Some Girls Research

LaBute biography, incl. a list of his plays, some indication of how they were received LaBute’s place in the American and world theatre landscape

About the Playwright: Neil LaBute was born in 1963 in , Michigan. His father was a truck driver who was often out of town for work, and his mother was a hospital receptionist. He grew up mostly in Liberty Lake, Washington, and attended Central Valley High School in Spokane. Though he was not a Mormon, he attended on a scholarship for non-Mormon students. While studying for a BA in Theater BYU, he joined the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and met his wife, a member of the church. They married shortly after he graduated in 1985, and they moved to New York. He earned an MA at the and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU; he then returned to BYU to pursue a PhD (though he did not complete the degree). His first commercial play was produced off- Broadway in 1992, and he has been successfully writing for the stage and the cinema since then. He has also published short stories. He is largely recognized for the direct way his plays deal with interactions between the sexes. He has been both lauded for his relatable characters and criticized for apparent misogyny in his work. He is often compared to and Sam Shepard and has had his plays produced around the world. His most recent play, In a Forest Dark and Deep, premiered in London in March of 2011.

LaBute’s Preface to published edition of Some Girls: What does it mean to be a “modern-day Candide”? Guy is, like Candide, an eternal optimist, going from one ex to the next despite making things worse over and over. The manner in which this play captures the essence of Eric Rohmer’s films. Focus on the sexes and what the characters are thinking while they act.

Some Girls reviews from past productions, specifically how these reviewers handled various misogynistic-esque elements in the text or production

Much of the criticism of the London and New York premieres of Some Girl(s) centers on the fact that this play is a gentler version of LaBute’s previous work with little freshness or development. While Guy is a horrible man who treats women terribly, he doesn’t suffer any terrible fate – in a sense, he gets away with his bad behavior, which can read as an endorsement of men behaving badly toward women. However, several reviewers noted that Guy does get his comeuppance thanks to Lindsay.

Misogyny in theatre, comparisons that may exist between LaBute and other uber straight male writers like Mamet, Shepard, Marber, Rabe, (and sometimes) Belber? Mamet is one of LaBute’s playwrighting idols, so it is no surprise that similarities occur in their works. Though LaBute’s characters are not as foul- mouthed as Mamet’s, both playwrights strive to portray real, normal- sounding speech in their works.

Mamet, Shepard, Marber (Closer), Rabe, Belber (Tape), and LaBute also share a fascination with “bad” people, particularly men. These playwrights make no apologies for the atrocious, misogynistic behavior of their characters.

How different writers, philosophers, theorists, etc. have categorized “types of women” throughout history. Do LaBute’s seeming categories, represented with each of these women, line up, or how do they differ?

How does society today categorize women? For example, “the feminine one”, “the uber-feminist”

Are Plays in Hotels almost a kind of genre? If so, how, and what other plays fit into this category?

“Hotel plays” as a genre Plays set in hotels are a kind of genre due to the fact that a hotel room is a very unique setting. It has a sexual connotation; it has a connotation of secrecy or sneaking around. It is a permanent place that is only meant to be used temporarily.

Other hotel plays: Caryl Churchill’s Hotel:, several works of Tennessee Williams, Stephen Belber’s Tape

What type of writer/journalist the Guy? Could he be compared to particular writers today, or in the past? Who is out there writing stuff like this, and where is it published? Similar to Tucker Max, etc. Published online, in books. Misogynistic, exploitative, unapologetic.

Contextualize the journals for which the Guy writes, in the world of culture. New Yorker now, sexy stories, about women, “fiction du jour”, “The Calculus of Desire”. Esquire,

What exactly does Lindsay do to the Guy? Is it Sadism? What is it? Blackmail, coercion into sexual activity

How does each woman represent the city in which they’re meeting? Do they? Sam – Seattle: Starbucks cup, Central Valley HS, called his mom on a whim, dated 15 yrs ago (dumped at 18), married to grocery store (Safeway) manager, w/ kids, husband went to N. central HS (Broncos), slapped Guy, used to think of love like Romeo and Juliet, now: love is “crazy”

Tyler – Chicago: foul language, younger, “art stuff” – jewelry design, sexually explicit, she kisses him, friends who have kids, ‘the cool one’, smokes, pot joints, “a bit too wild”, “really, really sexy”,

Lindsay – Boston: nicely dressed, cold, not for Guy, harsh about his writing re: personal details, 23 in ’79, gender studies professor, married to the dean who drives a subaru outback,

Bobbi – L.A.: well-dressed, perfumed, nice hair (highlights), twin sister Billi, liar/acting to Guy?, in medicine (works with x-rays), was left for Tyler, gives him a gift certificate,

fiancée Alex – nursing student

no-show in Austin

We’re probably not going to use the “Deleted Scene” but if we did, how would it change the tenor of the play? Makes the play significantly darker by painting Guy as a child molester.

What is the significance of the ambiguous gender names in the play?

Peter Pan syndrome - Guy