"Restoration" by Claudia Shear

Strong, smart female characters, often outsiders . . . People longing to connect and break through so they can find their place in the world . . . These are recurrent embodiments found in the inventive work of playwright and actress, Claudia Shear.

In her one-woman show (and subsequent book), "Blown Sideways Through Life," Shear chronicled the relentless odyssey of the 64 day jobs she held while striving to become an actress. In Shear's next play, "Dirty Blonde," she posed a question: If people knew who I am, would they still love me? In this play, two lost souls--Jo and Charlie--share an obsession for Mae West, a lonely woman nobody ever really knew outside of her work on the silver screen.

In Shear's latest, "Restoration," currently in production at The New York Theater Workshop, Shear once again explores how a fervent commitment to art has the power to build bridges between people.

When "Restoration" opens, Giulia (played by Shear) is an outcast in the artistic community.  Outspoken, she has been sued because she has slandered the restoration efforts of one of her peers.  Thus, she is living a rather isolated existence as an art restorer and historian who teaches at Brooklyn College.  A mentor and former professor of Giulia's opens a door of opportunity.  Through his efforts, Giulia is selected to restore the statue of David (Michelangelo) in Florence, Italy in honor of the 500th birthday of this artistic masterpiece.

Giulia's journey, and each character she meets along the way, explores how cultivating a passion for and an appreciation of art allows a person to serve something larger than her/himself and in the process, restore a sense of purpose and self-worth. "Restoration" is beautifully written and performed. It emerges as a multi-layered love story about beauty, life, death, the redemptive power of art, and the resilient nature of humanity. Don't miss it!

Photo of Claudia Shear and Jonathan Cake from The New York Theater Workshop website

The Horton Foote Legacy

The New Yorker recently featured an article on the life and work of Horton Foote (10/26/09 by John Lahr). In his writing, Foote "made meaning of the world he sought to preserve." He believed the first lesson of good writing was an ability to listen--to really listen. An inquisitive person by nature, he was "haunted by the often inexplicable result of how a person's life turned out." It led him to become a master storyteller for both the stage and screen. He won a Pulitzer Prize and two Academy Awards.

I had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Mr. Foote after seeing a revival of A Trip to Bountiful a few years ago. He was a strikingly humble and gracious man. (I also saw the last play he wrote before his death in March 2009, Dividing the Estate; I think it's his best.) In Foote's plays, "the big dramatic events happen offstage." Foote examined "the ripple not the wave. He was a quiet voice in noisy times." He won numerous awards and was probably best known for Tender Mercies, a film starring Robert Duvall, and for having written the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird (by Harper Lee). He is also credited for writing a brilliantly-inspired film adaption of "Tomorrow," a short story by William Faulkner.

Lahr states in the article: "It was not (Foote's) style, in life or in writing, to call attention to himself. As a result the quality of his work is high; the public awareness is low." If you're not familiar with Horton Foote's plays and/or his writing, you might want to catch "The Orphans' Home Cycle," a play in three parts that Foote wrote to "understand and forgive" his own father. It is currently being featured at the Signature Theater, which is honoring the Horton Foote Legacy for the 2009-2010 season.

Photo of Horton Foote by Marion Ettlinger/Corbis Outline

The Play's the Thing!

Reading across literary disciplines--especially reading plays--is key to the development of prose fiction writing. The whole Show, Don't Tell adage applies as does the nature of dialogue, plotting, pace, and the demands of structure. The added bonus of reading a play is being able to experience how an author's words and characterizations from the page come to life--or don't--upon the stage.

I recently attended exceptional premieres at the renowned Williamstown Theatre Festival. But the play I can't stop thinking about was an abstract, existential, thought-provoking gem artfully staged and performed by The Chester Theatre Company, a very small regional theater in the Berkshires. Bravo!

A Body of Water by Lee Blessing is a puzzling story with unlikely narrative twists that are poignant, amusing, and at the same time, truly frightening. The premise is this: An attractive, middle-aged couple wakes up one day to find themselves in a living room facing spectacular views of hills and a lake. The trouble is, they don't know how they got there, who they are, or the nature of their relationship. Over the course of five scenes and the crisp, snappy dialogue of three actors, the playwright philosophically probes the tenuous realities of memory and identity, life and love. In the end, the questions asked by Blessing--more than the answers--are what make this play linger in your mind long after you've left the theater. If you can't see the fine performance at Chester, I'd recommend giving the play a read. As a reader and/or a writer, you'll be riveted.

Photo "Home by The Sea" (Ocean Drive, Newport, RI) by Kathleen Gerard