BALANCING ACT:

THE PROCESS OF CREATING MRS. VAN BUREN IN

INTIMATE APPAREL

By

Erica Highberg
B.F.A., Ohio University, 1998

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in the

Conservatory of Performing Arts
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Fine Arts

Point Park University

2011
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION………………………………….4

INITIAL TEXT ANALYSIS……………………….5

AUDITION PREPARATION………………………10

PRE-PRODUCTION………………………………..20

THE REHEARSAL PROCESS……………………..

APPLYING TECHNICAL ELEMENTS……………41

PERFORMANCE……………………………………45

CONCLUSION………………………………………48

WORKS CITED……………………………………..51
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APPENDIX…………………………………………52
A. Production Credits
B. The Twelve Guideposts
C. Character Assessment Questions
D. Reviews
E. Initial Visual Reference
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INTRODUCTION

Creating a role is a personal experience, one which allows me to walk in

someone else’s shoes for awhile and perhaps be forever changed by the journey.

It can be like heading off into the unknown, but that is why it is helpful to have a

process to guide me on the way. My process as an actor provides me with a map

for the journey from pre-production, through rehearsal and performance. For

me, this process almost always begins with character. When creating a character

I examine her behaviors, her relationships, and reactions. Whenever possible

and appropriate I try to fill in the pieces of her life that the playwright has not

provided. Discovering this history is, for me, one of the joys of acting. Once the

character is clear the rest of the work consists of reacting truthfully within the

given circumstances of the play. I begin with text analysis to inspire my

character choices, utilizing the actor training I initially received at Ohio

University in Athens, Ohio and further pursued at Point Park University in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I also use the Twelve Guideposts in Michael

Shurtleff’s book Audition to form bold, specific initial character choices. Finally, I

test these choices in an explorative rehearsal process in order to let the role grow

and serve the production as a whole. One role which I was fortunate to get to

explore this way is that of Mrs. Van Buren in Lynne Nottage’s play Intimate

Apparel. I played this role at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre Company as part of their
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2006-2007 season. Our production 1 was directed by Diane Rodriguez, and

featured Tracey A. Leigh as Esther. The process of creating Mrs. Van Buren in

the context of this production was both challenging and rewarding, providing

me with a chance to balance creative limitations and opportunities. In keeping a

character-central approach to my process in Intimate Apparel, I utilized my

interpretation of the text, Shurleff’s Guideposts, and the findings of the rehearsal

process as my technique in creating the role of Mrs. Van Buren.

INITIAL TEXT ANALYSIS

I began my preliminary analysis of Intimate Apparel with a thorough

examination of the script. Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage was originally

commissioned by South Coast Repertory, and premiered at Center Stage on

April 18, 2003. The play made its New York City debut at the Roundabout

Theatre Company exactly one year after its California premiere. Written after a

long hiatus from playwriting, Intimate Apparel is one of Nottage’s most personal

plays, penned after the death of her mother and the birth of her daughter. The

inspiration for the play sprang from Nottage’s research into the lives of

immigrants living in New York in the early 1900’s. This research sparked a

memory of stories about her great-grandmother who immigrated to New York

from Barbados and had sewn intimate apparel for wealthy ladies. Though her

family had expected her to remain a spinster, she shocked everyone by taking up

1
See Appendix for complete list of cast and crew
 6

a written correspondence with a laborer who she eventually married. Nottage

was inspired by this discovery of her lineage, partly spurred on by a shoebox of

forgotten family photographs recovered from her grandmother’s home after her

death. Nottage says in an article for the Los Angeles Times: “Sitting in the main

hall of the New York Public Library, I had an epiphany: If my family hadn’t

preserved our stories, and history certainly had not, who would?” (qtd. in

Gener). In Intimate Apparel, Nottage creates a world of delicate characters

vulnerable to exposure and lays bare her own familial intimate apparel through

the personal nature of her subject matter.

The play itself is indeed intimate, with a cast of six characters and

comprised, with one exception, of two-person scenes. The play revolves around

Esther, an African-American seamstress who, like Nottage’s great-grandmother

Ethel, had left her Southern home to move North, like so many seeking new

employment in the growing New York industrial machine at the turn of the

century. In 1905, the year in which Intimate Apparel takes place, there was a

higher concentration of people within the city than at any other time or place in

history because of the mass immigration to New York from the southern states

and from Europe (Jackson, 300.) Also like Nottage’s grandmother Ethel, Esther

has been unwed for so many years that she expects to remain single for the rest

of her life. She lives at a ladies’ boarding house, presided over by Mrs. Dickson

who acts as a surrogate mother to Esther. She earns her keep by sewing lingerie

for wealthy ladies and others who require her services. Nottage did not craft
 7

Esther as a mooning schoolgirl dreaming of a knight to come along and save her.

Rather, Esther is practical and smart, mature enough to feel that getting married

might not be a possibility and pragmatic enough not to despair in her

spinsterhood. Esther’s dream is to open a beauty parlor for black women, and

she has steadfastly been sewing the money she has saved into a “crazy quilt” so

that she will one day be able to afford her shop. Esther lives at a ladies’ boarding

house, presided over by Mrs. Dickson who acts as a surrogate mother to Esther.

The cast of characters who comprise Intimate Apparel is as diverse as the

city in which it is set. Mrs. Van Buren is one of the wealthy ladies for whom

Esther sews intimate apparel, and the two strike up a tenuous friendship during

Esther’s visits to her boudoir. Mayme is another client of Esther’s, but unlike

Mrs. Van Buren, Mayme is a prostitute who also sings and plays piano in a

Tenderloin district nightclub. Another member of Esther’s close circle of

acquaintances is Mr. Marks, a Jewish fabric dealer whose warmth, sensitivity,

and passion for beautiful fabrics draws Esther to his side. He and Esther share a

forbidden attraction. Nottage draws from her own life once again in the creation

of Mr. Marks, this time culling from her own experience as a black woman falling

in love with a white Jewish man. These people make up the patchwork of

Esther’s world. It is a world in which she is comfortable, if a bit restless. The

security of this world she has created is breached when she begins to receive

letters from George, a laborer working on the Panama Canal who claims to have
 8

gotten her address from the son of the deacon of her hometown church. He

requests permission to continue to write to her to ease his loneliness. His letters

speak of faraway places, longing for love and stability, the need for a real home.

Esther is drawn in by his sweet words and hints at love. Though she cannot

read, she solicits the help of Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren to read the letters and

respond in turn. Esther and George’s paper romance, born of unfulfilled wishes

and blind hopes, leads to an agreement to bring George to the United States with

the intention of making Esther his bride.

But as the second act opens it is clear that the arrangement was not the

happy ending either George or Esther had anticipated. George cannot find work

and depends on Esther’s earnings to buy him the flashy clothes and nights on the

town he desires. Esther is frustrated by George’s nightly absences, which

become more and more frequent, and his unwillingness to participate in the

events which are important to her. It becomes painfully clear that they both

misrepresented themselves in the loving missives they sent back and forth.

Esther is now supporting both herself and her husband with her sewing, and the

tension of their unhappy marriage begins to wear on her. The rest of her

relationships begin to unravel as well. While at Mrs. Van Buren’s house, Esther

curtly requests that Mrs. Van Buren pay her for her services. Then she opens up

to her client about feeling dissatisfied with her marriage and her guilt over

having feelings for someone else. Mrs. Van Buren, believing that Esther means
 9

she is unhappy because she has feelings for her, reaches forward and kisses

Esther on the mouth, thus ending both their friendship and business

relationship. Esther is left even more alone and desperate. George eventually

convinces Esther to give him the money she saved in her quilt so that he can

open up a carriage horse service, a business venture he believes will let him feel

like a real man making his own way. However, instead of using the money for

the business he gambles the entire sum away in one night. In the final twist of

the knife Esther discovers that George has been having an affair with her friend

Mayme, though neither he nor Mayme knew of the other’s relationship to Esther.

After losing the money, George disappears, abandoning both women. Esther

then gives Mr. Marks the smoking jacket she had so lovingly sewn for George, a

material illustration of the bond they feel but never express. At the end of the

play, Esther is left alone and pregnant. Rather than giving up in the face of

failure and humiliation, Esther takes her place at her old sewing machine and

begins to stitch together a new quilt, determined to go on in the face of ruined

hope.

The play itself is rather like Esther’s crazy quilt into which she stuffs her

life savings, a series of vignettes stitched together to reveal a web of longing and

stunted dreams. The central theme is one of yearning, and reaching out to others

to satiate the need for love. Esther’s relationships with the other characters are

illuminated in two-person scenes which weave in and around each other to

 10

comprise the play’s structure. Each character, despite their differences, shares an

unfulfilled longing which they themselves may find hard to define. One of the

beautiful aspects of Intimate Apparel is the way in which the structure, theme, and

subject synthesize to create an integrated piece of dramatic literature. The

intimate apparel of the title speaks to the fragile hopes which both drive and

confine Esther and those in her coterie, such as the bond of yearning she forms

with Mrs. Van Buren. Mrs. Van Buren is complicit in helping Esther to woo

George, but she is also a friend, one who enables Esther to see that even a

wealthy white woman can have unenviable problems of her own. Though

neither may realize it, Mrs. Van Buren and Esther are more alike than they would

seem at first glance, each baring secret sorrows, shames, and dreams. The task as

I saw it was to consider the play’s theme while balancing it with my character

choices. To do so, I had to discover who Mrs. Van Buren really was and how she

fit into Esther’s world.

AUDITION PREPARATION

The process of creating the character of Mrs. Van Buren began even before

I had been cast. When I read the play for the first time I had a strong emotional

reaction to the material. I was instantly in love with Esther, whose fierce

determination and hope prevailed despite the heartaches she faced. I

understood her longing for beauty and love. Reading the end of the play, when

Esther begins to sew a new quilt after losing her husband, her friends, and her
 11

savings, brought me to tears. Esther’s quiet strength is a testament to the lives of

women throughout history who have had to make due in the darkest of

circumstances. Her solitary determination illuminates the sacredness of the pain

and hope of life itself. I knew as soon as I finished reading the script that I had to

be a part of this remarkable, beautiful play.

To begin creating a character, I first examine the facts of the play, consider

the theme and motifs of the play, and ground these ideas in given circumstances.

One technique I like to use to do this is the Twelve Guideposts described in

Michael Shurtleff’s book Audition. Despite its title, Audition is not solely

concerned with audition technique, but also delves into the process of acting and

creating a role. Shurtleff, a long time casting director and acting coach, used his

experience watching what made successful auditions to create the Twelve

Guideposts as a means to help actors give a better audition. The Guideposts

provide a structure without any hard and fast rules. They enable an actor to

probe more deeply into a role by asking questions that will add more texture

without becoming self-indulgent. Because The Guideposts are grounded in text,

they allow an actor to take risks while serving the script. They are focused and

adaptable, and therefore I find them ideal to apply to any role. I use the

Guideposts in the text to prepare my initial audition choices, which I later use

when creating the role for performance.

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Shurtleff’s Twelve Guideposts 2 are based in character and circumstance

which help the actor to make choices organically from information in the text.

He gives the actor questions to consider, such as “Where is the love?” and “What

are you fighting for?” The other Guideposts are The Moment Before, Humor,

Opposites, Discoveries, Communication and Competition, Importance, Find the

Events, Place, Game Playing and Role Playing, and Mystery and Secret. These

Guideposts lead an actor toward making strong choices and encourage

imaginative play when crafting a character.

I had two scenes to prepare for the Intimate Apparel audition, and I began

by applying Shurtleff’s Guideposts. My first step was to take the given

circumstances detailed in the text to identify facts of the scenes and about Mrs.

Van Buren and use the Guideposts to bring them to life. The first Guidepost I

explored was Relationship. Esther is the only character with whom Mrs. Van

Buren has any scenes so I wanted to make a bold relationship choice. In their

final scene together her feelings for Esther have grown so strong that she kisses

her on the mouth, so their friendship must be a close one (at least in Mrs. Van

Buren’s opinion.) I decided to make the choice that Esther was Mrs. Van Buren’s

only friend, and the closest thing she has to a sister. If Esther is her only friend,

the stakes are even higher for Mrs. Van Buren, which creates even more conflict

for her. Conflict is the second Guidepost which has to do with what a character

wants (objective) and how she attempts to get it (action, tactic) in a scene. This

2
See Appendix for full list and description of the Guideposts
 13

guidepost also refers to the conflict at the heart of the entire piece. Mrs. Van

Buren’s central conflict is that she loves Esther and wants to start a new life with

her but she is afraid to pursue independence. Each scene depicts this conflict on

a smaller scale, beginning with meeting Esther and being awakened to a new

realm of possibility, and concluding with the misunderstanding, a sexual

rejection, and ruined friendship. The Guidepost Find the Events details the

importance of analyzing such plot points so that an actor can find her way from

beginning to middle to end. Mrs. Van Buren’s journey is laden with discoveries,

another Guidepost subject. The events of her story depend on the discoveries

she makes as she experiences them: discovering that Esther is easy to talk to, that

she can depend on her, that her touch is gentle and sensuous, and that she has an

independent spirit, to name a few. The Guideposts often overlap and strengthen

each other in this way, which is another reason I find them so effective in my

process.

The Guidepost of Humor is an important one, and a tactic Mrs. Van Buren

uses in all of her scenes. As Shurtleff says, “Humor is not jokes.” Humor is the

levity we try to inject into a situation in order to make it bearable. Mrs. Van

Buren uses humor often when speaking of her husband so that she will not

become too sad or somber. Her humor makes her likeable and fun, and I think it

is this quality which endears her to Esther. Her humor makes her accessible to

Esther; more like a friend than a wealthy client. I wanted to be sure to exploit the

humor in each of the audition sides in order to show that very human side of her.
 14

After making these sweeping Guidepost choices I began to apply them

more specifically to the scenes with which I was to audition. At the time of the

audition, I was in the second year of the master’s program in acting at Point Park

University. One of our classes that semester was taught by Ingrid Sonnichsen, an

actress and faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University. In this class we had

been discussing the use of status and Ingrid led us through some exercises to

illustrate how to use status to comic effect and to flesh out character. I decided to

use some of the ideas of high status that we had covered in my preparation, as

Mrs. Van Buren is, at least on the surface, a high status character. Because this

particular unit was applicable to the audition scenes, I asked Ingrid to coach me

one day in order to clarify my status choices. One of the choices I used from

Ingrid’s class was that of raising the status of the other person in the scene. Mrs.

Van Buren, as a high status player, well-bred and from a wealthy family, would

have been coached in manners and social graces all her life and would easily be

able to raise the status of the other person in the room with her charm and

attention. Though that choice was working for me, Ingrid suggested that I add

another layer to the character – that of class boundaries. This layer would have

Mrs. Van Buren curtail the familiarity between the two women when Esther, in

friendly conversation, goes too far. The actual text we worked with reads as

follows:

MRS. VAN BUREN: Maybe I’ll be a bohemian. A bohemian needn’t a husband, she’s

not bound by convention.

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Esther: I don’t see why you let him do you this way, missus. If you don’t mind me

saying. (A moment.)

MRS. VAN BUREN: Have you been to the opera? (Esther, aware that she

overstepped, nervously adjusts the bodice.)

I had initially opted not to play the choice that Mrs. Van Buren finds offense at

Esther’s gaffe, but after working with Ingrid I saw the possibilities for a more

complex character emerge if I allowed Mrs. Van Buren to flinch. Choosing to

acknowledge Esther’s overstepping also made use of the idea of Opposites, one

of Shurtleff’s Guideposts. Ingrid suggested that the question about the opera

was intended in part to put Esther back in her place. These women are divided

by severe racial and class boundaries despite their intimate relationship. Nottage

states in her stage directions that Esther is “aware that she overstepped,” and

that realization depends on Mrs. Van Buren’s reaction to her overly-familiar

comment. Realizing that Mrs. Van Buren’s affection for Esther and good

breeding are as clear as the boundaries separating the women helped me to find

nuance and detail in the scene. Using Mrs. Van Buren’s higher status helped to

motivate asking Esther if she had been to the opera so that it was a specific

choice, balancing Mrs. Van Buren’s affection for her with the confinements of

class boundaries.

In order to familiarize myself with the time period in which Intimate

Apparel takes place I did a small amount of web-based research. I found some

images online of the New York of 1905 which helped to clarify the setting of
 16

Intimate Apparel for me. Some pictures which were especially helpful were of the

fashions of the time and many ads depicting the Gibson Girl. When I saw the

Gibson Girl poster, I had an immediate connection with her as someone with

whom Mrs. Van Buren would identify. I imagined that Evelyn Nesbitt, one of

the models for the Gibson Girl, would have been someone that Mrs. Van Buren

would have been very drawn to at the time as she exemplified New York’s

beauty, glamour, and gossip – all fancies which interest Mrs. Van Buren. Nesbitt,

like Mrs. Van Buren, did not lead the happy and glamorous life the public saw.

Her youth was riddled with scandal and unhappy relationships arising from her

star status. Though she possessed beauty and talent she lacked grounding and

love. Mrs. Van Buren leads a similar lonely existence. Mrs. Van Buren has a

high society marriage, looks, and money, everything that any Upper East Side

matron could want. Yet underneath she is unhappy and longing for something

she cannot define. Ruminating on this glamorous woman who paid a high price

for fame and beauty opened a door through which I could immediately access

Mrs. Van Buren. I used this image of the fallen beauty to create a quick initial

sketch of this southern debutante transplanted and isolated in her Fifth Avenue

boudoir.

On the day of the audition, I awoke to a blanket of snow. My heart sank

at the prospect of having to miss the audition altogether if I was unable to drive

to the theatre. As a sensitive actor sometimes external forces can affect my mood

and performance, especially in the case of auditions. After calling the theatre to
 17

explain my situation, I tried to relax. I used the rest of the time before my

audition to center myself and get ready, finding a style suitable to wear as Mrs.

Van Buren.

Inspired by my Evelyn Nesbitt discovery I styled my hair after an image

of her from the Eternal Question campaign for my audition. I had purchased a

skirt which suggested the silhouette of the time, and wore earrings which,

though not period, seemed to speak to the essence of Mrs. Van Buren: elegant

but fun. Working from the outside by dressing in the vein of the character gave

me added confidence going into the audition. The clothes I wear have a great

influence over my character and physicality. For Mrs. Van Buren, I wanted to

feel elegant and playful. The long skirt made me feel feminine, and the Gibson

Girl hairstyle helped me to feel flirty and grounded in the time period of the

play. The shoes I chose were laced boots also reminiscent of the early 1900’s.

These boots helped me to carry myself like a debutante instead of a modern girl

in sneakers. When I arrived at the theatre I felt like I looked the part, which in

turn made me feel that I belonged in the role. I felt like I had stepped out of the

early 1900’s, even if the illusion was only in my mind, created by a few subtle

suggestions in costume. My appearance helped to bolster my confidence and

gave me the feel of walking in Mrs. Van Buren’s shoes.

Before my turn to read, I took a few minutes to do a short vocal and

physical warm-up (the best I could do given clothing and spatial constraints.)

Warming up helps me not only to ready my instrument, physically and vocally,

 18

but it also offers a calming ritual through which I find grounding and release.

After the stress caused by the morning snow I needed a little bit of extra

relaxation to center myself so that I could focus on my work rather than my

nerves. Letting go of the tensions of my life through a warm-up enables me to

create more space to let the life of a character shine through. One of my favorite

warm-ups to use before an audition is one I learned from Ralph Zito, former

Chair of the Julliard School’s Drama Division’s Department of Voice and Speech

and current Drama Department Chair at Syracuse University’s College of Visual

and Performing Arts, at the Chautauqua Conservatory Theatre. This warm-up

clears the nasal passages and releases vibrations in the nose and skull while

connecting to the breath. By sending a series of [m] and [n] sounds through each

nostril while massaging the sides of the nose the practitioner awakens breath and

energy in the forward range and loosens mucus which can sometimes get in the

way of a bright, forward sound. The culmination of the exercise is a vigorous

nose-blowing. As it is one of the more irritating exercises for those who are

nearby, I try to execute this warm-up in the privacy of the bathroom stall. I also

find that taking just a moment to breathe, to bring myself into the present with

my breath, I can calm my body enough to be able to open my mind and give my

attention to the task at hand rather than to my nerves. I like to spend a few

minutes lying on the floor before each audition. I have had several acting

teachers, including Denny Dalen at Ohio University, where I received my B.F.A.

in Acting, and Richard Keitel at Point Park University, who required students to
 19

begin class by lying on the floor without talking. As a young actor I did not fully

understand the benefits of such relaxation, but as my career has grown I am

much more aware of the presence, focus, and release that this prone posture

encourages. After connecting my breath to sound I do a few light arm swings

while gently finding vibration on “huh” sounds, finishing with articulation drills

featuring the plosives which I had learned from Penelope Lindblom and Shirley

Tannenbaum as part of my training at Point Park University. These articulation

drills were exercises based on Edith Skinner’s text Speak with Distinction, which

laid the groundwork for our lessons in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

The warm-ups I do for auditions are generally shorter and gentler than

those I do for a performance. A performance warm-up is intended to get me

through a long show and to sustain energy, breath, and range for up to several

hours. I use a warm-up before an audition to connect to the present moment and

ease excess tension. Finding energy is not a problem because auditions trigger a

rush of adrenaline for me. The key for auditions is to hone in on my breath and

the moments that drove the character to the point where she is right now

(Shurtleff describes this history leading up to the scene in the Guidepost titled

The Moment Before). My warm-up is a comforting ritual that I have done many

times and which continues to grow, allowing me to connect to my body, breath,

voice, and creative impulses. Warming-up before my audition for Intimate

Apparel allowed me to relax and trust my preparation. By the time it was my turn

to read I felt at ease and confident that I had a chance at winning this role.
 20

Diane Rodriguez, who was directing the production, and Tracy Brigden,

the Artistic Director of City Theatre, attended the audition. Kellee Van Aken,

then Artistic Associate, was the reader. Two interesting things happened during

the audition. The first thing was that Diane said that she heard the line referring

to Mrs. Van Buren’s in-laws as “[t]he frog and the wart” for the first time that

day. I hadn’t intended to give the line any special resonance in its delivery,

although because of my initial text work I did have a specific image in mind of

who these people could be, and how they could together resemble a wart on a

frog. The other interesting moment occurred when I said the line “Maybe I’ll be

a bohemian.” At this point the script indicates that Mrs. Van Buren opens her

robe to reveal a magenta corset. Having no such physical element to work with I

tried to conjure up the meaning behind the image with my mind. It was not just

the image of the corset that Mrs. Van Buren was experiencing, but also her

dormant notions of freedom, strength, expression, and sexuality. At that

moment of my read I opened my arms and felt a visceral connection to those

desires she describes. In those few seconds I felt in sync with a tiny part of the

universe. I let it flow through me and gave that energy back. In that moment I

was sure I had landed the part. A few days later Kelly Van Aken called to tell

me that I had been cast as Mrs. Van Buren.

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PRE-PRODUCTION

I began to prepare for the role immediately. Before the beginning of any

rehearsal process I like to get a notebook in which to journal my thoughts and

discoveries. I start with the facts, as I did when preparing for the audition for

Intimate Apparel, and then go on to answer character questions, fill in pieces of

the character’s unknown biography, and assign tactics. I start with the facts so

that I stay on track and serve the text. One exercise which I applied to my role in

Intimate Apparel is answering character questions from the text 3 . There are five

questions which I answer directly from the script, using direct quotes as much as

possible. These questions are: How is this character like me? How is this character

different from me? What does the playwright say about the character? What do the other

characters say about the character? What does the character say about herself? and

What actions does this character take? Answering these questions provides much

detailed character information and forces frequent and concentrated readings of

the play. It also helps to point out repeated patterns of dialogue and action. I

waited to do this particular exercise until after I had gotten the part because it is

very time intensive, taking several hours to complete. This exercise helps me to

fill in the gaps of the story and try out some of the choices I had previously

made.

After answering the character questions with information supplied

directly from the text, I began to fill in the unknown portions of Mrs. Van Buren’s

3
See Appendix: Character Assessment Questions
 22

biography. Choosing to create details that the playwright has omitted can

sometimes pull an actor off track if this work is not completely steeped in text.

For this reason I waited until I had considered the Guideposts and answered the

character questions to begin further creative work. Nottage leaves much of Mrs.

Van Buren’s life to the imagination. I wanted to know her family history, what

her relationship was like with her husband, and what her day to day life

comprised, to name a few. All of these questions, once answered, would help me

to develop a more fleshed out, real character whose behaviors and reactions were

based in biography. I returned to the play to look for more clues.

Like Shurtleff, I use a Socratic method. I ask why a character takes a

specific action, or why the playwright chooses to include a particular detail. In

the character listing in the beginning of the text, and in the dialogue thereafter,

Nottage refers to Evangeline as “Mrs. Van Buren.” Why? I felt this manner of

listing was important. By referring to this character by her married name, and

not her first name, Nottage immediately gives Mrs. Van Buren an aura of status

and respectability. Nottage’s choice to use Evangeline’s surname also cements

her relationship with Esther and allows the reader and audience member to

become acquainted with the way Esther relates to this woman: as Mrs. Van

Buren, never as Evangeline. In fact, as all of Mrs. Van Buren’s scenes are with

Esther, the only person in the play who refers to Evangeline’s first name is Mrs.

Van Buren herself. In addition to defining Mrs. Van Buren’s social status with

respect to Esther, this use of surname also defines Evangeline’s dependence on

 23

her marital status, emphasizing the loss of her identity as a result of this match.

Evangeline’s life has no volition of its own. Instead, she is doomed to live out

her life as someone’s wife rather than as her own person.

Though there are pieces missing from Mrs. Van Buren’s history, the

given circumstances revealed in the play helped me to fill in the gaps which I felt

were important to my creation of character. Mrs. Van Buren, like Esther, is a

Southern transplant now living in New York City in the year 1905. Perhaps the

fact that Esther and Mrs. Van Buren are both strangers in a strange land may

have expedited their tenuous friendship as they have little else in common on the

surface. Neither woman has any family nearby. Mrs. Van Buren mentions her

family only once when she laments “If only Mother dear could see what has

become of her peach in the big city,” as she stares back at her lingerie-clad

reflection in her mirror. From this line I deduced that she was most likely

originally from Georgia, as Georgian debutantes are referred to as “peaches.”

This line also indicates that Mrs. Van Buren is thinking about her mother, though

she never mentions her again. To me the line resounds with homesickness,

which gave me a clue to how she was feeling about her current life in New York.

I wondered whether Mrs. Van Buren’s mother wanted her to marry and move so

far away. My belief is that she did, believing the marriage to be a good match for

her daughter, and that Mrs. Van Buren’s musing is somewhat embittered. It was

her mother who caused her to end up where she has: friendless, locked into an

unhappy, fruitless marriage, commissioning Esther to create revealing lingerie so

 24

that she might win back her husband’s interest. The choice to find both love and

resentment toward her mother fueled an angry energy in the character. Rather

than seeing her as resigned to her fate I began to see her ready to fight: a much

more active choice which would later help me in rehearsal. In Esther’s presence

is she comfortable enough to admit that she is angry with her mother, angry with

society for perceiving women as unequal to men, and angry at herself for

accepting a role which she did not want to inhabit. While revealing character

background, her confession to Esther also illustrates that she is able to let her

guard down around Esther, which opens the door to their eventual friendship.

One question I felt compelled to answer was whether or not she ever

truly loved her husband, or whether the marriage was made for social and

familial reasons. She mentions him in every scene, and therefore I felt it was

important that I have a clear image of him and of her feelings for him. I chose to

believe that she did love him, at least in the beginning of their marriage. The

decision to love him despite his rejection of her gives Mrs. Van Buren more

conflict, fighting to keep seeking the romance she once had. It hurts more to be

rejected by someone you love than by someone you care little about. Shurtleff

advocates finding the love in a scene, and throughout Guidepost #2 Relationship

consistently stresses that choosing love opens the door to more possibilities and

greater dramatic circumstances.

 25

Nottage omits much of the other information regarding Mrs. Van Buren’s

daily life. She does not have many friends because her social station requires her

to befriend only ladies of wealth, and she makes it clear that they do not like her.

She tells Esther that they constantly ask her when she is going to have a baby,

and that she “sees the way they look” at her. She is very isolated, and we only

see her in the confines of her boudoir. She is educated, and can read and write,

which allow her to help Esther in her correspondence with George. She does not

like the opera and would prefer to go to more contemporary, low-brow affairs

such as the electric show displayed at Madison Square Garden. She must attend

the opera, however, and I assume other social functions she finds dull, because

Harold deems only these socially acceptable outings worthy of attending. Her

husband neither respects nor values her, even going so far as to spit on her for

her inability to become pregnant.

She has some spirit, however, and does sneak off on her own to visit the

Tenderloin district. It is in this seedy part of town that she initially sees the erotic

fashions on display which she commissions Esther to recreate. She says “Maybe

I’ll be a Bohemian. A Bohemian needn’t a husband. She isn’t bound by

convention.” Mrs. Van Buren resents her marriage and the fact that she feels

enslaved by it. I interpreted her surreptitious visits to the Tenderloin as a

yearning for freedom and self expression. She is drawn to the singers and

musicians of the Tenderloin, to the freedom and Bohemian lifestyle they

 26

embody. Her yearning for freedom, for an artistic outlet, tempered by her

confinement, endless preening, and debutante effusiveness gave me an image of

Mrs. Van Buren as a caged bird.

I often look for animal motifs in my work as I find that animal imagery

affects me both mentally and physically as I am creating a character. I used the

image of Mrs. Van Buren as a caged canary, a pet, a lovely little bird kept for

show and her chirpy songs but never free to fly into the world. The canary

image set me up with a basic character rhythm and added more layers to the

physicality I had found during my audition preparation. I began to play with

some birdlike characteristics; she was flighty, chirpy, quick, musical, staccato, the

quality of yellow. I let the image of the canary wash over me without getting too

literal. When I got stuck in rehearsal I allowed the image of the caged canary to

manifest physically, taking me out of my head and into my character’s body.

To prepare for rehearsal I break down a script into beats and actions.

Sometimes I will even break up individual lines while I’m in the process. I

learned this part of my technique from Denny Dalen while studying at Ohio

University. The way I parse a script into beats is as follows: I look for a

character to learn something new, reveal something new, or change the subject.

The words “but” and “yet” and “however” often serve as clues, pointing to a

new beat taking place. When I’m stuck I find appropriate verbs or actions to

assign to a beat, but I do not always have a verb for each beat. An objective is
 27

what the character wants in this beat, or this scene, what Shurtleff would say the

character is “desperately fighting for.” The action is the tactic the actor uses to

get what she wants. An action should conflict with the obstacle, which might be

something concrete or elusive. Dalen’s method was based on Stanislavsky’s, and

consisted of breaking a scene down into beats and assigning an action or verb for

each beat. Jon Jory says in his book Tips: Ideas for Actors, “Because large roles

are made up of hundreds of actions, very few performers will do all that

homework. Admit you are lazy and use them for spot work. This moment isn’t

working – what’s the action?” (4). When I’m stuck I find appropriate verbs or

actions to assign to a beat, but I do not always have a verb for each beat. For

example, I divided the scene Hand-Dyed Silk into three beats dictated by the

events I found using the Guideposts. Because this piece of the play has a

complex emotional arc I wanted to make sure I had a clear through-line of

thoughts and actions to make the scene specific. The three main events, from my

perspective as Mrs. Van Buren, are: 1) engaging Esther by gushing over her

handiwork and entertaining her with my stories, 2) confessing to Esther the

extent of my unhappiness, that my husband spit at me, and 3) discovering my

arousal and affection for her. To make the choices even more specific I break

larger bits of dialogue down even further. Here is my breakdown for a piece of a

short monologue in that same scene 4 :

4
The symbol ♦ denotes a change in beat.
 28

Really? ♦ I’ll have to weave that tidbit into conversation this evening. My in-laws are

coming. The frog and the wart. ♦ Oh, and did I tell you? I saw Mr. Fax Fiedler of

Germany conduct selections from Don Juan. ♦ I had to endure an encore from the

soprano, what was her name? ♦ Something Russian no doubt.

Each beat is a new idea and a new tactic or action. The corresponding actions I

used were “to engage her,” “to make her laugh,” “to scorn” and “to roll my

eyes.” I use this method as a starting point, but often I will abandon the beats I

have originally chosen once in rehearsal. I do enough scoring to get me to a

good starting place, and then let it go. I can’t act the beats in my script – I have to

be in the moment. I have to do enough work to find out who this person is, then

just slip into her skin and live in the moment. Initially, behavior determines

character. Eventually character determines behavior.

By beginning the text analysis in the audition phase I was able to form an

initial sketch of Mrs. Van Buren. But text analysis is not enough. The actor’s true

power and responsibility is a physical one; finding the emotional connections,

making choices, and breathing life into the story. The rehearsal process is where

I can bring these discoveries into being.

THE REHEARSAL PROCESSS

The mounting excitement and fear I felt arising during the weeks before

rehearsals began was extraordinary. Because I was desperate to “prove myself”

as a professional actor I applied added unnecessary pressure, fueling my anxiety

with my worried thoughts. Our first read through was not only to be a read, but
 29

also a meet and greet with the designers, cast, and staff of the theatre. The fact

that I was the sole Non-Equity actor in a cast of New York and L.A. performers

also contributed my nerves. By the time the first read through was to happen I

had significantly begun to doubt myself. Luckily, once rehearsals progressed I

no longer felt so out of place and was able to let go and trust my impulses. I only

wish I had felt so free at the start.

The rehearsal process is my favorite part of acting a role because of the

discoveries I make while actively working out a scene, identifying and solving

problems spatially and textually, and the artistic collaboration of a team of

creative individuals working passionately to make the best piece of theatre

possible. Rehearsal is where the actor gets to test the mettle of the work she has

put in so far, and find new solutions for problems that arise. The rehearsal

process for Intimate Apparel did present challenges but the experience of creating

the piece was ultimately immensely rewarding.

In rehearsal, we treated the story of the play in the linear, literal sense in

which it shaped the story rather than delving deeply into the themes and motifs

at work in the text. There seemed to be a treasure of images and metaphors to be

mined – the specific images of hand-dyed silks, rose laces, the layering of these

garments – what did it all mean? I found myself wanting to explore the central

metaphor of the corset. The corset represents sexuality, secret longings, and

intimacy, but it is also binding and imprisoning. Where is the balance? What

was Nottage trying to say about intimate apparel? Should we chase our dreams
 30

or not – when is it fruitless? I tend to want to pick the whole thing apart and

then do it again backwards. However, not everyone works this way, especially

given the constraints of a three week rehearsal process. Because I am fond of

daydreaming in character I had already come to my own conclusions as to the

theme and central motifs as I have previously discussed.

These musings I had logged in my journal or simply tucked away in my

subconscious created the foundation for the character of Mrs. Van Buren. Her

need for love and conflicting isolation, her growing affection for Esther, and the

image of the caged canary became my cornerstones for character choices. Once

these ideas were in place it was time to test them on my feet, in rehearsal, and

work them into Diane’s vision of the play and the role. Because the structure of

the play was a patchwork of scenes taking place chronologically but without a

defined passage of time, each one was like a miniature play which Nottage

assigned a title. My scenes as Mrs. Van Buren all took place with Esther, as I

have said before, with the one exception of Act II, Scene 1 which also includes

Mayme (though not in real time or space.) There are a total of four scenes which

feature Mrs. Van Buren, each one building on her friendship with Esther until its

ultimate demise.

ACT I, Scene 2: Gardenia Ball Corset – Pink Silk and Crepe de Chine

Diane’s initial impression of Mrs. Van Buren ran somewhat contrary to

my own. She directed me to be self-centered and narcissistic, in a panic about

 31

losing the affection of my husband. This panic was particularly evident in Mrs.

Van Buren’s first scene, when she wears the corset Esther has made her for the

first time, gazing into a phantom mirror downstage. Diane directed me to be

“shocked and delighted” with my image in the mirror, and to generally treat

Esther as an amusement. Treating Esther like she was beneath me was difficult.

It was hard to see Esther as an amusement when it was clear through Tracey

Leigh’s portrayal that Esther was not very amused. While I was certainly willing

to layer more of a status rift into the character work I had done I felt like I was

moving too far away from Mrs. Van Buren’s affectionate side at this moment.

Additionally, maintaining this uneven relationship would make Mrs. Van Buren

appear idiotic, someone who is too vapid and self-involved to notice that this

seamstress clearly loathes her.

Though my instincts ran contrary, I played the scene as Diane requested. I

did the best I could with the notes Diane gave me, trying to balance Mrs. Van

Buren’s shock at her declivity with her delight at her newfound rebelliousness.

Instead of feeling connected to Esther I felt like I was creating a false bubble

around my character which prevented me from reacting truthfully in the scene.

Esther’s lack of warmth in turn left me feeling that my character was clearly out

of touch and in denial, trying to befriend a woman who dislikes her. Because I

did not feel immediately at ease in the rehearsal situation due to my relative lack

of experience and feeling of intimidation I did not voice my concerns at the

 32

outset, deciding instead to give Diane what she was asking for without

contributing my opinion.

During one of our first stumble-throughs Kellee Van Aken viewed the run

and took notes. The next day at rehearsal Diane said that Kellee had asked if we

had decided to portray Mrs. Van Buren as an hysteric, and whether Diane

wanted to show the relationship between her and Esther as “one-sided.” Diane

seemed surprised that the Mrs. Van Buren’s friendship seemed unrequited and

wanted to remedy the situation. I was relieved that we were now going to go in

the direction of my own instincts. While it does seem unlikely that these two

different women would be able to form a bond of true friendship the relationship

must be sincere and deep in order to have the appropriate impact. Diane gave

Esther the note to “get a kick out of” Mrs. Van Buren, and suddenly the scene

started to work. I was able to offer Esther more real warmth and humor as Mrs.

Van Buren, and feel that my affection was reciprocated. I felt that we had found

the best choice to enable us to establish the strength of the relationship which

was to develop throughout the play.

ACT 1, Scene 5: Hand-Dyed Silk

Mrs. Van Buren’s next scene was a challenge because of her mercurial

shifts in mood and subject matter. Despite its dark undertones there is also a lot

of humor in this scene. Humor, again, is one of the Guideposts. According to

Shurtleff, “[h]umor exists in even the humorless,” and is an essential coping

 33

mechanism we use in real life (p. 74). In this scene, titled “Hand Dyed Silk,” Mrs.

Van Buren tries on a kimono Esther has created for her, and confesses that her

inability to get pregnant caused her husband to spit at her that morning. This is

also the scene which features Mrs. Van Buren’s “Bohemian” speech, which was

one of the sides included in the audition. In the latter part of the scene, Mrs. Van

Buren’s initial spark of attraction for Esther is revealed as Esther touches her

body trying to find the words to describe the silk from which she has made the

kimono, procured from Esther’s beloved Mr. Marks. The fact that Esther chooses

to use this fabric for one of Mrs. Van Buren’s pieces moved me, and indicates

further evidence that these two women do have a special relationship. The

special fabric Esther takes from Mr. Marks and gives to Mrs. Van Buren

illustrates the underlying theme that we are all connected, as all the characters in

Intimate Apparel are connected through Esther.

Because this scene is complex I broke it down into beats in order to make

sense of its shifts in tone and event. I identified three separate beats Mrs. Van

Buren goes through in this scene. In the first beat, Mrs. Van Buren reveals to

Esther her dislike of the life she leads with her husband, which culminates with

her telling Esther that he spat at her. In the second she paints a picture for Esther

of how she would like her life to be. She dreams of being a bohemian free of

society’s restraints and the demands of her husband, able to experience a more

artistic world where she can attend “colored shows”. By revealing these dreams

she is also showing off for Esther. In the third beat she begins to fall in love with
 34

Esther, and believes that Esther may be falling in love with her as well. Nottage

specifies in the stage directions that Mrs. Van Buren drinks brandy in every

scene, including the tableau which ends the first act but which was cut from our

production. I decided to incorporate a touch of tipsiness into the playing of the

scene. Capitalizing on the idea of her drinking aided with the emotional and

intellectual leaps she takes in the conversation. In addition to the challenging

transitions is the fact that Mrs. Van Buren is given nothing to do while Esther has

quite a bit of business to take care of.

Diane directed me to once again admire my reflection in the mirror as I

had done in the prior scene. I complied, but I could not find enough of a

difference from the activity in the first scene, as it was the same. I felt that

constantly looking in the mirror accentuated Mrs. Van Buren’s narcissism and

selfishness – qualities she possesses but which are not at the center of her being.

Again, rather than expressing my doubts, I kept quiet, lacking the confidence to

negate the direction.

One day we arrived at rehearsal to find that some rehearsal props had

been added. On Mrs. Van Buren’s dressing table was a display of feminine

objects – a comb and brush set, an atomizer, some pill boxes, and perfume

bottles. As someone who likes to explore the world of the set I was immediately

drawn to all the new toys, items which were meant to be set dressing rather than

properties. The image of the caged canary came to me, and I felt compelled to be

moving and flitting, not content to lie across a bed and lounge. Though I
 35

maintained the original blocking and intentions, Diane sensed something wasn’t

working when we rehearsed the scene. She opened it up to me- what did I need

in order to bring the scene to life? I confessed that I had been dying to use the

new props on the dressing table, to use them to primp and show off and keep

myself busy while Esther goes about her work. I tried this the next time we ran

the scene, spraying myself with the perfume and adjusting the arrangement of

items on the table, and it helped to ground me in the beginning of the scene and

set the interaction with Esther in motion. Suddenly Mrs. Van Buren felt more

like a real person inhabiting a real space rather than a character sitting on the

bed. I only used the vanity props in the beginning of the scene, and therefore felt

more justified when I did finally move to the bed to sit down. Physically and

spatially, primping at the dressing table before sitting helped me to delineate

between the first beat and the second, and aided me in separating the lighter

moments at the opening from the confessional tone when Mrs. Van Buren bears

her heart to Esther.

Hand-Dyed Silk is the scene where Nottage plants the seed for Mrs. Van

Buren’s attraction to Esther. After Mrs. Van Buren confesses the truth about the

ugly state of her marriage she feels closer to Esther than ever. At the end of the

scene Esther touches the fabric on her body and lovingly describes it, hoping that

Mrs. Van Buren will include her description in the letter to George. Mrs. Van

Buren misinterprets Esther’s words, believing that they are meant for her.

Esther’s touch reawakens the sensations of love and sensuality Mrs. Van Buren
 36

has been starved of for so long. In order to highlight the moment Esther touches

her without overselling I used the sensation-based image of slipping into a warm

bath. Esther’s touch is like a healing spring to Mrs. Van Buren, bringing her

back to life.

ACT II, Scene 1: The Wedding Corset – White Satin Embroidered with Orange
Blossoms

The second act of Intimate Apparel opens on Esther and George as a newly

married couple. According to the stage directions, “[a] silence divides them.”

The scene begins with George eagerly seducing his bride and Esther nervously

attempting to stall his advances. When she finally gives in to his embrace, they

melt together on the bed. At this point the scene takes a turn away from realism

and towards abstraction as Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren both rush in to help

Esther out of her wedding garments and into her everyday clothes. Time and

space are transcended as these two women join Esther and urge her to give them

an account of her first meeting with George and their wedding night. This short

scene gave me the first clue that Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren were foils for each

other. They have gifts Esther dreams of possessing. Mrs. Van Buren has wealth,

a husband, and the luxury of leisure. Mayme has talent, a seemingly glamorous

career, and the admiration of many men. These two women also possess beauty,

a trait which Esther treasures and which she does not believe she will ever

embody.
 37

Ironically, both of these women covet things the other has. Mayme desires

Mrs. Van Buren’s comfort, wealth, and security. Mayme in turn possesses things

Mrs. Van Buren dreams of, such as a Bohemian lifestyle, sexual effusiveness, and

freedom. Nottage hints that Mrs. Van Buren may even have spied Mayme and

elicited Esther’s services to create a wardrobe for her like the one she saw a

singer wearing. Despite their apparent good fortune they are both lonely and

unhappy. Both have essentially prostituted themselves (Mayme in the literal

sense) by suppressing who they truly are and the dreams they had for

themselves in exchange for some measure of comfort and stability. Moreover, the

depth of their pain is something Esther has yet to comprehend. Esther might

admire Mrs. Van Buren’s beauty and Mayme’s sexuality, but she does not see the

pain lurking just under the surface of their lives. Both Mrs. Van Buren and

Mayme are stuck in their positions. Though Esther has had struggles of her own,

until now she has not had to endure the kind of pain that Mayme and Mrs. Van

Buren have. Mayme was turned out by her disapproving father and Mrs. Van

Buren is trapped by a husband who has the audacity to spit on her. Now, on her

wedding night, Esther unknowingly joins her two friends in this sisterhood of

heartbreak.

The three women are also linked by a common love for George

Armstrong, who they all wooed together in Esther’s letters. Mrs. Van Buren and

Mayme have become complicit in Esther’s deception. Now the three of them are

present even in the marriage bed, linked by the writing of the letters. Their
 38

shared romantic fantasies about George allow all three women to share a lighter,

gayer moment. Their problems vanish as they engage in a bit of “girl talk.” It

was a fun scene in which to investigate Mrs. Van Buren’s girlishness, where she

and Mayme transcend race, class and time to enter into a knot of female

friendship so often preoccupied with the desire for romance and the longing for

love. The challenge for me was to balance this flirty effusiveness with the very

technical task of unfolding the quilt, undressing Esther (in a new corset – not an

easy task to begin with), gathering up all the wedding clothes and exiting the

stage on cue at the same time as Mayme. The Wedding Corset scene visually

depicts and strengthens the connection between Mrs. Van Buren and Mayme,

and the similar space they occupy in Esther’s psyche while allowing the women

to strengthen their bond.

ACT II, Scene 3: Rose Chemise

The most challenging scene was Rose Chemise, Mrs. Van Buren’s final

scene in the play. Again she and Esther are in Mrs. Van Buren’s Fifth Avenue

boudoir. Mrs. Van Buren is in a fine mood, brandy snifter in hand, gaily telling

Esther that her husband has gone to Europe. She admits that she is relieved –

but is she? According to Nottage’s stage directions, she is drinking yet again, a

recurring habit which led me to believe that she has alcoholic tendencies and

frequently drinks in order to escape her troubles. Esther seems irritated and
 39

unsettled in contrast to Mrs. Van Buren’s carefree mood. Nottage describes

Esther as “distracted,” and Mrs. Van Buren as “upbeat, almost cheerful.” Right

from the beginning these stage directions imply that these opposing moods will

inevitably lead to conflict.

The title Rose Chemise refers to the chemise Mrs. Van Buren has

commissioned Esther to make and which she has finally completed, having taken

much longer to finish the project than she has in the past. Esther coldly requests

that Mrs. Van Buren settle her accounts as she had not been paid lately and needs

the money. Mrs. Van Buren complies right away, saying she “hadn’t realized”

that it had been so long. To me, it seemed that the reason she had taken so long

to pay Esther lay in her perception of their relationship. Mrs. Van Buren feels

that Esther is primarily a friend, and secondarily an employee, and this is part of

the reason she has been derelict in her payment. When Tracey’s Esther asked to

be paid, I felt a little bit stung, as if I had done something to offend her and that I

wanted to make right. My hurt feelings and desire to make amends helped in

creating the seeds for the end of the scene.

Esther seems to regret demanding payment so curtly, and Mrs. Van Buren

presses her to confess what is upsetting her. Esther says she lies every day to

George, referring to the letters she solicited help to write. Esther also feels guilty

about the romantic affection she harbors for Mr. Marks, and is about to confess

this love to Mrs. Van Buren. However, Mrs. Van Buren misinterprets Esther’s

shamefulness and shyness in revealing her love of Mr. Marks as indicating a love
 40

of her instead. Before Esther can finally voice her feelings for Mr. Marks, Mrs.

Van Buren kisses her on the mouth. According to Nottage, “Esther for a moment

gives in to the sensation of being touched, then abruptly pulls away. Shocked.”

The seeds for this kiss were planted earlier in Act I, Scene 5: Hand-Dyed

Silk in which Mrs. Van Buren was moved by the sensation of Esther touching her

body as she adjusted her corset. After the kiss she pulls away from Mrs. Van

Buren and immediately begins gathering her things. Mrs. Van Buren apologizes

and begs her to stay.

MRS. VAN BUREN: Please don’t go. I just wanted to show you what it’s like to be

treated lovingly.

ESTHER: Don’t say that. You don’t love me.

MRS. VAN BUREN: How do you know? Please. We will forget this and continue to

be friends.

ESTHER: Friends? How we friends when I ain’t never been through your front door?

Finally the resentment and emotion which had been simmering underneath their

relationship for months has erupted, and the chasm that divides them is clear.

Esther does not consider them to have a true friendship, and Mrs. Van Buren

does. In fact, she imagines that they might be lovers. Esther seems to view the

kiss that happened between them as the ultimate expression of Mrs. Van Buren’s

status and entitlement, and Esther refuses to be a victim of her position.

Perhaps Esther believes that Mrs. Van Buren is only using her, and

perhaps she is partly right. My instincts told me that Mrs. Van Buren was not
 41

actually a lesbian but rather a woman who happened to fall in love with another

woman. By assuming that Esther was the only woman she had ever been

attracted to it makes the love she feels even stronger. Mrs. Van Buren dos not

desire a woman, she desires this woman. In Rose Chemise, Mrs. Van Buren finally

can not contain her love anymore. She must express it. The kiss is the catalyst for

the end of the friendship, finally revealing the vast chasm between these two

women and their conflicting needs. Rejected by Esther, Mrs. Van Buren is

humiliated and heartbroken. Bereft of the only source of love and tenderness in

her life, she lashes out at Esther. Angrily, Mrs. Van Buren calls Esther a coward.

She apologizes, and tosses Esther’s money on the bed. Esther replies, “I’m not

the coward,” and exits, leaving Mrs. Van Buren alone.

The challenge as an actor was to build through the beginning of the scene

through their misunderstanding over the payment to the kiss, and then to find

the pain beneath their fight and final parting. At this moment I found Shurtleff’s

Guidepost #5: Opposites to be of use. In rehearsal, I found that the best way to

find the final beats of anger and pain to fuel my eruption at Esther was first to

revel in the joy that she and I are finally going to connect as lovers. The more

happiness and relief I found immediately leading up to the kiss, the more

devastating and terrifying it was to have the rug pulled out from under me when

Esther abandons me in fury. The opposite of that joy turns to pain and rage

when Esther rejects me.

 42

Throughout the rehearsal process I used Shurtleff’s Guideposts, action

scoring, and textual character investigation to find the heart of Mrs. Van Buren.

The more we worked the more confidence I had in my technique and my choices,

and finally let myself speak up on behalf of my creative intuition. Though I

started the rehearsal process with less self-assurance than I should have, I did

learn to trust myself and my fellow collaborators in order to make bolder, more

specific choices which allowed Mrs. Van Buren to come to life through my

unique interpretation.

APPLYING TECHNICAL ELEMENTS

Once the bulk of the rehearsal process was complete it was time to move

into the space and incorporate the various technical elements of the production.

City Theatre’s production of Intimate Apparel ran from May 3-27, 2007, in the

theatre’s 270-seat main proscenium space. Tony Ferrari designed the set, which

consisted of four different playing spaces set around a swiveling bed which we

actors moved between scenes to designate location changes. The entire playing

space was long and flanked on both sides by enormous photo prints of New

York City buildings from the early 1900’s. Adding to the sense of height created

by the images of skyscrapers was the extreme raked stage. The rake aided

audience visibility while producing a vertiginous effect for both viewer and

actor. The fluidity of the playing space mirrored the fluidity of the action, which
 43

tended to weave through time and space as the actors weaved through the

various scenes, allowing for immediate shifts in location.

The severe incline of the rake also added a harrowing element to our

performances. The grade was unusually steep, and City Theatre hired a

physical therapist to come in and talk to us about stretches we should do to

prevent injury before each performance. Standing upstage felt treacherous, as if

a misplaced step might send one tumbling downstage and into the audience.

The heightened stage heightened the urgency and instability of each character’s

finely balanced existence.

Pei-Chi Su designed the costumes for our production. The corsets and

robes she crafted for us took on an even greater significance as the play itself

revolves around a seamstress and the central metaphor of undergarments as

inner desires. For Mrs. Van Buren Pei-Chi designed two corsets, one light pink

and one a bright fuchsia which I wore with a layered petticoat and alternated

between scenes. The first time Mrs. Van Buren is seen in a corset is her first time

wearing one. It was interesting to look through her eyes and find the corset to be

a scandalous item of clothing in an age when women show more skin in public

than ever before. Luckily we were provided with rehearsal corsets so that we

could get used to wearing them and working with them on stage.

The costumes provided several challenges for me. Navigating the rake in

the heeled boots of the costume was difficult, and they added a heightened sense

of danger to the scenes. Additionally the many skirts I wore were voluminous
 44

and made quite a bit of noise. In the wings I hiked the many layers around

myself to fit through doorways as silently as possible. Pei-Chi even gave me a

lesson on how to sit. She taught me to pull the fabric out from beneath my seat

to bring the train around to the side. I practiced this maneuver many times so

that I could execute it smoothly, as Mrs. Van Buren would have done. The

corsets themselves helped to give me Mrs. Van Buren’s sense of rigid upper-crust

physicality. I could relax my body and the corset would support my posture in a

way that helped me seem regal and restricted. The corset is both beautiful and

binding, like the intimate dreams of the characters of the play which they

tenuously share with one another. The beauty of the costumes, truly gorgeous

creations, helped me to feel beautiful as Mrs. Van Buren.

The greatest technical challenge for me to work through was the swiveling

of the bed. Because the playing space was open, with one bed serving as the bed

in various rooms in which the characters appeared, the bed was designed to turn

in order to indicate different locations. For example, the bed in Mrs. Van Buren’s

room was oriented so that the foot of the bed faced downstage right. In Mayme’s

room it was the opposite. Esther’s bed was parallel to the wings and plumb with

the edge of the stage. We actors were responsible for moving the bed from one

angle to the next. Rotating the bed involved removing the safety pin from the

floor with one foot, then moving it to its new spot, lining the pin up with the

quarter-inch hole in the ground, and pushing the pin down into the hole once

again in order to secure it in place. It was difficult to see the hole in the semi-
 45

darkness, and the heeled boots I wore made it difficult to dislodge the pin from

its resting place. In addition to the difficulty presented by the small hole, the

darkness, and the stubborn pin was the fact that my skirts were long enough to

cover my feet. I needed to find a way to pull them up and out of the way while

finding a grip on the headboard of the bed so that I could move it.

I dreaded my turn to move the bed at every performance. Because I am

an actor who finds great rewards and security in a pre-performance warm-up, I

incorporated this action into my early physical and voice and speech warm-ups

before each show. I made sure to work the mechanism several times so that the

sensation would be in my body. If I moved it a half-inch too far inertia would be

lost and I would have to struggle to bring it back to where it needed to be to

secure it. There was not much time between scenes, and there were several times

when I felt sure I was going to be late finishing the movement. I also had to strike

a hat, a coat, and a writing set, and there were several instances when I barely

exited in time. In the end the only way I could manage to skillfully move the

bed was to breathe, give myself the time I needed, and take the pressure off.

Finding ways to relax, be in the moment, and pressure myself less helped me

immeasurably throughout the production of Intimate Apparel, from audition

through performance.
 46

PERFORMANCE

In my experience, the audience is the final element which truly brings a

play to life. I found this to be true for the run of Intimate Apparel. For the most

part our audiences were completely engaged in the world we created on stage. I

was delighted to find that audiences found Mrs. Van Buren funny as they

frequently laughed at her effusiveness. I also felt that the audience was for the

most part on my side. I could feel them listening and feel them linking in during

my scenes with Esther. The energy from the audience helped me to cement the

choices I played and gave me the confidence to play each choice fully. Having a

week of previews helped to find the story the audience was tracking as well as

their reaction to it. The audience’s laughter indicated to me that I was on the

right track, that they understood Mrs. Van Buren’s character and where she was

coming from.

I was pleased to get a laugh during the first scene when I get caught up

with the scheme to write Esther’s letters for her. It’s so clear that Mrs. Van Buren

is feeding off Esther’s romantic prospects, and that there is almost a kind of tug-

of-war over the letter and what to put in it. There is a delightful absurdity in the

scene, and I imagine it was fun for the audience to see two grown women gently

fight over a love letter. This scene was a fun one to do and became even more

enjoyable with the addition of the audience. The relationship entertained the

audience and laid the groundwork for its growth without much foreshadowing

of the perils to come.

 47

Another laugh I got fairly consistently was when I reveal that I smoked

opium once. Diane told me to use the line to show how much I just thought that

smoking opium was the wildest, coolest thing I could’ve done, and the audience

always giggled as I swooned. Once I get a laugh it is important for me not to

play for it. Rebecca Guy, a wonderful director with whom I worked at the

Chautauqua Conservatory Theatre, once said at a rehearsal for You Can’t Take It

With You that “the audience is not laughing at the joke – they are laughing at the

life.” An actor can only find true humor through the truth of the moment, not

through pushing for an effect. Of course once I got a laugh I was tempted to take

it too far and practically fell off my stool once or twice trying to “be funnier,” but

at those times it didn’t play. Only when I committed to the dangerous, delicious

notion of smoking opium – opium! – was the joke funny because the audience

could see the life behind it. I the actor am not funny. The situation is funny. Ego

kills comedy.

The most jolting laugh I got in the play was the one which erupted after I

kissed Esther in my last scene. I was not entirely shocked when it happened.

The kiss is a moment of surprise and tension, and laughter is a natural reaction to

its release. After the first few previews garnered the same reaction, Diane tried

to alter the scene slightly so that it prompted no laughter by slowing the action

down. I made the kiss more tender, surrendering to it gently rather than quickly.

Nothing worked. The laughter came anyway.

 48

I was not bothered by the laughter. Even inappropriate laughter proves

that the audience was engaged, and perhaps even uncomfortable. Mrs. Van

Buren kissing Esther is an unsettling moment. The laughter indicated to me that

the audience was unsettled too. Furthermore, a beautiful moment occurred after

the eruption prompted by the kiss. As the end of the scene unfolded, the

audience could see how traumatized Esther was. She is confused and hurt,

losing her best client and good friend as the result of a forbidden and unwanted

kiss. But they could also see the pain Mrs. Van Buren suffered. When the

audience saw Tracey and I commit to the pain of the moment, rather than play

up the high jinx, they got unnervingly quiet. A heaviness descended as they

realized, perhaps, they were witnessing the end of this relationship. Once we

accepted that the laugh was there to stay, Tracey and I just let the moment right

after the kiss hang in suspended animation, giving the audience time to process

and settle into the idea of the absurd romantic moment. The laughter also fueled

my shame as Mrs. Van Buren in the way that audience reaction can serve as a

kind of distant echo in a character’s mind. Their laughter made me fight harder

to keep Esther, to show her I was serious. I wanted to prove that I loved her.

When Esther left in anger, never to return, the balloon of energy created by the

laughter collapsed all around, as if someone had popped it with a pin and let the

air out of the space. I loved the laughter. I used it. Rather than resist the truth of

the awkward moment, we let it play, and in so doing allowed the unexpected to
 49

occur. The performance process of Intimate Apparel helped to further solidify my

portrait of Mrs. Van Buren through the light and energy of laughter.

CONCLUSION

My biggest challenge in preparing for Intimate Apparel was my lack of

confidence. I believe that I would have been more fully available had I not been

so quick to doubt myself and question my instincts. City Theatre was the theatre

for which I had most longed to work, and the biggest theatre at which I had ever

been cast. The stakes were higher than usual for me, and I didn’t let myself open

up as freely as I might have in the beginning. My experience working on this

show taught me that I must find ways to relax and trust myself in my work.

Since my experience on Intimate Apparel I have made the practice of yoga a

staple in my life. Yoga has helped me profoundly as an actor. On the surface

level, yoga helps with breath connection and support, builds strength, increases

flexibility, and aids in balance – all of which benefit actors immensely. But there

is a subtle, more profound benefit as well. Yoga has helped me to quiet my

mind. It has taught me to be present, to trust my instincts, and to be gentle with

myself. The spiritual nature of yoga has connected me to my own spiritual

nature, awakening a light within which has since allowed me to see the craft of

acting as a means to touch others and tell stories which connect us in a shared

experience. By awakening the spiritual nature of my craft through the physical

 50

practice of yoga I have been able to quell my anxieties to an extent, and hope to

continue this growth.

I have also had the benefit of assisting Bridget Connors with her Freshman

Voice and Speech class at Point Park University. As a designated Linklater

teacher, her approach is based on the principles of Linklater technique. The

Linklater progression begins with physical awareness and relaxation, moving on

to breath and sound. I have found this technique to be very helpful for me. It

has enabled me to become aware of my excess tensions and to learn to let them

go. Like yoga, the relaxation exercises help me to release, center myself, and be

in the present. Both yoga training and Linklater work have helped me to grow

into a more confident, centered actor, better able to focus on my work than what

others are thinking about me. In time, I hope to be free of my social anxiety

entirely. Unfortunately, at the time I began rehearsing Intimate Apparel I was still

very much in the grip of fear’s clutches, and my need for validation prevented

me from truly letting go at the outset.

Despite my initial anxieties, by the time the rehearsals progressed into

performances I had come into my own. Having found the essence of Mrs. Van

Buren through text and technique work, and then testing these ideas out in

rehearsal, I slowly gained a confidence which guided me through the run of the

show. Having an audience helped me to center the character even more, and the

confidence I had built finally allowed me to relax and play on stage. The more

fun the audience had with Mrs. Van Buren the more fun I had with her too. She
 51

was a character very suited to me, and I felt that my stint in the production was a

success.

When I first read the play I saw Mrs. Van Buren as a woman who was

misunderstood. The character Lynn Nottage had created was full of life and

waiting to be fully articulated. Through a process focused on character and

action I was able to discover who Mrs. Van Buren truly was. Throughout the

process of studying, rehearsing, and performing the role I learned to trust my

instincts and to give more credit to my opinions. As with each character I play,

my own acting process became clearer and stronger through my working of the

role. After my probing and testing the woman on the page became a person. My

work in Intimate Apparel gave me the gift of growth and experience through

which I had the opportunity to test my process and hone my craft. I discovered

that the structure of my acting process can free me to “be a Bohemian.” I think

Mrs. Van Buren would approve.

Works Cited
 52

Gener, Randy. “Conjurer of Worlds”. American Theatre October 2005: 22-24+. Print.

Jackson, Kenneth T. “Where the Modern World Took Shape.” New York. Ed. Ric Burns
and Mamses Sanders. New York: Knopf, 1999. Print.

Jory, Jon. Tips for Actors. Hanover: Smith and Kraus, 2000. Print.

Nottage, Lynn. Intimate Apparel. New York: Dramatists Play Service,2005. Print.

Shurtleff, Michael. Audition. New York: Bantam, 1980. Print.

 53

APPENDIX
 54

Production Credits
 55

“INTIMATE APPAREL”
BY LYNN NOTTAGE
CITY THEATRE 2007

CAST

Tracey E. Leigh ESTHER

Linda Haston MRS. DICKSON
John Eric Parker GEORGE
Erica Highberg MRS. VAN BUREN
Michael Goodfriend MR. MARKS
Maria Becoates Bey MAYME

ARTISTIC STAFF

Diane Rodriguez DIRECTOR

Tracy Brigden ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Liz Atkinson SOUND DESIGNER
Tony Ferrieri SET DESIGNER
Andy Ostrowski LIGHTING DESIGNER
Pei Chi Su COSTUME DESIGNER
Carlyn Aquiline LITERARY MANAGER / DRAMATURG
Kellee Van Aken ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE

STAGE MANAGEMENT

Patti Kelly PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

Lissa Brennan PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
 56

The Twelve Guideposts

 57

Synopsis: The Twelve Guideposts from Shurtleff’s Audition

GUIDEPOST 1: Relationship
The concept of relationship is one of the most important for an actor. According
to Shurtleff, “creating relationship is the heart of acting…It is essential,” (33.) The
first guidepost is about finding the love in the scene, even if the characters seem
to hate each other. Finding the love allows the actor to strengthen the
relationship between her character and the other and opens more possibilities for
strong actions.

GUIDEPOST 2: What are you fighting for? Conflict

The second guidepost encourages the actor to find the fight in the scene, and to
commit to it rather than trying to smooth it out (as we are trained to do in real
life.) Conflict is the result of the character’s objective (that which she wants)
coming into contact with an obstacle (that which stand in her way.) It is up to the
actor to define both in order to create a strong, specific conflict.

GUIDEPOST 3: The Moment Before

No scene begins at the beginning. The characters came from somewhere and at
the end of the scene will progress somewhere else. And actor finds the moment
before by creating a back-story to propel her to the state of mind she needs to
start the scene. The moment before includes the moment immediately preceding
the scene as well as the previous history of the character’s life.

GUIDEPOST 4: Humor
Shurtleff says “humor is not jokes,” (74.) Rather, the “humor” to which Shurtleff
refers is the sense of detachment which allows us to get through our lives.
Humor is ironic, sardonic, comedic, self-deprecating- it can be anything which
brings a moment of relief, and therefore reality, to even the most tragic scenes.

GUIDEPOST 5: Opposites
Using opposites in a scene helps and actor to create a fleshed out character and a
more interesting, complex scene. It is one of the most difficult acting concepts to
grasp. To find the opposite in a scene, look for what is unseen and unsaid. If the
scene is a love scene, the actor should find the hate. If the character is screaming,
the actor should look for moments of silence. Whatever idea exists in the scene,
the opposite is also true. The actor who looks for the opposite will be richly
rewarded with layers of complexity and realism.

GUIDEPOST 6: Discoveries
 58

Everything happening on stage is, for the characters, happening for the first time.
Discoveries enable the actor to find the new information each time the scene is
played and to let the new information register. The more an actor can mine
discoveries from the text the fresher the scene will be. Using discoveries can also
help to uncover aspects of conflict and relationships as the character “discovers”
pieces of the puzzle in which she exists.

GUIDEPOST 7: Communication and Competition

Shurtleff said that communication is a circle. Too often, however, actors end up
talking “at” each other rather than “to” each other. The guidepopst of
communication instructs the actor to actively try to reach the person she is
talking to rather than keeping the scene centered on herself or concentrating too
much on creating emotions. Shurtleff believed that as a society we viewed the
idea of “competition” as negative, but that it actually drives every moment of our
lives. If the actor strives to find the competition in the scene she can heighten the
conflict and inject opposites into the dramatic relationship. When communication
and competition work together there is a harmony, active conflict and give and
take.

GUIDEPOST 8: Importance
Importance, essentially, is the concept of creating tension. The stakes have to be
high and the outcome has to matter. If there is no importance the scene will be
boring. The key to importance is to create strong conflict and relationships.
Nothing in the scene should be taken for granted, but rather specific and
important.

GUIDEPOST 9: Find the Events

By finding the events the actor can get a clear sense of a scene’s progression.
Charting the events helps to find playable beats and structure. Additionally,
finding the events enables and actor to examine the minutia of a scene. A simple
scene between a boy and a girl, for example, may not seem to have much
happening. However, when the actor takes a closer look, she may find many
events hidden in the text: the boy doesn’t take her hand, he hints that he wants to
leave their small town, she recognizes he doesn’t love her, etc. Sometimes small
events are the most catastrophic, and an actor must find them in order to truly
live out the scene.

GUIDEPOST 10: Place

Where we are influences how we behave. It is crucial for an actor to remember
the value of place if most of her work will happen on stage rather than on
location. The guidepost of place works on two levels. The first is the basic
physical idea of place. If the character is on a beach she will behave much
differently than if she were in a drawing room. The second level is emotional. If
 59

the character is at home she will have a sense of comfort that she would not enjoy
at her ex-boyfriend’s house. Imagination and relationship play a key role for an
actor in creating a sense of place.

GUIDEPOST 11: Game Playing and Role Playing

Like the guidepost of competition, the notion of game-playing might be cast in a
negative light. However, game-playing and role-playing are part of our every
day lives. A tough guy might become childlike when talking to his mother on the
phone, and a sweet old lady becomes a warrior when a mugger tries to take her
purse. Finding the roles we play every day helps to create a fuller character and
to find more “play” in a scene.

GUIDEPOST 12: Mystery and Secret

Shurtleff calls mystery and secret “that quality we cannot explain”(131.) This
guidepost creates a lot of possibilities for an actor. What is it we don’t know
about a character? What is her secret? What really makes her tick? We all have
secret desires, secret wishes, secret fears and histories. An actor can use the text
and her own limitless imagination to find the mystery and secret in her character.
In my opinion it is this guidepost which enables the playwright and actor to have
a true meeting of the minds.
 60

Character Assessment Questions

 61

WHAT DOES THE PLAYWRIGHT SAY ABOUT MY CHARACTER?

ACT I, Scene 2

[She] moves gracefully

[Her]voice betrays the slightest hint of a Southern accent

She’s an attractive white lady in her early 30’s and attempts to carry herself with great
poise and confidence.

Mrs. Van Buren examines herself in the mirror, at first with disgust, which gradually
gives way to curiosity.

She strikes a provocative, though slightly self-conscious, pose.

Mrs. Van Buren pours a snifter of brandy.

[She] Giggles.

Mrs. Van Buren…quickly peruses the letter and smiles.

Mrs. Van Buren sits at her dressing table and retrieves a sheet of stationary.

ACT I, Scene 5

Mrs. Van Buren wears a lacy kimono and corset made of hand-dyed magenta silk.

Mrs. Van Buren sheds her kimono revealing a low-cut magenta corset with a pale pink
camisole beneath.

Mrs. Van Buren seductively lifts her arms.

Mrs. Van Buren touches Esther’s hand with unexpected tenderness. Esther politely
withdraws her fingers.

Whisper[s]
 62

Mrs. Van Buren takes in Esther’s words.

ACT I, Scene 6

Mrs. Van Buren enters smoking a cigarette and nursing a glass of brandy. She studies
her image in the vanity mirror.

ACT II, Scene 1

Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren enter, dressed in their twin corsets. They stand over the
wedding bed.

If necessary, Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren help Esther dress.

Mayme and Mrs. Van Buren reluctantly retreat into the darkness.

ACT II, Scene 3

Mrs. Van Buren’s boudoir. Mrs. Van Buren sits on the bed cradling a snifter of brandy.
She’s upbeat, almost cheerful. However, Esther is distracted, consumed by her own
thoughts.

A moment. Mrs. Van Buren quickly examines the lace, indifferent, she tosses it onto the
bed. Esther bristles at her employer’s lack of interest.

Mrs. Van Buren sits at the table. Smiling to herself.

[She is] Surprised [by Esther’s snapping at her.]

Mrs. Van Buren takes Esther’s hand and sits down on the bed next to her.

Mrs. Van Buren pulls Esther close and plants a kiss on Esther’s lips. Esther for a moment
gives in to the sensation of being touched, then abruptly pulls away. Shocked.

[She] Screams.

Mrs. Van Buren digs into her dressing table drawer and produces a wad of money. She
tosses the money on the bed.
 63

WHAT DOES MY CHARACTER SAY ABOUT HERSELF?

ACT I, Scene 2

“I feel exposed.”

“If that’s what you made for that singer it is what I want.”

“Oh God, I look ridiculous, and I’m behaving absolutely foolishly, but I’m not sure what
else to do. Look at me. I’ve spent a fortune on feathers and every manner of
accouterment. They’ve written positively splendid things about me in the columns this
season.”

“But does it matter? Has he spent an evening at home? Or even noticed that I’ve painted
the damn boudoir vermillion red?”

“Ha! I feel like a tart from the Tenderloin. Granted I’ve never been, but I’m told. Are you
sure this is what you made for that…singer?”

“I don’t believe it [that French women are wearing such revealing corsets.] It hardly
seems decent.”

“I’d just as soon not tamper in men’s business.”

“It’s come to this. If Mother dear could see what’s become of her peach in the big
city….Do we really need all of these dangling things?”

“I confess I almost do [like the beading on the trim.] It’s a bit naughty. Yes, I might even
wear it beneath my gown tonight. Do you think anyone will notice? It is the annual
Gardenia ball ,quite the event of the season.”

“They’ll all be there, parading their good fortune. I’ll have to smile, be polite, because
I’m known for that, but I will derad every last minute, every bit of forced conversation
with the Livingstons and the Babcocks. They want to know. All of them do. ‘When are
you going to have a child, Evangeline?’ And my answer is always the same, ‘Why we’re
working on it, dear, speak to Harold.’ And dear Harry will be in a sour mood for a week.
You probably don’t even know what I’m talking about.”

“I’ve given him no children. I’m afraid I can’t. It’s not for the lack of tr;ying. One takes
these things for granted, you assume when it comes time that it will happen, and when it
 64

doesn’t who is to blame? They think it’s vanity that’s kept me childless. I’ve heard the
women whispering. If only I were that vain. But it’s like he’s given up.”

“But he has turned to other interests. Trust me. This will stay between us? I’m told you’re
discreet.”

“You understand why. I’d rather not be a divorcee, at my age it would prove disastrous.”

“What I think is of little consequence. If I were brave I’d collect my things right now and
find a small clean room someplace on the other side of the park. No, further in fact. And
I’d…But it isn’t a possibility, is it?”

“He isn’t careless with his stroke, that’s the mark of a thoughtful man. It’s a good thing, I
believe.”

“Would you like me to help you write to him Esther?…You needn’t, I insist.”

“Nor have I [done this before.]”

ACT I, Scene 5

“I’ll have to weave that little tidbit into conversation this evening. My in-laws are
coming. The frog and the wart. Oh, and did I tell you? I saw Mr. Max Fiedler of Germany
conduct selections from Don Juan. I had to endure and encore from the soprano, what
was her name? Something Russian no doubt. I’d rather have gone to the electric show at
Madison Square Garden bu you see Harry isn’t impressed with electricity.”

“By the way, I bled this morning, and when I delivered the news to Harry, he spat at me.
This civilized creature of society. We all bleed Esther. And yet I actually felt guilt, as
though a young girl again apologizing for becoming a woman…Maybe I’ll be a
bohemian, a bohemian needn’t a husband, she’s not bound by convention.”

“It’s [the corset’s] pinching me right here.”

“I’ve never been to a colored show, I’m told their quite good… I should like to see one
for myself. You must take me to one of your shows.”

“I would [take Esther to the opera] if I could. It would be marvelously scandalous, just
the sort of thing to perk up this humdrum season.”

“It is so easy to be with you. Your visits are just about the only thing I look forward to
anymore these days. You and our letters to George of course.”

“Mercy, if my friends know I spent the day writing love letters to a colored laborer,
they’d laugh me out of Manhattan.”
 65

“I smoked opium once, with the most proper of women. She dared me and I did it.”

ACT II, Scene 1

“I was tipsy on my wedding night. I recall being in love with the notion of being in love,
and everything took on a rosy glow. Harry was foolish and confident and I was frightened
to death.”

ACT II, Scene 3

“He’s gone to Europe…It’s a relief actually…I don’t expect him back for months. He’ll
find ways of prolonging his stay, no doubt. Anyway, I’m considering a visit with friends
in Lenox this summer. It’ll be good to escape the city. Don’t you think? You could come,
of course, I’ll recommend your services to several women.”

“I had all but forgotten [the lace]. I ordered it over four weeks ago. Four whole weeks.”

“Of course. I hadn’t realized [I had neglected payment.]”

“You know what? I miss writing our letters. I do! I’ve been absolutely without purpose
for months.”

“We do what we must, no? We are ridiculous creatures sometimes.”

“I am a married woman, such a question is romantic.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry. Please don’t go. I just wanted to show you
what it’s like to be treated lovingly.”

“Please. We will forget this and continue to be friends.”

“Esther you are the only one who’s been in my boudoir in all these months. And
honestly, it’s only in here with you that I feel…happy. Please, I want us to be friends?”
 66

WHAT DO OTHER CHARACTERS SAY ABOUT MY CHARACTER?

ESTHER: “You look lovely, Mrs. Van Buren.” (I,2)

ESTHER: “…fine ladies like yourself.” (I, 2)

ESTHER: “ But you’re so beautiful…I can’t imagine he’d ever lose interest.”

MR. MARKS: “I’ll let our Fifth Avenue lady cover the difference…She don’t know what
she has, she don’t come down here to feel the fabric herself, the feel the difference, the
texture, she don’t know how remarkable a weave.” (I, 3)

ESTHER: “You know that white lady I talk about sometime…She keep asking me what
they be wearing up in the Tenderloin. All that money and high breeding and she want
what you wearing.” (I, 4)

ESTHER: “I don’t know why you let him do you this way, missus. If you don’t mind me
saying.” (I, 5)

ESTHER: “I’d like to settle matters. Please. You ain’t paid me in months and I need the
money.” (II,5)

ESTHER: “Don’t say that. You don’t love me.” (II, 5)

ESTHER: “Friends? How we friends? When I ain’t never been through your front door.
You love me? What of me do you love?” (II, 5)

ESTHER: “I’m sorry. I can’t [be friends].” (II, 5)

ESTHER: “I’m not the coward.” (II, 5)

 67

WHAT ACTIONS DOES MY CHARACTER TAKE?

• Smokes
• Drinks brandy
• Commissions Esther to make her lingerie
• Models corsets
• “Reveals herself” to Esther
• Confesses the truth of her unhappy marriage to Esther
• Says she wants to be a bohemian
• Helps Esther write to George
• Looks at herself in the mirror
• Giggles
• Whispers
• Prods Esther to reveal the details of her honeymoon
• Invites Esther to go to Lenox with her for the summer
• Tries to comfort Esther
• Takes Esther’s hand
• Kisses Esther
• Calls Esther a coward
 68

Reviews
 69

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Stage Review: Artful 'Intimate Apparel' takes

the wraps off hidden lives
Monday, May 14, 2007
By Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

We're more likely to call it lingerie or underwear, suggesting fashionable

allure or utilitarian earthiness. But calling it intimate apparel gives it a touch
of formality, which can be titillating, and a hint of times past, which adds
mystery.

By any name, it suggests revelation of what's usually hidden. And "Intimate

Apparel," Lynn Nottage's wonderful play now at City Theatre, promises all
that and gradually delivers, but not in ways we expect.
The literal truth of the title is that Esther, a talented African-American
seamstress in 1905 Manhattan, makes beautiful clothes -- including frilly
underthings -- for clients as varied as an African-American prostitute and a
young society wife.
Shy, hard-working Esther, played by the beautiful Tracey A. Leigh, and
hard-working (on her back) Mayme and bored, curious Mrs. Van Buren,
played by the equally beautiful Maria Beycoates-Bey and Erica Highberg,
make a pretty potent trio. Seeing them at times in their intimate apparel is
certainly appealing, although more by suggestion (the corsets of 1905 look
almost impregnable) than anything prurient.
But the greater truth of the title is in the joint metaphor of revelation and
 70

covering up. The three women do reveal themselves, involving each other in
their personal lives, but their different social positions also supply distance.
This social-sexual-psychological interplay is fascinating, allowing some of
the voyeur experience the title implies.
Esther lives in a boarding house for African-American women run by Mrs.
Dickson, a chatty, friendly sort played by Linda Haston. I'm not sure exactly
what kind of a place Mrs. Dickson keeps, but gradually her young women
are married off -- except Esther, who is held back by her plain looks as much
as by her rectitude.
Here's where the excellent production directed by Diane Rodriguez runs into
initial difficulty: we cannot believe this lovely Esther, no matter how much
Leigh disguises herself with prim demeanor, an unflattering bun and glasses,
would lack suitors. This disjunction may partly account for the audience's
uncertainty about how to take Act 1: the play seems headed for comedy.
But gradually Esther's obvious beauty matters less -- partly because we
come to understand it is her own belief that traps her, but mainly because we
realize the inner beauty of which her exterior is an appropriate expression.
Enter the men. First is Mr. Marks, played by Michael Goodfriend, a Jewish
fabric merchant with whom Esther develops a relationship based on
sensitivity to texture and color and gradually expanding into something else.
And second is George Armstrong, played by John Eric Parker, a strong
working man who comes explosively into Esther's life in a way I cannot
describe without giving away too much about the play's dynamic U-turn.
Suffice it to say that "Intimate Apparel" is no comedy. Intimacy isn't always
a blessing -- sometimes the revelations are hard and painful.
This is a near-perfect cast, with Beycoates-Bey and Highberg revealing the
insecurities beneath their favored status, while Leigh discovers the strength
beneath her dependency. You meet very few heroes in contemporary plays
you care about as deeply as you do Esther. Goodfriend manages great
emotional delicacy as Marks. And Parker's task is as great as Leigh's,
balancing incompatibilities into a believable whole.
All this emotional fine-tuning comes from Nottage's text, but it also owes
something to Rodriguez' guiding hand.
Tony Ferrieri (sets), Andrew David Ostrowski (lights) and Elizabeth
Atkinson (sound) create a suggestive world. I especially like the
architectural images that hem in the set, and how its sharp tilt throws the
action into our laps. But the design prize goes to the costumes of Pei-Chi Su,
beautiful embodiment of Esther's artistry.
Kudos also to the casting. No theater is more responsible than City for the
growth and maturation of Pittsburgh's professional acting core, but there is
 71

also excitement in meeting new talent on the order of Leigh, Parker and
Goodfriend.
The play's misdirection may give some audiences trouble. The apparent
levity of Act 1 can undercut the heart-stirring drama of Act 2. In a sense,
Nottage doesn't play fair, seeming to give us information that turns out not to
be true. And perhaps she bites off more than she can fully chew.
But these peculiarities pale beside her achievement. "Intimate Apparel"
reveals a lost world such as we can only glimpse briefly in old photographs -
- their formality, awkwardness or opacity hiding the rich lives that Nottage's
insight brings to startling life.
First published on May 13, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Post-Gazette theater critic Christopher Rawson can be reached at crawson@post-
gazette.com or 412-263-1666.

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325.stm#ixzz1IwwMbIks
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CITY PAPER

POSTED ON MAY 17, 2007:

Intimate Apparel
By Robert Isenberg

Esther is a single girl in the big city. She's in her mid-30s, with a boring job and a few
female confidantes -- a harlot, a realist and a bohemian. (Esther herself is the prude.) She
lives in an idyllic version of New York, where race barely matters, everyone wears cute
outfits and looks freshly bathed, and women gossip candidly about boudoir habits and
opium. Her mid-life struggle is tough on a modern girl: Esther is torn between two sweet,
handsome, exotic men (one from Barbados, the other Romanian), who have dreamy
smiles and love to work with their hands.

In short, Esther's life is Sex and the City, circa 1905.

True, instead of a column, Esther writes romantic letters to a studly laborer in Panama.
(Esther, an African-American woman at the turn of the century, actually can't read, but
friends help.) Instead of frank sex-talk with girlfriends at the diner, there's thinly veiled
sex-talk in cramped Victorian flats. Instead of Aiden the carpenter, there's a nervous
textile merchant named Mr. Marks. Instead of Mr. Big, there's George, the ditch-digging
super-model.

But like Sex and the City, Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel, at City Theatre, is funny,
sugary and empowering -- drama for people who are tired of drama. In Nottage's
universe, people seem to worship their own stereotypes: The Jewish guy is skittish and
 73

awkward; the Caribbean man is a soulless con artist; the bourgeois blonde is romantic
and flighty and probably bi. The honky-tonk whore? She plays the piano and has a heart
of gold.

The demographics are so familiar that we are never distracted from the clever one-liners.
This is revisionist history at its happy-go-luckiest, and if you don't mind comfort and
predictability, Intimate Apparel is a pleasure to watch.

There have been murmurings, in the local theater world, about what is happening at City
Theatre. When recent seasons included Tuesdays with Morrie (life-lesson schmaltz),
Honus & Me (baseball schmaltz), and Hearts Are Wild (rock 'n' roll schmaltz), younger,
brasher thespians scoffed.

Well, let them scoff. City Theatre has a storied past, and if the days of Oleanna (1993)
and even Gompers (2003) are over, then they're over. Intimate Apparel proves that
schmaltz has its merits; stories can be serious without being heavy.

Skeptics, meanwhile, might question why Intimate Apparel won Nottage a New York
Drama Critics' Circle Award. But here, they can't knock the talent: As Esther, Tracey A.
Leigh is a delight, combining the anxious tics of nerddom with the quiet confidence of an
independent woman. She'll warm your heart, and probably revive your interest in Season
4 of Sex and the City.

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

'Intimate Apparel' deals with age-old yearnings

By Alice T. Carter TRIBUNE-REVIEW THEATER CRITIC Friday, May
11, 2007
Back in October, City Theatre opened its 2006-07 season with "The Good Body," Eve
Ensler's insightful and often funny meditation on how personal and societal norms make
us unhappy with our lives and our bodies.

If you're thinking that's a contemporary curse or one that's likely to change soon, Lynn
Nottage's "Intimate Apparel," the final play of this year's subscription season, should set
you straight on that.

Nottage's play is set in New York City in 1905. But the issues it addresses are at once
contemporary and age-old.

Nottage's heroine is a 35-year-old African-American seamstress who creates lovely,

delicate undergarments for customers who range from society matrons to tenderloin
prostitutes. As the play opens, Esther is creating undergarments for the latest bride-to-be
in the boarding house in which they both live.
 74

Esther wants to join the sisterhood of married ladies in the worst way. And she soon does
just that. A brief correspondence with a man working on the Panama Canal leads to a
wedding that concludes the first act.

Esther quickly finds herself married to a stranger with very different dreams and
expectations. And the situation for African-American men in early 20th-century New
York does nothing to make their life any more pleasant.

Actually, no one in "Intimate Apparel" is happy.

Clothing and fabric become the medium through which their dreams, disappointments,
ambitions and skewed perceptions are expressed.

Her society client, Mrs. Van Buren, and her tenderloin client, Mayme, hope that shaping
their bodies with the corsets Esther constructs will help them lure and hold onto the men
in their lives.

The ill-fitting smoking jacket Esther creates for her husband expresses the subtext about
the mistaken assumptions Esther has made about marriage in general and him in
particular. That he casually discards the lovingly built jacket speaks volumes. Especially
when it so perfectly fits the Orthodox Jewish merchant who shares Esther's enthusiasm
for fabric.

Infused with lots of comedic touches, richly drawn, interesting and complex characters,
plus some interesting plot twists, "Intimate Apparel" has much to recommend it.

But Nottage's play is overladen with socio-political background and historical detail and
told in such a leisurely fashion that it takes just under 2 1/2 hours to reach its inevitable
conclusion about being content within yourself.

Director Diana Rodriguez excels at keeping the action flowing from scene to scene. But
the show would be better served with swifter pacing.

The cast is first-rate.

Tracey A. Leigh is an intelligent and forthright Esther. John Eric Parker works overtime
in a not-always-successful attempt to make Esther's suitor-turned husband likable, yet
flawed. Maria Beycoates-Bey's prostitute, Mayme, demonstrates insight and energy.

Erica Highberg's Mrs. Van Buren is sympathetic and appealing. Michael Goodfriend
ensures that the fabric merchant Mr. Marks is human yet distant. Linda Haston is sensible
and very funny as the chatty boardinghouse owner, Mrs. Dickson.

Set designer Tony Ferrieri fills an extremely wide performing space with creative
solutions to the challenge of fitting five locations onto a single stage. Costume designer
Pei-Chi Su creates attractive period costumes.
 75

Alice T. Carter can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7808.

Costumes bare the true psyches of 'Intimate

Apparel' characters
By Alice T. Carter TRIBUNE-REVIEW THEATER CRITIC Sunday, April
29, 2007
As a costume designer, Pei-Chi Su had a special interest in working on "Intimate
Apparel."

Lynn Nottage's play, "Intimate Apparel," which begins previews Thursday at City
Theatre, is about Esther, an unmarried African-American woman who designs and creates
beautiful lingerie for women in 1905 Manhattan.

She creates lavish corsets and other undergarments for Uptown socialites, Tenderloin
 76

prostitutes and brides-to-be who live in her boarding house with fabrics she buys from
Mr. Marks, an Orthodox Jewish merchant.

"The story is such a wonderful piece. It's about a seamstress working on intimate apparel,
and at the time it would only be seen by your man," Su says. "She imagines a lot of
romance in the bedroom, and she sometimes feels lonely creating all these pieces for
others and nothing for herself.

"The reason her work is good is that she actually puts thought into it -- how the men will
undo the corset, the sassiness of it."

Among the costumes Su is designing for the play are a number of corsets the actresses
will wear.

"It takes a great deal of intricate work and precise fitting, but it's easier to start from
scratch than adjust an already built corset," Su says. "Corsets are very hard to alter, and
there's such great discussion in the play about how beautiful the corset is. I want to do my
best."

In many ways, Su's work is much like Esther's. But, she says, there's one big difference in
the way the garments are ultimately used.

"Right now, I am also having fantasies imagining the actors on stage presenting their
fantasy for me," Su says. "But for her, that would be something she is not able to see."

As a costume designer, Su knows that clothes do more than cover actors' bodies. They
also speak volumes about the play's characters.

That's particularly true in "Intimate Apparel."

Nottage uses the garments Esther creates as a way of expressing both Esther's dreams and
longings and those of her clients.

"Everybody appreciates her when she's doing the garment," Su says. "But they're using
the pieces to get what they want. There's something sad about that."

Esther's clients appreciate her work, but they don't see the artistry of what she does. For
the women who purchase them, they're simply devices to an end.

"A lot of women still think, 'If I put on sexy underwear, my husband will love me,'" Su
says. "These should be wonderful relationships, and nobody's happy. That's something I
think is very interesting."

The garments also serve as symbolic devices that help explain what prevents Esther's
dreams from becoming reality, Su says. Esther creates sensual pieces, but does not know
how to be sensual.

When her long-distance correspondence with George leads to marriage, Esther sews a
 77

smoking jacket for her new husband, using a length of expensive Japanese silk she
purchased from her merchant friend Mr. Marks, and builds herself a white satin wedding
corset embroidered with orange blossoms.

That clothing forecasts the difference between Esther and George and the path their
marriage will take.

"George cannot wait to take (Esther's) clothes off. Mr. Marks would have spent 30
minutes talking about the cloth," Su says. "The smoking jacket she builds for George
does not fit. Does that mean she got cheated on her partner, her lover? But it fits Mr.
Marks perfectly. Does that mean Mr. Marks is her ideal man?"

Like Esther, Su finds it easier to create garments for others than it is to create them for
herself.

"I never sew for myself," Su says. "If I do two shows with an actor, I can find outfits for
them and get them to fit. But for myself, it's a huge problem. ... It's easier to create for
other persons because you can think what you want. But it's difficult to know yourself.

"That may be part of Esther's problem as well."

Alice T. Carter can be reached at [email protected] or 412-320-7808.

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