''Nocturama'' is a play by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
playwright Annie Baker
Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and teacher who won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play ''The Flick.'' Among her works are the Shirley, Vermont plays, which take place in the fictional town of Shirley: ''Circle Mirror Tr ...
, who won the 2014
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
. It is one of her four plays set in fictional Shirley,
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
. The play was developed at the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and was workshopped at the
Cape Cod Theatre Project
The Cape Cod Theatre Project is a nonprofit organization founded in 1995 by actors Andrew Polk and Jim Bracchitta, with the mission of collaborating with playwrights, actors, directors, and the public in developing new American plays. The perform ...
in 2008.
Plot
The play is set in Shirley, Vermont in 2007. Twenty-six year-old Skaggs comes to stay with his divorced mother, Judy, after suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of a breakup. Judy lives with her boyfriend Gary, who is overweight and addicted to video games, one in particular called ''Nocturama''. During his stay, Skaggs visits the house/museum of a local 19th-century poet, who committed suicide. Tending the museum is Amanda, who is African-American and obsessed with the poet and her house. Skaggs invites Amanda over for dinner one night, which reveals Skagg's brooding nature and the tenuous structure of Judy and Gary's relationship.
Background
Of the play, Baker said, "I wrote it during a period of crippling self-hatred and depression, and I was interested in how, even if you're a well-intentioned depressed person, you can still really screw up the lives of everyone around you just through the things that being depressed can make you say. I was also interested in what we mean when we say 'depressed.' I was also interested in the way liberal-seeming white people talk about black people when they're not around."
The play has not yet been produced. Baker has "turned down a number of productions" because ''Nocturama'' "needs to happen at the right time and in the right place."
The 2008 Cape Cod Theatre Project (
Falmouth, Massachusetts) workshop was directed by Hal Brooks and featured
Michael Chernus
Michael Louis Chernus (born August 8, 1977) is an American actor. He has acted on film, television, and the stage. He is perhaps best known for his role as Cal Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series ''Orange Is the New Black'' (2013 ...
,
Quincy Tyler Bernstine
Quincy Tyler Bernstine is an American actress and audiobook narrator. In 2019, she won the Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and ...
, and
Guy Boyd. ''Nocturama'' was read on May 10, 2010, at the
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...
, where it was directed by
Sam Gold.
References
{{reflist
External links
Excerptfrom the play at ''
VICE
A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...
''
2008 plays
American plays
Plays set in Vermont