Eugene O Neill Newsletter - Eugene O'Neill Foundation

Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House NewsletterSPRING 2016 issueThe 2017 Pulitzer Centennial To CelebrateO’Neill’s Four PulitzersJanuary 2016 Staged Readings at the San RamonMuseum by Eric Fraisher HayesMary Camezon, EONF Board member and the Library/Archives Chairreports, “We have been in touch with Sara Pepitone, the digitaleditor for Pulitzer Prizes. For the centennial year of the PulitzerPrize, we have been asked to share anything that we have that isrelated to O’Neill’s winning works – notes, playbills, personalmementos. These images will be shared on Facebook, Instagram,and Twitter." Mary continues, “I and (board member/ scholar)Eileen (Herrmann) will review what we have and plan to sharewhat we find.”This January marked the seventh year in a row that the EugeneO’Neill Foundation, Tao House has partnered with the Museum ofthe San Ramon Valley to stage a play reading. The joint venturebegan with a simple observation and a question.The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American PulitzerPrizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. ThePrize for Drama is one of the original Pulitzers, inaugurated in 1917,although no Drama prize was given that year. Eugene O’Neill wasthe second playwright to win a Pulitzer prize for Drama. His play,performed on Broadway, Beyond the Horizon (1920) was his firstPulitzer." O’Neill would win four Pulitzers in Drama, more than anyplaywright.A first edition of the book version of Beyond the Horizon is ondisplay in O’Neill’s study in Tao House. The NPS curator for TaoHouse reports that there is in the NPS Archives a phonographrecord with cover: "'BEYOND THE HORIZON,' EUGENE O'NEILLCYCLE. RADIO BROADCAST RECORDED BY NATIONALBROADCASTING CO., INC."Established in 1917 by provisions in the will ofAmerican (Hungarian-born) publisher JosephPulitzer, and administered by ColumbiaUniversity in New York City, prizes are awardedyearly in twenty-one categories. Each winnerreceives a certificate and a US 10,000 cashaward. The winner in the public service categoryof the journalism competition is awarded a goldmedal.First edition, Tao House. Image Courtesy: NPSBack in June of 2009, I was invited to attend a celebration at themuseum, and as I walked around the facility I found myselfstanding in the middle of the freight room, the largest room in thebuilding, and musing over this notion: “I wonder what it would belike to put on a play here?” Soon afterwards, I found myself askingthe nearest museum representative about the prospect of hosting aplay. He took me to another representative and repeated thequestion. The second representative pondered the question andthen took us to a third member of the museum. Eventually, I wasconnected with the decision-makers who told me that there was asmall window of time in January that could be used for a play.Without hesitation, I said “Yes!” Figuring out the “how” wouldcome later.Each successive year since 2009, for four days, we take over thefreight room of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Display casesare first moved out of the freight room. Then I borrow a truck andwith the help of the National Park Service, we transport platforms,risers and furniture down from the old barn at Tao House to themuseum where a little theatre is created in the 20x50 ft. space.Rehearsals are held Thursday and Friday night, and again on theSaturday afternoon of the first of the two performances. Becausethe commitment is so short (Thursday night to Sunday afternoon),many of the Bay Area’s talented actors, union and non-union, areable to squeeze the performance into their busy schedules and weare the beneficiaries. By Monday morning, we are packed up andreturning everything to Tao House.At the start of each year, I am reminded of the simple power ofimagining something new and the importance of sharing thethinking with others. I am reminded of the possibilities ofcommitting to a good idea with a faith that one way or another, it ispossible to make it happen.Witnessing Eugene O’Neill’s First Pulitzer Prize winning Play.Suffering and sacrifice in the face of following one’s dreams or abdicating choice becomes a compelling theme in Eugene O’Neill’s first PulitzerPrize winning play, Beyond the Horizon (1920) read at the Museum of the San Ramon Valley in Danville on January 9 and 10 (2016). Twobrothers, Robert and Andrew Mayo, choose paths that reverse the destinies each had hoped he would achieve. By each of them falling in lovewith the same woman, in the resulting competition, one brother has to lose her to the other.In a remarkable staged reading (remarkable, in part, due to only two days of preparation), Eric Fraisher Hayes lead actors Chad Deverman(Robert Mayo) and Teddy Spenser (Andrew Mayo), the play’s two beleaguered brothers, in a successful staged reading. True to form, Hayes, inhis role as director, coaches the actors, including Hilary Schwartz (Ruth Atkins), John Hale (James Mayo, Ben, Dr Fawcett), Beth Chastain (KateMayo), Valerie Weak (Mrs. Atkins), and David Schuster (Captain Scott), to embrace and interpret a tragic theme from O’Neill’s theaterrepertoire. The performance required smooth pacing and credible interaction, and was noticeably effective in its impact on the audience. Sniffleswere heard and tissue was visible!The final scene where protagonist, Robert Mayo, expresses a revelation as he dies, is key to the “secret” that is beyond the horizon. Robertdeclares that although it is “too late for this world [he] “will not miss the secret” in the next world as he has “won the right of release beyond–the horizon.” Gazing at the sunrise above the hills, Robert pledges to “remember – only through sacrifice – the secret required beyond – therethe sun. .” The panacea beyond the horizon that beckons all of us to a life of ease and comfort : “if only” .is actually an illusion.This play poses questions for the audience: Is the sacrifice of one individual necessary for the happiness of another? A book I read recentlyaddresses the questions raised by O’Neill’s drama about suffering. Paul Kalanithi’s best seller, When Breath Becomes Air (Random House,2016) examines reckoning with the premature death at age 37, of a Stanford neurosurgeon. The author finds some peace and comfortrecognizing that suffering is inherent in the human condition and that we must realize that it is not how long we live, but how we live.Contributed by EONF board secretary, Katy KolbathPg 3

Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House NewsletterSPRING 2016 issue2016 Student DaysBy Katy Colbath.A “whirlwind” of activity contained in a pastoral scenebest describes the 2016 Student Day Saturdays hostedby the Eugene O’Neill Foundation. Thirty seven highschool students immersed themselves in masterworkshops: art, acting, photography and playwriting,while they also enjoyed the quiet serenity of EugeneO’Neill’s beloved TAO House nestled in the Danvillehills.Teenagers from nine high schools as far away asFremont and as close as Monte Vista, quicklyacclimated, connected with each other andenergetically participated in their day-long workshopsof choice. Notable this year was the Art workshopunder the guidance of PIXAR animator, Tia Kratter.From the famous Emeryville-based organization,founded by Lucasfilm in 1979 and acquired by SteveJobs in 1986. Tia’s stories were mesmerizing,including creation of a sequence for Buzz Lightyear ofToy Story in which Buzz dances Spanish style. Tosupport their drawings, PIXAR hired and filmed twoprofessionals from “Dancing with the Stars” to create asequence of just ten seconds! Every animated filmtakes approximately fouryears to complete, and thefirst year, according toTia, is the most fun andcreative; the last year ofperfecting the film is“torture”! Such were theinteresting insights for thestudents!Jaden Sullivan22 Babson College Students VisitBeth Wynstra’s “Revolutionary Stages and Stages ofRevolution: Theater, Politics and Performance in SanFrancisco” students toured Tao House , enjoying talks byMerilyn Milam and Dan Cawthorn, while engaged inplaywrighting and actingsessions. Babson College(Wellesley, Mass.)students have a semesterlong program in SanFrancisco. ProfessorWynstra is also thesecretary of EONS.Pg 4Tia Kratter and studentChad Deverman and studentsPhoto credit: Dallas KaneDespite rain and windy weather, the acting students (most werereturning participants) were thrilled to work again with actor/director Chad Deverman whose lively instruction includesphysical and shouting exercises. In contrast, thephotographers had great weather and quietly explored the TaoHouse grounds, shooting architectural angles as well as thehillsides perhaps, framed by a fence against a bright blue sky.Then, with the magic of current technology, the students’photos were immediately downloaded into an LCD projector tobe enlarged and displayed in color on a screen in the Old Barn.That process enabled photographer / instructor Lorena Castilloto provide immediate feedback to the budding artists.“Wonderful!,” characterized Mt. Diablo High School student,MacKenzie Chandler and Piedmont High School student, JaneSimonetti’s experience working with their instructor, ErinEdens in Playwriting. The half dozen young writers tackledtheir scripts with sustained intensity . Students hope to returnin July for the “Studio Retreat” to write and produce theirplays. The Eugene O’Neill Foundation volunteers and theNational Park Service look forward to this special event thissummer.EONF 2016 Summer Studio RetreatA Studio Retreat in its seven erican Literatureconference is Professor Alfred Bendixen, PrincetonUniversity, Princeton, New Jersey. Janet Roberts,an EONF Board member, and EONS member, willpresent a paper “Inter-Arts as A Creative Force:Painters and a Playwright. CharlesDemuth, Marsden Hartley andEugene O’Neill: A Man and theSea.” The American LiteratureAssociation will hold its 27thannual conference, May 26-29th,2016, at the HYATT Regency SanFrancisco, 5 Embarcadero, SanFrancisco.Demuth and O'Neill in Provincetown, 1916“Images of O’Neill in the Popular Mind” :EONS Panel at CDC in BaltimoreTravis Bogard Fellow, 2015, David Palmer, who teaches atthe Massachusetts Maritime Academy, reports that at theComparative Drama Conference (CDC) held in Baltimorefrom March 31-April 2, 2016, the Eugene O’Neill Societyheld both a society business meeting and a round tablediscussion of Images of O’Neill in the Popular Mind. TonyKushner, playwright, was among the panelists, each ofwhom presented a five minute opening statement,preceding a discussion. A transcript will be published inthe Eugene O’Neill Review, edited by Professor WilliamDavies King, with guest editor, Beth Wynstra.Pg 5

Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House NewsletterFog and a Lady in Black Waiting: Bound East ToCardiff by Eugene O’Neill By Janet Roberts.The play “East of Cardiff” is set in “the seaman’s forecastle of the British trampsteamer Glencairn on a foggy night midway on the voyage between New Yorkand Cardiff”. The S.S. Ikala a British tramp streamer from New York toBuenos Aires was the model for the S.S. Glencaim of O’Neill’s early sea plays.LITERARY PRECEDENT IN KIPLING: The overall structure of the playdetermined by Yank’s situation, bears a striking similarity to Kipling’s “TheRhyme of the Three Sealers” , which has Jim Tyrone misquote in “A Moonfor the Misbegotten”. Kipling was one of young O’Neill’s favorite writers.The relevant passage reads:Then Reuben Paine cried out again before his spirit passed:"Have I followed the sea for thirty years to die in the dark at last?“Curse on her work that has nipped me here with a shifty trick unkind –I have gotten my death where I got my bread, but I dare not face it blind.Curse on the fog! Is there never a wind of all the winds I knewTo clear the smother from all of my chest and let me look at the blue?”The good fog heard – like a slitten sail, to left and right she tore,And they saw the sun-dogs in the haze and the seal upon the shore.And the rattle rose in Reuben’s throat and he cast his soul with a cry,And “Gone already?” Tom Hall he said, “Then it’s time for me to die.”SPRING 2016 issue“TheLightning”Object ofthe monthO'Neill had models of the famous DonaldMcKay designed American Clipper ships.Don Pace was the builder (1933-34) of thesemodels for O’Neill. These included:Lightning, Flying Cloud, Sovereign of the Sea,Staghound, James Baines and the GreatRepublic and a Chinese Junk. O’Neill wrote toPace, ".one of my great interests in selectingthese models is to have before me,comparatively, the changes in McKay designin his fastest ships, to have them all on tablesside by side. Mrs. O'Neill has made me apresent of The Lightning." -- on the 5th ofMay 1934, at Casa Genotta--now on displayin O’Neill’s study at Tao House. All McKayships on display are replicas.The text focusses on Yank's fate, in a dialogue between two close friends,both of them realizing one of them is dying. Moving from noise tostillness, from togetherness to loneliness, and from life to death, the play’sstructure is characterized by constant suspense-creating shifts.MUSIC. As in all O’Neill plays, music has a role. Melancholy anddesolation are countered by Paul’s soft playing of a folk song on hisaccordion. However, at a critical point, Driscoll tells Paul to stop his“organ playing”: “Is that banshee screechin’ fit music for a sick man?”Organ playing suggests a funeral. A "banshee”, in Irish popular belief, is asupernatural being in the shape of an old woman foretelling death bymournful singing. When the accordian music stops. "the steamer’swhistle sounds particularily loud in the silence.”THE FOG. O’Neill seemed to love fog and even simulated it in Tao Houseinteriors. However, fog implies impaired visibility, obscures reality, andpresents a danger at sea. Fog delays the voyage to Cardiff and increasesthe chances of Yank dying before arriving in port. Yank and Driscoll agreethat “it’s a hell av a life, the sea’, commenting on the the two friends,having suffered together. Life on shipboard is a world in miniature. thefog becomes a symbol of man’s seeking his way through life.When Yank realizes that he has no choice, he courageously accepts his fate.The ending of the one act play suggests an upward journey: the fog haslifted; the stars are out. Symbolically, “A pretty lady in black is waiting forhim”. See: Eugene O’Neill. A Playwright’s Theater Egil Tornqvist.Pg 6Eugene O'Neill enjoyed a swim every dayat Tao House. He enjoyed the beachswims each afternoon in Provincetown in1916.

Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House NewsletterSPRING 2016 issueThe Tao of Tao House : WATER.by Janet Roberts“Men of supreme goodness resemble the nature of water.” (Commentary. He She Gong)The O’Neills named their beloved home, Tao House, which they built when they had voyaged tothe Far East. As “Tao” (Dao)” The Way” is the constantly changing cycles of Life ; the “Zi” (De) isits philosophical and practical application in life, society and politics. Lao Xi was the philosopher.Chapter 8. Lao Xi .The highest good (Te Way) is like water. The goodness of water is that it benefits ten thousand creatures;yet itself does not contend.If men think the ground the best place for building a house upon,If among thoughts they value those that are profound,If in friendship they value gentleness,In words, truth; in government, good order;In deeds, effectiveness; in actions, timeliness –In each case it is because they prefer what does not lead to strife,And therefore does not go amiss.Translation: Arthur Waley (1934)Jessica Lange on Broadwayin “Long Day’s Journey” atthe Roundabout’sAmerican Airlines Theater.Jessica Lange will star in “Long Day’s Journey IntoNight" directed by Jonathan Kent, in a spring 2016revival of the Eugene O’Neill drama on Broadway inManhattan. “Long Day’s Journey” begins previewsApril 3, 2016, with an April 27, 2016, opening,planning to run until June 26.Lange, an Oscar and Golden Globe winner, will playMary Tyrone, a victim of morphine addiction, in theO’Neill semi-autobiographical play, returning to thepart after playing it on the West End in London in2000. It’s one of the great female roles of Americandrama, as were the parts Lange tackled in her twoprior Broadway appearances, including TennesseeWilliams’ “The Glass Menagerie” (2005) and “AStreetcar Named Desire” (1992).Gabriel Byrne, who stars as thefamily patriarch James Tyrone,appeared on Broadway in aRoundabout revival of O’Neill’s“A Touch of the Poet,” in 2005.John Gallagher Jr. , a Tonywinner will play the sonEdmond with Oscar nominee,Michael Shannon as JimTyrone, Jr.Chinese Junk: In 1928, EugeneO’Neill and Carlotta sailed fromMarseilles, France on the S.S.Andre-Lebon, to the Far East.Image courtesy of NPS.Janet Roberts and LiuHaiping, EONS InternationalSecretary, at NanjingUniversity, China. 2006Yale University issues multi-media Criticaledition of "Long Day's Journey Into Night"Experience the American classic—as you’ve neverexperienced it before. This multimedia edition, edited byWilliam Davies King, offers an interactive guide toO’Neill’s masterpiece. Hear rare archival recordings of Eugene O’Neill readingkey scenes.Discover O’Neill’s creative process through the tiny pencilnotes inhis original manuscripts and outlines.Watch actors wrestle with the play in exclusive rehearsalfootage.Experience clips from a full production of the play.Tour Monte Cristo Cottage, the site of the events in LongDay’s Journey Into Night, and Tao House, where the play waswritten.Delve into O’Neill’s world through photographs, letters, anddiary entries.And much, much more in this multimedia eBook.Available on Kindle, iBooks, GooglePlay, Nook, andVitalSource.Early Praise:“The multimedia edition of Long Day’s Journey into Nightis thrilling .I will never think of this play in the same wayagain. How fitting that one of the greatest of all Americanplays should give rise to this brilliant and generous work,which sets an entirely new standard for publishing indrama.”—James Bundy, Dean and Artistic Director, YaleSchool of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre.Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v Q36Gvcn2hpYPg 7

Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House NewsletterCelebrating the NPS Centennial at Tao houseby Tom Leatherman, NPS General SuperintendantIt is the start of the centennial year for theNational Park Service and we continue to seekout opportunities to share the legacy of O’Neillwith new audiences. A variety of excitingevents are being planned to help us celebratethis milestone. In addition to the enhancedprogramming being offered at the site,in conjunction with the Eugene O’NeillMerilyn Milam and Tom LeathermanFoundation, the staff at the park will beworking to exhibit new items from our museum collection. Thesenew exhibits will enhance the performances and programming atthe site, and will provide a window into the life of the O’Neill’swhile living in their “final home and harbor,” as O’Neill himselfliked to call Tao House. We will also continue to maintain thehouse and grounds so that all visiting the site can experience thesame inspiring landscape and serenity that allowed the playwrightto create the amazing dramatic works we know today. As wecelebrate the first 100 years of the National Park Service and ofO’Neill productions, we want to create new opportunities for all to#FindYourPark as we enter our next 100 years. Please join us inhelping keep the legacy of Eugene O’Neill alive!O’Neill Foundation Works with NPSon Long-Term PlanningAs we celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, it’san appropriate time to reaffirm th

Eugene O’Neill was the second playwright to win a Pulitzer prize for Drama. His play, performed on Broadway, Beyond the Horizon (1920) was his first Pulitzer." O’Neill would win four Pulitzers in Drama, more than any playwright. A first edition of the book version of Beyond the Horizon is on display in O’Neill’s study in Tao House.