Long Day's Journey Into Night: Considerations on Darkness

That's Eugene O'Neill in the 1936. He didn't write Long Day's Journey Into Night until 1941, and it wasn't published until 1956. It was his last great play, and most would argue, the greatest play he ever wrote: a tragic triumph of American realism.  O'Neill instructed that the play not be published until 25 years after his death (he died in 1953) but his wife used a legal loophole to circumvent these restrictions.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is an autobiographical piece. Well, at least it is emotionally autobiographical. The characters in the story are based around O'Neill's life. James is his father (a promising actor in his youth). Mary is his mother (a morphine addict). O'Neill is the embodiment of their children (he actually had to go to a sanitarium for tuberculosis, it's where he really started his play-writing). In Long Day's Journey Into Night, O'Neill was writing his life. He was exorcising his demons onto a page and presenting them to the world; while, at the same time, making sure he would never be around to view the results. 

The question I have is... why? 

Why did O'Neill write it, and why should you, or any audience, see this on-stage diary of one man's broken family? What is the purpose? In my interviews with the cast of this show I asked them all the same question: what is the benefit of presenting such a dark, challenging piece? It's painful, it's brutal, it's depressing, it's long (full disclosure, the show runs over three hours). What's the point?

I think O'Neill's reasons and the audience's reasons go hand in hand. I believe O'Neill wrote this play as a form of closure for himself. The tragedy of this story is that the family refuses to engage with the things that destroy them. Closure, true closure only comes from facing the things in our life that hurt us. You have to walk through the darkness to reach the light. A show like Long Day's Journey Into Night forces us to consider all possible shades of existence, and engage with the shadows that lie just under the surface of our lives. We live in an imperfect world, it would be a lie to deny it, so we face it, every day, in our own ways, and are, I think, made better for it.

There's a term that's been used in the theatre (and the classroom) for over 2,000 years. It's called catharsis. You may have heard the term, vaguely defined, having to do with a mixture of pity and fear at the end of a play. The term has always bothered me. The standard definition has always been so incredibly unsatisfying. It wasn't until just recently, when I began considering Long Day's Journey Into Night, reading the play and looking through articles that I finally stumbled on, what I believe, is a much clearer meaning for this very old word.

Catharsis is the feeling of relief and release that comes after you make your way through the worst part of a painful experience.

A horrible separation. 

A destructive addiction

A depressive season. 

A loss of faith. 

It's that massive psychological moment when you suddenly realize that the beat goes on and you move forward into the world, hopefully tempered and strengthened by the experience. A piece of you may be broken, but the whole of you stands stronger than you did before. 

If something can't be a happy memory, it can be a lesson learned.

Theatre is a safe medium, the characters on-stage experience these painful moments, and you the viewer are invited to empathetically engage with them. At Threepenny, we don't believe that theatre can change the world, but we do believe that theatre can change a person. It can help them experience and consider things in new ways. I, personally, believe that the most important goal of the theatre is to make you feel. That is the purpose of a play like Long Day's Journey Into Night. O'Neill wrote from his gut. He was all about feeling. We hope that you will feel something, and that it will, in a small way, affect you.

We walk you into the darkness in a safe way. The show is long, but O'Neill designed it that way. The length allows for a full integration of the senses. As you fall into the play and your mind wanders your emotions will hopefully synch with the those of the characters.  Don't worry about catching every last little detail, don't stress, just let the show fall over you. If we've done our jobs you will feel what they feel. You will hope as they hope. You will fail as they fail, and, at the end, when you exit the theatre, perhaps you will have been affected and enriched, if only a little bit.

We'll have chocolate and wine waiting.

Thank you for reading. Long Day's Journey Into Night opens TONIGHT at 7PM at TheatreWorks. As always, it's set-your-own-admission with a suggested donation of $15 dollars. Hope to see you there.

Learning Never Ends

Long Day's Journey Into Night: Bill Baker

Hello all, Threepenny is back in the month of February, presenting Eugene O'Neill's great American tragedy Long Day's Journey Into Night, opening THIS FRIDAY at TheatreWorks and running through February 22nd (no show on Valentine's Day). As always, the show is set-your-own-admission with a suggested ticket price of $15.

This week, we meet the parents: James and Mary Tyrone, and we are fortunate enough to feature two of the finest actors in Memphis performing with us in this show. This is their first time working with Threepenny and we are very excited to have them. For our last interview, we meet the patriarch of the Tyrone family, played by the outstanding Bill Baker.

Bill Baker - James

Welcome Bill. How long have you be involved in theatre in Memphis?

I've been involved in Memphis theatre for about forty years. Since I was in my twenties. When I started out I was doing stuff at Circuit Playhouse and they had a little attic theatre they had started for experimental work and I was working there, creating new things.

What are some past favorite roles?

I played Lenny Bruce in a play called Lenny. That was in the 70's and was a big one in my life. More recently, I played King Lear with New Moon ensemble. But very recently, the last play I did was an original adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland called Madhatted, where I played the White Rabbit, and that was a great deal of fun.

Who was that with?

That was with Our Own Voice Theatre Troupe, which is a theatre company I'm one of the founding directors of.

Long Day's Journey Into Night, what are your thoughts on this play?

I guess the big thing for me is that it's heavily literary, and I don't usually do that. At least I haven't in the last twenty years. Most of my work has been much more focused on experimental and improvisational work, sort of ensemble-created pieces, so those texts are played with a sort of free and loose mentality. But what I've come upon recently, doing Lear and now doing this, with this piece of great literature as your text, there's a certain sort of sacred quality to the language, and we have to respect it in a way that you don't have to when you're writing the piece as you go. So, it's this way of regarding the text that is so interesting. Even though it's very traditional and I worked that way when I was younger, it's very new to me again.

How are you connecting with the character of James?

I mean, I am a father, so I connect with him in that way. I connect with him in terms of feeling for one's children and feeling for one's spouse. Also, in my day job, I work with a lot of people who suffer from addiction, so I connect to the struggle that he has with his wife, who is a morphine addict, and I can empathize with how he feels. I also grew up in a household where alcohol was a regular part of the world, and that's a big part of Tyrone's life, so I think the dysfunction of the family is just as much a result of alcoholism as it is of morphine addiction, so I can also relate to the way substances can alter the family dynamic.

And what do you do during the day?

I'm a psychotherapist. I work with people with both severe persistent mental illnesses and also with substance abuse issues.

What is it like working with this cast?

Oh, it's great. They're all so talented. I worked with both Dylan and Christina on King Lear, so it was nice picking up that relation, but Gabe and Jillian are great as well. Gabe and I have this long, interesting scene together that sort of comes near the end of the play and it is really a pleasure to play that.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a very dark play, darker than a lot of shows Memphis audiences are used to. What do you think are the merits of putting on a show like this?

Well, the darkness is about something that is very much a present problem in our culture, which is addiction. The show is fashioned as a tragedy. Although no one dies, we see that they are all sort of going down in flames in their substance abuse. We are a chemically dependent society, you know, and it is a tragedy, and we see it over and over again. People allow the drugs in their lives to just pull them down. So, if the Aristotelian theory of catharsis is something that is healthy for us as a culture, which is somewhat debatable, it may be interesting to see if a few people who may be struggling with these problems themselves may end up being enlightened or purified by the experience of seeing the tragedy of this family.

Any last words to audiences coming to see Long Day's Journey Into Night?

Uhm, come sober *laughs*. And prepare to be sobered, I think. And be persistent, stick it out. It is long and it is demanding, but it is definitely worth it, so come with yourself ready to make a long day's journey into night.


Thank you, Bill. This concludes our interviews for this show. Check back a little later this week, when I take a stab at the darkness that seems to pervade this classic work and try to convince you, my beloved reader to join us this weekend.

Long Day's Journey Into Night: Christina Wellford Scott

Hello all, Threepenny is back in the month of February, presenting Eugene O'Neill's great American tragedy Long Day's Journey Into Night, opening THIS FRIDAY at TheatreWorks and running through February 22nd (no show on Valentine's Day). As always, the show is set-your-own-admission with a suggested ticket price of $15.

This week, we meet the parents: Mary and James Tyrone, and we are fortunate enough to feature two of the finest actors in Memphis, performing with us in this show. This is their first time working with Threepenny and we are very excited to have them. Today we interview our leading lady. She's been a part of the Memphis theatre scene for over 30 years, having performed on almost every stage in town, picking up numerous Ostrander awards and nominations along the way. Her name is Christina Wellford Scott.

Christina Wellford Scott - Mary

Hello, what's your name and who are you playing?

My name is Christina Wellford Scott, and I'm playing Mary Tyrone.

How long have you been involved with theatre in the city of Memphis?

Oh, a long time, thirty-plus years I would say.

What was your first show?

Well, my first show, I was in the chorus of Carousel for Front Street Music Theatre. They performed at Lausanne, directed by George Touliatos, who was my first acting teacher. That was in 1972. Though before that I did play Teddy Wewon in the fourth grade play *laughs*.

Long Day's Journey Into Night, what are your thoughts on the play?

It's a beautiful, magnificent play and it demands a lot of everybody involved. It's a privilege to be in it.

What are some of the challenges you've faced working on the show and portraying the character of Mary?

I think the biggest challenge has been finding the time to let it all settle in. It's such a mammoth work, and I feel the pressure of trying to find all the things Mary could be, and hoping to get to what I envision for the character.

Now, I have it from a very reliable source that you do, in fact, have children. How does that affect your portrayal of Mary?

I think it helps me, emotionally, to understand a lot of her fears and anxieties. I don't know how I would look at the character if I weren't a mother of four. I couldn't even imagine what that's like because I've been a mother for so long.

What's it like working with your fellow cast-mates?

Wonderful. They're all wonderful, and we have a great director. I couldn't be happier with the cast and crew and director. It's just wonderful.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a very dark play, darker than a lot of shows Memphis audiences are used to. What do you think are the merits of putting on a show like this?

I think it's such a profound play, and I don't think every part of it is dark, but I believe it speaks to a very important place in the human experience, in the same way that Lear does, or Hamlet, or any play that has a dark subject. This is a great play. This is a GREAT play. It's not a melodrama. It's a profound piece that ennobles people who watch it and share in the experience, I think. That's what I hope for.

Any last words?

God help me and the Blessed Virgin *laughs*


Thanks, Christina. Our final interview is coming soon. Long Day's Journey Into Night opens THIS FRIDAY, February 6th, and runs until the 22nd. There is no show on Valentine's Day (Saturday the 14th), but there is a show on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16th! We hope to see you all there.

Long Day's Journey Into Night: John Dylan Atkins

Hello all, Threepenny is back in the month of February, presenting Eugene O'Neill's great American tragedy Long Day's Journey Into Night, running February 6th through February 22nd at TheatreWorks. As always, the show is set-you-own-admission with a suggested ticket price of $15.

For our final interview this week, we talk to a fella who has been with Threepenny since the beginning. He is the only person to appear in every single one of our shows. He was Demetrius and Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was Macduff in Macbeth, and he was Richard in #blessed, but most of the time, he is John Dylan Atkins.

Welcome back, Dylan. You're one of our founding company members, and you've appeared in all of our shows. Your last show was #blessed, where you played Richard, a sort of sleezy con-man. How was it transitioning from that comedy into Long Day's Journey Into Night?

It is worlds apart *laughs*. That show was more focused on character acting and just completely changing my body, whereas this show is more naturalistic. More about finding what that character is inside me, instead of creating it out of nothing. I have to find it.

Now, you've had an attachment to the character of Jamie for a long time. What's it like to finally get to play this role?

Oh, it's a dream come true. Jamie is the number one dream role I've had since I was introduced to the play by Gloria Baxter. And now I'm getting to do it... it's baffling *smiles*.

How challenging are you finding it?

There are challenging parts, but it's a really comfortable room to work in, so when something isn't working I don't feel a lot of pressure or anything because I know Matt and I will find a compromise to where it will work. I just have to be sure to let the moments I have happen and make sure to get out of my own head, which I always say is my biggest problem. But this cast has made is feel a lot easier than I maybe thought it should have been.

How are your cast mates to work with?

Oh, they're great! Everyone is really strong, and I've worked will all of them before, so it really helps that we have that previous relationship. It's really nice.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a very dark play, darker than a lot of shows Memphis audiences are used to. What do you think are the merits of putting on a show like this?

Well, not everything in this life is Light. And I know we don't usually like to expose ourselves to dark things, at least openly, but I think there are some safe environments, such as the theatre, where it's really helpful and beneficial to look at these things.

This play hits really close to home for me, because I've had a lot of people in my family struggle with addiction, and I've seen lives just melt away from it, just like you see in this show. So I'm moved by it even when I'm not onstage, just listening to my cast mates. I'm moved by it, and it's therapeutic for me. I guess that's the hope. That it will help somebody in some way. Because it's not stuff you want to think about, but when it's right there in front of you and done as delicately as this feels like it's being done, then I think that can have a good outcome.

Any last words about Long Day's Journey Into Night?

It's a dream come true for me.


Thank you Dylan. Check in next Monday and Tuesday when we meet the parents, played by two of the finest actors in Memphis theatre.

Long Day's Journey Into Night: Jillian Barron

Hello all, Threepenny Theatre Company is back in the month of February, presenting Eugene O'Neill's great American family tragedy, Long Day's Journey into Night, running February 6th through February 22nd at TheatreWorks. As always, the show is set-you-own-admission with a suggested price of $15 dollars.

We're coming at you hot with three interviews this week and the final two next Monday and Tuesday, Today's interview is not a member of the Tyrone family proper, but she's certainly a familiar face to people who saw #blessed last fall, where she played Dana, the maid. This time she's playing Cathleen... the maid. Say hello, once again, to Threepenny's favorite smile, Jillian Barron.

Jillian - Cathleen

Welcome back to the blog, Jillian. Who are you playing this time around?

I'm playing Cathleen.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a much different show than #blessed. What was it like transitioning from that show to this show and from one maid to another?

*Laughs* Yes, very different maids! Cathleen is not as outspoken as Dana was and it's interesting the differences between playing the same type of character in a drama instead of a comedic farce.

What are your thoughts on performing in Long Day's Journey Into Night?

I'm super excited to be performing with the other actors and actresses in this show. This play is absolutely fantastic, and I know not many venues are willing to put on this play because of its material and its length and the depth. It's difficult to find people to carry the show along and keep you intrigued, and I think Matt's done a great job, and I'm so excited to be a part of all of that.

Have there been any special challenges as you've worked on this character?

Yes, I've had to learn an Irish accent, and that has been very challenging *laughs*. 

What's it been like working with your cast mates?

Oh, it's been great! I don't get to spend as much time with them as they do with each other, since I'm not involved in as many scenes as they are, but the time I do get is fantastic. They're so much fun to work with and really easy to work with. There's no drama. It's been great.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a very dark play, darker than a lot of shows Memphis audiences are used to. What do you think are the merits of putting on a show like this?

I think it's good in that it is a genre that Memphis audiences rarely get exposed to. It's something new for them to take in and process and deal with, which I believe is important. It brings up so many questions and issues that you don't have to face, necessarily on a regular basis, I mean at least I hope you don't have to face them on a regular basis. But I think it's good, I think it helps you to reexamine human nature, but in a safe environment and at a safe distance, because it is a play. You don't have to deal with it one-on-one in a real situation. You get to deal with it through these characters. Which I think is fantastic.

Any last words to the audience coming to see Long Day's Journey Into Night?

Don't drink too much water *laughs*. It's a long play... and bring chocolate to eat afterwards *laughs*

Thank you Jillian. Check into tomorrow as we interview the only man to appear in every single Threepenny production.

Long Day's Journey Into Night: Gabe Beutel-Gunn

Hello all, Threepenny Theatre Company is back in the month of February, presenting Eugene O'Neill's great American family tragedy, Long Day's Journey into Night, running February 6th through February 22nd at TheatreWorks. As always, the show is set-you-own-admission with a suggested price of $15 dollars.

Once again it is time to meet the cast, starting with a familiar face for Threepenny. He was our Malcolm in Threepenny's production of Macbeth, so let's say hi to Gabe Beutel-Gunn.

Gabe - Edmund Tyrone

Hey Gabe. So, how long have you been in Memphis?

I've been in Memphis, let's see... it was June of 2013, I think? No, wait, it was July of 2013, so, about a year and a half. I came directly from Chicago. I went to college at Loyola University in Chicago. I studied theatre there. Bu before that, I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan.

What are some of your favorite past roles?

Favorite past roles? Lots of them. There are very few that haven't been favorites. I was Benedick and then I was Caliban with Bikini Shakespeare in Chicago. Those were the two most recent things I did before I left Chicago. Since coming to Memphis, I've done a lot of good roles. I really liked Danny in The Submission on the Next Stage at Theatre Memphis, and then I just did Kipps in The Woman in Black with New Moon Theatre, which was a lot of fun. Malcolm in Macbeth with you guys. I could go on and on.

How did you find out about Threepenny?

When I auditioned for Macbeth, I didn't know anybody. I read about the auditions somewhere and went. When I got to the auditions everyone seemed to know everyone and I didn't know anyone, and I sort of felt like the outsider, but once I was cast and rehearsal began, I got to know everyone really quickly.

What are your thoughts on Long Day's Journey Into Night?

It's an amazing, amazing play. Truly a masterpiece of a master artist, or a writer, playwright, author, whatever term you want to use. It's so real and so powerful that I think that almost any family can relate to what goes on with the Tyrones in this play. It's so well done, and I think that Matt has put together a great cast. I love working with everyone. I can't wait. I can't wait for people to see it.

You play the baby boy of the Tyrone family?

*Laughs* Yeah, well it's fitting, because I was the younger of two brothers in real life, and I think Dylan was the older of two brothers? So it kind of works the way we are fit. So yeah, a lot of people consider me to be the baby of the family, even though the character is about as old as I am. The Tyrone family has sort of put all their hopes on Edmund in many ways, and Edmund is the only one who hasn't gone off the deep end, yet. So I think there's a lot of pressure on the character, at least that's how Edmund feels.

How is it working with your cast mates? 

It's fantastic. Matt has put together an amazing cast. Dylan and I worked together very closely in Macbeth  and so we are keeping that rapport going. This is my first time working with Christina and Bill and they are both very good actors. They give me a lot to work with when I'm doing a scene with them. It's a lot of fun.

Long Day's Journey Into Night is a very dark play, darker than a lot of shows Memphis audiences are used to. What do you think are the merits of putting on a show like this?

Because it's so good! It is dark material, but I think people need to see it. It can hold up a mirror to your own life. You can see the way this family might be struggling with the very same things you are struggling with in your family. The way the Tyrones handle conflict can allow you to reflect on the way you handle things in your own life.

It's just such a good play, and I think that people in Memphis should see that they can handle theatre like this, and it can be really productive.

Any last words to the audience coming to see Long Day's Journey Into Night?

Get ready for a powerhouse of a play.


Thank you Gabe. Check into tomorrow when we check in with an old friend.

meet the cast of #blessed: Davis Fancher

#blessed, the first show of our second season is entering its final week at the Evergreen Theatre. We have a show at 8pm on Saturday, November 1st and a 2 o'clock matinee on Sunday, November 2nd.

   

It's time for our last interview!

Davis Fancher - Miss Loyal

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Davis Fancher, and I play Miss Loyal.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

Well, I was born in Virginia. I moved around a lot when I was a kid, but I've spent the majority of my life in Memphis, so I consider Memphis to be my hometown.


What first drew you to acting?

Well, I guess you could say it was my brother. He's five years older than I am, and he got into acting when he was in high school, and I would go see his shows. My family always loved watching movies and seeing shows together, so I grew up knowing a lot of actor's names, because that's what my family did. So I saw my brother doing things on stage at his high school, and I just loved it. I thought it looked like so much fun, so when I got into high school, I did the same thing.

When I got to college, I didn't really intend to major in it because I was terrified [laughs], but when I got about half-way through my second semester, I realized it was what I wanted to do... so why not?


Where did you receive your training?

I received my training at the University of Memphis. I got my B.F.A. in theatre performance.


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

I kind of want to say every faculty member at the University of Memphis, but I want to say that Jo Lenhart, specifically, has been really inspiring to me and is a wonderful person, and has really helped me a lot in my journey, as you would say. Besides that, honestly, everyone in Memphis who is doing theatre is someone I look up to. Every single person in Memphis who is doing theatre is just an inspiration.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

I'd have to say that my favorite part is once everyone has kind of got their lines and we get into the smoothing process. It's the part for me where most things get discovered. Everyone's get their lines and we're running through, making discoveries and we no longer have the book in our hands, that's my favorite part. I feel like when that happens that there are these magical few rehearsals that occur where everything isn't set in stone yet, but you're able to think outside of "what's my next line?'


What's your least favorite part?

I want to say auditions... I can't think of anything else... It's auditions [laughs].


What are some of your favorite past roles?

Most recently I was in As You Like It at Theatre Memphis, directed by Jo Lenhart. It was just a lovely production of a lovely show. It was one of those productions where you just loved everybody. It was just a really wonderful process. Besides that, I would say that my favorite show was Eurydice at the UofM. Leslie Barker directed that, and when I think of favorite shows it always comes out first in my mind. It as a very wonderful process, and I can't say enough good things about being in that show. I think that show, more than anything solidified my desire to be a theatre major. There was just a lot of love in that show.


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

I tend to focus in on the words. I like to try and put myself into the character's shoes as much as possible. I really like to get into the text and mentally draw my character from the words on the page. I'm very in my head about it.


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

I work and I play video games and I read and I hang out with close friends. Though, unfortunately, the main answer is just work [laughs].


How do you like the Threepenny process?

Oh, I love the Threepenny process. It's wonderful. I think it's so interesting, because this is the first time I've worked with company that has this kind of attitude, especially when Matt said "We can't pay you, but we will offer you things that no other company in town offers in terms of in-rehearsal actor training and physical training." It's really just amazing, because I feel like that even though I have a fairly small part in the show, that I'm still involved in the creative process, and I feel like I'm still learning so much. And also with the whole Set-Your-Own-Admission idea, I think that's really new for Memphis, and I think that is really good and really needed.


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

I do it because I want to. I know that sounds really simple, but that's what it is. It's something that I like to do and it's something I want to do, and it's something I've luckily been given the opportunity to do, so I do it, because why not?

In terms of what I want to accomplish in my life, I feel that acting gives you insights into different ways of thinking, different viewpoints and different ways of living, so I hope to come out of each performance with a different viewpoint on things, and in terms of my art, I hope to better be able to understand the world, which is very confusing at times. To better understand the world and the human condition, I kind of just want to know things, you know? I think acting helps with that. It gives me a chance to see things.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to? Shout outs?

My family because they have always supported me, even when I didn't know how to support myself. My family, my friends, my fiancee: those are the big three. Triple F [laughs].


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

#blessed is a blast and everyone should come see it.


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? crisp
What is your least favorite word? gangular
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? humor and laughing
What turns you off? hatefulness
What's one thing you love about Memphis? That no matter where I go, Memphis is part of me
What sound or noise do you love? kittens and puppies being cute
What sound or noise do you hate? shouting
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? piano technician
What profession would you not like to do? plumber.

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

"Not too shabby."


Thank you, Davis!

And thank you all for checking out these interviews! We have our final two shows coming up this Saturday and Sunday. We hope to see you all there. Thank you for supporting Threepenny Theatre Company.