Tamara (play)
Encyclopedia
Tamara is a play by John Krizanc
. It was premiered at Strachan House in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, Toronto
, Canada
on May 8, 1981 and published as a book the same year. Tamara won two Dora Mavor Moore Award
s in 1982 -- one as outstanding new play, and another as outstanding production. In May, 1984, Tamara opened in Los Angeles, where it would run for nine years. The Art Deco
-styled American Legion Hall on Highland Ave in Hollywood was used as the venue. The hall was originally decorated with about a dozen paintings by the title character, Tamara de Lempicka
, drawn from various collectors including Barbra Streisand
and Jack Nicholson
, until the insurance costs proved prohibitive. Soon after the play opened in New York in 1987, it starred Anjelica Huston
as de Lempicka; Huston had first played the role in Los Angeles. In 1995 Boje wrote an article for Academy of Management Journal about the play, and how people coming to a room in the play from different room sequences, will have very different organizational storytelling
sensemaking
of what is happening.
In 2002, a 20th anniversary production was mounted in Toronto.
The play is based on the historical meeting of Gabriele d'Annunzio
and de Lempicka. D'Annunzio had hired de Lempicka to paint his portrait, and invited her to his villa at Gardone Riviera
on the southwest bank of Lake Garda
, a villa now known as Il Vittoriale degli Italiani.
The play draws the audience into a labyrinthine story which reflects complicity in civic responsibility. De Lempicka declines to use her voice despite the power given it through her cultural preeminence. She sells her art to the highest bidder without commentary. This has been taken up by some post-modern theorists of Management Studies as reflecting their position under the hegemony
of the contemporary university
, where academic freedom
is constrained by corporate public relations
.
In Tamara the barrier between spectator and actor
has been dissolved; the spaces intermingle, and spectators become actors on many stages
. Tamara is postmodern theatre performed in a large house with ten actors performing simultaneous scenes in several different rooms; at other times there is simultaneous action in eleven rooms. The spectator can accompany the character of their choice and experience the story they choose, knowing that with the simultaneous performances they cannot experience the whole play. Thus the members of the audience make a series of choices, and depending upon these choices, each spectator creates their own individual viewing of the play from point of view they develop.
See interview with John Krizanc, in Tamara Journal, which is named after the play he wrote.
There are five key choices in the play:
John Krizanc
John Krizanc is a Canadian playwright who established an international reputation with his non-linear work, Tamara. Its Toronto production won him a Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1982.-Writing career:...
. It was premiered at Strachan House in Trinity-Bellwoods Park, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on May 8, 1981 and published as a book the same year. Tamara won two Dora Mavor Moore Award
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance, and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped establish Canadian professional theatre, the award was established on December 13, 1978...
s in 1982 -- one as outstanding new play, and another as outstanding production. In May, 1984, Tamara opened in Los Angeles, where it would run for nine years. The Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-styled American Legion Hall on Highland Ave in Hollywood was used as the venue. The hall was originally decorated with about a dozen paintings by the title character, Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lempicka
Tamara de Lempicka , born Maria Górska in Moscow, in the Russian Empire, was a Polish Art Deco painter and "the first woman artist to be a glamour star."- Early life :...
, drawn from various collectors including Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, until the insurance costs proved prohibitive. Soon after the play opened in New York in 1987, it starred Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston is an American actress. Huston became the third generation of her family to win an Academy Award, for her performance in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, joining her father, director John Huston, and grandfather, actor Walter Huston. She later was nominated in 1989 and 1990 for her acting in...
as de Lempicka; Huston had first played the role in Los Angeles. In 1995 Boje wrote an article for Academy of Management Journal about the play, and how people coming to a room in the play from different room sequences, will have very different organizational storytelling
Organizational storytelling
Organizational storytelling is an emerging discipline in the study of management, strategy and organization studies. As an emerging discipline it is contested ground, with some academics describing it is a purposeful tool to be used by business people, and others describing it is a way of...
sensemaking
Sensemaking
Sensemaking is the process by which people give meaning to experience. While this process has been studied by other disciplines under other names for centuries, the term "sensemaking" has primarily marked three distinct but related research areas since the 1970s: Sensemaking was introduced to...
of what is happening.
In 2002, a 20th anniversary production was mounted in Toronto.
The play is based on the historical meeting of Gabriele d'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
and de Lempicka. D'Annunzio had hired de Lempicka to paint his portrait, and invited her to his villa at Gardone Riviera
Gardone Riviera
Gardone Riviera is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy.-Main sights:* The Vittoriale degli Italiani is a former residence of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio. He donated it to the Italian State before his death...
on the southwest bank of Lake Garda
Lake Garda
Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is located in Northern Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last ice age...
, a villa now known as Il Vittoriale degli Italiani.
The play draws the audience into a labyrinthine story which reflects complicity in civic responsibility. De Lempicka declines to use her voice despite the power given it through her cultural preeminence. She sells her art to the highest bidder without commentary. This has been taken up by some post-modern theorists of Management Studies as reflecting their position under the hegemony
Hegemony
Hegemony is an indirect form of imperial dominance in which the hegemon rules sub-ordinate states by the implied means of power rather than direct military force. In Ancient Greece , hegemony denoted the politico–military dominance of a city-state over other city-states...
of the contemporary university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, where academic freedom
Academic freedom
Academic freedom is the belief that the freedom of inquiry by students and faculty members is essential to the mission of the academy, and that scholars should have freedom to teach or communicate ideas or facts without being targeted for repression, job loss, or imprisonment.Academic freedom is a...
is constrained by corporate public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
.
In Tamara the barrier between spectator and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
has been dissolved; the spaces intermingle, and spectators become actors on many stages
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
. Tamara is postmodern theatre performed in a large house with ten actors performing simultaneous scenes in several different rooms; at other times there is simultaneous action in eleven rooms. The spectator can accompany the character of their choice and experience the story they choose, knowing that with the simultaneous performances they cannot experience the whole play. Thus the members of the audience make a series of choices, and depending upon these choices, each spectator creates their own individual viewing of the play from point of view they develop.
See interview with John Krizanc, in Tamara Journal, which is named after the play he wrote.
There are five key choices in the play:
- 1. As characters leave and separate from a room, which will you follow?
- 2. Or will you wait and see who shows up in one or several rooms?
- 3. Will you follow the same character all the time, or switch characters as the play progresses?
- 4. Will you stay with a friend, or each adopt different strategies?
- 5. How will you respond when an actor gives you instructions (i.e. to follow them, or wait in the room, etc.)?