WRITERS’ THEATRE THE BRIEF CHRONICLE ISSUE FOurTEEN SEPTEMBER 2006 1 SHOW TITLE ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST Michael Halberstam Artistic Director Jennifer Bielstein Executive Director 05 ON STAGE: ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST 06 THE ART OF SELF-PRESERVATION 08 ARTISTIC CONVERSATION 11 “Change is the law of life. And those who DOWN SOUTH 17 STARS, BARS AND THE STORY OF SALT look only to the past or present are certain BACKSTAGE: 20 EVENTS 24 DONOR SPOTLIGHT 31 CELEBRATING 15 YEARS 35 IN BRIEF to miss the future.” JOHN F. KENNEDY 2 SHOW TITLE 847-242-6000 | writerstheatre.org 1 Dear Friends: Dear Friends, By now, many of you will have heard that Jennifer Bielstein, our esteemed Executive Director, As you are now aware, I am leaving Writers’ Theatre to become the Managing Director at is leaving us to fulfill the same role at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Jennifer has been a Actors Theatre of Louisville, a regional theatre known internationally for their ambitious remarkable presence at Writers’ Theatre and her excellent management skills and nurturing commitment to the development of new work for the theatre. They have an annual festival personal instincts have transformed our infrastructure during her tenure. Where she has called the Humana Festival of New American Plays which is attended by people from not served as initiator or catalyst for innovation, she has been present to provide stability, around the world who love theatre. encouragement and communication tools in order to assure success. Personally, I have been freed from the shackles of administrative tasking which frequently exhausted me prior I have to extend my most sincere thanks to Michael Halberstam, the Board of Trustees, to rehearsal. I have been able to appropriately nurture projects into being and after many the amazing staff and artists, and to you, Writers’ loyal and passionate audience. years of lagging behind, we now enjoy management which matches the complexity of our art. My experience over the past three years has been incredible. Mostly, in Jennifer, I have had a friend and collaborator. I will miss her, but I celebrate her opportunity and wish her well in her new adventure. You have a truly unique and special company in your hands. Michael’s vision for this organi- zation, his unwavering commitment to the value of artists, and his ability to generate support Speaking of adventures, we have a 15th anniversary to celebrate! It has been a remarkable for the work here are without compare. odyssey. It is a fascinating exercise to recall our earliest days in 1992! Co-founder Marilyn Campbell and I hosted the office in our Rogers Park apartment where we lived platonically, The amazing Board of Trustees is inspirational in its commitment to Writers’ Theatre’s sharing a dream for the theatre. Scattered across our living room floor we licked a thousand artistic vision. Daily they provide governance, fiscal oversight and generous support all in envelopes and stamps, clicked away at grants on our Macintosh Classic computer, and the name of theatre. Without their active participation, this company would not be the answered Box Office calls well into the night. Our performance venue included a hand made important theatre it is today. wooden light board, a series of coffee cans with flood bulbs installed in them. Our set consisted of a few swaths of fabric hung against the wall, a four by eight platform and a We’re all aware of the artists, especially the actors, directors, designers, and many other couple of chairs. Our sound system was a boom box and our seating was a collection of artistic staff who contribute to the development and running of a production. I have brown and orange plastic chairs. We’ve come a long way in the past fourteen years. Today, dedicated my life’s work to supporting artists and it has been an honor to work with the we enjoy an international reputation, share our work with almost 30,000 people annually caliber of artists we attract to Writers’ Theatre. and have relationships with the finest dramatic artists in Chicago. With such achievement in such a short time just imagine what the future can bring! Our staff are unsung heroes in the theatre. Their daily efforts, innovation and hard work are central to Writers’ Theatre’s success. I hope that you all have the chance to interact Our most ambitious and diverse line-up of programming yet launches with Lillian Hellman’s with them through different special events and your visits to the theatre. Another Part of the Forest directed by the inestimable treasure William Brown. Just in time for the elections, we invite you into a world of human politicking. Race, gender, war, peace, In the past three years we have collectively taken this company from a small to mid-sized lies, truth, money, corruption and sex all come together to make for a terrific evening of professional operation. We have doubled the number of artists we employ and have Americana. Unafraid to hold up an unflinching mirror to nature and yet skilled enough to do successfully operated two venues, allowing us to present over 400 performances annually. it in a manner which is at once entertaining, funny and touching, Hellman creates a joyride We have expanded an education program offering training classes, in-school residencies, of intrigue and humanity. Hold on tight. and a touring project on the civil rights movement. The high volume of theatre that we produce now requires an operating budget of just under $3 million. Yours, Your continued support of Writers’ Theatre insures the future of this amazing theatre. You are part of a visionary organization, and I look forward to visiting and seeing the incredible work that I know will continue on Writers’ Theatre’s stages. Michael Halberstam With much gratitude, Jennifer Bielstein September 26 through November 26, 2006 Rachel Weinstein Acting Executive Director Performed at 325 Tudor Court It is 1880 and the Hubbard Family of Alabama is the envy of the South – wealthy, smart, funny, sexy and completely immoral. In a melodrama brimming with southern discomfort, chilling lies and shocking intrigue, Hellman creates a family that is deeply human and uniquely southern, with a reputation for success… by any means necessary. The Board of Trustees, Staff and Artist of Writers’ Theatre welcome Rachel Weinstein as the Acting Executive Director. ANOTHER PART OF In addition to serving as a member of Previously, Rachel was the Assistant the board of Writer’s Theatre, Rachel Development Director of Roundabout Weinstein brings extensive professional Theatre Company in New York City experience in performing arts manage- where she was responsible for Major ment to her new role as Acting Individual Giving and Special Events. THE FOREST Executive Director. She also brings experience working BY LILLIAN HELLMAN DIRECTED BY WILLIAM BROWN for New York City Opera, Circle Rachel moved to Chicago’s North Shore Repertory Company and the late from London in 2004 where she served Broadway producer Benjamin Mordecai. as the Director of Development of the the cast SceNic DesiGN “Don’t you find that Matthew Brumlow Brian Sidney Bembridge celebrated Donmar Warehouse Theatre. She continues to consult with non- Ira Carol COstume DesiGN people always think She launched and grew the theatre’s profits, and has recently worked with Audrey Francis Rachel Anne Healy first formal fundraising program, and the Fine Arts Building Foundation to Joel Hatch LIGhtiNG DesiGN you’re joking when oversaw the creation of education craft a strategy for a capital campaign Matthew Holzfeind Charles Cooper initiatives and outreach programs for to restore and revitalize the landmark Timothy W. Hull SOUND DesiGN you speak the truth Kymberly Mellen Andy Hansen audiences with special needs. Her building on South Michigan Avenue. Linsey Page Morton PROperties DesiGN in a soft voice?” leadership was instrumental in helping Penny Slusher Lara Musard the Board of Directors to stabilize Larry Wiley prODuctiON staGE Marcus HubbarD the theatre’s finances and to ensure MANAGer ANOTHER PART OF THE FOREST the smooth succession of a new David Castellanos Artistic Director. 4 HER EXTRAVAGANT THE ART OF SELF-PRESERVATION SPENDING, LACK OF WORK and overwhelming IRS debt had left her desperate. Her lover, the crime writer Dashiell BY KYmberlY MelleN Hammett, had recently been released from six months in prison after being found in contempt of court for pleading the Fifth Amendment. Now Hellman faced jail time. Hammett urged her not to be a martyr. A woman accustomed to her luxurious When asked about the “badness” of Regina, the Hubbard daughter in Another Part lifestyle would not survive prison. of the Forest, in an interview with The Paris Review, Lillian Hellman responded, “You have no right to see your characters as good or bad. Other people see them that Hellman wrote a bargaining letter to the HUAC agreeing to divulge details of her way. Besides, goodness and badness is different from good and bad people.” own life. She promised not to plead the Fifth if the committee would refrain from questioning her about her friends. The HUAC rejected her “compromise,” announcing Hellman, like the complex characters in her plays, struggled to make decisions in they would not permit witnesses to set their own rules. Legally, she would have to trying circumstances. Both she and Regina were independent women attempting choose between self-incrimination and incriminating others to avoid jail. to survive in a patriarchal world surrounded by extremely clever and, to a degree, ruthless men. For several days, Hellman anxiously awaited trial. She went shopping, buying an expensive dress that she couldn’t afford. Not a conventionally attractive woman, “To hurt innocent people in order to save myself, is to me, inhuman and indecent Hellman always took great care to be well dressed when appearing in public.