technicolor life

LIFE
BY
JAMI BRANDLI
DIRECTED BY
JOSEPH W. RITSCH
OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 8, 2015
REP Stage presents
TECHNICOLOR LIFE
PREPARED BY:
Lisa A. Wilde
Dramaturg
Zheyan Damavandi
Graphic Design
REP STAGE STAFF:
Suzanne Beal & Joseph Ritsch
Co-Producing Artistic Directors
Nancy Tarr Hart
Managing Director
Valerie Lash
Founding Artistic Director
Zheyan Damavandi
Administrative Assistant
Lisa A. Wilde
Literary Manager/Dramaturg
Jenny Male
Resident Fight Director
BY
JAMI BRANDLI
DIRECTED BY JOSEPH W. RITSCH
I have a history with this play. I first met Jami Brandli when
we were both playwriting fellows at the WordBRIDGE
Playwrights Lab in 2010. I was there working on my
play Apartment 213, and she working on Technicolor Life.
I remember being very drawn to her play from its first
read and even more so upon second read at the end
of our time at WordBRIDGE. I was also quite drawn to
Jami’s exuberance and passion for the work, as well as her
personal energy and sense of humor. We bonded over
many late night conversations as we both struggled through
the process of writing our plays. We gave each other feedback and a whole lot
of support in the process of telling our stories. And, what a beautiful story she
has told with Technicolor Life. I am always a bit uncomfortable when asked to
describe a play I am directing. How do I find the right words? How do I service
the playwright in my description? How can I move beyond the marketing blurbs
to get to the heart of the storytelling? Can my expectations of what I hope the
audience will experience even be put into words? This play is about a family of
women, three generations of women. This play is about a group of people with
missing parts whether it be physical, emotional, spiritual, or all the above. This is
a play that is magical. There is magic in a young girl’s imaginary friends jumping off
the screen of an old Hollywood movie musical. There is magic in the nostalgia of
memory. There is magic in the simple things that help us to heal. There is magic in
how a family’s love can change the world from gray to Technicolor. We couldn’t
be more excited to bring this world premiere of Jami’s beautiful play to our
audiences. And, it is with great honor we present Technicolor Life as our entry in
the Women’s Voices Theater Festival.
- Joseph W. Ritsch, Director
REP Stage
REGIONAL THEATRE IN RESIDENCE
Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway
Columbia, MD 21044
Tickets: 443.518.1500
WWW.REPSTAGE.ORG
2 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Play
About the Playwright......................................................................3
Themes and Structure...................................................................6
References......................................................................................10
Questions for Discussion............................................................17
The Production
Design.................................................................................................18
Cast.....................................................................................................19
Technicolor Living..............................................................................20
Theater Etiquette..............................................................................21
TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
About the Playwright
BIOGRAPHY
JAMI BRANDLI’s plays include Technicolor Life, BLISS (or Emily
Post is Dead!), S.O.E., M-Theory, ¡SOLDADERA!, and Sisters
Three; her short plays are published with Smith & Kraus. Her
work has been produced and developed at HotCity Theatre,
WordBRIDGE, Ashland New Plays Festival, The Lark, New
York Theatre Workshop, Great Plains Theatre Conference,
The Aurora Theatre Company, Launch Pad, Milwaukee
Rep, and Rogue Machine Theatre, among other venues. She
received the John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award, the
Holland New Voices Award and most recently The Aurora
Theatre Company’s 2014 Global Age Project (GAP) Prize.
Technicolor Life will receive its world premiere at Rep Stage
as part of Washington DC’s 2015 Women’s Voices Theatre
Festival. BLISS (or Emily Post is Dead!) was just named in The
Kilroy’s THE LIST, which highlights the 46 most recommended
new female-authored plays for this year. She was a finalist for
the Playwrights’ Center Core Writer Fellowship, Princess
Grace Award and O’Neill National Playwrights Conference.
She was also nominated for the 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn
Award and a finalist for the Disney ABC TV Fellowship.
THE LIFE OF A NEW PLAY
From initial conception to opening night, there are many steps in which a new play must go through before it’s ready for its
first production. Most playwrights will seek out several opportunities for developing new work that can include staged readings,
playwriting fellowships and other script workshops in order to fine-tune their work. Through feedback from peers, mentors and
audience members, a playwright can learn many things about their script and how it may or may not be working as intended. And,
even during the process of rehearsing the first production, changes can still be made. Here is the journey that Technicolor Life has
had from its initial reading to the world premiere at Rep Stage:
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Fellow, 2010 WordBRIDGE Playwrights Lab Clemson University, SC; development and reading; Michele Vazquez directs.
Winner, 2010 Ashland New Plays Festival, Ashland, OR; development and staged reading; Caroline Shaffer directs.
Winner of 2010 John Gassner Memorial Playwriting Award.
Roundtable Reading at the Lark Play Development Center, NYC; David Hilder directs (2011).
Staged Reading at New York Theatre Workshop; Pam Berlin directs (2012).
Winner of 2014 Global Age Project (GAP) Prize; staged reading at The Aurora Theatre Company; Marissa Wolf directs.
Finalist for Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship, New Dramatists.
Finalist for O’Neill National Playwrights Conference.
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT JAMI BRANDLI
By Lisa Wilde/Rep Stage Production Dramaturg 2015
Lisa Wilde: I understand that Technicolor Life was
developed at WordBRIDGE. Can you talk about the
process of developing it?
Jami Brandli: I came to WordBRIDGE (where I met
the super talented Joseph Ritsch!) with my first draft of
Technicolor Life, which had a very different second act.
It included a newborn baby, so I really mean it when I
say very different. I knew that act wasn’t working, but
I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. Little did I know
that WordBRIDGE would be the source of so many
discoveries, which would lead to monumental AHA
moments, which ultimately pointed me to figuring out
that second act.
Over the course of my two weeks as a Playwright
Fellow at WordBRIDGE, I had access to resident artists
with specialized knowledge, professional dramaturgs,
and over 25 hours of rehearsal with a director (the
fabulous Michele Vasquez) and cast. I also had two staged
readings – one at the beginning of the residency and
one at the end. This combination of time, resources,
talent and generosity allowed me to explore, take risks,
fail, and then fail better and succeed. One of the biggest
gifts that WordBRIDGE gave me was the late former
mayor of Clemson, SC, Larry Abernathy, who was
an amputee. After he attended an early development
session of Technicolor Life, Larry sat down with me and
talked about how mirror therapy is extremely helpful
to amputees. I didn’t know what mirror therapy was,
so I quickly Googled it and watched about two hours
of mirror therapy videos. I felt my brain break in all the
right ways. THIS could the answer to my second act, not
some newborn baby (don’t ask). I immediately put the
development with my actors on hold for two days, and
I rewrote the entire second act. Funny enough, when
I was revising my pages like a madwoman, Joseph was
also revising his riveting play, and we bonded over many
a spiked lemonade as we talked about our characters,
dramatic action, and how we must, um, “kill our darlings”
4 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
when they no longer work (hint, that would be the baby
I keep talking about). After the first read though of my
new pages, my director had my actors play out the new
scenes with a mirror. The whole play transformed in
front of everyone’s eyes, as it became clear that mirror
therapy would be a major source of healing for Billie and
reconnect her with Maxine, her younger sister. I can
honestly say everyone in the room felt the play take this
magical shift, and I knew I had cracked my second act.
I am, and will forever be, grateful to WordBRIDGE for
these two play-changing weeks.
What is the significance of the image of the crested
lark?
While doing my research about the Iraq War, I came
upon a soldier’s birding blog where he catalogued all the
birds he saw while stationed in Iraq. One of the birds
was the crested lark, which I later found out is one of the
most common birds in Iraq. I was absolutely moved by
his ability (or maybe it was sheer will) to find and then
visually capture such beauty during a time of destruction.
But there was something even more poignant about him
cataloguing this common native bird and then elevating its
status to a source of wonder that ultimately inspired the
character of Specialist Peter Ramon Diaz.
I’m intrigued by the idea of the “playing field” as a
convention. What does it mean to you?
For me, the playing field is a place where I can flex my
“theatrical thinking” muscles. It allows me the freedom
to bend space and time so I can dramatize Billie’s journal
entries, enter Maxine’s mind, and relive a war memory.
There are so many topics that you delve into in the
play and clearly a lot of research behind the topics of
women in the military, the right to die movement, and
intergenerational relationships along with Technicolor
film! How did these topics come together for you?
The Play
I’ve written in several genres and they all have their
unique strong points. But the aspect I love most about
being a playwright is that I get to completely embrace
“theatrical thinking.” For me, exploring what’s possible
on stage is like thinking in magic. How can I create
magic with dialogue, character wants, dramatic action,
and spectacle? It’s both an awesome and terrifying
creative undertaking, and I love every second of it (even
when I’m stuck). The flip side to this is my passion for
doing research, which includes topical, historical, and
personal research. This is my brain creating concrete,
which gives my plays a solid foundation upon which to
build. And, the final part of the equation is my mission
statement as a dramatist: I am committed to giving voice
to female protagonists, and I make no apologies for writing
complicated, big, sometimes messy, and often times funny
plays about women.
This brings me to Technicolor Life, which was started
during the latter years of the Iraq War. I knew I wanted
to write a play about women in the military since most
war stories are about men. But I also wanted to write
about how families, across generations, cope when
a wounded soldier returns home and attempts their
reentry into “civilian life.” Technicolor films (specifically
musicals) hold a special place in my heart, as my own
grandmother loved these films. But, as a feminist, I see
how these films promote and romanticize certain female
tropes that I believe can be dangerous, such as placing
more value on being pretty for men versus a woman
being a strong independent agent for herself. Just as
important, I wanted to highlight Maxine being trapped
within the juxtaposition of a brutal war with the glamour
of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. As for Franny, I wanted
to create a sort of “prodigal grandmother” character
where I could explore an older woman’s feistiness
and vulnerability as she tries to make amends with her
daughter and granddaughters before she throws herself a
“good-bye” party.
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
Themes and Structure
STRUCTURE AND NARRATIVE FRAMES
Technicolor Life follows several dramatic styles or narrative frames. While the interactions of the four women – the
grandmother, mother, and two sisters – are written as conventional chronological realism, (the non-Technicolor “dull
taupe” scenes), Maxine and Billie’s “stories” are arcs” written through several non-realistic techniques, including:
Maxine’s presentational moments in which she seems to be narrating or speaking directly to the audience; the scenes
written in the journal she is reading which often lead to flashback depictions of Billie’s time in Iraq; and, finally, the
surreal interactions with the two women from the Technicolor movie world, who frequently give Maxine dated advice
on “feminine” behavior and appearance. The theater artists producing the play need to decide what design, directing,
and acting choices need to be made to guide the audience through these styles as they both exist separately and
overlap with each other.
WOMEN’S ROLES
Traditionally, in literature as well as in modern interpretations of ancient religions, the stages of a woman’s life have
been broken into the following, largely based on topics of fertility, procreation, and sexual activity.
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The Maiden represents enchantment,
inception, expansion, the promise of
new beginnings, birth, youth and youthful
enthusiasm, represented by the waxing moon;
The Mother represents ripeness, fertility,
sexuality, fulfillment, stability, power and life
represented by the full moon; and,
The Crone or Widow represents wisdom,
repose, death, and endings represented by the
waning moon.
Clearly, the women in the play can be
categorized into these roles based on the
three generations who come together over the
course of events. But, playwright Jami Brandli
blurs and muddies the distinctions among these
phases, allowing the women to find new roles in
relationship to each other. She also adds in the
role of Warrior, traditionally one of the stages
in an archetypal male life (warrior, father, sage)
and highlights the complexity and controversy of
this role by giving the character an androgynous
nickname, Billie.
6 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
WOMEN IN COMBAT
The Pentagon dropped a longtime ban on women serving in direct combat units in January 2013, but it gave the services
time to research whether they want to leave some jobs, such as infantryman, closed to women. The services have until
later this year to request exceptions that would keep some jobs closed. The four services have opened up 91,000
positions for women since January 2013, when the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
rescinded a 1994 rule that prohibited women from being assigned to certain ground combat units.
Women have been allowed in the military in recent military action, but mostly as part of cultural support teams which
still often put them in peril and in the line of fire or under attack from IEDs. Regardless of the prohibition, more than
800 women have been wounded and 130 have died while deployed to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. In
other words, the plan to keep women out of harm’s way by keeping them out of combat has failed. In the words of one
female soldier: “I thought I would be out to engage with women and children and be with the mission commander kind
of standing away from everything, but that’s not how it ever was,” she said Monday. “There were times where I was the
gunner. Actually, for the last three months of my deployment, I was a gunner, and then I would still go into these villages
and talk to women and children, and go into their homes.”
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
According to the Service Women Action Network, much of the peril facing women in the military has come from fellow
soldiers: 25% of military women have been sexually assaulted, and up to 80% have been sexually harassed. Victims had
complained that they were not comfortable going to commanders to report assaults, particularly in the stern military
culture that emphasizes rank, loyalty, and strength.
In fact, one of the ongoing problems highlighted in the new survey is that more than 60% of the women who said they
reported some type of unwanted sexual contact complained they also experienced retaliation. Most said they felt social
backlash from co-workers or other service members.
RETURNING FROM THE IRAQ WAR
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by the United States. The
invasion toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. The conflict, however, continued for much of the next decade as
an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. An estimated 151,000
to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3-4 years of conflict. The United States officially withdrew from the
country in 2011, but the insurgency and various dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue. More than 1.5 million
service members served in Iraq with approximately 400 killed and 32,000 wounded in ways that were observable.
Soldiers returning from the Ira war have faced a number of issues. Below are some of the emotional and psychological
concerns that face the returning veterans as addressed by medical professionals:
Veterans may be concerned that a diagnosis of PTSD, or even Acute Stress Disorder, in their medical record
may harm their chances of future promotion, lead to a decision to not be retained, or affect the type of discharge
received. Some may think that the information obtained if they receive mental health treatment will be shared with
their unit commanders, as is sometimes the
case in the military.
To avoid legitimate concerns about possible
pathologization of common traumatic stress
reactions, clinicians may wish to consider
avoiding, where possible, the assignment of
diagnostic labels such as ASD or PTSD, and
instead focus on assessing and documenting
symptoms and behaviors. Concerns about
confidentiality must be acknowledged and
steps taken to create the conditions in
which patients will feel able to talk openly
about their experiences, which may include
difficulties with commanders, misgivings
about military operations or policies, or
possible moral concerns about having
8 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
participated in the war. Some veterans will perceive their need for continuing care as a sign of personal failure.
Understanding their path to the VA will help the building of a relationship and the design of care.
Some of the questions that need to be asked of the veteran’s return include: Is the veteran returning to an
established place in society, to an economically deprived community, to a supportive spouse or cohesive military
unit, to a large impersonal city, to unemployment, to financial stress, to an American public thankful for his or
her sacrifice? Both sides need to manage their expectations. Whatever the circumstances, things are unlikely to
be as they were.
“The deployment of the family member creates a painful void within the family system that is eventually filled (or denied)
so that life can go on...The family assumes that their experiences at home and the soldier’s activities on the battlefield will
be easily assimilated by each other at the time of reunion and that the pre-war roles will be resumed. The fact that new
roles and responsibilities may not be given up quickly upon homecoming is not anticipated.”
FINAL EXIT AND RIGHT TO DIE MOVEMENT
The following information comes from the Final Exit website:
Final Exit Network is a volunteer organization
serving members in all 50 states who are suffering
from intolerable medical circumstances, are mentally
competent, want to end their lives, and meet our
official, written criteria. Those conditions include
cancer, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Alzheimer’s,
Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy,
emphysema, congestive heart failure, stroke, AIDS,
and many other lesser-known but serious, frequently
lengthy ailments. In November 1994 the citizens of
the State of Oregon voted for Ballot Measure 16
which permits physician-assisted suicide (PAS) for
the terminally ill under limited conditions. Despite
opponents’ attempts to block it in the courts, and
a 1997 ballot initiative attempting to repeal the law,
“The Death with Dignity Act” has withstood all
challenges and became effective in October 1997.
Voters in Washington state approved a similar PAS
law in 2008. Vermont has recently passed a death-with-dignity law. ‘Voluntary Euthanasia’ (VE) means death by lethal
injection; ‘Physician-assisted Suicide’ (PAS) means death by oral ingestion of prescribed lethal drugs. (It is PAS only
which Oregon, Washington and Vermont have legalized.) Passive euthanasia means the disconnection of life-support
systems from a hopelessly ill patient.
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
References
MILITARY TERMS
Basic Combat Training
THE TEN-WEEK JOURNEY FROM CIVILIAN TO SOLDIER
Basic Combat Training (BCT) is a training course that transforms civilians into soldiers. Over the course of ten weeks,
recruits will learn basic tactical and survival skills along with
how to shoot, rappel, and march. They will also learn the
basics of Army life and military customs, including the Seven
Core Army Values.
RED PHASE
Upon the completion of Reception Week, recruits begin
training and participating in field exercises while learning the
importance of teamwork.
WHITE PHASE
Through marksmanship training and rappelling exercises,
recruits learn new skills and develop the confidence it takes
to become a Soldier.
BLUE PHASE
Soldiers continue with their weapon training and participate
in the Night Infiltration Course, which prepares them for the
next stage of training.
http://www.goarmy.com/soldier-life/becoming-a-soldier/basic-combat-training.html
GRADUATION
After completing Basic Combat Training, soldiers embark on
Advanced Individual Training (AIT).
10 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
The Play
Rank Structure
ENLISTED
OFFICERS
(Ensign is the rank below Second Lieutenant)
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
The Bronze Star is a U.S. military decoration awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious
service. Established in 1944, the medal has been awarded in every armed conflict in which the U.S. has
been involved since WWII. The award is also open to members of foreign armed forces assisting in
U.S. military efforts. Over 39,000 bronze stars have been awarded.
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in unconventional action.
It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery round, attached to a
detonating mechanism. IEDs are commonly used as roadside
bombs.
IEDs are generally seen in heavy terrorist actions. In the second
Iraq War, IEDs were used extensively against US-led invasion forces and by the end
of 2007, they had become responsible for approximately 63% of coalition deaths in
Iraq. They are also used in Afghanistan by insurgent groups, and have caused over
66% of coalition casualties in the 2001 – present Afghanistan War.
Crested Lark (Galerida cristata) is a species of lark distinguished from the other 81
species of lark by the crest of feathers that rise up in territorial or courtship displays
and when singing. Common to mainland Europe, the birds can also be found in
northern Africa and in parts of western Asia and China. Francis of Assisi considered
the crested lark a bird of special significance, based on similarities he perceived
between it and the life of the Friars Minor: its plain earth-coloured plumage and hood,
its humility (“for it goes willingly along the wayside and finds a grain of corn for itself”),
and its time spent in song. This is a common bird of dry, open country and is often
seen by roadsides or in cereal fields, although it is also found occupying small, sandy
patches by railways, docks and airfields.
The crested lark is a songbird, and has a liquid, warbling song described onomatopoeically
as a whee-whee-wheeoo or a twee-tee-to. It nests in small depressions in the ground, often
in wastelands and on the outskirts of towns (Wikipedia). It is nonmigratory.
Gunner an automatic specialist trained in using light machine gun or squad automatic firearms as part of a fireteam.
Phantom Pain/Limb According to the Mayo Clinic, phantom pain is pain that feels like it’s coming from a body part
that’s no longer there. Doctors once believed this post-amputation phenomenon was a psychological problem, but
experts now recognize that these real sensations originate in the spinal cord and brain.
Although phantom pain occurs most often in people who’ve had an arm or leg removed, the disorder may also occur
after surgeries to remove other body parts, such as the breast, penis, eye, or tongue.
In addition to pain in the phantom limb, some people experience other sensations such as tingling, cramping, heat, and
cold in the portion of the limb that was removed. Any sensation that the limb could have experienced prior to the
amputation may be experienced in the amputated phantom limb.
12 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
FILM REFERENCES
Technicolor
Technicolor is a method used to first add color to black and white films and then to create supersaturated
color in films. It started with The Wizard Of Oz. In the early part of the 20th century, filmmakers shot
through red filters basically to create flesh tones and a green filter to add color to natural settings. Some
frames then had dye added in editing to both create natural color and to enhance the emotional intensity of
the scenes. According to The New York Times in 1937 “Gray, blue and purple are associated with tragedies;
while yellow, orange and red complement comedy scenes. Red was the color that best accentuated scenes
of great dramatic intensity... with gray and purple the next most effective.” The Technicolor Corporation
went through a two-strip additive process (mixing two colors on the screen for an approximation of the
spectrum), and finally, in the 1930s, a three-strip subtractive process that required a very expensive and
temperamental camera through which three strips of film ran simultaneously, each emphasizing a different
color of the spectrum.
The additive color process mixes colors on the screen’s surface itself, rather than dyeing the film strip.
The subtractive color process involves dyeing the film itself, subtracting some color from each of two
or three strips of film that, when projected simultaneously, mix to give a wider and more naturalistic
experience of color. This was the final form classic Technicolor took.
Each matrix is coated with a complimentary color dye. The red matrix uses cyan, the green magenta, and
the blue yellow. One at a time the matrices were brought into contact under high pressure, with the
prepared receiver film and the dye transferred to the receiver. With each successive step, the color image
takes form on the final print.
The Technicolor look was not meant to be natural but rather romantic and heightened, “an artificial,
fantasy, over-the-top palette.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/02/technicolor-at-100/385039/
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane
A 1962 film starring Bette Davis and Joan
Crawford in which a former child star who
continues to dress and do the makeup from
her childhood torments her crippled sister.
Gentleman Prefer Blondes
1953 Technicolor musical starring Jane Russell as Dorothy
Shaw and Marilyn Monroe as Lorelei Lee. Lorelei and Dorothy
are just “Two Little Girls from Little Rock” lounge singers on
a transatlantic cruise, working their way to Paris, and enjoying
the company of any eligible men they might meet along the
way, even though “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4AfqbA9cwQ
Julie London
Julie London was an American jazz and pop singer, actress and
a former pinup model. She was noted for her smoky, sensual
husky voice and languid demeanor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXg6UB9Qk0o
14 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
Films
Brief synopses of the Technicolor films mentioned, many of which featured leggy and lissome young women
searching for love and/or rich husbands. All of the original posters used satured reds, yellows and blues,
and prominently displayed the women’s legs.
Cover Girl: a 1944 Technicolor musical starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly in which Rusty Parker wins a
contest and becomes a celebrated cover girl endangering her romance with dancing mentor Danny.
On the Town: a 1949 musical starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett and Ann Miller in which
three sailors on a day of shore leave in New York City (“New York, New York” https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=x7CIgWZTdgw) look for fun and romance before their 24 hours are up.
Neptune’s Daughter: a 1949 musical in which aquatic dancer Eve Barrett (Esther Williams), tries to prevent
her sister, Betty (Betty Garrett), from falling in love with Jose O’Rourke (Ricardo Montalban), a suave
South American polo player.
How to Marry a Millionaire : a 1953 film starring Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable in which
three New York models set up in an exclusive apartment with a plan: tired of cheap men and a lack of
money they intend to use all their talents to trap and marry three millionaires.
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Play
The Pajama Game: a 1957 musical starring Doris Day and John Raitt in which employees of the Sleeptite
Pajama Factory agitating for a wage increase pit Babe Williams, their feisty employee representative, against
shop superintendent Sid Sorokin.
Damn Yankees: a 1958 musical starring Tab Hunter and Gwen Verdon. Joe Boyd, an aging Washington
Senators fan, would sell his soul for the Senators to beat the New York Yankees and win the pennant.
Famous song “Whatever Lola Wants” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kjQmgm0r4g.
Auntie Mame (the outlier): a 1958 film starring Rosalind Russell as an independent and progressive woman
who is left to care for her nephew when his father dies.
Let’ s Make Love: a 1960 musical starring Yves Montand and Marilyn Monroe in which a billionaire poses as
an actor playing him to get close to the alluring co-star. Includes the song “My Heart Belongs to Daddy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCuIyA7kXvI
16 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Play
Where The Boys Are: a 1960 film in which beautiful Midwestern college girls Angie (Connie Francis), Melanie
(Yvette Mimieux), Tuggle (Paula Prentiss) and Merritt (Dolores Hart) take off to Florida for spring break.
Bye Bye Birdie: a 1963 musical starring Dick van Dyke and Ann Margaret. A rock singer travels to a small Ohio
town to make his “farewell” television performance and kiss his biggest fan before he is drafted in a sendup of
Elvis’ drafting into the military.
Funny Girl: a 1968 musical chronicling the rise of young Fanny Brice (Barbra Streisand) from a bit player on
the New York City vaudeville stage to stardom on Broadway.
Questions for Discussion
1. Make arguments for and against women serving in combat roles.
2. What is the significance of the image of the crested lark in the play? When is it mentioned and how does the
image change over the course of the play?
3. What is the significance of Women #1 and Women #2 in Maxine’s mind and development? What do they suggest about female roles?
4. Review how and when directors used Technicolor in the movies. Now select a scene from the play and design
lights, set and costumes using Technicolor concepts.
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Production
Design
SET DESIGN, By Daniel Ettinger
18 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Production
Technicolor Life Cast
Grace Bauer (SUSAN)v
Shayna Blass (BILLIE)v
Shea-Mikal Green (WOMAN #1)vv
Isa Guitian (MAXINE)vv
Valerie Lash (FRANNIE)
Thony Mena (PETER/JAKE)v
Heather Lynn Peacock (WOMAN #2)vv
v Denotes Member of Actors’ Equity
vv Equity Membership Candidate
James Whalen (CAPT. RYE/MIKE)v
Association
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TECHNICOLOR LIFE
The Production
Technicolor Living
In the early 1920s, the movies went color. Technicolor technology allowed filmmakers to add supersaturated
color in films such as The Wizard Of Oz. From its inception, however, the Technicolor look was not meant
to be natural but rather romantic and heightened, “an artificial, fantasy, over-the-top palette” intended to
create narrative and dramatic impact. According to The New York Times in 1937, “gray, blue and purple are
associated with tragedies; while yellow, orange and red complement comedy scenes. Red was the color that
best accentuated scenes of great dramatic intensity...with gray and purple the next most effective.”
At their height, the Technicolor movies of the 1950s such as Gentleman Prefer Blondes and How To Marry a
Millionaire presented an amplified version of femininity – all legs and hair – embodied by voluptuous stars Jane
Russell, Betty Grable, and Marilyn Monroe. Jami Brandli’s female characters both embody and subvert these
images. Fourteen year-old Maxine is coached on femininity. Her grandmother, even while ill, continues to
present a larger than life façade of makeup and wardrobe. The multigenerational family includes the iconic triad
of maiden, mother, and grandmother, but Brandli adds in a female warrior, Maxine’s sister, the ambiguously
named Billie. We discover over the course of the play that, for several characters, those very aspects or parts
that identified them as female in the Technicolor world are either missing or artificial, calling into question
how we determine gender, and what happens to that identity when, or if, those physical aspects are in dispute.
This fluid sense of identity is echoed in the play’s design. The play moves seamlessly and theatrically in
jumpcuts from Maxine’s direct narration to living room realism to surreal flashbacks and movie interludes.
The characters curate and construct their lives just as they shape their gender identity. In the critical
moments of the play, controversial choices about how to live the most vivid life shift and challenge the
dynamics in Brandli’s family of women raising the question if the embellished experience represents
delusional escapism or resourceful choice.
-Lisa A Wilde, Production Dramaturg
20 . Technicolor Life AUDIENCE GUIDE
The Production
Theater Etiquette
Attending the theater will be a positive experience for everyone if you observe a few simple courtesies:
n Turn off and put away all electronic devices prior to entering the theater.
n Taking photographs and video recording in the theater is prohibited.
n Do not place your feet on the seat in front of you.
n The actors onstage can see and hear the audience just as well as the audience can see and hear them. Please refrain
from talking or moving around during the performance as it can be distracting to the actors, as well as to other
audience members.
n Feel free to respond to the action of the play through appropriate laughter and applause. The actors enjoy this type of
communication from the audience!
n Have fun! Attending theater should be an enjoyable experience.
REP stage
REGIONAL THEATRE IN RESIDENCE
Howard Community College
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway Columbia, MD 21044
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