By Gabriel Nathan
Development Specialist
I have to admit to feeling a tad out-of-place initially inside the sumptuously ornate walls of Salve Regina University’s Young Building, a Queen Anne-style mansion originally built in 1850. Salve Regina itself is 75 acres and has its own Cliff Walk, with gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean. This was the setting for the 2nd International Thornton Wilder Conference, held from June 11-June 13 in Newport, Rhode Island. The conference is a gathering of folks who teach, study, write about, perform, direct and are intrigued by the works of one of America’s most celebrated playwrights.
The Thornton Wilder Society invited me to present a paper on MCES’s experience with producing Our Town at Building 33 in December. An impressive array of Wilder scholars were assembled at the conference, nationally from North Carolina, Maryland, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri, and internationally from Mexico, China, France, Italy and Iran. Noted American playwrights Paula Vogel, Will Eno, and Matthew Burnett participated in a playwright’s panel on the importance of Wilder on contemporary American theatre and Vogel was presented with the Thornton Wilder Award at the closing night banquet. Thornton Wilder’s nephew, Tappan Wilder, was also present, as was Rosey Strub, Programs Manager for the Wilder Estate. Both Tappan and Rosey were enthusiastic supporters of MCES’s production.
I sat on a panel entitled “Wilder in Production” and presented my paper, “Our Norristown: The Staff of a Crisis Psychiatric Hospital Creates a Life-Changing Experience, Their Production of Our Town.” While I was identified in the program as an “Independent Scholar,” there was nothing very scholarly about my paper, but it told the honest story of our small hospital and our big play. While beautiful rehearsal and performance pictures taken by Crisis Director Julie Peticca and Assistant Crisis Director Paul Butler played on a slideshow in the background, I talked about how we came together as a cast to produce meaningful, creative theatre for ourselves and the community, and how we were changed by the experience.
The paper was received very warmly by all in attendance, and I was approached by countless individuals who asked further questions about our process. People were amazed by the courage and enthusiasm with which 22 plus mental health professionals took leave of their insecurities (and their senses?) and became real characters in Thornton Wilder’s best-loved, most-performed play. Conference participants offered sincere support and gratitude for our efforts to not only become united by Thornton Wilder, but to share his work with our community.
They were also quite moved by the extraordinary work done at MCES, every single day.
Click to view the OC87 Recovery Diaries profile on MCES’s Our Town Performance