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1010 1212OUTOUTOFOF
P H I L A D E L P H I A T H E A T R E C O M P A N Y2010 - 2011 SEASON
A publication of
“She’s black.We cannot put.
Enough Whitepeople. On thejury. To find onewho is not afraid.Of being thoughtprejudiced. Byletting him off,on your theory.”
– JACK
THE CHARACTER FOOD CHAINIn Mamet's plays, there's always a peckingorder and battles for success, power, andcontrol. The question is, will the big fish
once again eat the littlefish, or will the little fish fi-
nally win the day?
CCEERAFor David Mamet, putting a play on stage isn't about bells and whistles. You'll find one character,
maybe more, who wants something VERY badly, and from that comes the play. So as the lights dim, don't look for pyrotechnics on stage - look for them in the words.
1
JACK LAWSONand HENRYBROWNPartners in alaw firm, Jackis White andHenry isBlack. It'sno secret tothem that
this diversity works totheir advantage in the courtroom, and
they're blunt when it comes to race. In their eyes, thelegal system isn't about justice or morals, it's about winning and losing.
SUSANThe newest hire to the firm, Susan endured an extensive back-
ground check. As a Black female, she struggles with the blunt
nature of how Jack and Henry speak about whites, blacks, men,
women, sex and working class people as she tries to remain
professional and unbiased.
"We have won. By beingquick, and being brutal.Being fast and first, andtearing off the fuckingbandaid." - JACK
"The Law, Mr. Strickland, is not an exercise in metaphysics.But an alley fight."
- HENRYCHARLESSTRICKLANDA rich, White malewho is accused ofraping a Blackfemale. Used to
being in control,being the defendantmakes him uncom-fortable. He has a lotto lose, including hismarriage and hispublic image. Unlike
his lawyers, Charlessees his situation as acase of morality, and hestruggles with guilt, secrets and truth.
"Do you investigate all new hires. To the extent
to which you investigated me?" - SUSAN
“I believe I was wrong…I believe we are all
brothers beneath the skin. And though I did
not legally assault the…I believe there has
been a misunderstanding.” – CHARLES
HEARD OF, BUT NOT SEENThough these 'characters' never step on stage, they can make orbreak the fate of Jack, Henry, Susan and Charcles.The PLAINTIFF - An African-American woman in a red sequindress with a questionable reputation, she has accused Charles of rape.The JURY - This band of twelve men and women have the sole power to say what every-one's wants to know: "Guilty," or "Not Guilty." The MEDIA - The place where the entire nation turns to get the latest scoop, the pen, or tvcamera is truly mightier than the sword, and the gavel, when it comes to public perception.
The Cast (L to R): John Preston (Charles), Jordan Lage (Jack),
Nicole Lewis (Susan) and Ray Anthony Thomas (Henry)
Alec Baldwin
"I never try to make it hard for the audience. I may not succeed, but…I try to adopt that as anabsolute tenet. I mean, if I'm not writing for the audience, if I'm not writing to make it easier for
them, then who the hell am I doing it for?" - David Mamet
MMAAMMEETTDAVIDDavid Mamet is known as the playwright who can use few words to pack a hard, brutal punch
which leaves audiences stunned. Where does his craft come from? In his own words, "There's no such thing as talent, you just have to work hard enough."
2
He Knows His Way Around the WorldMamet's father was a labor lawyer. His mother wasa teacher. He was a child actor, butafter college he worked any job to paythe bills, including: real estate agent,truck driver, carpet salesman, windowcleaner, merchant marine, cab driver,and waiter. As they say, strong writersare inspired by their experiences!
The Accidental PlaywrightMamet was hired as an instructor at Marlboro College in
1970, and the fact that he'd said he'd written a play helped him get the job. The problem was, he hadn't written aplay! When he found out the college
planned to produce his play, he quicklywrote LAKEBOAT, which was based onthe merchant marines.
Short. Stunted. Sentences.When it comes to language, David Mametis the king of clipped speech. His playsare known for being driven by what thecharacters say to each other, rather thanby an elaborate plot or story. Why socharacter oriented? Mamet's wise reply,"People only speak to get something."
"The dialogue is fueled by the
desperation of the characters.
Their words, initially used as tools
and weapons, become their prisons"
- Ben Brantley, The New York Times
Advice from a MasterAs executive producer of the televisionshow THE UNIT, Mamet noticed he andhis fellow writers were having difficulty. Ina memo to his colleagues, he offered thefollowing advice: "We, the writers, mustask ourselves of every scene these threequestions: 1) Who wants what? 2) Whathappens if her don't get it? 3) Why now?"
Want More Mamet?Some of Mamet's most popular plays include AMERICAN
BUFFALO, SPEED-THE-PLOW, and OLEANNA. His screen workincludes THE UNTOUCHABLES, WAG THE DOG, and HANNI-
BAL. His Pulitzer Prize winning GLENGARRY GLENROSS is both a play and a film.
Glengarry Glenn Ross
Julia Stiles & Bill Pullman
Oleanna, Broa
dway 2009
Cedric the Entertainer & John LeguizamoAmerican BuffaloBroadway 2008
In his article titled "We Can't Stop Talking About Race in America," featured in The New York Times, David Mamet sited a number of events in American History that had race and prejudice at the heart of the situation. Spanning multiple ethnicities, some of these moments are featured below - with a few additions of our own.
3
S TIMELINE OF RACE IN AMERICA
1931 - The allegedgang rape of two whitegirls by nine innocent black teenagers - who came to be knownas the Scottsboro Boys - lead to two decades of trials, mistrialsand retrials featuring heinous miscarriages of justice heavy withprejudice. A silver lining within the twenty-year ordeal was thatby the end, the ban of black people from juries was lifted.
DISCRIMI-NATION? - A TUMULTOU
"Race, like sex, is a subject on which it is near impossible to tell thetruth. In each, desire, self-interest and self-image make the truth in-convenient to share not only with strangers (who may, legitimately ornot, be viewed as opponents) but also with members of one’s owngroup, and, indeed, with oneself." - David Mamet
from “We Can’t Stop Talking About Race in America”
1857 - Dred Scott tried to buy his freedom from his master's wifeafter his master's death, but shedenied him. Scott went to thecourts next to sue for his free-dom, and the multiple failed attempts culminated in aSupreme Court decision in 1857. Chief Justice Roger B.Taney ruled that as a black man, Scott was not a citizenand had no right to file a lawsuit.
1921 - Nicola Sacco and BartolomeoVanzetti were two Italian immigrantscharged with armed robbery and themurder of two men in Massachusetts.Despite a lack of evidence they weresentenced to death, and it is widelybelieved that rising prejudice
towards Italians because of theadvent of Fascism in Italy fueled the verdict.
Though they appealed more thanonce, they were executed in 1927.
1942 - During World WarII, the US government interned Japanese Americans in what they called, "WarRelocation Camps". A response to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, anestimate of 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese were brought to thesemilitary secure exclusion zones. In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld that theinternment was constitutional.
In his article titled "We Can't Stop Talking About Race in America," featured in The New York Times, David Mamet sited a number of events in American History that had race and prejudice at the heart of the situation. Spanning multiple ethnicities, some of these moments are featured below - with a few additions of our own.
4
1991 – When officers attempted topull African-American Rodney King over for speeding, a high speed chase ensued as King tried to flee. Whenthe officers finally cornered the vehicle, King’s other two passengerswere arrested without incident, but King resisted. The resulting tacticsused by the officers (56 hits with their batons and 6 kicks) happened tobe videotaped by Citizen George Holliday. Four of the officers weretried for use of excessive force, but to the shock of the nation a juryacquitted them. Incensed by the verdict, riots erupted in L.A., resultingin 53 deaths and over 2,000 injuries before the public was subdued.
HENRY: Do you know what
you can say? To a black man.
On the subject of race?
CHARLES: "Nothing."
HENRY: That is correct.
-from RACE
SS TTIIMMEELLIINNEE OOFF RRAACCEE IINN AAMMEERRIICCAA
1931 - The allegedgang rape of two whitegirls by nine innocent black teenagers - who came to be knownas the Scottsboro Boys - lead to two decades of trials, mistrialsand retrials featuring heinous miscarriages of justice heavy withprejudice. A silver lining within the twenty-year ordeal was thatby the end, the ban of black people from juries was lifted.
DISCRIMI-NATION? - A TUMULTOU
"America may have its first black president, and may think it's finally itching its way toward post-racial detente, buthere comes that unreconstructed, acerbic, argumentative bal-loon-pricker from Chicago, arguing that any and all of thatprogress is either forced, cosmetic or a lie (or all three atonce)."- Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune about David Mamet
1942 - During World WarII, the US government interned Japanese Americans in what they called, "WarRelocation Camps". A response to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, anestimate of 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese were brought to thesemilitary secure exclusion zones. In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld that theinternment was constitutional.
1954 - The landmark US Supreme Courtdecision in Brown vs. Board of Educationbanning racial segregation in schools asunconstitutional. In this photo takenthree years later, tensions were still highand it was neccessary for a NationalGuardsman to escort 6 black studentsinto Little Rock Central High School.
2010 - Arizona Senate Bill 1070 says it’s a crime foraliens of the U.S. to not carry their immigration paper-work with them at all times, and makes it lawful for police to stop anyone whom officers have “reasonablesuspicion” of being in the country illegally. For thesereasons and others many critics of the proposed bill sayit condones racial profiling, but despite protesting inover 70 U.S. cities, the bill was signed into law in Aprilof 2010.
5
LEGALESE (noun)1. language containing an excessive amount of legal terminology or of legal jargon. *
2. The conventional language in which legal documents, etc, are written *
AATTTTOORRNNEEYYSS OOFF RREECCOORRDD ((nnoouunn))11.. TThhee aattttoorrnneeyy wwhhoo hhaass aappppeeaarreedd iinn ccoouurrtt aanndd//oorr ssiiggnneedd
pplleeaaddiinnggss oorr ootthheerr ffoorrmmss oonn bbeehhaallff ooff aa cclliieenntt.. TThhee llaawwyyeerr rreemmaaiinnss tthhee aattttoorrnneeyy ooff rreeccoorrdd uunnttiill ssoommee ootthheerr aattttoorrnneeyy oorr tthhee cclliieenntt ssuubbssttiittuutteess ffoorr hhiimm//hheerr,, hhee//sshhee iiss aalllloowweedd bbyy tthhee ccoouurrtt ttoo wwiitthhddrraaww,, oorr aafftteerr tthhee ccaassee iiss cclloosseedd.. ++
22.. IInn RRAACCEE,, rreeqquueessttiinngg aannyy iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ffrroomm tthhee DDiissttrriicctt AAttttoorrnneeyy''ss ooffffiiccee rreeggaarrddiinngg CChhaarrlleess'' ccaassee wwoouulldd mmaakkee JJaacckk aanndd HHeennrryy hhiiss AAttttoorrnneeyyss ooff RReeccoorrdd.
ttoo wwiitt ((pprreeppoossiittiioonn))11.. AA pphhrraassee wwhhiicchh mmeeaannss
""tthhaatt iiss ttoo ssaayy"" ++22.. IInn RRAACCEE,, iitt ccaann aallssoo bbee
iinntteerrpprreetteedd aass,, ""ssoo yyoouu''rree iimmppllyyiinngg……??""
(* Definitions are provided by Dictionary.com)(+ Definitions are provided by the legal dictionary of Law.com)
RREETTAAIINNEERR ((nnoouunn))
11.. TThhee aaddvvaannccee ppaayymmeenntt ttoo aann aattttoorrnnee
yy ffoorr sseerrvviicceess ttoo bbee ppeerrffoorrmmeedd,,
iinntteennddeedd ttoo iinnssuurree tthhaatt tthhee llaawwyyeerr
wwiillll rreepprreesseenntt tthhee cclliieenntt aanndd
tthhaatt tthhee llaawwyyeerr wwiillll bbee ppaaiidd aatt lleeaass
tt tthhaatt aammoouunntt.. ++
22.. IInn RRAACCEE,, tthhiiss mmeeaannss tthhaatt iiff HHeennrr
yy aanndd JJaacckk ttooookk mmoonneeyy ffrroomm
CChhaarrlleess,, iitt wwoouulldd ssiiggnniiffyy aass aa rreettaa
iinneerr aanndd tthheeyy wwoouulldd bbee
oobblliiggaatteedd ttoo rreepprreesseenntt hhiimm..
The Terrain of a TRIALWhen a person has been accused of allegedly committing a crime, the
moment they plea "not guilty" is when their case goes to trial. During thetrial, two sides stand before the judge. The prosecution represents theplaintiff (who is the accuser) and the defense represents the defendant(the accused). The judge rules on objections, maintains the order in thecourt, and sentences the defendant if the defendant is found guilty - butonly the jury can give that verdict. So the opening statements by the
prosecution and defense, the introduction and analysis of evidence, theexamination and cross-examination of witnesses, and the closing
statements are the means lawyers go through to convince the jury thattheir client's story is the one that is right.
LLIITTIIGGAANNTTSS ((nnoouunn))
11.. AAnn iinnddiivviidduuaall iinnvvoollvveedd aa
llaawwssuuiitt.. **22.. IInn RRAACCEE,, CChhaarrlleess aanndd tthhee
wwoommaann iinn tthhee rreedd sseeqquuiinn
ddrreessss aarree tthhee lliittiiggaannttss iinn
tthhiiss ccaassee..
IINNDDIICCTTMMEENNTT ((nnoouunn))
11.. AA cchhaarrggee ooff aa ffeelloonn
yy ((sseerriioouuss
ccrriimmee)) vvootteedd bbyy aa GGrraanndd JJ
uurryy
bbaasseedd oonn aa pprrooppoosseedd cc
hhaarrggee,,
wwiittnneesssseess'' tteessttiimmoonnyy aanndd oo
tthheerr
eevviiddeennccee pprreesseenntteedd bbyy
tthhee ppuubblliicc
pprroosseeccuuttoorr.. ++
22.. IInn RRAACCEE,, tthhiiss mmeeaannss tthhaatt tt
hhee
pprroosseeccuuttiioonn ccoonnvviinncceedd
tthhee GGrraanndd
JJuurryy tthhaatt CChhaarrlleess sshhoouu
lldd bbee ffoommaallllyy
cchhaarrggeedd wwiitthh tthhee rraappiinn
gg tthhee wwoommaann
iinn tthhee rreedd sseeqquuiinn ddrreess
ss,, ssoo hhee wwoouulldd
ffaaccee aa ffuullll ttrriiaall..
""TThhee lleeggaall pprroocceessss,, CChhaarrlleess iissoonnllyy aabboouutt tthhrreeee tthhiinnggss.. HHaattrreedd,,
ffeeaarr oorr eennvvyy.. AAnndd yyoouu jjuusstt hhiitt
tthhee ttrriiffeeccttaa.."" -- HHeennrryy
--EEAASSEELEGAL-
GENDER POLITICSRACE is not the firsttime that the sole female character in aMamet play is the onlycharacter who doesn'thave a last name. Feminists and critics havelong argued about Mamet's representa-tion of women and the function they serve inthe power struggles featured in his plays.
THE MEDIA’S PERCEPTION OF RACEByron Pitts of CBS News is not happy with how the
media handles the issues of race and social class, and he isnot alone. He remarked, "the only people who are treatedworse on television than black people are poor whites," andsays that putting more people of color behind the scenes tomake decisions about what's news worthy would help. Pittsadded, "If the mission of journalists is to seek truth and telltruth - and there are different shades of truth - you need awide range of people to go find that truth."
"The show'snominally aboutrace, but the elephant in theroom is gender…IfHillary Clinton hadbeen elected, wouldwe be watching 'Sex'instead?"- Elisabeth Vincentelli,
The New York Post
TRUTH, LIES AND CONSEQUENCESIn his article, "We Can't Stop Talking
About Race in America", David Mametposes,
"The question ofthe poor drama is
'What is thetruth?' but of the
better drama,and particularly
of tragedy,'What are the lies?'
6
Obviously, RACE is about race. But it wouldn't be Mamet if there weren't other social issues boiling underneath the play's tense surface. And as Jack Lawson so eloquently puts it,
"You say it isn’t fair? It is neither fair nor unfair. None of us is immune. From a false accusation."
HUMAN NATURE"I do not think that people are basically good at heart; indeed, that view of human nature has both promptedand informed my writing for the last 40 years. I thinkthat people, in circumstances of stress, can behave likeswine, and that this, indeed, is not onlya fit subject, but the only subject of drama."
- Playwright David Mamet
VVEERRDDIICCTT IISS??AND YOUR
RACE-Related Questions: Is Susan's perception of her
bosses' correct? Is her perception of Charles correct?
RACE-Related Question:W
hat consequences do you think each
character will face for their words and deeds? Will anyone get
away from the aftermath of RACE scot-free?
RACE-Related Questions: Which one of these characters presents
the strongest case about race in America? Which character is the
most ethical? Which do you sympathize with the most?
RACE-Related Question: Should Charles have given a
statement to the press after all? What effect could that
have had on his case?
“I think that women. Just like men. In the main, being selfinterested, will exploit every advantage they may have.Chief among theirs, youth and beauty. Just as will men,who possess the advantages of being old and rich.” – Jack
All performances of RACEare presented at the
To learn more about our programming in schools and at the theater...Check us out on the web: PhiladelphiaTheatreCompany.org
e-mail us: [email protected] our Education Department: 215-985-1400 x 111
Philadelphia Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the followingfor their underwriting support of Drama Contact:
2010-11 Drama Contact Corporate Sponsors:
ARAMARK Charitable Fund at the Vanguard Charitable Endowment ProgramBeatrice Fox Auerbach Foundation Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public GivingChristian R. & Mary F. Lindback FoundationConnelly FoundationFund for Children of the Philadelphia FoundationHamilton Family FoundationIndependence Foundation
Lincoln Financial FoundationLouis N. Cassett FoundationRosenlund Family FoundationTargetTD Bank, through the TD Charitable Foundation
Verizon FoundationThe Victory FoundationVirginia & Harvey Kimmel Arts-Education FundWachovia Wells Fargo Foundation
An Actors’ Union Term1. The two most brutal days of rehearsal. The director works the actors
for 10 hours each day with 2 hours of breaktime. 10 hrs + 2 hrs = 10 out of 12!
2. The two most rewarding days of rehearsal. Without these two technical rehearsals, the show wouldn’t go on!
3. This booklet. “10 out of 12” is your rehearsal to play the part of an audience member
OFOF1010 1212OUTOUT
“10 out of 12” is a publication of Philadelphia Theatre Company’s Education Department. Each issue explores themes, ideas and questions related to a PTC production.It is designed to enrich
the experience of our audiences and support the mission of our Drama Contact programming.
Produced by mindy a. early, Rashanda Freeman and Maureen SweeneyNo part of this study guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the authors and Philadelphia Theatre Company. c2011