Artists Repertory Theatre Opens RACE

In Race, two lawyers (one black, one white) take on a case that gets under their skin and exposes a minefield of deep divisions, resentments and bigotry. Mamet’s "rapid-fire dialogue, gripping plot and blunt language, thoroughly stripped of polite social convention and rife with provocative humor, is a searing portrait of American discrimination." Playwright David Mamet is a Pulitzer Prize-winning and Academy Award-nominated writer. Nationally respected Director Tamara Fisch will make her Artists Rep debut with this production.

“This play is about the shame and rage about race that run very deep in the American psyche,” said Fisch at the production’s First Rehearsal. She said America’s history of racial injustice is our country’s greatest shame, “the stain we can’t wash out our history." 

As a craftsman of language and portrait artist of human failure, Fisch said, Mamet sets us up to believe that in this “post-racial” era, we can dispense with race as a source of shame, rage and endless complication. But, in the end, he “shows us the futility of that idea and demands that we see ourselves as we are. Mamet is taking aim at everything we think we understand about race in America. Indeed, many progressive, educated, well-meaning, white people would rather eat glass than admit to harboring racial bias. These are Mamet’s audiences, much of America’s theater audience and a large percentage of the population of Portland. “

Fisch said Mamet writes plays that are challenging and even frightening – he forces his audiences to acknowledge their illusions for what they are. “If we do our job right,” she said looking at the production’s cast and crew, “they will start.”

 

NOTE:  Artists Rep will not offer pre- or post-show talkbacks or events for Race, per a contract stipulation from the playwright, David Mamet.

 

SPECIAL EVENT:  “Race, Society and the Law”

On Sunday, March 25 at 6pm, Artists Rep and The August Wilson Red Door Project* will co-host a forum on how our society, and legal system, is affected by racial issues. Leading the discussion are Judge Donald Letourneau and attorney/law professor John Parry, among others. As the play illuminates, racial injustice is one of America’s greatest disgraces, but acknowledging one’s own bigotry, and the institutionalized bigotry of our society is step forward.

 

*COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING PARTNER:  The August Wilson Red Door Project

This organization’s mission is to be a social change agent, using the arts as a catalyst for creating a lasting, positive change in the racial ecology of Portland by partnering with arts organizations and venues around Portland to promote high-quality art, theatre, and musical events that showcase the works of people of color. Another key commitment is to offer professionally facilitated community conversations to provide Portlanders with opportunities for transformational dialogue about issues of race. We are working together to find other opportunities for partnership beyond the “Race, Society and the Law” panel. For more information:  www.awreddoorproject.org

 

David Mamet, Playwright
Mr. Mamet is a director as well as the author of numerous acclaimed plays, books, and screenplays. His play Glengarry Glen Ross won a Pulitzer Prize, and his screenplays for The Verdict and Wag the Dog were nominated for Academy Awards. He lives in Santa Monica, California.

 

Tamara Fisch, Director
Fisch is a freelance director based in New York City. Recent credits include: Jester’s Dead, created by Nat MacIntyre and Rhett Henkel at the PIT, The Architecture of Loss by Julia Cho at The Juilliard School, The Playwright Killer by Jonathan Caren, Lucky Star and Soul Searching by Nick Jones at #serials @ The Flea, the world premiere of Stephen Karam’s new musical, Emma, at PPAS, The Scene by Theresa Rebeck at Portland Playhouse, In Transit by Anna Kerrigan, She May Cry, But She Ain't Sorry by Erica Saleh, Sugar Plum Fair by Michael Walek and Letters from the Basement to the Attic by Eliza Clark all at Ensemble Studio Theatre; Arcadia at the Yale Dramat, new plays by Annie Baker, Amy Herzog and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins in Missed Connections NYC at ArsNova; After the Revolution and Hungry by Amy Herzog and Gagarin Wayby Gregory Burke, all at Williamstown Theatre Festival; Language of Angels, Cucumber Phil and the world premiere of Girls’ School Gothic by Lucy Boyle, all at the Hangar Theatre. She holds a BA from Yale University, and an MFA from the University of Washington School of Drama. She was a 2008-2009 director-in-residence at Ensemble Studio Theatre, is a Drama League Directing Fellow, and was the 2009 Bill Foeller Directing Fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

 

Artists Repertory Theatre

Race is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and individual show sponsors Marcy & Richard Schwartz, David & Christine Vernier, and Kris Olson & Les Swanson. The 2011/12 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The 2011 print media sponsor is The Oregonian, the season radio sponsor is KINK.FM. Season hotel sponsors are Mark Spencer Hotel and Hotel deLuxe.  Other support comes from All Classical, Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Arts Commission, Work for Art and Maletis Beverage.

In its 29^th season, Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theater company in Portland.  Artists Rep strives to challenge artists and audiences with plays of depth and vibrancy in an intimate setting.  Artists Rep explores the strengths, frailties and diversity of the human condition primarily through regional premieres, commissioned works and selected classics appropriate to contemporary issues.