Yellow Wallpaper

An all ages show, The Yellow Wallpaper will be presented as the first show of a double bill performance including The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry at the Visual Studies Workshop at 31 Prince Street beginning July 25th and running through August 3rd, 2003. Performances are Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:00pm. Single tickets range from $8-$10 and may be purchased at the Bread and Water Theatre Box Office in person or to reserve tickets call (585) 538-2105.

The Yellow Wallpaper is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman adapted into a play by Marcy J. Savastano and J.R. Teeter. Gilman, the grandniece of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was an important voice in the feminist cause and is known for the book Women and Economics and founding of The Forerunner, a magazine she self-published.

In The Yellow Wallpaper, the unnamed woman and her doctor husband, John, live in "a colonial mansion, a hereditary estate..." She believes the house is haunted. "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that." She believes she is ill but her husband, and her brother say it is only "temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency..." They insist on "phosphates or phosphites - whichever it is - and tonics" and absolutely forbid work until she is well again. She believes "That congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good. Personally, I disagree with their ideas. But what is one to do? I did write for a while in spite of them; but it does exhaust me a good deal - having to be so sly about it, or else meet with heavy opposition." She is confined to rest in a room she hates with wallpaper she finds hideously ugly: "The color is repellent, almost revolting: a smoldering unclean yellow... dull yet lurid orange in some places, a sickly sulphur tint in others." It is in this room that she writes her secret journal that is this story. She struggles to believe in her husband and brother's "kindness" and "care" while, with terrifying starkness, she narrates her journey into madness.

Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper was one of her first works to deal with the "woman question" and parallels her real life experiences in a sanitarium while suffering from depression. Gilman proved to be a maverick in her lifetime, divorcing her first husband at a time when such things were unheard of, becoming a prolific writer of prose and poetry and most importantly taking control of her life. An advocate for the right-to-die, Gilman took her own life in 1935.

Ranked as the 6th most influential woman of all time by the Siena Research Institute and was inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame in 1994, Charlotte Perkins Gilman remains one of America's most influential and ahead-of-her-time women.

The cast includes: Marcy J. Savastano (The woman), Carl Girard (John) and Heather Siebert (Jennie). Mr. Girard and Ms. Savastano last appeared in Nosoma Theatre's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ms. Siebert is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia and has recently appeared in Christopher Durang’s The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Neil Simon’s Rumors.

The creative team consists of J.R. Teeter (Director) who recently directed Candide Carrasco’s Night Passengers and last appeared in Exact Theatre's The Balcony. All of the above will be appearing in Bread and Water Theatre's The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Founded in 2001, The Bread and Water Theatre, under the artistic direction of J.R. Teeter, develops theatre that speaks to our new and evolving world through new works of dramatic literature and adapted classics. In the next year, BWT will be applying for non-profit status and aspires to be a major force in American theatre, providing audiences with challenging contemporary drama and innovative community outreach programs.

An all ages show, The Yellow Wallpaper will be presented as the first show of a double bill performance including The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry at the Visual Studies Workshop at 31 Prince Street beginning July 25th and running through August 3rd, 2003. Performances are Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8:00pm. Single tickets range from $8-$10 and may be purchased at the Bread and Water Theatre Box Office in person or to reserve tickets call (585) 538-2105.

###

DIRECTOR AND CAST AVAILABLE FOR INTERVIEWS AS THEIR SCHEDULES PERMIT

PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST