INTERVIEW: Award-winning Playwright on 'Split' and TU

            I remember the first time I saw Ira Gamerman.  It was at a performance of his play, Split, a part of this past summer's Baltimore Playwrights Festival.  I was struck by the youthful energy and intensity of him.  Of course, I had no idea it was him; that is, an Ira Gamerman had invited me to attend his play, to give feedback, but I had no idea that the guy I was looking at was that very person.  Since then, it has been my distinct pleasure to meet him, talk with him and exchange some fun email.  Well, when I found out, via one of Ira's weekly "what am I up to" press releases that Split was to be remounted at Towson University as a benefit for a new scholarship, I had to interview this up and comer before the rest of the theater world got a hold of him.  I also had his director, and fellow TU alum, Ian Belknap respond to a few of the questions to give them some more perspective.  What follows is the result of those interviews.

 

James Howard (JH): Congratulations on the continued (and growing) success of Split!  Did you think that the piece would be this popular/successful, etc.?  Why or why not? 

Ira Gamerman (IG): Thanks so much! I'm not really sure. When I turned the script into BPF, I really just wanted to get a full-length play of mine produced, so that I could workshop the script, get a good draft, and send it other places. I didn't really think about its popularity or success. I just wanted to have a full-length play in my repertoire that I could feel really confident about (It's only my second completed full-length play).  I knew, certainly, that people would laugh at parts of the script as I was writing it. And I knew that I was definitely pushing certain boundaries in terms of structure and staging. But, I was too close to the script itself to see it for what it really was. I don't think it really occurred to me that people would flat out love it, until I got Ian [director Belknap] and actors involved it and was read at the BPF last February as a staged reading.  Then I knew I had something special.  Even still, I could not have POSSIBLY anticipated that it would have gotten SUCH a positive response across the board. It's above and beyond anything I could have imagined. I can't believe there is STILL this much buzz 2 months later.

Ian Belknap (IB): When I was immersed with Split in July and August success or popularity never even crossed my mind. I was too busy preparing, I don't think theatre artists think in terms of success. Certainly, I want my work to be liked, but I don't do it for accolades or status. I do it, because I love it. I like myself most in a theatre, rehearsing with actors, collaborating with designers. I don't feel as insecure as I do in my everyday life. I like theatre because of the people. So, I guess to specifically answer your question I wasn't surprised Split was successful because of all of the wonderful people that devoted their summer to it.

 

JH: Some critics (myself included) as well as your director, Ian Belknap, discuss a relationship between this work and that of Neil Simon.  How do you feel abut that comparison? 

IG: I'm certainly flattered by it. Neil Simon was (like, I would think, most people my age) one of my first introductions to theatre. Mostly because he is a very ACCESSIBLE (and as a result, deservingly, popular) writer. There is this certain charm and familiar warmth in the way that he writes that is absolutely undeniable. I think he goes out of his way to write plays that are genuinely relatable and likeable. I don't know that I've ever read a play of his that lacked hope or levity in some way (I'm a sucker for hope).  And his dialogue is consistently witty.  I definitely tried to include all of those elements in my play to some degree. Most in a slightly more modern way, but nonetheless.... Neil Simon is, totally, one of the forefathers of contemporary comic realism. There are definitely writers that I like more, but I constantly find myself going back to Neil Simon to see how plays are done right.

JH: Is Split autobiographical?  To what extent is the main character like you?  Like other 20-somethings of your generation?

IG: That's a really complicated question. It has been asked A LOT in relation to this play and I have a strange sort of aversion to giving a straight answer to it. It's sort of like asking a magician to reveal how he does his tricks. A concrete answer, either way, could completely demystify the art and make it easy to define and, thus, easy to write off. And, to me, the purpose of art is to RAISE questions, not answer them.  Pretentious, confrontational, mission statements aside, there are definitely elements and fragments of "me" and my experience in this play.  Adam [the main character in Split] and I aren't too far from each other. We're both trying hard to be the best we can be. We're both plagued with self-doubt, at times. We're both searching hard for meaning. We're both sort of inarticulate. (We both play in bands). If Adam IS me, it's certainly a MASSIVE exaggeration, but I could definitely see similarities. People who know me better (friends/family) could recognize similarities better than I could.  I think Adam is a reflection of 20-somethings, today. However, I don't, necessarily, think that the place he is coming from is that much different than Dustin Hoffman's character was dealing with in The Graduate, a generation earlier.  What makes him unique is the fact that he is so open and in touch with what he is feeling. Which makes him a bit dorkier than the average guy. But, I think that openness allowed me to really explore certain emotional issues that young people are dealing with: What do you do with yourself after college? How do you come to terms with who you are? How do you find self-confidence?

 

JH: You and I are a generation apart, and yet the work spoke to me on a surprisingly personal level.  Others of all ages in the audience the evening I attended seemed similarly engaged.  Why do you think this play speaks to multiple generations? 

 

IG: A lot of reasons.  I think the subject matter is pretty universal. I mean, everyone has had issues with their parents. Everyone has been in a romantic relationship that wasn't working. Everyone has done stupid things to win someone's heart that they regret years later. Everyone at some point has felt lost and unsure of themselves. Everyone is forced to grow up faster than they may be ready for.  I tried to deal with REAL problems in the play. Of course, I dealt with them in really bizarre ways. But I think that's the job of GOOD comic writing: exaggerate the real until it's hysterical. Find the human connection that lurks under the joke. Because if you don't do that, you just have hollow comedy that is either too weird, too clever, or too cliché.  Having a hallucination of Vince Vaughn as a central character could have fallen FLAT ON ITS FACE after the first 3 seconds if the character didn't spend the entire play saying all of the things that we (the audience) were thinking, but were too scared to admit. The fantasy scene between Jenny and Adam could have failed miserably if everyone in the audience wasn't, at some point in their lives, innocent and convoluted enough to believe that flowers, poems, and candlelit dinners would win us fairytale lovers. I mean, Fantasy Adam tells the audience exactly what he is going to do BEFORE he does it, yet, that scene is STILL the funniest moment in the play.  Because we've all been there.

 

JH: You are a graduate of Towson University, and the majority, if not all of the cast and crew came from there as well.  How did TU prepare all of you to be in this "place?"  What were other influential aspects of your life that got you to this point?

IG: Yeah. Everybody in the cast and crew of Split is or was a Towson University Theatre student, with exception of our (AWESOME) set designer Chris Attenburough (who lives with a Towson University Theatre student) and our (also AWESOME) sound designer Chas Marsh (who is married to a T.U. Theatre Faculty member). It was pretty much a family affair.  Towson's program taught me to trust the "artistic process". It gave me the basic tools and understandings of craft, so that I could be confident in what I was doing. It gave me the freedom to express myself and create the theatre that I wanted to create. It forced me to take a really good hard look at myself and figure out who I was and how that was effecting every aspect of my life.  It taught me to stay positive. It made me realize that I was a writer (I thought I was just an actor who thought differently, when I entered the program as a freshman).  But, most importantly, Towson gave me a lot of friends. And I think that's why our production has been so successful, because when you find people that you love and respect on a personal-level, it is easy to translate that love and respect to the working environment.  Other influential aspects of my life? It's hard to narrow it down. In terms of playwriting, The Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive that I did in 2005 was a pretty influential experience. It taught me, nearly, everything I currently know about how to write a play and be a playwright. I started Split 2 or 3 weeks after I got back. If any aspiring playwrights are reading this, I would HIGHLY recommend participating in this intensive if given the opportunity.

IB: It is quite difficult for me to say how Towson University prepared me for a life in the theatre. There were so many varied experiences that attributed to where I am now as a theatre artist and a person and most of them happened because of The Department of Theatre Arts at Towson.  Professor Peter Wray had a tremendous influence on the way I think about theatre. He and I are "two peas from the same pod" as the hackneyed phrase describes. He is the smartest director I know. He inspired me, and once that happened I pretty much became obsessed with directing.  My father was a Presbyterian minister and we lived in the parsonage (the house attached to the church). I watch how my father dealt with many different types of people. I observed what a profound way he could affect many different types of people. As I continue to learn the craft of directing, I realize it comes down to managing people. So I learned that skill for my dad. My mom is a tremendous singer so; watching her perform inspired me to perform.

 

JH: Explain your writing process.

 

IG: A constant cycle of inspiration, fear, trial, error, analysis, re-articulation, and revision (Usually littered with extended periods of self-deprecation and self-doubt). That's the short version and probably the most concise way that I could explain it.  But I'll go further.  I usually get an idea that seems complete in my head, until I go to put it on paper and I realize that it has huge holes in it. So, I usually abandon it for a while, keep it in the back of my head, and allow my subconscious to work out certain details, until I get unstuck and figure out a way to move on.  And I do that until I've got something that I feel is in a place where I can start showing it to people who I trust, and we talk about it, and figure out what works and what doesn't. And then I start that cycle all over again.  I find that I need A LOT of critical distance sometimes to get a work to where it needs to be.  I have a tendency to OVERWORK an idea to a point that it becomes unproductive. The best thing for me to do at those times is to take time off until I get my spark back. And it always comes. It may take a week. It may take a month. It may take 6 months. But you can't force creativity.  MASSIVE amounts of credit are due to Ian on Split in particular. Without his constantly honest and thoughtful criticism, notes, questions, and understanding throughout our rehearsal process and beyond, I can safely say that the script would not be NEARLY as good as it is. A good collaborator is a playwright's best friend.  The actors deserve a lot of credit also. Rewrites were being done up until the week of production. And some of it was obsessive compulsive on my part. Like, "Could you say: 'I'd like to go to dinner' instead of 'Lets go out for dinner'?"  The difference in the script between where it was when I turned it in to BPF, compared to it's initial reading, compared to where it was when rehearsals started at Uncommon Voices, compared to now, is uncanny. It's such a different play. And it is SO CLOSE to how I imagined it in my head over a year ago when I started it. It just took me a long time to get it there.

 

JH: With the play ready to produce, explain how you got connected with the BPF and Uncommon Voices. 

IG: Well, actually, the play was nowhere near ready to produce when I turned it into BPF.  The simple fact of the matter is that you (as a playwright) are never going to make your play better until it is on stage and in rehearsal with actors, directors, and designers working on it. It is a really necessary part of the writing process. You need to get it out of your head and see how your play functions. Short answer: I knew BPF would allow me the opportunity to improve my play.  I dare say the play was a shallow quarter-shell of itself when I turned it into BPF initially, but I figured that I had at least 9 months and a rehearsal process to get it into shape. I just needed someone to see enough potential in the rough version of the play, that they would pick it up and do it.  THANK GOD for Miriam Bazensky at Uncommon Voices, who did just that. And to Miriam's credit; she gave Ian, the cast, and myself, free reign to conduct our rehearsal in ANY WAY we wanted. Without her full confidence and support, the play would not have happened. Flat out.  BPF is a really amazing organization. Taking a chance and producing and producing 10 (sometimes more!) new plays from unpublished playwrights in one summer is SO unheard of. It takes such a huge leap of faith and such a huge dedication to the theatre. People don't realize how FEW theatres in America give the kind of opportunities for playwrights to develop new work that BPF is giving. What they are doing is SO commendable. 

JH: After the play was fully produced at the BPF, it went on to be part of the Page to Stage Festival at the Kennedy Center.  What was that experience like?  How was it different than presenting at the BPF?

IG: It was a total honor to be there. The Kennedy Center is such an incredible supporter of the arts. And Gregg Henry is constantly doing his best to give AMAZING opportunities to as many artists as possible.  The performance itself was, definitely, a different experience than the production at BPF. There was a little less buzz and "hometown pride" in the audience, which was to be expected. DC is a BIG CITY with SO MUCH professional theatre and, as such, our audience at Kennedy brought with them a much more "high-brow", sophisticated, and academic attitude than our Baltimore audiences, so it took them a bit longer to warm up to the play, but they wound up enjoying themselves, even so. I could definitely understand their aversion at first. In spite of all of it's universal appeal, its still a weird and left-of-center play at heart. And of course, not having Chris's set, Chas's sound design, and Colleen's lights there definitely took away from the mood and intimacy of the production, but the actors did a great job, regardless.  Frankly, I was just happy to be there. To have my work read at a theatre as prestigious as The Kennedy Center was absolutely massive.

JH: Your play, Split, won the 1^st place - outstanding production and 3^rd place - playwriting awards at the Playwright's Festival.  How does that feel!?  What was your initial reaction? 

IG: It was a pretty awesome feeling. It was a great year for the BPF. There were a lot of great and well-deserving plays produced. I was, mostly, just grateful for the recognition. Especially for Ian and the cast. Everyone worked so hard to make this play as good as it could possibly be and I'm really glad they got the appreciation they deserved for it.  However, I was, genuinely, shocked (in a totally amazing way) when City Paper voted me "Best Playwright" in their "Best of Baltimore" issue. That was out of NOWHERE. It was a real validation of what I was doing. Because the Baltimore theatre community can be such a tightly knit and insulated community, sometimes, that you're never quite sure who on the outside is paying attention. And to have a "hip" and decidedly contemporary publication like City Paper proclaiming what you are doing as "The Best of Baltimore" is pretty astounding.  That flat out made my year.

IB: It is an incredible feeling to be remembered for your work, it is a tremendous honor. I cannot really articulate how it felt when we won Best Production. Many people deserved to be on that stage accepting that award. Kelly Lyons (who stage managed the show, but really hung lights, painted sets, bought costumes, ran a sound board, served as my outside eye, etc) and Tony Byrd (who ran a manual light board, which entailed changing many levels every time a light bulb went on or off) really deserved to be up there too. Without them, Split would have never been ready to be performed.  So I became overwhelmed with emotions for everyone, the actors, Ira, the crew, who brought Split to life.

 

JH: Now, your play is being remounted at TU.  How did that come about? 

IG: Mostly, because I have a super-supportive girlfriend with great ideas. I give her and Ian a bulk of the credit on this one. After the show one night, she was like "you should remount the show at Towson, so you could show the students how to really DO SOMETHING with their theatre degree". And then somehow that idea just snowballed and turned into this buzz-fueled word of mouth rumor around the theatre department, until Ian and I asked Steve Satta and Jay Herzog if a remount was possible and they approved it. That's the simple version.  Everyone at Towson has been amazingly supportive of the show. Beyond the whole cast and crew being Towson folk: Peter Wray helped out with rehearsals as an occasional directorial/creative consultant. Tony Rosas loaned us the big curtain that we used for the set. We even used a TU rehearsal room for initial staged readings. The remount feels like a proper homecoming.

JH: Tony-winner and TU graduate John Glover will be hosting the show.  That must be very exciting for you.  Do you know him?  How did he get involved? 

IG: It's pretty big honor to have John involved in ANY way. He has had SUCH a career. He was in and out of my undergraduate years at Towson. Once or twice a year he would come in and do monologue workshops or just watch class or rehearsal. I've always found it EXCEEDINGLY admirable that he consistently makes a point to come back to Towson's Theatre Department EVERY YEAR. He REALLY takes time to get to know the students when he is there. He constantly gives scholarships and financial support to the department. It's very impressive that someone at his level still makes so much of an effort to give back to Towson.  I can't say that I know him per say.  I've had him in class. Had a few drinks with him. To be completely honest, I'm not entirely certain he'll have ANY recollection of who I am. He is REALLY friendly with Ian. That's how we got him involved. Ian was the recipient of his scholarship a few years ago and they developed a really close friendship.  Although, it's funny- when I was in 10^th grade, my English teacher, Mr. Johnson, showed us a filmed version of Enemy Of The People after which time, I fell DEEPLY in love with Henrik Ibsen. And years later, in college, I was looking at John's bio on IMDB and it turned out he played Dr. Stockman in the film that I saw. Funny coincidence. He is, seriously, EVERYWHERE. I recently realized he was had a cameo in Annie Hall.

JH: What responsibility, if any, do you feel toward giving back to TU and the other places/people who set you on this path? 

IG: I always have this completely nerdy fantasy about my Academy Award or Tony Award speech and in the fantasy; I always thank Towson University's Theatre Department and my old high school theatre teacher, Tim Fowler. And the next morning, they're both instantly ON THE MAP. Like, Towson's Theatre Department gets a sudden influx of undergraduate playwright applicants and Tim Fowler suddenly becomes a Broadway director or something. I know. Crazy artist fantasy. (I'm pretty certain we all have them.)  In "real-life" terms, I definitely think that it's important to acknowledge the people that helped make you who you are. Towson's Theatre Department most certainly helped me to do that and I am glad to return the favor in any way that I can.  I ALWAYS make sure to put "Graduate of Towson University's Theatre Program" on ALL of my playbill bios and resumes. And I, definitely, make sure to drop Towson's name TONS of times when discussing theatre programs with colleagues at theatre festivals or events. (And I drone on and on about how much Towson has done for me in my Broadwayworld.com interviews…) All of that stuff goes a long way.  It's great free publicity for them. Many of our reviewers picked up on the fact that almost everyone involved with Split went to Towson, mentioned it in their reviews, and Towson got tons of great press as a result.  There is a definite part of me that strives to succeed, just so that I can get Towson's name to be THAT MUCH bigger as a result. I feel like Towson's theatre program has a really good word of mouth buzz about it. It's not, necessarily, as recognizable as a Tisch or a Julliard, but it's got a really solid reputation that, in my opinion, has the potential to do nothing but grow in the years to come. They have already improved the curriculum, greatly, since I graduated. Who knows what the future will bring?  I've got a lot of hometown pride.

IB: I would do anything for the Theatre Program at Towson University.  There is a lot of heart in that place. The faculty genuinely cares for the students. They care about their development as people as much as their growth as theatre artists.  When Jay Herzog, the chair of the program, presented the idea of remounting Split. I immediately talked to the Theatre Company I am working for in Philadelphia about getting some time off to brush off Split for a student scholarship benefit.

 

JH: Finish this sentence (and elaborate):  In 10 years, Ira Gamerman will be… 

IG: Whew. Um? I never know what to say at these things, since I don't actually know. But I'll indulge my wildest fantasies and say: Making a living purely by practicing my art. Splitting my time (no pun intended) between being an internationally produced and acclaimed Playwright/screenwriter (maybe a Pulitzer under my belt), with a Masters in dramatic writing from Tisch (I'm applying there for grad-school this year. PLEASE KEEP FINGERS CROSSED) and playing in my super-cool band (which would be signed to a wicked awesome-indie label, like Merge, or Matador, or Secretly Canadian or something) who would be the opening band for the inevitable (hopefully) Pavement, Neutral Milk Hotel, Velvet Underground, AND Smiths reunion tours. I'd be surrounded with positive and creative people. I'd keep up with the people who are important to me. I'd keep on making art that is dangerous and envelope-pushing, but more importantly, unpretentious and meaningful to me. I'd keep on growing and changing for the better.  Um? That's it? That seems do-able, right? …. Except the thing about The Smiths reunion. That's just never going to happen.

IG: Thanks, James!

 

JH:  You are most welcome, Ira.  Congratulations!

 

 

(PHOTO: Ira Gamerman 'in performance" with his band Even So) 

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