STUDY GUIDE 2007 A PRACTICAL, HANDS-ON RESOURCE FOR THE CLASSROOM CONTAINING ONTARIO CURRICULUM SUPPORT MATERIALS fâÅÅxÜ tÇw fÅÉ~x EDUCATION SPONSOR PRESENTS fâÅÅxÜ tÇw fÅÉ~x BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS This study guide for Summer and Smoke contains background information for the play, suggested themes and topics for discussion, and curriculum- TABLE OF CONTENTS based lessons that are designed by educators and theatre professionals. Summer and Smoke is recom- mended for students in grade 9 and higher. The Players/Synopsis………………………….3 The Story ………………………………….….4 The lessons and themes for discussion are organized Who’s Who in the Play…...……………….…...5 in modules that can be used independently or inter- dependently according to the class level and time The Playwright………………………………6-7 availability. Director’s Notes………………………………8 Designer’s Notes………………………………9 THIS GUIDE WAS WRITTEN AND COMPILED BY ROD CHRISTENSEN, JOANNA FALCK, DEBRA MCLAUCH- Production History…………………………...10 LAN, AND AMANDA TRIPP. ADDITIONAL MATERIALS The World of the Play…………………….11-17 WERE PROVIDED BY PETER HARTWELL, CHRISTINA PODDUBIUK AND NEIL MUNRO. Did You Know? ……………………….…….18 Additional Sources…………………………...19 COVER: DAVID JANSEN AND NICOLE UNDERHAY PHOTO: BY SHIN SUGINO Classroom Applications fâÅÅxÜ tÇw fÅÉ~x Before Attending the Play………………...20-26 After Attending the Play…………………..27-32 Running time: 2hrs approx. Glossary of Theatre Terms…………………..33 including one intermission Response Sheet……………………………....34 Previews June 23, 2007 Opens July 6, 2007 2 g{x cÄtçxÜá (listed in alphabetical order) Dusty/Vernon…………………………………………………………...KAWA ADA Dr Buchanan…………………………………………………...GUY BANNERMAN Rosa Gonzales………………………………………NICOLA CORREIA-DAMUDE Mrs Winemiller……………………………………………………...SHARRY FLETT Kramer………………………………………………………...JONATHAN GOULD Reverend Winemiller…………………………………………………...PETER HUTT Rosemary……………………………………………………….MELANIE JANZEN Nellie Ewell…………………………………………………...CHILINA KENNEDY John Buchanan……………………………………………………..JEFF MEADOWS Gonzales………………………………………………………...MICHEAL QUERIN Mrs Bassett………………………………………………….BRIGITTE ROBINSON Roger…………………………………………………………………...JAY TURVEY Alma Winemiller…………………………..………………….NICOLE UNDERHAY Directed by NEIL MUNRO Set Designed by PETER HARTWELL Costumes Designed by CHRISTINA PODDUBIUK Lighting Designed by ALAN BRODIE Original Music by MARC DESORMEAUX fçÇÉÑá|á Summer and Smoke is Tennessee Williams at his most passionate. The setting is turn-of-the-century Mississippi where Alma, the daughter of a small-town minister and mentally unstable mother, har- bours a life-long infatuation with her restless and self-indulgent neighbour, John. Alma and John’s struggle between body and soul, anarchy and order, love and lust leads to profound changes in both their lives. A true American masterpiece, Summer and Smoke is a bittersweet exploration of love and longing with unforgettable characters that break our hearts even as they touch our souls. 3 g{x fàÉÜç It’s a warm July evening in Glorious Hill, Mississippi and ALMA: Love is what you bring to it. Some Tennessee Williams’ classic play introduces us to another people just bring their bodies. But there unforgettable character in Alma Winemiller. With a cata- are some people, there are some women, logue of over 80 plays, Williams is considered one of the John – who can bring their hearts to it, also – who can bring their souls to it! most prominent playwrights of the 20th century and Sum- mer and Smoke has been called one of his five greats. In Alma begins behaving with uncharacteristic affection to- his memoirs, Williams allowed himself this rare observa- wards John, and he responds by attempting to seduce tion about one of his own characters, “Miss Alma Wine- her. Alma, unprepared for John’s sexual advances, flees miller may very well be the best female portrait I have from him and John returns to the arms of Rosa Gonza- drawn in a play. She simply seemed to exist somewhere les. in my being and it was no effort to put her on paper. ” Williams describes her in the stage directions: John throws a rowdy engagement party for himself and Rosa at the home of his father, Dr Buchanan Senior. Alma had an adult quality as a child and now, in her middle twen- Alma, feeling slighted and wanting to save John from ties, there is something prematurely spinsterish about her: an exces- making a tragic mistake, informs his father of the im- sive propriety and self-consciousness is apparent in her nervous moral goings-on in his home. This is an act of revenge laughter, her voice and gestures belong to years of church entertain- with tragic consequences. When John’s father returns ments… People her own age regard her as rather quaintly and hu- home to put an end to the party; an argument breaks out morously affected… Her true nature is still hidden even from her- and Gonzales kills him. self. The events of this night prove to be transformational for Her life has not been an easy one – she has had to care both John and Alma. Alma withdraws and secludes her- for her mother and help her father the Reverend, assist- self in the rectory, while John leaves his wild ways behind ing him with his many social and community duties. This and proceeds to distinguish himself by carrying on with life seems to have left her cold and unsettled, yearning his father’s work at a nearby fever clinic. for something more but unsure of what that might be - until John Buchanan Jr returns. A childhood friend, the Months later, Alma emerges from seclusion ready to young doctor returns to his hometown to practice with forge a relationship with John that is both physical and his father and suddenly, Alma’s relationship with the man spiritual; no longer afraid of her sexuality. However, she has been seeing, the well-meaning but meek Roger, John has also changed. He has come to recognize the no longer seems satisfactory to her. She wants more but value of a mental and spiritual connection in a relation- fears what lies inside of her. ship, and no longer wants a physical relationship with Alma. He refuses Alma’s advances and is engaged to We are told that Alma, in Spanish, means soul but for marry Nellie Ewell, one of Alma’s former music students. John the physical side of love is what he needs and so he turns to Rosa Gonzales, the daughter of the owner of Alma heads to the fountain at the centre of town where Moon River Casino, to satisfy him. But he continues to she meets a travelling salesman. The play concludes with return to Alma as he spirals downward into corruption Alma arranging a rendezvous with the travelling salesman and despair and she continues to remind him that a good at the Moon Lake Casino. life is worth living – comically, she brings him to one of her “literary” meetings full of gossip and petty fights and he abruptly exits to return to his life of ill-repute. 4 j{ÉËá j{É |Ç fâÅÅxÜ tÇw fÅÉ~x Reverend Winemiller is the town’s Mrs Winemiller is the wife of Reverend Episcopal minister. He assumes his Winemiller and is cared for by her daughter, role and responsibilities with his family Alma. She is psychologically unbalanced and church very seriously. He wants to and finds a variety of opportunities to act maintain his good reputation and repu- inappropriately in social situations. table status in Glorious Hill. Alma Winemiller is a noted singer and music teacher in town. She is the shy, fearful, and somewhat eccentric daughter of Reverend and Mrs Winemiller. Alma is a young lady who adheres to her strict moral and religious beliefs. She has held a longtime infatuation with her neighbour, John Buchanan, and feels it necessary to save him from his debaucherous lifestyle. She feels she can see through John’s wild ways and believes he possesses a beautiful soul within. Dr John Buchanan is the town’s physician. He is a well trusted pro- fessional and values accountability and the proper sense of duty. He disapproves of his son’s carousing. John Buchanan has just completed his medical degree in bacte- riology from the reputable Johns Hopkins University. His lifestyle Papa Gonzales is of Latin- is the opposite to his father’s. John Jr. is a thrill-seeker and im- American descent and the proud merses himself in the physical companionship of many women. father of Rosa Gonzales. He John is intrigued by Alma's fastidious manners and sees the inter- manages and owns the Moon nal struggle between her spiritual ideals and her passionate spirit. Lake Casino, the local nightclub. Nellie Ewell is a former voice student Rosa Gonzales is a dancer at Moon of Alma’s. When she returns to Glori- Lake Casino and is the daughter of ous Hill from boarding school, Nellie Papa Gonzales. Rosa becomes romanti- and John are engaged to be married. cally involved with John Buchanan. 5 g{x cÄtçãÜ|z{à gxÇÇxááxx j|ÄÄ|tÅá ;DLDD@ DLKF< school newspaper – they published his short stories and poems and at fourteen, an entire page of the school yearbook was dedicated to his poem, “Demon Smoke” – about the effects of air pollution. At seven- teen he travelled with his grandfather throughout Europe and published travel articles for his high school newspaper. But he was still painfully shy. One story about Williams’ shyness is his graduation – he had bought a class ring and been fitted for a tuxedo for Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – Febru- the prom but when his mother arrived for the cere- ary 25, 1983), better known by the pen name Tennes- mony, he was not there. They found him at the down- see Williams, was born in the small town of Columbus, town public library. Mississippi. His family lived with his mother’s parents and his grandfather was the local Episcopal rector. His Williams attended the University of Missouri-Columbia father, Cornelius (also called CC) was a traveling shoe where his fraternity brothers named him “Tennessee” salesman and his mother, Edwina, enjoyed the social for his rich southern drawl.