Eduction Department A Study Guide for Teachers and Students Written by Shelley Manis, University of Texas

Thornton Wilders

Our TOwn
Starring Jaston Williams of Greater Tuna Directed by Dave

Steakley

we all know that something is eternal. And it aint houses and it aint names, and it aint earth, and it aint even the stars... Stage Manager in Our Town.

Thornton produced in 1938, which means17,1897 andhave grownDecember Wilder was bornApril he would lived until up during 7, 1975. Our Town was

the time he wrote about in the play (1901-1913)so in many ways, he was writing about what he knew. He taught at private high schools and at the University of Chicago, and he served in World War I regard the theatre as the greatest of all II from 1942-1945 in the U.S. art forms, the most immediate way in which Army Air Intelligence. When a human being can share with another the the U.S. was entering WWII, sense of what it is to be a human being.This Wilder wrote his second most famous play, The Skin of supremacy of the theater derives from the Our Teeth. That play looked at fact that it is always now on the stage. the world at three different Thornton Wilder (as told to a Paris Review journalist) points in time: the Ice Age, the Great Flood as in the Bibles Book of Genesis and a years-long modern global war. Finally, his third most famous play (originally called The Merchant of Yonkers) was initially a failure in the U.S., but when a new director took the play to London, re-worked it and gave it a new name, it became even more successful than Our Town, both in London and in the U.S. The newly named play was called The Matchmaker, and it was adapted into the 1964 musical Hello, Dolly! Thornton Wilder won three Pulitzer Prizes: One in 1938 for Our Town, one in 1943 for The Skin of Our Teeth and one much earlier 1928 for a novel he wrote called The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Related Discussion Question: What do you think he meant by naming the now on the stage as what makes theatre so powerful? How is seeing a play a different experience than reading a book? Do you agree or disagree with Wilder?
Theatre TEKS: 117.65, Level II

Time Capsules The Stage Manager talks about creating a time capsule

for Grovers Corners at the turn of the century. He wants to include a copy of the play, the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and Shakespeares works. If your class were to create a time capsule, what do you think would be important to include? Why? What would you want those items to tell future generations about you?

TEKS: 117.34, 117.37, 117.40

Directors Notes
I grew up in a small Texas townGrandview, population 935a place very much like Grovers Corners. Our town was so small that once I mailed a card with an incorrect address and it was returned to my house, even though I had not included a return address. The post office simply recognized my handwriting. No surprise then that Our Town was the only play we ever read in Grandviewno Greek drama or Shakespeare or Arthur Miller, only Thornton Wilders extraordinary classic. When I first came to work at ZACH nearly 20 years ago, director Jim Fritzler and an allstar line-up of Austin actors and musicians created a beautiful production of Our Town that is one of my most cherished theatregoing experiences. I love this play. It is a touchstone we should all revisit at different stages in our lives as new truths unfurl. All of the actors in ZACHs production are from Austin. Its important to me that this company of actors come from our community, and that you may run into them at the grocery store or on the Hike and Bike Trail. For our production I chose to perform it in contemporary dress and set it in what feels like Austin today to underscore the timelessness of this story, even though we have not altered Wilders language. Emily and Georges nuptials are one of the most significant events to happen in this play; because weddings are hyped as the most important day in a young womans life, I have created a site-specific wedding to provide a different visual identity for each act of this remarkable play, united by a heavenly galaxy of stars. A stars mighty good company. Director DAVE STEAKLEY
Photos: www.kirktuck.com
On ZACHs minimalist set (typical of Epic theatre) with lighting by Jason Amato, Jaston Williams as the Stage Manager talks to the audience and explains the layout of the town of Grovers Corners.

What is Epic Theatre?

Epic theatre was a style of theatre made famous in 1900s in the West by German playwright Bertolt Brecht. (Brecht wrote Mother Courage and Her Children, The Threepenny Opera, and The Life of Galileo, among many other plays.) Inspired by Russian artists who used theatre to create social change, Brecht tried to create theatre that worked differently than the most popular form of theatre at the time (and even still now), which was realism. (Realist theatre attempted to recreate the real world onstage). In Brechts epic theatre, the goal was to prevent the audience from what is called willing suspension of disbelief. If audiences willingly suspend their disbelief, they can lose themselves in the world of a play and accept it, temporarily, as real. Epic theatre was designed to distance the audience from the characters and stage so they focused on both the action onstage and off, rather than just feeling something. Brechts epic theatre inspired Thornton Wilder, who was writing at about the same time, and Our Town was written and produced in that spirit. Some of the aspects of Our Town that make it similar to epic theater are: a bare stage, characters talking directly to the audience (mostly the Stage Manager, though other characters do toowhich ones do you remember?); way the acts are given titles; bits of lecture given by the Stage Manager and other characters. Think about ZACHs production; what reminds you that you are watching a play rather than peeking in on someones life? Brecht also inspired the work of later playwrights like Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman, The Crucible), Tennessee Williams (The Glass Menagerie), Susan Lori-Parks (The America Play), and Tony Kushner (Angels in America).
Theatre TEKS: 117.66 Level III, 117.67 Level IV

Do you like to write?

Be a blogger for ZACH. Write a show review about an experience at Our Town or another ZACH show, ZACH Performing Arts School classes or camps, and email it to education@zachtheatre.org for the opportunity to be published in our blog.

Discussion Questions
1. Our Town surprised American audiences when it first premiered, because the original production did not have a realistic set as most popular plays of the time. Instead, it used only a couple of stools, a bench, chairs and two ladders. The actors mimed all of the props. What kind of an effect do you think that had on audiences? Imagine going to a movie and instead of ultra-realist audio and visuals youre used to, the actors work on a blank set, without soundtracks, special effects or props. Instead of seeing the plot unfold in a vividly real location, you have to fill in the blanks with your imagination. What effect would that have on you? 2. The Stage Manager says, There are things we all know, but we dont take them out and look at them very often. What do you think he means by that? What things does Our Town remind you to look at more often? 3. Our Town is a play that asks audiences to think about time, one of Our Towns major themesit reminds audiences about the current moment, how time passes. How would you describe Our Towns idea about time? What are some of the other themes in Our Town? 4. What are some world or political events outside of Grovers Corners that affect the characters in the play? How do they affect individual characters and/or the town itself? How are any of those relevant to you now? 5. What similarities do you see between Grovers Corners and Our Town, whether its Austin or someplace else? 6. Why do you think baseball was such a big part of Our Town? What is significant about baseball during Wilders time and today?
Theatre TEKS: 117.64 -117.67

Photos: Kirk R. Tuck

Emily Webb (played by Jordan McRae) in Act III.

George Gibbs (played by Michael Amendola) with little sister Rebecca Gibbs (Crystal Odom) gazing at moonlight in Our Town.

Life in an artistss colony

Imagine living in a studio for five weeks without phone or TV...no interruptions allowed except when meals are delivered! That is what Thornton Wilder experienced at The MacDowell Colony when he wrote the play Our Town. The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell, who died a year after the colony opened in 1908. She established it primarily with donations and led it for almost 25 years through both world wars and the Great Depression. The colony is a temporary haven for authors, poets, playwrights, artists and composers. Artists apply to MacDowell and if accepted, live in the colony for up to two months to concentrate on their work. Room and board are free. Each artist is assigned one of 32 studios to use 24-hours-aday. Each studio is a separate building with power, heat, simple amenities and lunch delivery. The artists generally share breakfast and dinner in a common area and allow interruptions by invitation only. They engage in group activities in the evenings. To find out more go to: www.macdowellcolony.org
Edward and Marian MacDowell

Past residents of MacDowell: Leonard Bernstein, Thornton Wilder, Aaron Copland, Milton Avery, James Baldwin, Spalding Gray, and recently Alice Walker, Alice Sebold, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Meredith Monk.

Glossary

Theatre TEKS: 117.64-117.67

Convention: A feature of a literary work, play or performance style that has become standardized and expected over time,
such as a soliloquy. It often refers to an unrealistic device (such as Mrs. Soames gushing to the audience about her love of weddings) that the audience agrees to accept as normal.

Fourth Wall: The imaginary line dividing the audience from the characters and action of the play, which creates a sense that
the audience is watching things without the characters/actors knowledge.

Pulitzer Prize: One of the most prestigious national awards Americans can receive. First awarded in 1917, it is named after

Joseph Pulitzer, a journalist and newspaper publisher who left money to Columbia University when he died in 1911. The prize is awarded in 21 categories (in the general areas of journalism, arts and letters, and fictionincluding drama) and comes with a $10,000 award. Other playwrights who have won the Pulitzer are: Arthur Miller, Tony Kushner, August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks. Wilder is a rarity, because he has won Pulitzers in two categories (drama and fiction).

Realism: An approach to art that assumes that art should accurately reproduce an image of life. In theatre, it means that the

set will have the look and feel of the location it represents in real life, and that conventions such as actors directly addressing the audience or speaking their thoughts out loud in soliloquies will not take place. Instead, the audience will seem to watch the events unfold as though through a fourth wall.

Soliloquy: A speech in which an actor, usually alone onstage, utters his or her thoughts aloud, revealing personal feelings. Theme: A central idea of the play. There can easily be more than one, and themes may be stated directly or only implied. Time Capsule: A collection of historical materials that serve as a snapshot in time of a particular generation, place or people.
Often created for ceremonial purposes to commemorate a major event, such as a state bicentennial, they are buried or placed in the cornerstone (the first stone set in the foundation of a new structure) of a significant building, such as the state capital.

Willing suspension of disbelief: An act of temporarily accepting what is onstage (or in a movie or TV show) as real for
the duration of the performance in order to fully relate to the characters and plot.

Cool links
www.thorntonwildersociety.com This website has a wonderfully thorough biography of Wilder and his family, as well as a descriptive list of his major works. www.barrowstreettheatre.com This is home to one of the most important and influential productions of Our Town today. The website has images and video of the production. www.tufts.edu A unique operatic version of the play.

Learn something new every day:

Wilder was actually born a twin. The twin brother, however, died at birth. He had one older brother and three younger sisters, all accomplished scholars and writers too. In high school, Mr. Wilder became interested in theater and began regularly attending plays. He also began to demonstrate his unique talents for writing. Mr. Wilder served in both World Wars I and II. After writing Our Town, Wilder himself played the Stage Manager on Broadway for two weeks and later in summer stock productions.

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This project is funded and supported in part by the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.