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NORMAN
& BEATRICE
February 3 - March 4, 2006
The Connelly Theater
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
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NEWS & EVENTS>Newletters>Winter
2006
an interview with Barabara Hammond
author of NORMAN & BEATRICE
 Award-winning playwright Barbara Hammond has had her plays
produced in New York and Dublin. She is a regular contributor to
Naked Angels Theatre Company's readings series, and she is a resident
artist at the Tyrone Guthrie Center. Barbara recently completed
her first film (with Tom Noonan) adapted from her one-act play "June
Weddings." She has written several full-length plays, but Norman
& Beatrice is perhaps her most personal.
Barbara recently met up with Director David Travis to talk about
the play.
DT: When were you first inspired to write Norman & Beatrice?
BH: My father's last years were clouded by dementia, and
my mother cared for him at home. I wrote "Norm and Bea"
as a one-act after a visit there - I was struck by how completely
together they were in their isolated world. His dependency had made
them so close; their conversation would switch from the real to
the absurd without my mother skipping a beat. She had learned to
adapt to his new way of seeing the world, and they enjoyed each
other - and maybe got to know each other - in a way that hadn't
been possible in their younger busier lives. One day when my mother
was cleaning out the attic, she found a film her brother had taken
of their wedding in 1946. I had the film put on videotape and watched
them watching it together, holding hands on the couch. Dad said
"That was terrific!" when it was over. My mother asked
him if he knew who the people in it were and he was quiet. They
watched it again, and again she asked him if he knew who the smiling
young woman he was kissing was. Another pause. I saw her eyes well
up with tears. "Prettiest girl I ever saw" he said finally,
and kissed her lips. She was blushing.
DT: In the play you pay great tribute to the power of Norm and Bea's
love. Their connection - that stability and security - gives them
the strength to transcend so much of the uncertainty and fear. And
they still manage to keep their relationship full of humor, thoughtfulness
and joy. It's incredibly brave.
BH: My mother can be very practical and literal-minded, and
it was really remarkable to watch her create answers for some of
his more persistent questions. She would take on the role of an
Army sergeant, an NBA player or the Green Bay Packers' coach if
that would put my father at ease. This is not to diminish the horror
of watching a loved one forget who they are, but, as this was their
day-to-day reality, they both found ways to cope that were very
inspiring to watch.
DT: You've chosen to set the play in a small Midwestern town,
but I think it could be transplanted to almost anywhere in America
- Norman & Beatrice have the same concerns as most American
couples.
BH: We all noticed that my dad's concerns were pro-bably
the ones that had kept him up at night as a younger man -- Do we
have enough to pay the bills? Is the baby all right? Do you still
love me? All the questions that concern us that we keep to ourselves
he didn't have the wherewithal to keep to himself anymore. Food,
shelter -- all of his worries were about survival except his need
to be loved. And some would argue that love is necessary for survival,
too. Although the world has changed so much - men's and women's
roles and expectations, definitely - the things that motivate our
behavior the most have hardly changed at all.
DT: Casting this show was an interesting challenge because
there were so many directions we could go in. We briefly considered
casting four actors - two younger and two older - which would have
created some interesting staging options, but I also realized that
if we did it with only two actors, it could create an opportunity
for a couple of real tour-de-force performances. Of course the next
step was figuring out what age the actors should be. Convincingly
playing a 50-year range requires some serious acting chops.
BH: We are so fortunate to have Jane and Graeme in the roles.
It's hard to find actors who have the depth to play the older roles
but who can still find the innocence of their younger selves. Casting
just two actors presents an audience with yet another layer to consider
--- how much of yourself do you carry throughout your life, and
are you defined by who you once were or who you become? I think
casting two actors allows the question of time to rise to the surface
-- what separates the 1947 couple from the 2001 couple? Time and
experience. That's all.
February 3 - March 4, 2006
The Connelly Theater
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
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