A BLUESY NEW POST-KATRINA DRAMA
Clementine in the Lower 9
By Dan Dietz
Music by Justin Ellington
Directed by Leah C. Gardiner
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts
October 5—October 30, 2011
World Premiere
Winner of a 2011 Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award
Rebuilding a house, a love, a family, and a soul is the task of this powerfully human drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans. Here the legacy of the past haunts the realities of the present. Here the bluesy sounds of an onstage jazz band accompany a musician and his wife as they struggle to reconnect the electricity, the plumbing, and the relationships devastated by the flood of a lifetime.Contains brief nudity and mature language.
“BRILLIANT work by TheatreWorks… music that touches the heart… IMPRESSIVE”
“a deeply compelling drama… MAGNETIC… floods the senses with the power of the blues”
“an excellent script… an INSPIRED cast”
“perfectly cast… POWERFUL commentary and soul deep blues”
“Any playwright fortunate enough to have his play produced at TheatreWorks, is guaranteed a TOP-NOTCH production.”
“OUTSTANDING… This is the kind of original theatrical creation that may well move on to an addition to the repertoire of modern plays.”
San Mateo Daily Journal
“a masterful and entertaining performance… A POWERFUL FORCE”
Mountain View Voice
“intriguing and beautifully staged… VIBRANT PERFORMANCES… rich original tunes”
AN INTERVIEW WITH PLAYWRIGHT DAN DIETZ
Resident Dramaturg Vickie Rozell talked to playwright Dan Dietz about his theatrical roots.
Vickie Rozell: How did you get into theatre?
Dan Dietz: My family never really took me to plays or anything when I was a kid. As a schoolboy occasionally we would have field trips…but, generally speaking, I didn’t grow up with the arts. When I was in my senior year in high school a bunch of my friends decided to try out for the school play and I thought, “Well, great. If I don’t try out too then I’ll never get to see my friends.” So I tried out and we all got in together. It was Pygmalion and I got the lead, so suddenly I was playing Henry Higgins! And I had never acted before, and I had no background in theatre. But I had a great time and there was something about storytelling on stage that I really connected with, that just made instant sense to me.
VR: Where did you go to college?
DD: My undergrad was at Kennesaw State University, northwest of Atlanta. When I first enrolled, they didn’t really have a theatre major. So I started out as an English major, because I knew I loved to write. Then when it became clear they were finally going to have a theatre major in place, I switched over. So I was one of the first theatre majors from Kennesaw State.
VR: How did you end up at the University of Texas at Austin?
DD: I originally applied to grad school to get my Masters degree in theatre history and criticism and I went off to UT to do that. They had an amazing program, but within a few months I realized I had made a terrible mistake. I was spending all my time writing plays instead of actually working on my thesis! It was very clear that’s where my heart was. So I took a year off and reapplied to UT to get my Masters in playwriting.
VR: What was the fist play you wrote?
DD: The first full-length play I wrote was about a young man and his fiancée being visited by an old friend who starts to wreak havoc in their lives while he’s staying with them. Eventually the entire set turns into the Amazon jungle.
VR: Do you find yourself drawn to specific themes?
DD: I find both current events and historical events really powerful and moving. My latest play is about a young, heavy metal-obsessed Iraqi man who comes to the United States in search of his best friend, an American soldier. I’ve been wanting to write something about the Iraq war and our relationship with Iraq and how it has changed and developed. I suppose I like to wrestle with large issues, especially issues that center around loss, how you move on after loss, and how I think violent events can shape, break, and mold relationships.
VR: What inspires you?
DD: I am really intrigued by ancient myths. In addition to Clementine, there is a play of mine called tempOdyssey, which is an adaptation of The Odyssey that resets it in the world of contemporary office workers. I think in general I’m interested in how ancient stories can resonate with our contemporary lives and how all stories seem to trace back to these ancient roots and ancient themes. I’m endlessly interested in how those stories can be retold and rediscovered.
For additional background information about Clementine in the Lower 9, read our ENewsletter!
EDUCATORS: Download the Study Guide.
