Doll's House, Part 2
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March 12 – April 7, 2019 on the OneAmerica Mainstage STUDY GUIDE edited by Richard J Roberts, Resident Dramaturg with contributions by Janet Allen James Still • Ann Sheffield • Alex Jaeger Randy Pease • Eden Rea-Hedrick Indiana Repertory Theatre 140 West Washington Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 Janet Allen, Executive Artistic Director Suzanne Sweeney, Managing Director www.irtlive.com SEASON SPONSOR TITLE SPONSOR 2 INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 BY LUCAS HNATH Fifteen years ago, Nora realized her marriage was a sham, and slammed the door on the life she once knew. Now, the question that’s always been in the back of theatre-goers’ minds will be answered: What has the former Mrs. Helmer been doing all this time? Last year’s Broadway hit, A Doll’s House, Part 2 dares to be the sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s revolutionary play. A perfect play for theatre classes, drama clubs, or units on classical drama, A Doll’s House, Part 2 will have you laughing while seriously contemplating modern relationships and marriage. STUDENT MATINEES 10:00 AM on March 20 & 27, 2019 ESTIMATED LENGTH Approximately 90 minutes AGE RANGE Recommended for grades 9-12 CONTENT ADVISORY A Doll’s House, Part 2 is an intense comedic drama that contains some adult language and situations. A script preview is available upon request. STUDY GUIDE CONTENTS Synopsis 3 Executive Artistic Director’s Note 4 Director’s Note 6 Designer Notes 8 Henrik Ibsen & A Doll’s House 8 COVER ART BY Alignment Guide 9 KYLE RAGSDALE Before Seeing the Show 10 Discussion Questions 10 Writing Prompts 12 Activities 12 Resources 13 Glossary 14 The Role of the Audience 17 STUDENT MATINEES, ARTIST IN THE CLASSROOM, & YOUTH AUDITIONS Sarah Geis • 317-916-4841 [email protected] CLASSES, YPIP, & SUMMER CONSERVATORY Randy D. Pease • 317-916-4842 [email protected] INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE 3 TWO STORIES ABOUT NORA A Doll’s House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath is a sequel to Henrik Ibsen’s groundbreaking 1879 play A Doll’s House. As in much of his work, Ibsen’s play challenged the status quo by highlighting the hypocrisy of 19th century society. In Ibsen’s original play, Nora and Torvald have three young children. Their marriage of eight years seems picture perfect: Torvald has a prestigious job at a bank, and Nora is the life of every party. But Nora has a secret: in a time where women were not allowed to make business decisions without their husbands, she forged her father’s signature to secure a loan. Her intentions were noble; she used the money to save her husband when he was deathly ill. Since then, Nora has scrimped and saved to pay back the money out of her household allowance. As the play begins, the loan is almost repaid, and Torvald remains unaware of his wife’s actions. Although Torvald often patronizes his wife, calling her his “little squirrel” and chastising her behavior, Nora is very much in love. Problems surface when a bank employee threatens to reveal Nora’s forgery to the world. When Torvald learns of the situation, he condemns Nora for her immoral behavior, saying that she is unfit to raise her children, and that from now on their marriage will be only for show. But a friend of Nora’s inspires a change of heart in the potential blackmailer, and he gives Torvald the evidence he has against Nora. Relieved that his reputation is saved, Torvald forgives Nora for her misdeeds. Nora, however, is shocked that Torvald believes she acted out of stupidity rather than courage or selfless love, and that the law would make her a criminal for protecting her husband’s life. She notes that she has always been controlled by a man, first her father, and then her husband, both of whom have treated her “like a little doll.” She realizes that she has no understanding of how the real world works outside the confines of her doll’s house. Declaring herself unfit to be a wife or mother until she has learned to understand the world and herself, she makes the difficult decision to leave her husband and children and strike out on her own. Torvald begs Nora to stay, but Nora leaves the house, slamming the door behind her. A Doll’s House drew criticism from the public because of its often shocking and controversial portrayal of marriage. But since its premiere, the play has become a classic, one of the pillars of modern theatre. Contemporary playwright Lucas Hnath sets his sequel 15 years after Ibsen’s play, with Nora’s return to the family home. She first encounters Anne Marie, the children’s nanny, who stayed on to raise them and now takes care of the house. Nora explains that she has only recently discovered that Torvald never filed for divorce, which is now causing her legal difficulties. In a series of conversations with Anne Marie, Torvald, and her daughter Emmy, now grown, Nora tries to explain the choices she has made, while for the first time hearing the strong feelings of those she left behind. In his new play, premiered on Broadway in 2017, Lucas Hnath continues the original play’s legacy of inquiry into the nature of marriage, truth, and what women owe themselves. Although set in the 1890s, A Doll’s House, Part 2 offers sharp perspectives on how we in the 21st century continue to grapple with marriage, motherhood, and gender roles. Rough preliminary sketch by scenic designer Ann Sheffield. Compare to the scale model of the final design on page 6. How has the design developed over time? 4 INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE GROUNDBREAKING … AGAIN BY JANET ALLEN, EXECUTIVE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Artists have been responding to classic works and creating sequels for eons, and yet it’s rare to encounter one where the sequel is every bit as thrilling and groundbreaking as the original. Thus is the case with A Doll’s House, Part 2, and one need look no farther than the listings of the regional theatres’ bills this season to see that many theatre professionals share that belief. The wonderful irony of A Doll’s House, Part 2 is that Lucas Hnath has fashioned a sequel that does not need its original to exist completely and wholly. He accomplishes that feat with ease and style, weaving the backstory of the characters into the forward movement of his new plot with apparent effortlessness. The accolade “expertly crafted” appears in many reviews, and is completely apparent in this play. The play Hnath has responded to is an 1879 drama by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. At the time, A Doll’s House was groundbreaking enough to be banned in several countries; but it has since come to be taught and admired as the cornerstone of modern drama. In 2001, it was inscribed as a UNESCO manuscript of historic value. In 2006, which marked the 100th anniversary of Ibsen’s death, it was the most produced play around the world. A Doll’s House is revered among theatre professionals, feminists, and The wonderful irony of A Doll’s champions of social justice. Its ending is its claim to fame: Nora House, Part 2 is that Lucas Helmer shockingly leaves her husband and young children to pursue a Hnath has fashioned a sequel life of self-fulfillment, escaping the stifling confines of her gender role in that does not need its original late 19th century culture. Of course, this choice was considered horrifically controversial in its time. “The door slam heard around the to exist completely and wholly. world,” which signifies Nora’s departure from home and hearth and He accomplishes that feat with from gender stereotypes, has engendered many adaptations and ease and style, weaving the revisions, but no successful sequels until this 2017 play by American Lucas Hnath. backstory of the characters into the forward movement of Hnath’s play is loyal to the characters of the original and keeps the his new plot with apparent period setting, but uses a contemporary language idiom; this fusion creates a freshness that both surprises and leads us further into his effortlessness. purpose. In something like a four-handed fugue, he invites each of the characters to express their viewpoint on the problematic situation that brings them together; these varying perspectives are at once character cogent and also astonishing. Part legal thriller, part family drama, part exploration of gender roles both past and present, this play delivers much to discuss, as well as a superb experience in the theatre. I am not a big fan of sequels, so much so that I declined several opportunities to see this on Broadway last season and didn’t read the reviews. But when the script was in my hand, I couldn’t put it down, and I was wholeheartedly committed to sharing it with our audiences from the minute I finished reading it. One of the greatest delights of my job is being surprised—by audiences, by writers, by actors—but I wasn’t surprised by the amazing actors that clamored to be in this production. We are delighted to have brought them together on this wildly entertaining and thought-provoking work. Enjoy the ride. Alla Nazimova & Alan Hale in a 1922 silent film of A Doll’s House. INDIANA REPERTORY THEATRE 5 ENGAGING BY JAMES STILL, DIRECTOR Which makes the most noise? The sound of a door slamming shut, or a knock on that same door 15 years later? For the people living in that house in Norway, both sounds signal enormous changes.