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The City of Conversation
By Anthony Giardina Encore Theatrical Company Directed by Micah-Shane Brewer Production Team Scenic Design - Frank Williams Costume Design - Debbie Bennett Lighting Design - James Templin Technical Director - Frank Williams Sound Design - Gregg Perry Props Artisan - Paige Munroe-Mattocks Wig Design - David Burnette Stage Manager - Amy Eanes Cast Ben Bean, Eric Bullard, Larry Bunton, Alex Davis, Lindsey Davis, Linda High, Cindi Husk, Kathy Jones-Terry, Joey Stibler Director's Notes As I begin to write this, the morning news is on. Two political leaders are talking at each other. I say “at” because neither one is listening. One, regardless of the conversation, is only repeating his prepared talking points. The other is trying to get his point across by talking loudly and over the other. I’m left to wonder what happened to the art of conversation. Anthony Giardina’s The City of Conversation takes place when political discourse had a more respected role in our society. From the period following World War II through the end of the century, members of Washington’s elite gathered in bipartisan fashion in the homes of social doyennes. Although these were not official government functions, policies and decisions took shape behind closed doors in the homes of Georgetown’s leafy streets. This was because as Jackie Kennedy once remarked, “If you put busy men in an attractive atmosphere, in surroundings that are comfortable, where the food is good, they relax, they unwind, and there’s some stimulating conversation, and sometimes quite a lot can happen. Contacts can be made, and it’s part of the art of living in Washington.” The main character, Hester Ferris, is fictional, but she is based on a list of formidable and fascinating women such as Katharine Graham, Evangeline Bruce, Pamela Harriman, and Sally Quinn, all members of a group referred to as “The Georgetown Ladies’ Social Club” by President Ronald Reagan. Graham became friends with many of Washington’s officials, including Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Reagan. A widely-circulated story recalls that at one of her parties, Katherine Graham and her husband, Phillip, persuaded the candidate John Kennedy to select Southerner Lyndon Johnson as his running mate. Alsop, wife of publishing magnate Joseph Alsop, hosted a Georgetown party at which John F. Kennedy purportedly sought advice from another guest, the ambassador to France, about the Cuban missile crisis. Pamela Harriman’s Georgetown home became a sort of Democratic Party social club during the Reagan administration, offering a place for potential presidential candidates, senators, and other politicians of the party to gather, enjoy one another’s company, and strategize. This coterie of affluent, well-educated, and connected civilians helped to steer strategies from the Marshall Plan through McCarthyism, Watergate, and the end of Vietnam. Henry Kissinger once said “The hand that mixes the Georgetown martini is time and again the hand that guides the Western world.” These parties were considered safe zones where ideas could be brought forward and sharpened away from the media and public eye. The Carter years (when the play begins) were a low point socially, with an administration that de-emphasized entertaining. It reached its pique, however, during the Reagan administration, when the Reagans had a state dinner literally every month, and both the President and First Lady forged deliberate friendships with prominent leaders from the opposite party. Future presidents did not see the same value. President George H. W. Bush did relatively little entertaining. However, hostesses like Hester Ferris are no longer working the room with dinner and drinks. They are extinct. Over the last twenty years, a decline in socializing, conversation, and yes, even civility, has contributed to the polarization of our political climate. In the eighties, far fewer senators and congressional representatives were moving to Washington, D.C. with their families, which meant when they were in the city, they were working all the time so they could go back home to be with their families (or back to fundraise or campaign for the next election). With that schedule, it left no time for informal, off the record conversations between politicians of difficult political persuasions. And if they do socialize, it’s very rare for Republican and Democratic politicians to be seen at the same party. The arrival of big money in Washington, D.C. has placed more of an emphasis on fundraising and the size of financial contributions rather than ideas and achievements. Many of these women faded away due to lack of resources or careers. And, there’s no longer any assurance that an evening of conversation will be kept out of the media. Which brings me back to my original question: what happened to the art of conversation? To converse means to exchange views and opinions by talking. We have increasingly become a society that only wants to hear affirmations of what we believe and think. Our cacophonous world of 24/7 news has left us numb and disconnected, as well as confused and uncertain as to which news source is actually legit. We are now living in the age of anti-intellectualism where it’s totally acceptable to be uneducated and inexperienced. Instead, our world waits with baited breath on what new scandal might erupt via social media. Has our world’s political discussion really gone from convivial dinner parties to lone rants on Twitter? Are we really at the point of world powers clashing over 140 characters or less? God help us. Recently, when discussing this production, someone berated me for doing this show. “I’m just so tired of politics,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it, think about it, or listen to anyone else. Why can’t you do something that’s not about politics? I especially don’t want to see it if it leans one way.” My response was “Then that’s all the more reason for you to see this.” As theatre artists, we are called not only to entertain, but to educate, and to start important discussions, or conversations, in our society. Throughout history, artists have responded to events that have shaped our world through music, dance, visual art, and theatre. It is important now, more than ever, to exchange ideas and use times of uncertainty and chaos to learn from the past. It’s not time to turn off the news and pretend like everything will be fine or the problems of this world will go away. As Meryl Streep recently reminded us of what the late Carrie Fisher said, “Take your broken heart, make it into art.” So, it is with great pride and honor that we present this story. My hope is that it reminds us ALL how important it is regain the art of conversing, the art of listening, the art of understanding, and, ultimately, we become a city, a state, and a country of conversation…before it’s too late. Micah-Shane Brewer January, 2017 |
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