Interview: Deborah Hope of GLORIA: A LIFE at Cypress Stage

Cypress Stage launches its inaugural season with Emily Mann’s Gloria: A Life, running October 2 through October 18. Houston theater veteran Deborah Hope directs the production, which explores the life and work of feminist icon Gloria Steinem. Hope spoke with BroadwayWorld writer Brett Cullum about the new theater company, her personal connection to Steinem, her career in Houston theater, and why she believes the city’s theater community is so special.

Brett Cullum: Cypress Stage is launching its inaugural season, and you’re right at the front end of this. Tell me a little bit about this new company and where they are.

Deborah Hope: They’re in Cypress, which sounds so far. I remember when they first came to me, and Ron had asked me, “Would you direct this? A woman really needs to direct it, and you would be great.” I’d only directed a couple of things in the past. But actors, I want to act, but I also want to direct, so that’s always kind of in your head. When he said it would be in Cypress, right away I went, “Cypress?” I’m thinking, “How far is Cypress? Do I need a passport? This is crazy.” No, it’s 20 minutes. It’s closer than Brenham, and I go up to Unity Theatre all the time. It’s 20 minutes from where I live, which is in the Heights. It’s just straight up 290, and there it is. So, yes, it seems like it’s far away, because people come from Cypress to Houston to see shows, but now we’re asking people to go from Houston to Cypress to see shows. And then the people who live in Cypress finally get a theater. We’re renting the space at Cypress Woods High School, their black box. But that’s not the permanent space, that’s just the first place that they got to do it in, which’ll be great.

Brett Cullum: And this is happening at such a sad time, especially with Gloria Steinem’s unfortunate passing. But I love that you are getting to honor her here. 

Deborah Hope: Even with the passing of Gloria, it just feels like the right time to do it, and this is important, and we want to get it right, and honor her, and her legacy, and the ongoing struggles. They’ve had the rights to it for four months before this. It was just like, “We love her, and this is important, and she’s still out there fighting the fight.” We had gone into rehearsal, actually, and the day after she had passed, it was a little solemn when we walked in, and we didn’t know how to react. We honor her every single night when we go into that theater, so she’s with us every step of the way.

Brett Cullum: Tell me about this play, Gloria: A Life. Emily Mann — I’ve heard some interesting things about it. Tell me what it’s like and what it’s doing.

Deborah Hope: It’s nothing like I’ve ever been in, or certainly directed. There are six women who play the ensemble, and each of those women plays probably 15 different characters, so they switch. When Gloria is talking to the audience, it’s set up like a talking circle. Wilma Mankiller, who was the first Cherokee chief back in the ’70s, was the one who talked about the talking circle and how much you get done when there’s not a leader, sort of like the round table. Because you have one person who stands up, and then somebody else. Nobody’s intimidated by the structure of it. It’s just very warm and welcoming, and you feel safe to tell your story. At the end, the last 20 minutes, we turn the whole theater into a talking circle and invite the audience: “What was your experience, or how can you relate to something that had happened?”

We go through her life from when she started in the ’70s, and then it accumulates. It’s fast-paced, and the ensemble is running. We’re at the Oak Room in New York, and we’re protesting, and now we’re at the Women’s Convention. It’s this big circle, and then circles within circles. To get people to understand and feel motivated and inspired, it’s an event. I think it’s going to be really cool, the way it’s shaping up right now.

Brett Cullum: Do you have, when you look back at Gloria, anything that stands out to you in your own personal experience?

Deborah Hope: Honey, you know, I always try to hide what my age is, but I can’t if I’m gonna honor Gloria, because you have to own who you are. I was 17 when all of this happened, when the National Organization for Women first came into being. I was 17, just as Planned Parenthood was coming into being. Everything that I had known growing up — and I had a tyrant of a father, and he had five daughters, so it was very, “This is how you’re supposed to do, act, look.” When I saw and heard Gloria, it was such a light-bulb moment. It absolutely, Brett, changed the trajectory of my life. Everything that I had been taught was from my father’s point of view. And Gloria’s the one who opened everything up, and the injustice of this. And the simple question: What is so controversial about saying that I want the same rights that you have as a man? Why is that controversial? I went to Washington. I was living in Philly at the time. I was with that crowd in that first protest. I couldn’t see her, it was insane, but I could hear her. And being around like-minded men and women who had that, “Yeah, this is unfair, and we have to change it.” My mind just kept exploding and expanding, and I was waking up and seeing it. I became one of the first card-carrying members of NOW. I was very hopeful. So who I chose to be with at that point, what I chose to do with my body at that point, everything was a completely different ballgame, and it’s because of not just Gloria, but her and all the women who stood with her and helped her and lifted her up, because you don’t do it alone.

Brett Cullum: How did you get into acting? I was always curious about the young Deborah starting off.

Deborah Hope: Even from being a little girl, I would put on shows that my parents had no idea about. I would put on shows, I’d open up the garage in the back, I’d put some chairs, and I would go around and knock on the doors of our neighbors and say, “Oh, I’m gonna put on a show.” It was all like this improv. I would just, you know, “Now they’re there, oh, I should probably do a song. Now I should probably do something else.” I always wanted to entertain. In high school, I was in the Thespian Society. That’s all I ever wanted to do, but my life took a little bit of a turn. When I came back to it, I came back to stand-up comedy. I toured for a year doing stand-up, which was such a good proving ground for an actor, but so hard, because when they don’t like you, it’s not like, “I didn’t like the play, I didn’t like the direction.” No, they hate you. So that was, but it gives you that tough skin. And then I went into improv, so I did all the hard stuff first. I had already gone to New York. I was in New York when I was 19, I think, and I had taken classes with Uta Hagen. I mean, that’s where I wanted to go. That’s what I was trained to do.

When I came to Houston, I got my first show in Houston, and it just was like, “This is where you need to be.” I just kept getting better opportunities, working with better people all the time. I still take classes. Not only do I teach, but I still take classes. I still go to people to coach me on things, so you never really stop learning how to do it. Somebody had asked me a few years ago, “Well, if you couldn’t be an actor, what would you want to be?” And I couldn’t. I’ve done other things. I was in business and did all that. I couldn’t give you a different answer. This is it. This is all I ever wanted to do.

Brett Cullum: What is it about Houston, and Houston theater particularly, that you find so vibrant?

Deborah Hope: Because everyone here, it’s not like New York. When I came here, it felt like a home. We were all like-minded. It just felt like we were a unit. 

We say that we have this bubble around us, and we have this circle. But somebody goes, “Well, how do I get into the circle?” Oh, the circle expands! You just want to get into the circle, we make room, and then the circle is bigger. We encourage each other. We want every theater to succeed. I’ll tell you, if I won the lottery, every theater in Houston would be funded, because it’s so important, and everybody in this community understands that. We want more people in theater, because theater is what’s gonna get right to your heart. It can change minds, it can not just entertain, but it can, there’s so much it can do, especially for young people. I’m very hopeful about the life of Houston theater, because I think it is nothing like I’ve ever seen anyplace else.

Brett Cullum: And you realize, you just mentioned the circle. Gloria's circle... 

Deborah Hope: Going right back.

Brett Cullum: You and Joel Sandel have such a great connection with the Car Takes videos on YouTube. How did you meet Joel?

Deborah Hope: Oh my God, I’ve known Joel from when I first moved to Houston. I don’t even remember what year it was. I’m gonna say it was probably the late ’80s. We’ve been friends for 30 years. It’s a long time, and we’ve done shows together, and it’s just that we have the same brain. We’re the same temperament as far as that goes, so it’s just a perfect fit for us.