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Home , How I Learned to Drive, Johanna Day, Kate Whoriskey, Lynn Nottage, Salt Fat Acid Heat, Second Stage Theater

McGuire Proscenium Stage / July 27 – Aug 31, 2019

WORLD PREMIERE Floyd’s by directed by

PLAY GUIDE Inside

THE PLAY Synopsis, Setting and Characters • 4

THE CREATIVE TEAM Playwright Lynn Nottage • 5 Director Kate Whoriskey • 5 Praise for Lynn Nottage • 6 In Lynn Nottage’s Own Words • 7 A Playwright Among Us • 8

CULTURAL CONTEXT The Road to Floyd’s • 11 Zen Kōans • 12 Words Have Power • 13 People, Places and Things in the Play • 14

BUILDING THE PRODUCTION Staging a Sandwich Shop • 17

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION For Further Reading and Understanding • 18

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Guthrie Theater Play Guide Copyright 2019

PRODUCTION DRAMATURG Morgan Holmes GRAPHIC DESIGNER Akemi Graves CONTRIBUTORS Morgan Holmes, Lynn Nottage EDITOR Johanna Buch

Guthrie Theater, 818 South 2nd Street, Minneapolis, MN 55415 All rights reserved. With the exception of classroom use by ADMINISTRATION 612.225.6000 teachers and individual personal use, no part of this Play Guide may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic BOX OFFICE 612.377.2224 or 1.877.44.STAGE (toll-free) or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in guthrietheater.org • Joseph Haj, artistic director writing from the publishers. Some materials published herein are written especially for our Guide. Others are reprinted by permission of their publishers.

The Guthrie Theater receives support from the National The Guthrie creates transformative theater experiences that ignite the imagination, Endowment for the Arts. This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota State Arts Board, through an appropriation stir the heart, open the mind and build community through the illumination of our by the Minnesota State Legislature. The Minnesota State Arts common humanity. Board received additional funds to support this activity from the National Endowment for the Arts.

2 \ GUTHRIE THEATER PHOTO: REZA SALAZAR, JOHN EARL JELKS, DAME JASMINE HUGHES AND ANDREW VEENSTRA IN FLOYD’S (T CHARLES ERICKSON) “Ain’t nobody gonna hire you except for Floyd. ’Cuz if you here, you done something. We all done something. And we just biding our time ’til we can get to another place.”

– Letitia to Jason in Floyd’s

About This Guide

This play guide is designed to fuel up on a play before you see it DIG DEEPER your curiosity and deepen your onstage. Or perhaps you’re a fellow If you are a theater understanding of a show’s history, theater company doing research company and would like meaning and cultural relevance for an upcoming production. more information about so you can make the most of your We’re glad you found your way this production, contact theatergoing experience. You might here, and we encourage you to production dramaturg be reading this because you fell in dig in and mine the depths of this Morgan Holmes at love with a show you saw at the extraordinary story. [email protected]. Guthrie. Maybe you want to read

GUTHRIE THEATER \ 3 THE PLAY

PHOTO: DAME JASMINE HUGHES, , JOHN EARL JELKS AND REZA SALAZAR IN FLOYD'S (T CHARLES ERICKSON)

Synopsis SETTING A truck stop in Pennsylvania Truckers drive miles out of their way to stop at Floyd’s — a sandwich shop in Pennsylvania run by the eponymous, tough-as-nails Floyd. CHARACTERS Her business plan? To only hire folks desperate for work after Floyd, owner and the one returning from incarceration. While her sometimes criminal and in charge, has gravel in her always devilish savvy keeps the pantry stocked and the plates of voice that betrays a life of food expedited, it’s the five-star artistry from head chef and sensei cigarettes and whiskey lived Montrellous that draws in customers. with gusto and no apology Montrellous, master chef, Line cooks Letitia and Rafael, both hungry for a path forward in life, cooking is all love for him envision the gourmet ingredients of their perfect sandwich while Letitia, line cook, always slinging cheesy bacon fries. That is until Jason, a new line cook with adds a hint of style to her oppressive tattoos, brings the Zen kitchen flow to a sudden halt. work ensemble Guided by Montrellous, the three sous chefs-in-training must work together to seek enlightenment and transcend Floyd — or else roast Rafael, line cook, gives off a in truck-stop purgatory. player attitude but his game is a little lame Jason, line cook, moody with white supremacist face tattoos

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Playwright Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage is the first woman in history to win two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama ( in 2009 and in 2017, which moved to after a sold-out run at ). Recently named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people, Nottage brings her work to the Guthrie stage for the second time, her first being in the fall of 2005. Other plays include By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Lilly Award, nomination); Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, ); Intimate Apparel (American Theatre Critics Association and Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play); Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (Obie Award); Crumbs From the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; and POOF!

Nottage recently wrote the book for the musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s novel The Secret Life of Bees, with music by and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. The world premiere, directed by , played at the from May 12 to July 21, 2019. “Floyd’s is the grace note in the Reading trilogy. It’s about formerly In addition, Nottage is working with composer Ricky Ian Gordon to adapt incarcerated people who have been her play Intimate Apparel into an opera. She has also developed This marginalized and are unsure if they can Is Reading, a performance installation at the Reading Railroad station reintegrate into society. They struggle in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is a writer and producer on the until they realize they have all the tools series “She’s Gotta Have It” directed by Spike Lee, a Dramatists Guild necessary to rebuild their lives.” member and an associate professor at School of the

– Lynn Nottage on Floyd’s Arts. Awards include the MacArthur Genius Grant Fellowship, Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award and PEN/Laura Pels Master American Dramatist Award, among others.

Director Kate Whoriskey Kate Whoriskey has directed on Broadway, off-Broadway and regionally. Her directing credits for productions on Broadway include Sweat at and The Miracle Worker at Circle in the Square Theatre. Selected off-Broadway credits include Songs for a New World at Encores! Off-Center, Sweat at The Public Theater, at , Ruined at Theatre Club, Her Requiem at Theater, Aubergine; Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine; and Inked Baby at and The Piano Teacher at .

Whoriskey’s regional credits include the , Geffen Playhouse, , Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, “Many projects begin with Lynn calling Shakespeare Theatre Company, American Repertory Theater, Huntington me and then, suddenly, we’re going Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Center Stage somewhere. Whether it’s Reading, and , among others. Pennsylvania, or Uganda or a theater in Minneapolis, a spirit of adventure Her opera direction has been seen at the Place du Châtelet in Paris and and curiosity has given us common Theatro Municipal de São Paulo in Brazil. She has taught at Princeton experiences from which to draw.” University, and University of California, Davis. – Kate Whoriskey on her longtime collaboration with Lynn Nottage

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Praise for Lynn Nottage

Lynn Nottage is dedicated to opening up stories that we’re not used to hearing. She brings a sense of curiosity to all sorts of subjects and a clear eye to notoriously difficult parts of American culture and society. She’s the only writer I can think of working now, in any medium, who so understands poor white Americans, with compassion for their terror but no pity for the racial attitudes people end PHOTO: JOHANNA DAY AND JOHN EARL JELKS IN FLOYD'S (T CHARLES ERICKSON) up getting stuck in. It’s been a tremendous privilege to explore every character she creates. So maps of the human psyche never this aspect of American life in having the chance to be part of before charted onstage. Her work Sweat — the play for which she the research process and the explores depths of humanness, the won her second Pulitzer, becoming developmental process overlapping complexities of race, the only woman ever to have won is extraordinary. gender, culture and history — and twice in the drama category. the startling simplicity of desire Lynn is constantly evaluating the — with a clear tenderness, with The key is Lynn’s empathy for her work, honing in on the story. She humor, with compassion. characters and their stories. She creates worlds that she wants spent years traveling to Reading, people to see that are as yet , Crumbs From the Table of Pennsylvania, to research Sweat, unseen. I think she has a drive to Joy and Other Plays, New York: Theatre but her intellectual rigor never be very specific in the creation Communications Group, 2003 comes at the expense of humanity. of the worlds. For me, that’s why I have no doubt that there are I love working with her and will It is Ms. Nottage’s special gift many other worlds she’s going to always say yes, because I feel like — I’m tempted to call it, in the continue opening up to us for a she’s pushing the boundaries of old-fashioned sense of the word, long time to come. what theatre is and also who the her genius — to bring politically audience is for theatre. charged themes to dramatic life Actor Martha Plimpton, “TIME 100: The by embodying them in characters Most Influential People of 2019,” TIME, Director Kate Whoriskey, “On creativity and whom she portrays not as April 17, 2019 collaboration: A conversation with Lynn spokesmen for a cause but as Nottage, Seret Scott and Kate Whoriskey,” ordinary people living I think Lynn is one of the most A Critical Companion to Lynn Nottage, ordinary lives. compelling writers today, so it’s England: Routledge, 2016 very exciting to be in the room with Terry Teachout, “‘Sweat’ Review: Hard Work her. She’s one of the absolute most When I read Lynn Nottage’s work, Is Hard to Find,” Wall Street Journal, August adventurous people I know and I feel the excitement, the allure, 20, 2015 one of the most compassionate. that early cartographers must have She loves complexity. It’s in felt; I discover these continental

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In Lynn Nottage’s Own Words

The time I was in graduate school During the preview process, [the In fact, one of my arguments for coincided with the time that was a audience is] incredibly important theater is to get rid of the lights crucial moment in American social to me. I see the audience as the onstage and to get rid of the history. It was the AIDS Crisis and final collaborator. I think it’s kind proscenium and [theater] buildings the Crack Epidemic. So in school of bullshit when people say, “I’m and figure out how we can make we were losing students, we were not interested in the audience theater in ways in which we aren’t losing professors. It was really hard reaction.” I’m like, “Then why do dividing ourselves as much, in to make art in that environment. you do theater? You can write which theater is made in places It felt like there were many more a book; then you don’t have to where people actually live urgent things that needed to be see how the audience reacts.” and breathe. attended to. After I graduated It’s a living, breathing thing. I’m from Yale School of Drama, I felt interested in the moments where Theater is one of the few places we that I wanted to do something the audience is restless. I’m really get to process our American with impact. I went to work for interested in the moments where narrative in real time. I think of , which at they lean in and become incredibly Sweat and Ruined and even Floyd’s. the time was the largest human engaged: the laughter, the silence. As a theater artist, I can raise rights organization in the world. I All of that is part of how I think this conversation and then get was a press officer and I spent four, about shaping and rewriting immediate feedback. Sometimes intense, really concentrated years the play. … that feedback is positive; doing human rights work. In many sometimes people walk out and ways the time I spent with Amnesty I don’t write in opposition, so I they’ll be angry. But at least I feel International became my second never think, “Oh, I can’t write about like we’re having a conversation. graduate school. that.” I know that there are some writers that do write that way; I Excerpt from the In Conversation interview at During that time at Amnesty think I just follow my imagination the Guthrie Theater, “Pulitzer Prize-winning International, we were struggling and things that really excite me and playwright Lynn Nottage on why theater with the notion that women’s rights intrigue me. When you begin a play, matters,” Minnesota Public Radio News, should be separated out from you’re going to have to spend a lot August 1, 2019 human rights. The organization of time with those characters, so wasn’t doing enough to address those characters are going to have [Paula Vogel and I] write history specific human rights abuses. ... I to be rich enough that you want to plays, and we write political plays, knew that there was nothing that take a very long journey with them. and I think that’s why, perhaps, our we as an organization could do. That’s how I begin thinking about journey has been a little different. But as a human being, I felt that I what I want to write about and who The plays are unabashedly political needed to respond. ... I want to write about. and they’re about very difficult subject matters and they tend to So I closed my office door and “Lynn Nottage’s Sweat and Blood,” Interview, be unafraid of the darkness. And I wrote a play. I had returned to December 13, 2016 I think that women writers are playwriting and it felt really good. supposed to embrace the light. I arrived at a total synthesis of the My argument for theater is this: it’s human rights brain and the writing the fact that it’s a community, that “Two Female Playwrights Arrive on brain. I thought, I can do both it’s an opportunity for us to breathe Broadway. What Took So Long?” The New things. I don’t know why I have to the same air and exchange energy York Times, March 22, 2017 compartmentalize. For me, that and to have a really dynamic, was incredibly liberating. vital conversation in ways that we can’t do in any other forum. That’s Edited from “Lynn Nottage in Conversation what I love, and I think it’s become With Elisabeth Vincentelli,” A NYPL and increasingly rare. LPTW Event, Parts I & II, Carole Di Tosti, February 6 and 8, 2019

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A Playwright Among Us

It’s hard to talk about American theater and not mention Lynn Nottage. She’s a powerhouse playwright known for propelling the art form forward through unsung voices and untold stories. Many call her prolific, but that seems too small a word for a woman who has won two Pulitzers and was named one of TIME’s most influential people of 2019. We asked her to share — in her own words — about playwriting, developing Floyd’s and dreaming up all those sandwiches.

What advice did you find most the voices of African American found my way through immersive helpful as a young playwright? theater artists. He taught me the research. I wrote By the Way, Meet Playwright once told essential ingredients of making Vera Stark, a play about an African me, “A writer writes.” As a young theater — joy and ritual. American starlet in the 1930s, after writer, I was confused by that simple watching a film series on Turner statement. But I now understand The second was Paula Vogel, who Classic Movies. I became acutely that he was wisely encouraging was also my professor and the aware of the absence of strong, me to write every single day first female playwright I ever met. black females in film during that regardless of the outcome. Today, I Prior to her class, most of the plays period, and I wondered about the tell young writers that succeeding I read in school were written by fate of talented black actresses who in playwriting is a battle of attrition. white men. I had to go well outside dared to challenge the status quo. The work doesn’t happen overnight the academy to find plays written and you have to spend time honing by women and people of color. What was the spark that became your craft. We live in an impatient So meeting Paula was a breath Floyd’s? culture that wants instant results. of fresh air. She was the one who Floyd’s began as a conversation Too often, young writers abandon encouraged me to consider being a with Sweat, which takes place their voice before they’ve had time playwright. Up until then, I thought in Reading, Pennsylvania, where to develop it. it was a hobby and not a possibility I spent a great deal of time for someone who looked like me. interviewing residents. I wanted to Who helped you stay the course write about the deindustrialization and develop your voice? When a play idea sparks, which happening there, but I also wanted There were two instrumental comes first: people, plot or platform? to write something fun, accessible people who shaped me as a It depends. Sweat began with and irreverent — hence Floyd’s. playwright. The first was my a commission from Oregon professor George Bass at Brown Shakespeare Festival to write a Is it challenging to write multiple University. He was a playwright, play that engaged with American plays at once? director and founder of Rites and history — specifically a revolution. When I’m writing a play with Reason Theatre, which celebrated I didn’t know where to start, so I weighty themes, I often have

8 \ GUTHRIE THEATER CULTURAL CONTEXT THE CREATIVE TEAM

On my first visit, I assumed I would do a quick series of interviews and I’d develop a play. But I found that Reading demanded more attention. There was an air of despair, frustration and an overall sense of abandonment permeating the city, and I felt I couldn’t walk away. I was drawn to the honesty and spirit of the people and became invested in understanding their circumstances and how the economic downturn led to the city’s decline. It echoed what was happening throughout the country, and I wanted to fully understand the how and the why. What began as a simple trip became more than two years of immersion, and that engagement led to the writing of Sweat.

PHOTO: DAN NORMAN Yet my conversations with the people of Reading didn’t feel complete. So I created a massive another play going — my side exploring the play. But one of the performance installation with Kate hustle — that becomes my escape. best things about writing a play is Whoriskey and Tony Gerber called The plays are in conversation, but the moment when you place the This Is Reading, which was based they demand opposite parts of work into the hands of a director, on our interviews and designed my brain. With Sweat, I wanted to actors and designers. They breathe to help heal and engage the dialogue on an immediate, political fresh and different life into the community through constructive and visceral level. With Floyd’s, I piece, and I’m always delighted and and collective dialogue. wanted to dialogue on a spiritual surprised by what they discover. and emotional level. My research Floyd’s is the grace note in the involved eating delicious food You and director Kate Whoriskey Reading trilogy. It’s about formerly and chatting with a friend who are longtime collaborators. What incarcerated people who have owned an artisanal sandwich shop. have you discovered together? been marginalized and are unsure I tasted things I love and came The first time Kate and I worked if they can reintegrate into society. up with flavor combinations that together was on my play Intimate They struggle until they realize felt delightful and unexpected. My Apparel. We instantly found that they have all the tools necessary to favorite part of writing Floyd’s was we shared a vocabulary and had rebuild their lives. I also think that’s imagining the sandwiches. fun making theater together. I feel true of Reading. incredibly blessed to have found an Tell us about the development amazing collaborator I can depend You often write about process that led to Floyd’s. on and who responds to my work. marginalized characters. Floyd’s was a commission from the We’ve grown and evolved together. Why is that important to you? Guthrie, so I was fortunate to hold Floyd’s is our fifth collaboration, I’m an African American woman developmental workshops here and working at the Guthrie with who is interested in writing plays that helped me find the characters’ Kate is really quite special. through my own unique gaze. As voices and dig into the play in a someone who has had to embrace more expansive way. Writing at my Tell us more about your research in my outsider status, the characters computer is a solitary act where Reading. Why did this community I’m drawn to are the ones I spend time fully visualizing and captivate you? I understand.

GUTHRIE THEATER \ 9 10 \ GUTHRIE THEATER play, Montrellous explains that about what they consume. Inthe to eat andbemuchmore mindful experience, soIhopethey’ll want Eating isadeeplyspiritual seeing Floyd’s ? you hopeaudiences willfeel after Besides beinghungry, how do sense ofself. and findjoy ininfusingitwitha keen awareness of theelements create itwithintention, have a mindfulness —particularlyifyou a sandwichcanbeanexercise in a play aboutmindfulness. Making think that’s why Floyd’s became joy ofexploring thecharacters. I of writingandfocused onthe exist, Ithoughtabouttheprocess and how Iwanted theplay to Instead ofthinkingaboutwhere me managemy own anxiety. writing Floyd’s, mindfulness helped It’s notrational, but it’s real. While expectations for acommission. I often getanxiousaboutthe theme inFloyd’s. Mindfulness alsoseems to beakey power to transcend theirmistakes. understand that they have the how to leaninto forgiveness and emotionally. They’re learning was heldcaptive physically and and fullyinhabitabodythat trying to negotiate theirfreedom is purgatory. Eachcharacter is sense, thesandwichshopinFloyd’s home withopenarms.Inthat doesn’t necessarily welcome them must reengage withaculture that incarcerated individualswho of that inoursocietyare formerly embrace thelight.The equivalent without knowing how to fully emerge from aplace ofdarkness themselves inlimboandattempt to I was interested inpeoplewhofind deliberate choice? justice system. Why this been impacted by thecriminal Every character inFloyd’s has THE CREATIVE TEAM to share asandwichwith? Which playwright would you like who prepare it. recognized community ofpeople restaurant to theunseen,under- the field to themarket to the journey asandwichtakes from hope peoplewillthinkaboutthe touch itbefore itreaches us.I our food and how many people think enoughabouttheoriginsof a thousandyears ago. We don’t from aseedofwheat cultivated the bread he’s holdingcomes the Sun,whichis,inmy opinion, Hansberry, whowrote in ARaisin love to break bread withLorraine she kept her fire burning.I’d also her experience andlearnhow to break bread withher, hearabout with tenacity andbravery. I’d love the Americanstage. Yet shewrote women didn’thave muchaccess to on theRhineduringatimewhen woman whowrote plays like Watch Lillian Hellman.She’s anastonishing chopped pickles. with habaneros, onionsand I love agoodtunasandwich What’s your favorite sandwich? Inquiring mindswant to know: DNA ofwhoIamasawriter. rights for several years. It’s inthe own experience working inhuman from my parents’ passion andmy embedded inmy work. Itstems that spirit ofactivismisdeeply with activist impulses. Ithink My parents were ordinary folks for you? Is playwriting aform ofactivism playwright andactivist. sharing agoodmealwithbrilliant glow andhave thepleasure of plays. Iwould love to baskinher one ofthefew absolutely perfect PHOTO: DAN NORMAN

PHOTOS: JESSICA KOURKOUNIS, THE NEW YORK TIMES; DAVID SHANKBONE; SARA KRULWICH, THE NEW YORK TIMES; JEREMY DREY, READING EAGLE CULTURAL CONTEXT

The Road to Floyd’s Above left: Reading residents in line at a By Morgan Holmes food pantry; Above right: Lynn Production Dramaturg Nottage at Occupy Wall Street; Right: This Is Reading installation; 2008: Oregon Shakespeare Below: Sweat on Festival commissions Lynn Broadway Nottage through their American Revolutions: The United States History Cycle program.

September 2011: Nottage reads a report in The New York Times on the 2010 U.S. Census, which reveals that Reading, Pennsylvania, has the most residents living in July 2015: Sweat opens at poverty for a population over Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 65,000. The 41.3% poverty rate is due to the loss of major November 2016: Sweat opens at manufacturing plants and other The Public Theater in New York jobs, low education rates and City. Nottage receives an Obie economic changes. Award for Playwriting and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. October 2011: Nottage receives an March 2018: The Guthrie email from a friend in dire financial December 2016: Sweat is announces Floyd’s (originally titled straits. Together they participate performed in Reading. Reading Play) as part of its 2018– in the Occupy Wall Street protests. 2019 Season. Her interest in the “de-industrial March 2017: Sweat opens on revolution” and the impact of the Broadway and receives three Tony October 2018: The Public Theater’s 2008 financial crisis grows. Award nominations. Mobile Unit National brings free performances of Sweat to 18 cities January 2012: Nottage takes her April 2017: Nottage wins her in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, first trip to Reading and sees it as second for Wisconsin and Minnesota. a microcosm of what is happening Sweat, making her the first female Performances and community to small cities across the country. playwright to win the award twice. engagement programming in She and director Kate Whoriskey Mankato, Rochester and St. Cloud spend two years interviewing July 2017: Nottage and a are produced in collaboration with residents, which leads to the team of artists produce This the Guthrie. writing of Sweat. Is Reading — a performance installation in the abandoned August 2019: Floyd’s opens at January 2014: The Guthrie Theater Reading Railroad station. The the Guthrie. receives a Joyce Award to support project tells the story of the the commissioning of Nottage to city’s past and points toward a READING EAGLE TIMES ; JEREMY DREY, THE NEW YORK KRULWICH, SHANKBONE; SARA TIMES ; DAVID THE NEW YORK KOURKOUNIS, JESSICA PHOTOS: write a companion piece to Sweat. hopeful future.

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Zen Kōans

Mindfulness — a form of meditation that directs your After following his teacher and moving to California awareness to your present biological, emotional and/ at the turn of the 20th century, monk Nyogen Senzaki or mental state — may seem like a modern trend. became one of the first proliferators of Zen in the U.S. However, Americans have long been interested in the His 101 Zen Stories, a collection of kōans, anecdotes practice, from Dr. Marsha Linehan, who developed the and parables by Chinese and Japanese Zen Masters, mindfulness-focused dialectical behavior therapy in is especially popular. In “The Sound of One Hand,” a the 1980s, to Jack Kerouac, who made a kind of pop master asks his young protege, “What is the sound of Buddhism central to beatnik rebellion in his 1950s one hand clapping?” The boy attains satori, a flash of novel The Dharma Bums. enlightenment, only when he transcends intellectual answers to this divine problem. The secular tenets of mindfulness have spiritual roots in Zen Buddhism dating back to its initial prominence Consider how the following parables from 101 Zen in eighth-century China and 12th-century Japan. One Stories resonate with the lessons learned in Floyd's meditation practice of Zen Buddhism focuses on about the pursuit of the sublime sandwich. kōans — questions or parables Zen Masters use to test their disciples’ mental and spiritual resolves. Kōan- like parables appear throughout Floyd’s, like Rafael’s lesson to Jason about salt: “A little salt makes the food taste good; too much makes it inedible.”

“A CUP OF TEA” “THE MOON CANNOT “A PARABLE” BE STOLEN” Nan-in, a Japanese Master Buddha told a parable in a during the Meiji era (1868–1912), Ryokan, a Zen Master, lived the sutra: A man traveling across received a university professor simplest kind of life in a little a field encountered a tiger. He who came to inquire about Zen. hut at the foot of a mountain. fled, and the tiger chased after Nan-in served tea. He poured One evening, a thief visited the him. Coming to a precipice, he his visitor’s cup full and then hut only to discover there was caught hold of the root of a wild kept on pouring. nothing in it to steal. vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed The professor watched the Ryokan returned and caught at him from above. Trembling, overflow until he no longer him. “You may have come a the man looked down to where, could restrain himself. “It is long way to visit me,” he told far below, the mother tiger was overfull. No more will go in!” the prowler, “and you should waiting to eat him. Only the not return empty-handed. vine sustained him. “Like this cup,” Nan-in said, Please take my clothes as “you are full of your own a gift.” Two mice, one white and one opinions and speculations. black, little by little started to How can I show you Zen unless The thief was bewildered. He gnaw away the vine. you first empty your cup?” took the clothes and slunk away. Ryokan sat naked, watching the The man saw a luscious moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused. strawberry near him. Grasping “I wish I could give him this the vine with one hand, he beautiful moon.” plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

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Words Have Power

shows off the returning citizen’s past deeds for all interested parties to see. A variety of laws across many states ban ex-convicts from various types of work. Thus, their past haunts them regardless of the growth and change they have experienced.

Even in states without legal bans, there is prejudice and distrust from private employers who worry about how the public or customers might respond to individuals with a prison record. The stigma that comes with a prison record can be attached to someone in the juvenile justice PHOTO: JOHN EARL JELKS AND ANDREW VEENSTRA IN FLOYD'S (T CHARLES ERICKSON) system and may stay with them for their entire life. The terms we use In 2013, Philadelphia Mayor Michael them can often perpetuate harmful must change. Nutter signed an ordinance to stigmas and make their transition remove all references to “ex- even more difficult. On one hand, the term “ex-convict” offenders” from official city emphasizes what they’ve done language in favor of “returning While most of us don’t spend and hangs it around their neck citizens.” Justice organizations time in prisons, the men and as a millstone. It is a loaded term like All Square, our community women who have been to prison that categorizes a human being’s partner and real-life Minneapolis come from and return to the identity in past illegal activity for sandwich shop employing returning neighborhoods we live in. One of which they have already been citizens, also use person-first, the more common stories they punished. On the other hand, the destigmatizing language. As share is the culture shock that language of “returning citizen” Shared Justice, an online initiative comes with leaving prison and provides hope and honors both of The Center for Public Justice, returning to public society. They their humanity and their capacity explains: have been under a strict schedule to contribute to a flourishing and find reentry to be frightening society. It gives space for hope We use language to define our and open-ended. And it is in this by acknowledging their capacity world, but what is it exactly that exact situation that many of them to act as a citizen despite the our words do? The effect of our struggle to find work and a place barriers they may face. Yet, on words on our lives may seem back in society. an even deeper level, it honors obvious, but further reflections their humanity by reminding them reveal that we do not know the Reflect for a moment on your that they are not defined by past strength of our everyday talk. mental model of the term “ex- actions; rather, we expect them to Changing our language is a small convict.” Are your thoughts contribute as one citizen step we can take that can help us positive, negative or both? A among many. to think and act in new, look at legislation across the U.S. redemptive ways. presents us with our answer as a Edited from “Unlocking the Second Prison: culture. When trying to reintegrate Changing Our Words to Help Returning For men and women leaving prison into society, “ex-convict” acts as Citizens,” www.sharedjustice.org and integrating back into society, a scarlet letter. In other words, it the language used to describe is an unconcealable symbol that

GUTHRIE THEATER \ 13 CULTURAL CONTEXT

People, Places and Things in the Play

PEOPLE medical treatment is limited. Their sensei mission states that “all people A teacher, mentor or master. Buddha have the right to medical care From Japanese culture, especially In Sanskrit, one who is “awakened” regardless of gender, race, religion, martial arts. or “enlightened.” Buddha is creed or political affiliation, and the most associated with Siddhartha needs of these people outweigh shaman Gautama — a prince, monk, respect for national boundaries.” A priest-doctor whose connection enlightened one and founder of While the organization has been to the spiritual world endows them Buddhism who lived between the celebrated for its mission and with powers of divination and sixth and fourth centuries B.C. received the Nobel Peace Prize curing illnesses. Originally from While there is little authoritative in 1999, its outspokenness on Northern Asian cultures, but knowledge about the historical issues of injustice has offended now widespread. person, oral and written traditions some governments and led to tell his story with variations across their expulsion from countries sharks South and East Asia, as well as like Myanmar. In Chad and , People who take advantage other regions where Buddhism is most care for mothers and children of others through predatory practiced. Buddha exists in is focused on prenatal, maternal lending, extortion and other Western consciousness through and pediatric care, malnutrition financial schemes. statues of his image with his legs screening and malaria prevention folded in prayer. More generally, and treatment. sous chef the title of "Buddha" is given to Translated “under chef,” the teachers of Buddhism who dominatrix second-in-command person in a achieve enlightenment. A woman who dominates a commercial kitchen who oversees submissive partner in bondage, the planning and output of food. Colonel Sanders sadomasochism or other role- Harland David Sanders (1890–1980) playing and non-erotic domination/ was an American businessman submission activities like PLACES famed for franchising his 1929 financial domination. Harland Sanders Cafe into bodega Kentucky Fried Chicken after guru A wine shop or cellar, from earning his honorary “Colonel” title In Hinduism, a personal spiritual the Latin apotheca meaning from Kentucky’s Governor Ruby guide. More generally, an influential “storehouse.” More commonly, Laffoon in 1935. The fast food teacher or mentor. an urban grocery store. chain’s signature fare is based on Sanders’ 11-spice blend of “finger line cook Frackville lickin’ good” fried chicken. KFC A cook in a commercial kitchen A maximum-security men’s had expanded to 600 locations by who is usually responsible for a prison in Frackville, Pennsylvania, 1964 when he sold the company to specific dish or cooking method. approximately 40 miles northeast investors. Sanders remained of Reading. the brand’s spokesperson until parole officer his death. A law enforcement officer Godiva who supervises and assists in An international luxury chocolatier Doctors Without Borders/ the rehabilitation of a person that originated in Brussels, Belgium, Refugees in Chad and Sudan granted parole who must serve in 1926 and has more than 270 A medical humanitarian group, the rest of their prison sentence retail shops globally (as of 2007). also known as Médecins Sans in the community under certain Their most popular item is gourmet Frontières, that provides care to conditions. Unlike probation truffles, which are wrapped in victims of political conflict and officers, parole officers work with gift boxes for holidays and natural disasters in places where more violent offenders. special occasions.

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daily service from Reading to Philadelphia and . Each bus is emblazoned with a highly identifiable Beiber logo on the side.

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel A purebred of the American Kennel Club’s Toy Group bred in England in the 1920s and reminiscent of the toy spaniels beloved by 17th- century British monarchs Charles I and II. The dogs weigh 13–18 pounds and have four colors: black and tan, ruby (auburn), Blenheim (tan on white) and tri-color (black on white with tan markings). They

PHOTO: DAME JASMINE HUGHES AND REZA SALAZAR IN FLOYD'S (T CHARLES ERICKSON) make great companions, being gentle in temperament and spunky Pagoda on Mount Penn School of Medicine’s M.D. program in athleticism, but the breed is After viewing Japan’s Nagoya admitted 104 applicants in 2016 — expensive. A puppy can range Castle, local Reading businessman an acceptance rate of 6.5%. A full- from $1,800 to $3,500 and grow in William Abbott Witman, Sr. ride scholarship covers tuition fees expense due to health problems as commissioned a replica of a of approximately $57,600 per year they age. pagoda — a Hindu or Buddhist (more than $230,000 total). temple with tiered, ornamental dope roofs — to be built over a pit THINGS A slang term referring to illicit caused by Witman’s quarry on drugs such as marijuana, heroin and Mount Penn. Intended to be a abyss cocaine. In Pennsylvania, the rate luxury resort on the 1,200-acre In ancient theories, the of overdose deaths per 100,000 Mount Penn Preserve, it was underworld or chasm from persons has increased dramatically eventually sold to the City of which the earth originated. in the last 10 years, from nearly 15% Reading in 1911 for one dollar. As in 2007 to 44.3% in 2017. one of only three pagodas in the Adrenoleukodystrophy U.S., it is a Reading landmark and Commonly known as ALD, ecstasy symbol that offers visitors a skyline a disease carried by the X A synthetic drug that alters view at 620 feet. chromosome that affects myelin, mood and perception. In religious the fatty tissue that protects or mystical thought, an out-of-body Upstate the brain’s nerve cells, and the experience, rapture or A “supermax” maximum-security adrenal gland, which produces vital prophetic trance. men’s prison in Malone, New York. hormones. If not discovered and Upstate Correctional Facility was treated early, cerebral ALD can eviscerate originally established for inmates develop rapidly in children under Figuratively, to deprive or convicted of violent crimes. Some 10 and cause a vegetative state or empty something of its content or inmates participate in the cadre death. Other phenotypes of the essence. Medically, to disembowel program, which allows them to disease cause a variety of non-fatal or remove internal organs from work on prison grounds; others symptoms affecting the nervous the body. are double-celled in the system. ALD rarely affects girls and “special housing unit” or women under 40. grace note solitary confinement. In music, an ornamental note Beiber bus added for embellishment that is not Yale Medical School Beiber Transportation Group essential to the main harmony. After receiving 4,425 applicants is local to Berks County, for the class of 2020, the Yale where Reading is located, with

GUTHRIE THEATER \ 15 CULTURAL CONTEXT

hypertension (such as drug trafficking) is “There it is, baby!” A state of high blood pressure “cleaned” to conceal its original When Rafael reveals that he is that forces the heart to work source, usually through a complex sober, he shows Jason a medallion harder to pump blood through series of transactions to move the — an unofficial token that is part the vessels and the blood to exert money around with the help of of recovery culture. Medallions pressure against the vessel walls. outside parties. are common to participants This condition eventually causes of programs like Alcoholics the heart to enlarge and weaken, oxy and addy Anonymous, a 12-step program leading to heart failure. Nicknames for two prescription where former alcoholics counsel medications that have become and mentor those working toward lucha libre popular street drugs. Oxycontin, sobriety. Medallions may include Translated “free fight,” a Spanish more generally oxycodone, is an a logo, a slogan or how long a phrase used in Mexico for freestyle opioid used to treat moderate to member has been sober. professional wrestling, uniquely severe pain. Adderall is a stimulant characterized by wrestling masks, most commonly associated with “Top Chef” tag-team fighting and aerial attention-deficit/hyperactivity A reality TV competition that maneuvers. disorder that increases the premiered in 2006. A group of release of hormones to affect the chefs face off in a series of cooking meth cardiovascular system and reinforce challenges, first in a round to win Short for methamphetamine, a rewarding behaviors. Both can immunity and then in an elimination powerful central nervous system be highly addictive. Oxycontin round where they present their stimulant that is often used as a gives relief, relaxation and a high; dishes to a rotating panel of recreational drug. Known for its Adderall gives a feeling of euphoria. judges and the show’s host, long-lasting euphoric effect, it can Padma Lakshmi. be made with everyday ingredients. pulpit A raised platform or desk from twitchy mi hermana which sermons are delivered. Irregular twitching or jerking in the A Spanish phrase meaning muscles due to prolonged use of “my sister.” The Sentinel opioids like heroin and morphine. A daily newspaper that serves money laundering Carlisle and Cumberland counties “Viva la Resistencia!” The process by which money in Pennsylvania. A Spanish phrase meaning “Long obtained from criminal activity live the resistance!”

white supremacist tattoos A complex series of numbers and PHOTO: ANDREW VEENSTRA AND JOHANNA DAY IN FLOYD'S (T CHARLES ERICKSON) symbols — especially the Celtic cross, swastika and runic alphabet — used to convey the supremacy of white people. For further examples, see guides at the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League.

Wonder Bread A brand of processed, soft white bread that debuted in the 1930s as the first prepackaged bread that was sold presliced.

16 \ GUTHRIE THEATER BUILDING THE PRODUCTION

Staging a Sandwich Shop

3 5 8 9 7 10 1 4 6 2

PHOTO: DAME JASMINE HUGHES, JOHN EARL JELKS AND REZA SALAZAR IN FLOYD’S (T CHARLES ERICKSON)

Scenic designer Laura 1 Sink and Undercounter 6 Undercounter Fridge Jellinek’s onstage kitchen was Dish Table Borrowed from the Bartmann specifically designed to support Borrowed from the Bartmann Group. The lighting crew live sandwich-making and Group. The scene shop added a installed a light fixture for includes a mix of commercial new sprayer faucet and installed effect because commercial appliances and modified work plumbing so it functioned like a appliances don’t have internal tables resourced from auctions real sink onstage. lights like home appliances. and Craigslist or borrowed from Bartmann Group — 2 Undercounter Dishwasher 7 Convection Oven Kim Bartmann’s restaurant Purchased on Craigslist. A Purchased at an auction. group in Minneapolis. Sound, special effect mimicked the Another light fixture was props, special effects and steam that occurs after a installed inside for effect. the backstage crew worked washing cycle. together to create various 8 Cheese Melter cooking illusions and seamlessly 3 Handwashing Sink Sourced from an online orchestrate the aromas and Purchased at an auction. The restaurant vendor. The culinary chaos onstage. plumbing was installed by the lighting crew created an scene shop. internal lighting effect to Because the business of food mimic heating elements and a prep requires that ingredients 4 Prep Counter and Work Tables smoke effect for burning toast. are torn, chopped and diced, The prep counter was the production used real food purchased at an auction, and 9 Fryer versus prop food materials, the work tables were purchased Purchased at an auction. which would need to be thrown new and modified for the After a deep clean, it housed out after each use. During both production with additional the machinery that generated rehearsals and performances, shelves, feet on the table legs the fryer’s steam and most of the fresh ingredients and a specialized tray holder. sound effects. and food prepared onstage were composted. 5 Strip Warmer 10 Griddle Purchased at an auction. Purchased new. Fun fact: The lighting crew attached It actually works. LED lights to mimic the heating element.

GUTHRIE THEATER \ 17 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For Further Reading and Understanding

PLAYS BY LYNN NOTTAGE BOOKS

Crumbs From the Table of Joy and Other Plays, New Jocelyn L. Buckner, editor, A Critical Companion to York: Theatre Communications Group, 2003. Lynn Nottage, England: Routledge, 2016.

Intimate Apparel and Fabulation, or The Re-Education FILM AND TELEVISION of Undine, New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2006. This Is Reading (Market Road Films, 2018) A documentary about the performance installation Ruined, New York: Theatre Communications created by Lynn Nottage and a team of artists in an Group, 2009. abandoned railroad station in Reading, Pennsylvania. The piece weaves resident stories into one cohesive By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, New York: Theatre and celebratory compelling tale of the city. Communications Group, 2013. During rehearsals, the cast and creative team One More River to Cross: A Verbatim Fugue, New York: discussed their favorite films and TV shows to help Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 2015. inspire the characters’ spiritual love of food:

Sweat, New York: Theatre Communications Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Netflix, 2011) Group, 2017. A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant and his relationship Mlima’s Tale (to be released October 2019; with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu. currently available for preorder). “Chef’s Table” (Netflix, 2015 – present) Some of the most renowned chefs in the world share OTHER WORKS BY LYNN NOTTAGE their deeply personal stories, inspirations and unique styles while preparing a creation of their own design. “Give Again?” How Long Is Never?: Darfur — A Be sure to watch the first episode of season three Response, edited by Tricycle Theatre, London: Josef featuring Jeong Kwan, who infuses her vegan Korean Weinberger, Ltd., 2007. food with spiritual energy.

“Banana Beer Bath,” A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat” (Netflix, 2018) and a Prayer, edited by Eve Ensler and Mollie Doyle, Based on the bestselling book by chef and food writer New York: Villard Books, 2007. Samin Nosrat, this four-part series chronicles the four foundations of flavor: salt in Japan, fat in Italy, acid in “A Stone’s Throw,” Antigone Project: A Play in Five Yucatán and heat in California. Parts, edited by Caridad Svich, et al., New York: NoPassport Press, 2009. “” (Netflix, 2018 – present) Celebrity chef David Chang and his friends set off “The Odds,” Decade: Twenty New Plays About 9/11 and on globetrotting adventures to tell the cross-cultural Its Legacy, London: Nick Hern Books, 2011. histories of the world’s favorite comfort foods.

“Lynn Nottage: The First Time I Truly Faced My Fear of Driving,” The New York Times, April 18, 2017.

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