Public Perspective is the PittsburghPublic Theater's newsletter tor subscribers andfriends. The Healing Of Wounds: A CONVERSATION WITH SUSAN EINHORN
Strange Snow, the third production of the Pittsburgh Public Theater's Tenth Anniversary Season, begins previews on January 8, 1985. Strange Snow depicts the turbulent and often humorous reunion of two Vietnam vets, Megs and David. While Megs and Martha, David's sister, find themselves drawn together .by a recognition of each other's loneliness, Megs and David must work to bridge the gulf between them created by the events of the war. Susan Einhorn, the di rector of Strange Snow, is returning to the Public for the third time, having directed The Desert for the "Plus 6" series three seasons ago and the highly acclaimed production of The Dining Room last season. I spoke to Susan on the telephone at her home in New York.
Playwright Stephen Metcalfe
P1aywright: Stephen Metcalfe Stephen Metcalfe was born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 4, 1953. His first contact with the theatre came in high school when - as one of the few eighteen year olds who could grow a tu II beard - he was drafted to play a knight in the musical, Once Upon A Mattress. He attended Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania for four years where, when he wasn't drinking beer and playing tennis, he hung around the drama department. While living in Martha's Vineyard in 1976 he began his first play and in October of that year, forsaking the glamorous life of a tennis pro, he moved to New York City. His one act plays, Jacknife and Baseball Play, were produced at the Quaigh Theatre in New York in the Spring of 1980 and his play, Vikings, was produced at the Manhattan Theatre Club the following fal I. Vikings has since been produced regionally, at The Edinburgh Festival in the summer of 1981, and has been recorded for Earplay. Strange Snow was produced at the Manhattan Theatre Club in January of 1982 and has since been done at regional theatr~s throughout the country. White Linen, a cowboy play with songs, was produced at The BoarsHead Theatre in Lansing, Michigan in July of 1982. Mr. Metcalfe lives and works in New York City. He was a recipient of a 1982 CAPS Grant in playwrighting, is a member of the playwrights unit at Manhattan Theatre Club, and is currently working on commission pieces for both MTG and Actors Theatre of Louisville.
WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE PLAY STRANGE SNOW? It's a beautiful play that deals with the healing of wounds and that speaks to me very strongly . . . the healing of wounds always has, especially with the situation in the world today. WHAT RESEARCH DID YOU DO TO PREPARE FOR THIS PLAY? Directing is the most fun when you are directing something you know little or nothing about. For example, Strange
Merry and tragical! Tedious and brief! That is, hot ice and wondrous strange snow. How shall we find the concord of this
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-A Midsu~!e~N~~srD~a: William Shakespeare
Susan Einhorn returns to direct Strange Snow.
Snow, deals with issues related to the Vietnam War which I don't know a lot about. I am doing research and having an exciting time learning. I am grateful to 'have the opportunity to study a subject I wouldn't have studied otherwise. WHY IS STRANGE SNOW A PLAY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DIRECT FOR AN AUDIENCE SUCH AS THE ONE AT THE PITTSBURGH PUBLIC THEATER?
This is a play about more than two Vietnam vets. Strange Snow takes place in a twenty-four hour time period that becomes a long day's journey into a reawakening or a rebirth. It is a play about the life-saving impact that people's helping one another can have. This is a story about survivors of a holocaust. I, myself, am a child of survivors of the World War II Holocaust. David and Megs are survivors of the holocaust that was Vietnam who are finally able to forgive.themselves for returning when their buddies didn't. We are all veterans of life. The battlefields are numerous. But people can help each other go on and overcome the guilt caused by surviving. Fighting war is hard; surviving war is perhaps just as hard. We need to remember that there's a war at home after the war, the war with yourself, the war you have to live with for the rest of your life. Mary Guaraldi
Public Perspective . Pittsburgh PublicTheater • Pagel
Janoary •febroary 1985 " Welcome Home" Night For Vietnam Vets At Pittsburgh Public Theater The Vietnam Vets Leadership Program of Western PA and Vietnam Vets,- Inc. are hosting a "Welcome Home" night for Vietnam vets in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Public Theater. The evening will begin with a get together at 6:30 P.M. on Tuesday, January 8 at the Fort Mc Keever VFW Post at 623 Western Avenue, and will be followed by Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Strange Snow, Stephen Metcalfe's comedy-drama about the reunion of two Vietnam buddies. A forum featuring speakers and a question-and-answer session will follow the performance. The Vietnam Veterans Leadership Program of Western PA is a member of a national volunteer program dedicated to helping Vietnam veterans. The VVLP works with civic leaders, government agencies and private industry to help solve problems - particularly those of unemployment and underemployment - still faced by some Vietnam vets. Vietnam Vets, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based organization, works to enhance the image and personal welfare of Vietnam veterans. Their activities include the Vet Center Program, a food distribution center for unemployed veterans, an annual picnic reunion and participation in the vigil for the POW/MIA's. For more information and to make reservations, contact James "Shamus" Maloney at VVLP (281-8100).
Strange Snow: A Chance For Discussion January 8, 1985 Oise1Jssi011 aifter &l>'elifng ,review performance with Davia Me~ak, counselor for Vietnam era vets and their families., and members af the producfian staff at Strange s,iow.
January 13, 20~ 27, February 31 1985 Discussions planneCiS after each of these Sunday matlnije performances. To feature counselors who work with Vietnam era vets and members of the praducti~A staff af Strange Snow.
February 10, 1985 Production Forum after matinee perfannan_ce featur-ing members of the praduc;;tlan staffotStnmge Snow.