 Westport Country Playhouse revival would also earn a Tony
nomination for Best Revival.
Quotes from Thornton Wilder; Comments on Our Town
“At first glance, [Our Town] appears to be practically a genre study of a village in New Hampshire. On second
glance, it appears to be a meditation about the difficulty of, as the play says, ‘realizing life while you live it.’
But buried back in the text, from the very commencement of the play, is a constant repetition of the words
‘hundreds,’ ‘thousands,’ ‘millions.’ It’s as though the audience—no one has ever mentioned this to me,
though—is looking at that town at ever greater distances through a telescope.”
“Our Town is not offered as a picture of life in a New Hampshire village; or speculation about the conditions of
life after death…It is an attempt to find a value above all price for the smallest events of daily life.”
“…the absurdity of any single person’s claim to the importance of his saying, “I love!” “I suffer!” when one
thinks of the background of the billions who have lived and died, who are living and dying, and presumably will
live and die.”
“A dramatist is one who believes that the pure event, an action involving human beings, is more arresting than
any comment that can be made upon it. On the stage, it is always NOW; the personages are standing on that
razor edge, between the past and the future, which is the essential character of conscious being; the words
are arising to their lips in an immediate spontaneity. ..."
Dramatic Influences in Our Town
Thornton Wilder once wrote about himself, “I am not an innovator but a rediscoverer of forgotten good.” In
his play Our Town, Wilder draws on many styles of drama from around the world. According to Wilder scholar
Paul Lifton, “Wilder simultaneously combines naturalistic, symbolist, existentialist, Brechtian, futurist,
Pirandellian, ‘Chinese’ (Beijing Opera), Elizabethan, medieval, and ancient Greek elements in a single play.”
Let’s explore some of these styles utilized in Our Town:
Naturalism
Naturalism is a movement that comes out of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The naturalist movement is
the application of principles and methods of natural science to literature and art. It extends the realistic style,
but focuses on man as a product of his environment. Man uses his instincts to drive him and is driven by social
forces, a push—pull that exists in nature. Naturalism in theatre presents itself by modeling reality. Naturalistic
works expose the elements of life; many works reveal the darker side of mankind, including poverty, racism,
sex, prejudice, and disease. Naturalistic actors attempt to recreate reality by speaking lines with normal,
everyday speech and using realistic movement.
In the University Players’ production of Our Town, naturalism is presented with normal speech and realistic
movements. These actions are highlighted in the exchange that takes place between Emily and George as they
reveal their feelings over a strawberry soda.
Brechtian
Bertolt Brecht, a German playwright, developed an influential theory of theatre that stemmed from ‘epic
theatre.’ Brecht used techniques to remind the audience that they are spectators of a play. A play is a
representation of reality and not reality itself. He employed techniques that included the direct address by
actors to the audience, exaggerated, unnatural stage lighting, the use of song, and explanatory placards. In his
style, a play strives to provoke a rational self-reflection and a critical view of the actions on stage rather than
introducing obscure story lines and complicated speech. Some of Brecht’s works include The Threepenny
Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
In Our Town, Brechtian influences can be seen through direct address to the audience. The production uses
various strategies to break down the fourth wall and engage the audience.
‘Chinese’ (Beijing Opera)
In 1790, a celebration for Emperor Qianlong (Chee-an Long) of the Qing (Ching) Dynasty brought together four
major opera troupes in China. Over the next half century various styles of opera would integrate and evolve
into Beijing opera, now the most recognizable and influential style of performance in China. Beijing opera uses
a synthesis of stylized action, singing, dialogue and mime. In Beijing opera the stage is traditionally bare with
no props; only a few chairs, a table and a silk backdrop are present. Due to the lack of props on stage, actors
are trained to stand, sit, and gesture in unison with stylized music in order to give the illusion of reality.
Chinese drama does not strive to be real in its physical presentation. Its intention is to instruct rather than to
amuse. Beijing opera therefore has a higher mission than merely to entertain. It appeals not only to the
senses, but also through thought and reflection seeks to expound the meaning of life. The moral is one of the
most important elements, as well as one of the most prominent features of Chinese drama. Beijing opera
explores social norms prevalent at the time it was written or in the time period it takes place. *Beijing Opera is
also referred to as Peking Opera.
During the graveyard scene Emily returns to a day from her childhood. In the reliving of this day, several
aspects of ‘Chinese’ style drama, namely mime and minimal set dressings, intensify the production’s
examination of actions that often go unnoticed. This emphasizes Emily’s final lament, “Do any human beings
ever realize life while they live it?”
Ancient Greek
Greek tragedy had its beginnings in choral performances, in which a group of 50 men danced and sang
dithyrambs, lyric hymns in praise of the god Dionysus. In the middle of the 6th century BC, the poet Thespis
reputedly became the first true actor when he engaged in dialogue with the chorus leader. Choral
performances continued to dominate early plays until the 5th century BC when the chorus was reduced and
more and more actors were added. The distinction between the passivity of the chorus and the activity of the
actors is central to the artistry of Greek drama. The chorus in Classical Greek drama was a group of actors who
described and commented upon the main action of a play with song, dance, and recitation. While the
protagonists act out their defiance of the limits handed down by the gods for man, the chorus expresses the
fears, hopes, and judgment of the average citizens.
In a traditional production of Our Town the stage manager functions as the Greek chorus, commenting on the
action and at times conversing with characters. In the University Players’ production the stage manager’s lines
are divided among all the characters. The director reveals the involvement and significance of the community
Literary Themes in Our Town
The Latin phrase carpe diem urges people to live for the moment, seizing opportunities to enjoy or enrich their
lives. Life is short, after all: such opportunities may present themselves only once. This is an old literary motif,
written about throughout history. The Roman poet Horace (65-8 B.C.) coined the phrase carpe diem in one of
his famous odes, when he advised people to “seize the day, trust not in tomorrow!” English poet Robert
Herrick (1591-1674) repeated this sentiment in a memorable poem:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
Old time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today
Tomorrow will by dying.
In Our Town, Wilder reminds the audience again and again that time is “a-flying” with references to passing
trains-which, like life, move swiftly forward. However, “seizing the day” does not necessarily refer to the
pursuit of lofty enterprises or careers. For instance, George Gibbs seizes the day by accepting the simple life of
Grover’s Corners rather than going to agricultural school. Mrs. Gibbs embraces the simple life of Grover’s
Corners instead of insisting that her husband go on vacation with her to the city of her dreams, Paris.
Another theme introduced in Our Town is wonderfully captured by English poet John Donne. In 1624 he
wrote:
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the
main…any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never
send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Grover’s Corners is a pleasant, easygoing community that seems to be a separate world unto itself. However,
it revolves around the sun the same as the rest of the world and it is subject to the same influences that affect
everyone. Its residents read Shakespeare and The New York Times. Trains pass through regularly, and a time
comes when Ford cars replace horses and people begin to lock their doors. Grover’s Corners is not an island,
and when tragedy strikes at the end of the play, a bell tolls for everyone.
Interview with Director Trevor Biship
What are the major themes explored in Our Town?
Our Town explores everyday issues for an everyday audience. Difficulties with communication, dealing with
crisis and finding a civic community are all woven into a humorous and honest portrayal of one town in
America. The three acts of the play reflect typical human events: a day in modern life, an exploration of
budding love that culminates in a wedding, and grief that binds a community together. While we are setting
our production in a contemporary America, Wilder's themes still resonate as powerfully as in the play's
original setting (1903-1914), and the play's original production in 1938.
What can be gained by watching Our Town, especially by a young audience?
Our Town will be revelatory for all audience members young and old, as well as those who feel they know this
play, and those who find it musty, homespun or sentimental. In fact, this play is exceedingly relevant. Wilder's
revolutionary writing still forces an audience to make a deep and direct connection with the characters; to
discover how the play reflects the audience's own life and experience. In this sense, the community of Our
Town extends past the company of actors directly to the audience. All in attendance on any given evening will
experience what Emily, George and the rest of Grover's Corners experience.
What artistic choices have you made or fostered to modernize this production of Our Town?
To give the audience members an intimate experience, we stage Our Town in the round. The action of the play
is no farther than ten feet away from them. Our production imagines each character in a very contemporary
way. Actors communicate with the audience directly at various moments, speaking to them as if they were
another member of this town. Music interweaves the action of the play, just as it does in our daily lives. As
each Act progresses, the audience will feel more a part of Grover's Corners and, thus, more connected to the
action of the play. Thoroughly modern elements of this production will allow the audience to experience the
play in a vital and new way. For example, how do cell phones, the Internet, and a diverse social community
comment upon the universal themes of Our Town?
How can live theatre impact young audiences?
Theatre has to impact all audiences, and it is our job to reflect human life and behavior on the stage in a way
that cannot be done with television, film, or any other forms of social media. I believe young audiences must
constantly be reminded of the unique political power of a live theatrical experience; I want them to discover
how theatre can be used to respond to the problems of our contemporary world in a way that most artistic
media cannot. If we are to convince them of this, even briefly, then our theatre will be shaped and changed by
these audiences. As a result, a new generation of theatre artists and audiences will continue to respond to and
reflect our ever-changing world.
Questions
1. Thornton Wilder once said, “I am not interested in the ephemeral – such subjects as the adulteries of
dentists. I am interested in those things that repeat and repeat and repeat in the lives of the millions.”
How does this statement apply to Our Town?
2. Can you identify two more examples of Wilder’s dramatic influences in this production of Our Town?
Explain.
3. Examine three questions asked by the “audience” members, about drinking, social injustice, and
culture. What’s the purpose of these interruptions? Do they add or detract from the play?
4. An idea is presented to place a time capsule in the new bank under construction. In the capsule, a copy
of The Sentinel, The New York Times, the U.S. Constitution, the Bible, Shakespeare’s works, and the text
of the play, Our Town would be included. What is the significance of these items in terms of what they
tell you about Grover's Corners?
5. Consider the seemingly contradictory statements Emily makes in Act II, “The moonlight’s so terrible,”
and soon after, “The moonlight’s so wonderful.” Or consider Mrs. Soames words in Act III, “My, wasn’t
life awful—and wonderful.” How do these statements express the meaning of the play?
6. At the end of the play, Emily says, “Oh, earth, you’re too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any
human beings ever realize life while they live it?” What are some of the “wonderful” things about earth
and life that people fail to notice?
7. Our Town is an American play, written by an American author, set in an American town, yet it has been
produced around the world—in Poland, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Korea and elsewhere. Why and
how does this play “translate” into so many other languages and cultures?
Internet and Library Resources for Our Town
Interviews on Our Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXePxDMpQxU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdWPvWzoVhI
Reviews/Articles on Our Town
http://mcc1.library.csulb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=42
648057&site=ehost-live
http://mcc1.library.csulb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=37
286655&site=ehost-live
http://mcc1.library.csulb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=37
606751&site=ehost-live
http://mcc1.library.csulb.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=36
882735&site=ehost-live
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/logos/v008/8.1block.html
• Proudfit, Scott Back Stage West 10:34 (21 Augut 2003-27 August 2003 p. 1, 3-4
Play and film clips from Our Town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rg4_RpSkGjE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg_X1m7m5xo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqM5Ev9MCa4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLWewZO6z1w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnfACj0bvQ0&feature=related
Books and articles about Thornton Wilder
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/theatre_journal/v060/60.1geary.html
• Critical essays on Thornton Wilder / edited by Martin Blank. New York : G.K. Hall ; London : Prentice
Hall International, c1996. 4th Floor Stacks - PS3545.I345 Z645 1996
• Thornton Wilder Castronovo, David. New York : Ungar, 1986. 4th Floor Stacks - PS3545.I345 Z58
1986
• Thornton Wilder: the bright and the dark, by M. C. Kuner. Kuner, Mildred Christophe, 1922- New York,
Crowell [1972] 4th Floor Stacks - PS3545.I345 Z75
• Thornton Wilder and his public / Amos N. Wilder. Wilder, Amos Niven, 1895- Philadelphia : Fortress
Press, 1980. 4th Floor Stacks - PS3545.I345 Z96
• Thornton Wilder, an intimate portrait / Richard H. Goldstone. Goldstone, Richard Henry. New York :
Saturday Review Press, c1975. 1st ed. 4th Floor Stacks - PS3545.I345 Z664