Wilmabill2014/2015 SEASON

Artistic DirectorBLAN KA ZIZKA

FROM THE

Dear Audience Members,

Welcome to the exquisite play The Body of an American by Dan O’Brien. It’s an amazing moment when you read a play for the first time and realize that you have come across a complex, poetic, precise, philosophical, politically aware, smart writer whose work you hadn’t known. It’s a dizzyingly exciting moment in the life of the Artistic Director.

The play received its premiere at Portland Center Stage in 2013. However, at the time I was unaware of it. I read the script for the first time in December 2013. Since then, The Body of an American, according to London reviews, received a terrific and intense production at London’s Gate Theatre in 2014. This November Dan was shortlisted at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards as the most promising playwright. A month earlier, The Body of an American received the Horton Foote Award for Outstanding New American Play. Previous awards for the script included the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired By American History, the PEN Center USA

Award for Drama, and the L. Arnold Weissberger Award. That’s a lot of recognition and awards for a play that is only receiving its second US production at the Wilma. I hope that our production will inspire other artistic directors around the country to produce this immaculately written and riveting play.

Michael John Garcés is an extraordinary director and brilliant Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater in Los Angeles. Last year at the Wilma you may have seen his profoundly disconcerting and powerful production of Danai Gurira’s The Convert. As soon as I read Dan’s text, I thought of Michael as the perfect director for the play. Not surprisingly, Michael and Dan knew each other and had even already worked together. I’m very curious and thrilled to see what Michael, his team of designers, and actors Ian Peakes and Harry Smith will bring to the play and how they will make that text on the Wilma stage come vividly alive.

Enjoy!

In recent conversations here at the Wilma, we have been discussing our mission statement – which I have included in its entirety below – and how it truly drives our programming and organizational decisions. With The Body of an American, I am particularly drawn to the second sentence of our mission: “We engage artists and audiences in imaginative reflection on the complexities of contemporary life.”

We are very fortunate for the rare opportunity to have both playwright Dan O’Brien and the subject of his play, photojournalist Paul Watson, with us for events during the run of The Body of an American to engage with our audiences. I would like to call your attention to two of the many events, listed in their entirety in “Open Stages,” that we will be hosting during the run of the show:

On Saturday, January 17th following the matinee performance, we will screen the chamber opera The War Reporter with Dan’s libretto and music by Jona-than Berger, providing another medium to tell Paul’s fascinating story. Dan and Paul will both be with us for

conversation following the screening.

After the matinee performance on Sunday, January 18th, Paul and Dan will join us again for conversation with the audience about their personal and sometimes dif-ficult journeys to tell their stories and the friendship they developed as a result.For those attending the production after these particular events, we invite your con-tinued reflections on the themes of the play through social media and by exploring the exhibit of Paul’s gripping photographs in the lobby.

MISSIONThe Wilma Theater creates living, adventurous art. We engage artists and audiences in imaginative reflection on the complexities of contemporary life. We present bold, original, well-crafted productions that represent a range of voices, viewpoints, and styles.

Engage with us.

Managing DirectorFROM THE

JAMES HASKINS

under the direction of

Blanka ZizkaArtistic Director

James HaskinsManaging Director

This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

presents

The scenic, costume, lighting and sound designers in LORT Theatres are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.

*Members of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

Season Sponsors

Opening Night Sponsors

The Wilma Theater is grateful for significant support provided by:

Inspired by the book Where War Lives by Paul Watson.

The World Premiere of The Body of an American was produced by Portland Center Stage, Portland, OR , Chris Coleman, Artistic Director and was workshopped at JAW: A Playwrights Festival, produced by Portland Center Stage.

The play was commissioned and developed with support from The Playwrights’ Center 2009-2010 McKnight Commission and Resi-

dency Program, Minneapolis, MN.

The Body of an American is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

The Horace Goldsmith Foundation

Wyncote Foundation

The Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Family Campaign to Build the Audiences of Tomorrow provides positive early theater experi-

ences for Philadelphia area students.

Set DesignerMisha Kachman

Lighting DesignerJohn Hoey

Projection Designer Jared Mezzocchi

DramaturgWalter Bilderback

Costume DesignerMeghan E. Healey

Sound DesignerRobert Kaplowitz

Production Manager Clayton Tejada

Resident Stage Manager Patreshettarlini Adams*

featuring Ian Merrill Peakes* and Harry Smith*

The Wilma Theater is a member of the following organizations: Avenue of the Arts, Inc., Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, League of Resident Theatres, Midtown Village Merchants Association, and Theatre Communications Group, Inc.

Please notePhotography or sound recording inside the theater, without the written permission of the manage-ment, is prohibited by law. Violators may be asked to leave the theater and may be liable for financial charges.

Children PolicySome subject matter may be deemed objectionable for children; therefore, children under 12 will not be permitted in the theater.

Distracting Noise and LightThe noise of cellular phones and candy wrappers, and the light from electronic devices, are distracting to both audiences and actors. Please turn off all cellular phones and electronic devices. Also, please be sure that your watch alarm does not sound during the performance.

Smoking, eating, and drinking are prohibited inside the theater.

Ian Merrill Peakes .............................................................................Paul

Harry Smith ....................................................................................... Dan

Cast of Characters(in order of appearance)

Who’s WhoDAN O’BRIeN(PLAYWRIGHT) Dan O’Brien’s The Body of an American premiered at Portland Center Stage, directed by Bill Rauch, and received the Horton Foote Prize for Outstanding New American Play, the inaugural Edward M. Kennedy Prize, the PEN Center USA Award for Drama, and the L. Arnold Weissberger Award. In 2014 The Body of an American received a European premiere at the Gate Theatre in London and Royal & Derngate in Northampton, directed by James Dacre, and was shortlisted for a 2014 Evening Standard Drama Award. O’Brien’s debut poetry collection War Reporter was published in 2013 in the US and the

UK, where it received the Fenton Aldeburgh Prize. O’Brien lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress and writer Jessica St. Clair, and their daughter Isobel.

MICHAeL JOHN GARCéS (DIReCTOR) Previously at the Wilma: The Convert by Danai Gurira. His production of Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s red, black and GREEN: a blues was presented by the Annenberg Center as well as at other venues including Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Center and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Other recent credits include We Are Proud to Present... at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington DC, where he is a company member, Wrestling Jerusalem at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, and The Motherfucker with the Hat at South Coast Repertory. Michael is the artistic director of Cornerstone Theater

Company, a community-engaged ensemble in Los Angeles, where recent work includes directing California: The Tempest by Alison Carey and Plumas Negras by Juliette Car-rillo.

IAN MeRRILL PeAKeS (PAUL) is thrilled be to be back at the Wilma, where he last did The Invention of Love. He is a proud Philly actor. Arden: recently La Bête, Three Sisters, and Incorrupt-ible; Walnut Street: Ideal Husband, Of Mice and Men, Great Expec-tations; Philadelphia Theatre Company: Sideman. Regional: Denver Center: Glengarry Glen Ross, The Catch; Actors Theatre of Louis-ville: Twelfth Night, Crucible; Shakespeare Santa Cruz: Much Ado; Folger Shakespeare Theatre: Othello, Macbeth, Henry VIII; Shake-speare Theatre, DC: Taming of the Shrew. Film: Lebanon, PA; Gentle-man’s Game. Television: Still Standing, Hack, Homicide. Awards:

Three Helen Hayes Nominations; Best of Denver Award for Glengarry and The Catch; Six Barrymore Nominations and three Barrymore Awards; 2003 F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Artist in Philadelphia. For Karen and Owen.

HARRY SMITH (DAN) is delighted to be returning to the Wil-ma, having appeared in The Real Thing and Rapture, Blister, Burn. Other Philadelphia-area theatre includes Pumpgirl, Walworth Farce, Hand of Gaul (Inis Nua), The Mousetrap, An Ideal Husband (Wal-nut Street Theatre), Emma (Lantern Theater), Pride and Prejudice (People’s Light & Theatre), and Spacewang (Azuka/Tiny Dynamite). UK theatre includes The Merchant of Venice (Edinburgh Royal Lyceum), Twelfth Night, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Bristol Old Vic), Serious Money (Cambridge Arts Theatre), Arcadia (Old Fire Station,

Oxford), Treasure Island (Tobacco Factory, Bristol), Gorboduc (Shakespeare’s Globe) and numerous tours. On-screen appearances include The Good Wife, Crossbones, and the feature film Freedom. Harry trained at Cambridge University and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Thanks to Michael, Dan, Blanka, Walter, Pat, and all at the Wilma.

The Body of an American will be performed without intermission.

MISHA KACHMAN (SeT DeSIGNeR) has designed for The Kennedy Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Signature The-atre, Maryland Opera Studio, Studio Theatre, Opera Lafayette, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Theater J, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, Round House Theatre, and Center Stage, among many other companies in the United States and abroad. He is honored to work at the Wilma again after having designed The Convert the year before. Misha is a Company Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC and a recipient of the 2013 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Set Design. Mr. Kachman is a graduate of the Saint Petersburg Theatre Arts Academy. He serves as Associate Professor of Scene and Costume Design at University of Maryland.

MeGHAN e. HeALeY (COSTUMe DeSIGNeR) is a designer based in NYC who specializes in new plays and experimental work. Her most recent work includes costumes for We Are Proud... for Woolly Mammoth Theater, costumes for Love On San Pedro and scenery for Plumas Negras, both for Cornerstone Theater Company, and costumes created from plants native to the Northeast for a dance tribute to the opening of the Native Plants Garden at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden (Delirious Dances). She has designed costumes and scenery for more than 50 world premiere productions, from playrights such as Eduardo Machado, Lars Noren, Jose Cruz Gonzalez, Andrea Thome, Clive Barker, Michael John Garcés, Najla Said, Nilaja Sun, Rob Handel, Jonathan Leaf, and Adam Krarr, among others. Ms. Healey was the recipient of both the 2007 ACE and HOLA awards for Best Costume Design (Zanahorias, Duke Theater, NYC). Other notable work includes world premiere productions of Blues for Grey Sun (INTAR), September Shoes (Geva Theatre), and Kissing Fidel (INTAR). She received her MFA in Design from NYU’s Tisch School, and teaches costume and scenic design at Queens College CUNY. (https://meghan-healey.squarespace.com)

JOHN HOeY (LIGHTING DeSIGNeR) Locally, John has designed at the Arden, the Wilma, People’s Light, and Walnut Street Theatre, 20 operas for Opera Philadelphia, and over 100 ballets for Pennsylvania Ballet. Nationally: design staff New York City Opera, Lighting Director at New York City Ballet, and designed for Luciano Pavarotti, Spoleto Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Folger Shakespeare, Cleveland Playhouse, Lincoln Center, and The Kennedy Center. Film: Center Stage. Awards: 2005 Independence Fel-lowship, two Best of Philadelphia Awards, five Barrymore nominations with Awards for Sweeney Todd (Arden) and 9 Parts of Desire at The Wilma Theater, a Helen Hayes nomina-tion for Measure for Measure (Folger), two “Rockie” Awards, and a Prix Millennium Award for Capuleti et Montegue (Opera Company of Philadelphia). Recently, his work was shown internationally on PBS (Pennsylvania Ballet at 50) and he was a design consultant for the PlayPenn new play festival.

ROBeRT KAPLOWITz (SOUND DeSIGNeR) is pleased to return to the Wil-ma, having designed and composed 2012’s Body Awareness. He’s spent the last 23 years doing this work, and has been honored with an OBIE for Sustained Excellence in Sound Design and a Tony® for Fela! He’s been Philly-based since 2010; other local producers in-clude PlayPenn, InterAct, Arden, Lucidity, Lantern, PLTC, Elastic, PTC, and Azuka; further-flung credits include Lincoln Center, The National Theatre of England, The Joseph Papp Public Theatre, Broadway, MTC, and Sundance. Also in his hopper are sound and music for I Promised Myself I Would Live Faster with Pig Iron and the music and book for an epic rock riff on Moby Dick entitled Leviathan. And he loves his family more than all of that.

JAReD MezzOCCHI (PROJeCTION DeSIGNeR) resides as a designer in Washington, DC. He designed productions in New York City with 3-Legged Dog (Down-town Loop, SpyGarbo), Baryshnikov Arts Center (Robert Wilson’s On The Beach), Here-Arts (You Are Dead. You Are Here.), Builders Association (Jet Lag 2011), Rob Roth (Screen Test), and has toured internationally with Big Art Group (SOS, The Sleep, The People). Regionally, he has designed for Center Stage (Stones in his Pockets), Cleveland Playhouse (Breath and Imagination), Milwaukee Rep (History of Invulnerability, The Mountaintop), and CompanyONE (Astroboy). Locally in DC, he is a company member at Woolly Mam-moth (Totalitarians, Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety), Theater J (Yellowface, Race), and Studio (Astroboy). Jared currently teaches Projection Design in University of Maryland’s Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies program.

NeILL HARTLeY (DIALeCT) is an actor, director and educator. He has acted with many companies including the Arden, InterAct, People’s Light, and Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater. He has six one-man shows that he presents and can be seen and heard in many voice-overs, commercials, and films. He is the Artistic Director for Acting Without Boundaries, a theater company for physically disabled performers, and he has directed for many local colleges and theaters. Neill is on the theater faculty at the Univer-sity of the Arts and has been a speech/dialect coach for several professional productions, including recent productions of Assistance and The Real Thing for the Wilma.

WALTeR BILDeRBACK (DRAMATURG) has been the Dramaturg and Liter-ary Manager at The Wilma Theater since 2004. Walter has worked as a freelance or staff dramaturg for three decades at regional theaters across the country and on Broadway. He has been a judge or reader for playwriting awards and organizations including the Jerome Fellowships, the Horton Foote Prize, and New Dramatists, and was a nominator for The Kilroys’ first annual list of underproduced female playwrights. This summer he was a guest dramaturg for the National New Play Network/Kennedy Center MFA playwrit-ing showcase in Washington, DC. He is currently preparing the script for Blanka Zizka’s production of Hamlet.

PATReSHeTTARLINI ADAMS (STAGe MANAGeR/AeA) has been the Production Stage Manager at the Wilma since the theater made its new home on the Avenue of the Arts in 1996. She has captained all but three productions in her tenure here and is very happy and proud to be a part of the Philadelphia theater community. “Pat” is celebrating season #19 at the fabulous Wilma! Prior to her coming home to Philly, Pat was stage manager at the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ. In past years, Pat has worked the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, GA and the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, NC. When not at the Wilma, she has found herself traveling the world with critically-acclaimed dance company Noche Flamenca! Most recently, she is using all her free time to spoil her grandsons, Isaiah and Elijah. God Is Good!

CLAYTON TeJADA (PRODUCTION MANAGeR) is celebrating his tenth season at the Wilma, his third as Production Manager after seven as Technical Direc-tor. Clayton started his professional career as an Apprentice at Arden Theatre, and then worked there for several years as Stage Supervisor. Before coming to the Wilma, he worked as a freelance Technical Director or Production Manager for 1812 Productions, Mum Puppettheatre, Lantern Theater, and Azuka Theatre. Clayton is a graduate of the Theater Arts program at The University of Puget Sound. He is proud to make Philadelphia his professional and artistic home. Thanks and love to his sweet Kate, and his boys Alex and Gabriel.

BLANKA zIzKA (FOUNDING ARTISTIC DIReCTOR) has been Founding Artistic Director of The Wilma Theater since 1981. In the fall of 2011, Blanka received the Zelda Fichandler Award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, which recognizes an outstanding director or choreographer transforming the regional arts landscape. For the past three years, she has been developing practices and programs for local theater artists to create working conditions that support creativity through continuity and experimentation. She has organized nine compensated advanced

training workshops for dozens of Philadelphia artists with the goal of creating an ensem-ble of actors surrounding the Wilma. Most recently, Blanka directed Paula Vogel’s World Premiere Don Juan Comes Home from Iraq, Richard Bean’s Under the Whaleback, Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s Our Class, Sarah Ruhl’s In the Next Room, and Macbeth, which included an original score by Czech composer and percus-sionist Pavel Fajt. Blanka has directed over 60 plays and musicals at the Wilma. Her recent favorite productions are Wajdi Mouawad’s Scorched, Tom Stoppard’s The Inven-tion of Love and Rock ’n’ Roll, Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice (which featured an original score by composer Toby Twining, now available from Cantaloupe Records), Brecht’s The Life of Galileo, Athol Fugard’s Coming Home and My Children! My Africa!, and Caryl Churchill’s Cloud 9. She collaborated closely with Dael Orlandersmith on her plays Raw Boys and Yel-lowman, which was co-produced by McCarter Theatre and the Wilma and also performed at ACT Seattle, Long Wharf, and Manhattan Theatre Club. Blanka was also privileged to direct Rosemary Harris and John Cullum in Ariel Dorfman’s The Other Side at MTC. For the Academy of Vocal Arts, she directed the opera Kát’a Kabanová by Leoš Janácek. She has collaborated with many playwrights including Paula Vogel, Richard Bean, Yussef El Guindi, Doug Wright, Sarah Ruhl, Tom Stoppard, Linda Griffiths, Polly Pen, Dael Orlander-smith, Laurence Klavan, Lillian Groag, Jason Sherman, Amy Freed, Robert Sherwood, and Chay Yew.

JAMeS HASKINS (MANAGING DIReCTOR) is now in his ninth season in partnership with Blanka Zizka, the Board of Directors, and staff to advance the mission of The Wilma Theater. James began his work in theater administration at Circle Repertory Company, where he learned early on the value and resonance of an artist-centered approach to running a theater company. He went on to work with a variety of theaters in New York and Seattle as an actor, director, and administrator. Upon moving to Philadelphia, James worked as Managing Director of InterAct Theatre Company and then

Executive Director of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia before coming to the Wilma. As a theater artist, he is most proud of his directorial and dramaturgical work on the plays of his married partner Michael Whistler. James holds an MFA from the University of Washington and a BA from The College of Wooster (Ohio), where he currently serves as President of his alumni class and as a member of the Alumni Board.

Dialect Coach - Neill Hartley Assistant Director - Mark RudAssistant Stage Manager - Lisa Sullivan Assistant Set Designer - Ruthmarie Tenorio Assistant Lighting Designer - Aaron Crosby Assistant Sound Designer - Mekeva McNeilProperties Master - Kimitha Anne Cashin Light Board Programmer & Operator - Ashley W. MillsAssistant Master Electricians - Nicole Rolo, Ali Blair BarwickSound & Video Operator - Zachary Beattie-BrownCostume Supervisor - Becca AustinRunning Crew - Heather FelkerCarpenters - Ben Henry, Elliot Greer, Ivan Dellinger, Sam Shuker, Stephen HungerfordElectricians - Ali Blair Barwick, Michael Hamlet, Justin McClintock, Nicole Rolo, Lucas Nguyen, John Allerheiligen, Jack KatzScenery Construction - The Scene Shop at ART, Cambridge MA

PRODUCTION CReW

ARTISTICDramaturg/Literary Manager - Walter BilderbackArtistic Assistant - Nell Bang-JensenLiterary Intern - Jordan Jaffe

eDUCATIONEducation Director - Anne K. Holmes Education Assistant - Lizzy Pecora Teaching Artists - Michael Cosenza, Kate Czajkowski, Mike Dees, K.O. DelMarcelle, Elizabeth Filios, Katharine Clark Gray, John Jarboe, Tasha Milkman, Brian Ratcliffe, Ed Swidey, Josh Totora DeVeLOPMeNT and MARKeTINGDevelopment Director - Iain CampbellGrants Manager - Justin BauerEvents and Development Associate - Debby LauMarketing and Community Relations Manager - Sara Madden Digital Communications Manager - Johnny Van HeestGroup Sales Manager - Alexa SmithDevelopment Intern - Katie VanEtten Marketing Intern - Alex Stanchak

FRONT OF HOUSeBox Office Manager - James SpechtAssistant Box Office Manager - Catherine Perez Box Office Staff - Josh Millhouse, Richard Rubin, Alexa Smith, Thu-Han TroungHouse Manager - Javier Mojica

PRODUCTIONProduction Manager - Clayton Tejada Assistant Production Manager/Master Electrician - Ashley W. MillsTechnical Director - Ethan M. MimmResident Stage Manager - Patreshettarlini AdamsFacilities Manager - Kenneth DeprezSound Engineer & Video Technician - Zachary Beattie-Brown Costume Supervisor - Becca AustinProduction Fellow - Heather FelkerStage Management Fellow - Lisa Sullivan Custodian - Fetteroff F. Colen

BUSINeSSGeneral Manager - Maggie ArbogastOffice Manager - Andrea Sotzing Administrative Coordinator - Megan O’DonnellTessitura Consortium Manager - Cassandra D. Greenberg Tessitura Application Systems Analyst - Catherine Lachance-Duffy Tessitura Training & Support Specialist - Andy Wertner

STAFFARTISTIC DIReCTOR: Blanka zizkaMANAGING DIReCTOR: James Haskins

SPeCIAL THANKSDr. Andrew Stone David Swanson

Box Office: 215-546-7824 Admin: 215-893-9456 Fax: 215-893-0895Email: tickets@wilmatheater.orgwww.wilmatheater.org

The Wilma Theater 265 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19107

HOW TO ReACH US

A wire hanger opera composed by Heath Allenstarring John Jarboe, Dito Van Reigersberg

(aka Martha Graham Cracker),and The Bearded Ladies

January 26and February 2

at the Wilma Theater$25beardedladiescabaret.com

WALTeR BILDeRBACK: At the heart of The Body of an American is the story of your friendship with journalist Paul Watson, beginning seven years ago when you heard him interviewed on Fresh Air. The friendship has resulted not only in this play, but a chamber opera and numerous poems, including the volume War Reporter. Without giving away much of the play, has the friendship changed your life?

DAN O’BRIeN: Absolutely. But my life was already in the process of changing pretty drastically when I met him, so Paul’s story—simply the sound of his voice in that radio in-terview—was both haunting and familiar. Uncanny. I felt like he would understand what I was going through, and maybe I could understand what I thought he was going through. I knew I wanted to write about him, but I didn’t know how, or whether he’d let me. But I did something I’d never done before: I wrote to a stranger, and he wrote back.

As for how my work with Paul has changed me, I consider him one of my closest friends now, maybe my closest, and we continue to work together, to discuss plans for future projects, to visit each other occasionally in LA, where I live, or Vancouver, where Paul lives when he’s not working abroad. We email each other several times a week, sometimes daily.

When I first started writing, as a kid and as a young man, writing was an escape from reality, a way to act out emotional problems on the page and then on the stage; now I want my work to change the way I live, to bring me back from fantasy and towards a greater en-gagement with reality, towards connection, to bring me into contact with people like Paul, whose stories I find fascinating and/or disturbing and/or inspiring, and then to do what I can to help tell those stories.

OPeNSTAGES

FIND THe ReST OF THIS INTeRVIeW AND OTHeR exCLUSIVe CONTeNT AT WILMATHeATeR.ORG/BLOG

ReAD MORe OF THIS INTeRVIeW AT WILMATHeATeR.ORG/BLOG

WB: In another interview you noted that you didn’t consider yourself a “political” writer when you started emailing Paul Watson. You are currently writing a play that deals with economic autonomy in Los Angeles and the zapatista movement in Mexico, and have recently contributed to an evening of short plays about Trayvon Martin. Has the experience of writing The Body of an American changed you as a playwright?

DO: I’ve always tried to write plays about uncomfortable if not denied truths, but before Paul I tended to write history plays, culled from books, or the occasional roman à clefs about my family and childhood. Often the history plays were really just disguised autobiography anyway. And all of these plays were in some sense ghost stories.

Now I feel more comfortable approaching “political” top-ics, finding ways to write about them personally, without rhetoric or didacticism. I’m writing more poetically and at the same time more documentarily, and I enjoy that appar-ent contradiction. In addition to the play you referenced, a commission for Center Theatre Group here in LA, I’m also writing something for Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s American Revolutions: the United States History Cycle on the history of guns in America. These are plays I would have probably felt were not mine to write seven or eight years ago.

WB: You have won prizes for both poetry and drama. Do you find it difficult moving between them? Do they feed each other?

DO: Lately I’ve found myself telling people I write plays like a poet, and poetry like a playwright. Who knows if this is a good idea—to write like this, or to admit it. But it’s the most honest way I can write lately, the best way I know to try and express my life as I see it.

But there’s no confusion for me—I know instinctively whether something wants to be a play or a poem or a libretto—or even a short story, which I sometimes write and publish in literary journals here and there. I have not been foolish enough to attempt a novel (yet).

If I were to try to justify my love for writing that’s hard to classify, I’d say it’s simply because life and people often feel like that: ambiguous, strange, wondrous, confusing, overwhelm-ing. And I like that. I’d like an audience to feel some measure of that displacement, to see the story and the characters in a hopefully different light.

WB: What was the experience of adapting the material to an opera like?

DO: I enjoyed writing the libretto immensely. I don’t have any musical training—or ability—so seeing my stories and language transformed into song is an almost ineffable pleasure. A good libretto borrows very much from both drama and poetry, so I feel like I can bring something of my more developed skills to the table. Then I try to get out of the way of the composer and others, and revise to suit their needs.

I should say that The War Reporter is an “experimental chamber opera,” and in many ways more like a song cycle. The composer, Jonathan Berger at Stanford University, has studied and been inspired by psychiatry and neurology for years, so Paul Watson’s story of PTSD and psychological haunting was something he also had a keen personal interest in. The Harris Theatre in Chicago is planning to give the opera a new production in 2016.

by WALTeR BILDeRBACK

INTeRVIeW WITH PLAYWRIGHT DAN O’BRIeN

LATeLY I’Ve FOUND MYSeLF TeLLING PeOPLe I WRITe PLAYS LIKe A POeT, AND POeTRY LIKe A PLAYWRIGHT. WHO KNOWS IF THIS IS A GOOD IDeA—TO WRITe LIKe THIS, OR TO ADMIT IT.

Photo by Paul Watson

ReAD MORe OF THIS INTeRVIeW AT WILMATHeATeR.ORG/BLOG

Walter Bilderback: You and Dan O’Brien have known each other for seven years now, and the relationship we see develop in The Body of an American has continued to the present, including a new volume of poems to be published soon. Has your friendship with Dan changed you?

Paul Watson: I rarely reply to emails like Dan’s. He was a stranger, pitching a play, and coming out of the blue as it did, I thought it sounded bizarre. But I’m a diehard fatalist and my inner voice told me to do whatever Dan asked and I have.

I told him at the start, as I warmed to the idea, that he would be my confessor. And that’s the main effect he’s had in my life. Normally, I don’t like to talk about the subjects he brought up unless it’s to my wife, in my own home. But Dan has led me over important ground, and to me, his art is in expressing painful truths that pure journalism can’t capture.

LOBBYDISPLAY

The photo exhibit in the lobby contains prints by three war photographers: Paul Watson, who’s at the center of The Body of an American; David Swan-son of The Philadelphia Inquirer; and Peter Tobia, formerly of the Inquirer, who collaborated with Mark Bowden on the Inquirer’s series “Black Hawk Down.”

PReVIeW... INTeRVIeW WITH PHOTOJOURNALISTPAUL WATSON

NORMALLY, I DON’T LIKe TO TALK ABOUT THe SUBJeCTS He BROUGHT UP UNLeSS IT’S TO MY WIFe, IN MY OWN HOMe. BUT DAN HAS LeD Me OVeR IMPORTANT GROUND, AND TO Me, HIS ART IS IN exPReSSING PAINFUL TRUTHS THAT PURe JOURNALISM CAN’T CAPTURe

WB: You’ve so far avoided seeing a performance of The Body of an American. Why is that?

PW: I can remember a time when I was able to see people suffering, confront it through writing and photography and move on. I think humans are wired with a kind of emotional filter which makes that possible. Otherwise, the empathy that makes us human would over-whelm us in day-to-day life. My filter fried somewhere along the way. I only need to sense someone’s fear, sadness, or other emotional pain from a distance and it becomes my own.

When you can’t escape that feeling, it’s natural to retreat to avoid the triggers that make life so hard to endure. I’ve become better at man-aging the risks in my own mind. But I want, I need, peace. And that escapes me. I know that seeing Dan’s play would only make peace more elusive. So I avoid it. I can’t even read the script.

WB: It seems that war reporting is becoming more and more dangerous. What do you think is the future of reporting from war zones and other crisis points?

PW: I think there is a shift, especially in the most notorious cases such as Syria and ISIS-held/threatened areas of Iraq, toward targeting foreign journalists, who may have felt at least a thin veil of protec-tion from the PRESS that’s so often emblazoned on journalists’ kevlar vests, cars and such. That used to help deter targeted attacks. It still does in some places. But increasingly, I’m afraid, the word PRESS is an invitation to be singled out for kidnapping or attack. (I stopped advertising my affiliation long ago, on the theory that blending in as much as possible reduces the risk slightly.)

Photo by Dan O’Brien

Mr. Vito Izzo+Fred P. Slack and Patricia Henriques+Gayle and David SmithMr. and Mrs. Jeffrey M. SparlingEvelyn G. SpritzCarol Baker and Mark Stein+Ms. Kathleen Stephenson Esq.+Charles and Melissa Thorne+Barbara Yaseen Tiffany Fund of the Philadelphia FoundationBlanka Zizka+

The Annual Fund are donors who are essential to the continuation of the Wilma’s work and mission. We rely on the support of these members of the community who support bold, original, well-crafted productions. A plus sign(+) denotes five year consecutive donors.

$750 to $999Abbie and Patrick DeanElizabeth Higginbotham+Mr. Robert Kirkwood+David Lerman and Shelley Wallock+Jerome Napson+, In memory of Annie RichardsonKaren Scholnick+

$500 to $749Anonymous+Charles Arnao and Rosemary WattElisabeth BeairdAl and Marilyn Blatter+John Detre and Wendy Beetlestone+Brian and Sherry EffronJohn Erickson and Harry ZaleznikRobert and Priscilla FoleyPam and Rod GagneSuzanne Walker and Tom GilmoreDr. Karen Harkaway and Mr. Michael GraceGretchen HallMike and Lis KalogrisVicki Le VineWilliam Lake Leonard+Brian and Dawn MaileyFrank and Sally Mallory+Drs. Julia Mayer and Barry Jacobs+Jason McDonoughDr. Daniel K. MeyerFrank and Fiona MurrayBarbara Oldenhoff+Jerome and Elizabeth Pontillo+David Rasner and Caroline WischmannDavid and Susan RattnerMr. Jerry Rojo+Andrew Sacksteder and Colleen Murphy+Dr. Patricia Saddier+John Pcsolar and Alan SandmanDr. Vincent Sanguineti and Dr. Marion FrankJohn and Patricia SincavageGene Bishop and Andrew Stone+Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Taylor+Shirley and Howard TraugerMs. Wendy E. Wilson and

Mr. Bruce McKittrick+Richard H. and Barbara Jacobsen Woods+Thomas and Jacqueline Zemaitis+

$250 to $499Howard Aaronson+Brian AbernathySharon BinstokDede and Tony BrownAnn and David Brownlee+David L. BuchbinderBarbara and Bruce ByrneKatie, Iain, and Malcolm CampbellPearl CarpelRonnie and Jack CimprichSusan OdesseyMorton Collier and Mary ChomitzHarriet and Tony Crane+Joanne DeutchmanJill Dolan and Stacy WolfDr. Joel K. Edelstein and Ms. Elizabeth McKinstry+Judith and Barry Elson+Dan GannonDr. Charles GearSusan V. Greene and Kathleen Sheridan+Lisa and Leonard GuercioMaureen E. HallMarion V. Heacock+Jim Heenehan and Carolyn Guss+Jane and Steve HeumannMr. and Mrs. Ralph S. Hirshorn+Ms. Terry Hirshorn+Katherine Hayden and John HouleIan Kirschemann+Allen J. KuharskiEva and Michael Leeds+Will and Sandra Lock+Ann T. Loftus, Esq. and Eileen M. TaloneCirel and Howard MagenKimberlee MarinoPeter Kelly and Louise MarshallLynne MaxwellJoseph and Ilene McCaffrey+Linda Jones+Jane NelsonNassya and Aaron Owens+Ruth PerlmutterMrs. Marcelle G. Pick+Joel and Bobbie Porter+Bill and Mary Jo Potter+Rafaela Torres and Pedro A. RamosMs. Mary Jo ReillyDr. and Mrs. Wolfram Rieger+Gordon and Karen Rose+Michele Goldfarb and Tony RostainBarbara and Dan RottenbergMs. Nora SalzmanJohn F. Sanford+Mr. and Mrs. William Schwarze+Mr. Louis Seitchik and Ms. Kanani TitchenGerald and Linda Senker+Christopher SerataMr. Samuel J. Serata, Esq.+Christine J. Shamborsky+Sharon and Irv Shapiro+

Claudia Pine-SimonGretchen SnethenRichard and Elizabeth SoltanHoward SpodekJonathan and Judith Stein+Pat and Elaine Sweeney+Eileen TalanianThe Toner FamilyHella and Lewis Volgenau+Clifford Wagner and Ann MintzSandra and Joseph WeicherSusan WestBarbara Westergaard+Wendy, Larry and Miriam White+Harry and Mary Ann Woodcock+Richard and Diane WoosnamF. Gordon YasinowPeter Zutter and Tom Murphy+

$150 to $249Anonymous+ (3)Anonymous (2)Donald Ackerman and Gail ChapmanPhyllis and Charles Adams+Ann and Reid AddisSherman AronsonDr. Donald Bakove and Margaret G. McLaughlinJay BarnettLeah and Rudy BaronMs. Catherine BeathDiane BechBill B. Benton and Margaret H. PerrymanTorsten and Katrin BernewitzSandra M. Berwind+Ann and Tom Blackburn+Joan and James Blaine+Dr. and Mrs. Benjamin Blank+Allen G. BonnerJoy Ellen BoothMichael Boyle+Carol BuettgerSusan P. Davidson and John V. R. BullDonna ButchkoMr. Frank CebulaMr. and Mrs. Nick Cernansky+Mr. and Mrs. Scott Childress+Nona and Darrell CiraMr. and Mrs. Blaise H. Coco Jr.Tim and Cathy Conahan+James D. Crawford and Judith N. DeanLiza Herzog and Paul CurciMr. Daniel C. Drecksage and Ms. Leslie Sudock+Angela and Jason DuckworthPhil DuncansonSheryl and Steve Durham+Jay Federman and Sylvia BeckGilbert Feinberg and Nadeen Van Tuyle+Diane and Fred FrankelPeter and Pamela FreydDrs. Alan and Patti FriedmanDr. Joyce FryeThe Galilea FamilyAndrew GelberAnne and John GerbnerDr. and Mrs. Stephen Gluckman

A Special Note to Our DonorsThis list acknowledges all donations of $150 or above from October 1, 2013 to

December 1, 2014. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies. If you have any questions about your support, wish to join the

Wilma as a contributor, or wish to notify us of changes to this list, please contact Iain Campbell, Development Director, at 215-893-9456 x109.

FOUNDATION, GOVeRNMeNT, & CORPORATe DONORSAnonymousAbbot DowningArronson FoundationThe Baxter Family FoundationBenchmark Group, Inc.The Corinne and Henry Bower Memorial Trust of the PNC Charitable TrustsThe Louis N. Cassett FoundationCharlotte Cushman FoundationConnelly FoundationThe CHG Charitable TrustThe Dolfinger-McMahon FoundationDoubleTree by Hilton, Philadelphia Center CityDrexel UniversityErnst & YoungGeneral EconopakGlenmedeThe Hamilton Family FoundationThe Honickman FoundationThe Linda and David Glickstein Fund of the Philadelphia FoundationThe Horace W. Goldsmith FoundationIndependence FoundationVirginia and Harvey Kimmel Arts Education Fund of the Philadelphia FoundationJohn S. and James L. Knight FoundationLiberty Property TrustLincoln Financial FoundationChristian R. and Mary F. Lindback FoundationCraig Lewis and Dianne Semingson Family Charitable Giving Fund of the Philadelphia FoundationLobro AssociatesMarcum LLPWalter J. Miller TrustMorgan, Lewis & Bockius LLPNational Endowment for the ArtsPECOThe William Penn FoundationPenn Museum DocentsPennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agencyThe Pew Charitable TrustsThe Pew Center for Arts & HeritageThe Philadelphia Cultural FundThe Philadelphia FoundationReinhold ResidentialThe Sam and Charles FoundationThe Caroline J. Sanders Trust #2Saul Ewing LLPSchuylkill Capital ManagementThe Shubert Foundation, Inc.Joseph Kennard Skilling TrustEthel Sergeant Clark Smith

Memorial Fund The Sporting Club at the Bellevue, the preferred fitness center of The Wilma TheaterThe TJX FoundationU.S. TrustUnited Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New JerseyWells FargoThe Wyncote Foundation The Zeldin Family Foundation

INDIVIDUAL DONORSThe Premiere Circle is a group of our community’s leaders who demonstrate their love of living, adventurous art through their gifts of $1,000 or more. The benefits of the Premiere Circle are designed to bring members closer to the artists whose work they make possible. For more information, please contact Iain Campbell, Development Director, at 215-893-9456 x109. A plus sign(+) denotes five year consecutive donors.

$5,000 and aboveJim and Nancy BaxterDaniel Berger, Esq.+Lois G. BrodskyMark and Tobey Dichter+Kathryn Doyle and Maureen AlexanderHerman and Helen Fala+Michael J. Finney+Linda and David Glickstein+Criswell GonzalezCarole Haas Gravagno and Emilio Gravagno+Peggy and Rich Greenawalt+The Wyncote Foundation recommended by Leonard C. Haas+Valerie A. Arkoosh and Jeffrey T. Harbison+Gay and Donald Kimelman+Virginia and Harvey Kimmel+Mrs. Patricia Kind+Josephine Klein+Kenneth Klothen and Eve Biskind Klothen+Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Linck+Tom Mahoney+Don and Barbara Parman+The Suzanne F. Roberts Cultural Development Fund+John and Theresa Rollins+Ellen B. Solms+David and Lisa U’Prichard+In Memory of Gillian Wakely+Mark and Kathi Wennell

Ted and Stevie Wolf+Stephen and Florence Zeller+

$2,500 to $4,999AnonymousPaula and Arjun Bedi+Mr. and Mrs. Granville Crothers, Sr.+Clare D’Agostino, Esq.+Eduardo Glandt+Mindy and Jerry GoldbergJane and Joseph GoldblumJane and Brad HollingsworthMr. and Mrs. Richard V. Holmes+Lewis and Ellen Johnston+Gary and Roberta KleimanSharon and Joel KoppelmanDianne L. Semingson+, in memory of H. Craig LewisSissie and Herb Lipton+David E. Loder+Jeffrey MarkowitzJames and Eleanor McGillin+Marlene S. MolinoffNina Robinson VitowThe June and Steve Wolfson Family Foundation+Jeanne Wrobleski, Esq.+

$1000 to $2,499AnonymousDavid W. Anstice and Ana-Maria V. Zaugg+Peter Arger+Dr. Steven Averbuch and Rachel RivestSusan Basile+Amy Branch and Jeff Benoliel+Peter A. Benoliel and Willo Carey+Louis Bluver+Jacqueline BodinCarol and Bruce Caswell+Robert M. Dever+Elizabeth H. Gemmill, Esq.James Haskins and Michael Whistler+Dortha Haskins+Nancy and Al Hirsig+Robert and Sally Huxley+Naomi Grabel and Neil Kutner+Megan and Lou Minella+Suzanne and Ronald NaplesQuan A. Nguyen and Jessica Lynn Geyer+Noah and Annette OsnosEliana PapadakisAnnette and Chuck PennoniVesna and Howard SacksPatricia Saddier+Antoinette Fauar Seymour+Mari and Peter ShawDr. William Sigmund and

Paul D. GreenAnne and Michael Greenwald+Mr. Michael GreerMr. Richard Grimes+Bill and Helen GroftDebra and Tom HarderMs. Birgitte Haselgrove+Catherine HealeyMarjorie E. Johnson and Edward J. Hochreiter+Dean Kaplan and Barbara MattlemanKris J. KoloMichael KuehlScott Kushner+Ms. Susanna E. Lachs Adler Esq.Charles and Lucinda Landreth+Daniel T. LeeJoe and Ginny LeonardDr. and Mrs. Rafael Levites+Mr. and Mrs. Howard H. Lewis+Gregory and Cynthia LineRichard and Sandra MalkinMr. and Mrs. Joseph MankoDonna MayforthDrs. Joseph and Jane McGowanMr. and Ms. David Miller+Dr. Hortensia R. Morell

Dr. James and Jennifer Morgan+Sue and Steve MunzerPaul and Delaney NeuwirthMichael OchsCarol Ann and Thomas O’Leary, Jr.Larry F. PaceMilton and Ruth Parnes+Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas PatrunoIn Memory of Michael PerelsteinFriends of Virginia and Harvey KimmelDrs. Michael and Unah ProMarlene and Joseph RamsayPhilip Reeves and Nancy ZeppaKelley ReillyGloria ReismanKurt and Mary-Ann ReissDavid ReuterMilt and Judy RisemanVernette RiversF.L. Rodgers Family Fund of the Community Foundation of New JerseyTony and Barbara Rooklin+Joel RosenbloomDr. and Dr. Richard RossJill Ross-Stein

Michael and Randi RothmelMr. and Ms. Leon Rozinsky+G. Craig SchelterSusan SchewelLee and Linda Jean SchneiderToni Sciallo+Tom and Elinor Seaman+Ms. Joann SeaverMonica Vachher and Jerry SelittoPaul and Nancy ShallersJean and Parvin SharplessDea Silbertrust and Wayne WelshSara Corse and Kenwyn SmithMs. Carol Klein and Dr. Lawrence SpitzMark Steinberger and Ann Lebowitz+Bruce and Christina Tarkoff+Ms. Claudia TesoroMr. and Ms. Harold S. TorranceJohn and Terry Trudeau+Samuel WallaceEllen WeisbergArnold M. Weiss+Drs. James and Jenette Wheeler+Barrie and Eugene ZenoneMarian Robinson and Benjamin Zuckerman

BOARD OF DIReCTORS

Officers David U’Prichard, PhD, ChairKathryn Doyle, Vice ChairDavid E. Loder, Vice ChairClare D’Agostino, Esq., SecretaryThomas Mahoney, Treasurer

Chair’s CouncilMark S. Dichter, Esq.Peggy GreenawaltJeff HarbisonLewis H. JohnstonJohn D. RollinsA.E. (Ted) Wolf

Board MembersArjun Bedi Daniel Berger, Esq. Janice Giannini Linda GlicksteinJerry Goldberg

Jane HollingsworthKenneth KlothenRobert E. Linck Sissie LiptonJames F. McGillinReginald J. MiddletonMarlene S. MolinoffDonald F. Parman Ellen B. SolmsMark WennellFlorence Zeller

ex-OfficioJames Haskins Blanka Zizka

emeritusHerman FalaHarvey Kimmel Dianne Semingson Evelyn G. Spritz Dr. R. J. WallnerJeanne P. Wrobleski, Esq.

MATCHING GIFT DONORSAIG Matching Gifts FoundationACE INA FoundationAlly Easy MatchBristol-Myers SquibbExxonMobil FoundationFMC CorporationGlaxoSmithKline FoundationIBM Matching Gifts Johnson & Johnson Family of CompaniesMerck Partnership for GivingMoody’s FoundationNorfolk Southern FoundationThe Pew Charitable Trusts Matching Gift Program

Pfizer Public AffairsPNC FoundationProQuestPrudential Foundation Matching GiftsTripos InternationalUBS Employee Giving ProgramVerizon Foundation

OPeNING NIGHT DONORSBarefoot Wine & BubblyCabot CreameryRuth’s Chris Steak HouseYards Brewing CompanyVictorian Savories Bakery

IN-KIND DONORSAdventure AquariumChef’s MarketCozen O’ConnorDoubleTree by Hilton, Philadelphia Center CityDuel Piano BarRichard Kotulski and Julia BaldwinPost Brothers ApartmentsThe Sporting Club at BellevueStarbucks Coffee CompanyTRIA

2014/2015 Season

WILMATHEATER.ORG215-546-7824BROAD & SPRUCE STREETS

Thanks to a generous grant from the Wyncote Foundation, all tickets to Wilma productions during the first four weeks are just $25 – or only $10 for students and theater artists!

T H E

T H E AT E RDRexeL UNIVeRSITY eVeNTDrexel students, faculty, and staff are invited to a complimentary lunch reception before the 2:00pm performance and a post-show discussion with playwright Dan O’Brien. Tickets to the performance are just $10 for students with ID and $25 for faculty, staff, and guests. When reserv-ing your tickets please let us know you are planning to attend this special Drexel University event.

If you purchase tickets online, please RSVP to the reception by emailing tickets@wilmatheater.org.

DIReCTORS GATHeRING DIALOGUeImmediately following the performance, Directors Gathering will sit with The Body of an Ameri-can director Michael John Garcés for an audience-led conversation to discuss his work with the play and the behind-the-scenes process of making The Body of an American.

FRee OPeRA SCReeNING OF ‘THe WAR RePORTeR’The story of people haunted by inner voices, The War Reporter transforms the interior world of the mind into a powerful operatic drama by Jonathan Berger and Dan O’Brien. The War Reporter is based on the true story of Pulitzer Prize–winning photojournalist Paul Watson. Convinced that he is haunted by the ghost of an American soldier he photographed in Mogadishu in 1993, Watson seeks to rid himself of this curse.

Please RSVP to the screening by emailing tickets@wilmatheater.org.

CONVeRSATION WITH PAUL WATSON AND DAN O’BRIeNPresented in collaboration with the Rudman Institute for Entertainment Industry Studies and the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Drexel UniversityPhotojournalist Paul Watson and Playwright Dan O’Brien come together on the Wilma’s stage for a special conversation about their personal and professional experiences. Dan and Paul will share stories from the far reaches of the globe that led up to the creation of The Body of an American.

Please RSVP to this free event by emailing tickets@wilmatheater.org.

FRee DOCUMeNTARY SCReeNING ‘UNDeR FIRe: JOURNALISTS IN COMBAT’Only two journalists were killed in World War I. Sixty-three journalists were killed in World War II. In the last two decades almost a journalist a week has been killed, with the dead numbering in the thousands. The conclusions are obvious. Journalism in times of war has become an increasingly lethal endeavor - and extremely traumatic – as journalists are now viewed as natural targets by combatants; subject to kidnapping, torture and even beheadings. With journalists facing these

new realities, Under Fire weaves together combat footage and first-hand accounts by the journalists who were there to reveal what they saw, thought and felt as they confronted the physical danger and savagery of war. Please RSVP to the screening by emailing tickets@wilmatheater.org.

UARTS eVeNTUniversity of the Arts students, faculty, and staff are invited to a complimentary lunch reception before the 2:00pm performance and a post-show behind the scenes tour. Tickets to the perfor-mance are just $10 for students with ID and $25 for faculty, staff, and guests. When reserving your tickets please let us know you are planning to attend this special University of the Arts event.

If you purchase tickets online, please RSVP to the reception by emailing tickets@wilmatheater.org.

THU

15

SUN

111pm

9pm

TUE

13

SAT

174:30pm

SUN

184:30pm

SAT

244:30pm

SUN

251pm

THU

22WED

28

J A N U A R Y

JOIN US FOR THeSe FRee eVeNTS DURING THe RUN OF THe BODY OF AN AMeRICAN

Learn more about the production through discussions with artists and audience members following the performance.

POST-SHOW CHATS

Following the matinee