''Tamara'' is a 1981 play by John Krizanc about the painter

Tamara de Lempicka Tamara Łempicka (born Tamara Rosalia Gurwik-Górska; 16 May 1898 – 18 March 1980), better known as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art D ...

. The play is based on the historical meeting of Gabriele d'Annunzio and Lempicka, who was hoping to be commissioned by d'Annunzio to paint his portrait. He had invited her to his villa at

Gardone Riviera Gardone Riviera ( Gardesano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is situated on the western shore of Lake Garda. Twin towns Gardone Riviera is twinned with: * Arcachon, France, since 1980 * Pescara, Italy, s ...

, on the southwest shore of

Lake Garda Lake Garda ( it, Lago di Garda or ; lmo, label=Eastern Lombard, Lach de Garda; vec, Ƚago de Garda; la, Benacus; grc, Βήνακος) is the largest lake in Italy. It is a popular holiday location in northern Italy, about halfway between ...

, a villa now known as '' Il Vittoriale degli Italiani''.

Style

The play draws the audience into a labyrinthine story which reflects complicity in civic responsibility. Lempicka declines to use her voice, despite the power given it through her cultural preeminence. She sells her art to the highest bidder without comment. In ''''Tamara'''', the barrier between spectator and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

has been dissolved; the spaces intermingle, and spectators become actors on many

stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

. ''Tamara'' is postmodern theatre performed in a large house with ten actors performing simultaneous scenes in several different rooms; at other times there is simultaneous action in eleven rooms. The spectator can accompany the character of their choice and experience the story they choose, knowing that with the simultaneous performances they cannot experience the whole play. Thus the members of the audience make a series of choices, and depending upon these choices, each spectator creates and develops an individual viewing of it.

Productions

The play was premiered at Strachan House in

Trinity-Bellwoods Park Trinity Bellwoods Park is a public park located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, bordered by Queen Street West on the south and Dundas Street on the north. The western boundary of the park is Crawford Street, several hundred feet before Crawford in ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, on May 8, 1981, and was published in book form the same year as ''Tamara: A Play''.Ray Conlogue, "Spying on a unique drama" in ''The Globe and Mail'' dated 11 May 1981 ''Tamara'' won two Dora Mavor Moore Awards in 1982, one as an outstanding new play, and another as an outstanding production.Carole Corbeil, "An outstanding night for ''Tamara''" in ''The Globe and Mail'' dated 16 November 1982 In May 1984, ''Tamara'' opened in Los Angeles, where it ran for nine years.Stephen Godfrey, "The little play that grew", in ''The Globe and Mail'' dated 26 December 1985"''Tamara'' the trail-blazer returns in April --- More than 20 years after it astonished audiences, show returns to Toronto," Martin Knelman, ''Toronto Star'', 2 October 2002 The

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

-styled Hollywood American Legion Hall Post 43 on Highland Ave in Hollywood was the venue. The hall was originally decorated with about a dozen paintings by the title character,

, drawn from various collections including those of

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

and

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

, until the insurance costs proved prohibitive. Soon after the play opened in New York in 1987 at the Park Avenue Armory. It starred

Sara Botsford Sara Botsford (born August 4, 1951) is a Canadian television and film actress. She starred in the CTV drama series '' E.N.G.'' (1989-1994) for which received Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role. Career S ...

as Lempicka. The New York production enjoyed a five-year run. It also played from 1990 to 1994 in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

and was performed in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. In spring of 1990 American producer Peter Klein produced and presented ''Tamara'' for a month at Villa Brasini in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and then for another month at

Villa Erba Villa Erba is a 19th-century villa in Cernobbio, on the western shore of Lake Como in northern Italy. Its location is not far from the Villa d'Este luxury hotel in Cernobbio. The villa was built by Luigi Erba, brother of the prominent Italian ...

on Lake Como, with George Rondo directing. In 2003, a 20th anniversary production was mounted in Toronto with

Tamara Hickey Tamara Hickey is a Canadian film and television actress."'Hon, just take off your shirt'". ''The Globe and Mail'', February 24, 2001. Early life and education Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia,"Television: Three to Watch". ''The Globe and Mail'', D ...

in the lead role. In 2014,

Quantum Theatre Quantum Theatre is an experimental theatre company that uses non-traditional stages in Pittsburgh, PA. Founded in 1990 by Karla Boos, it is the longest running producer of site specific plays. The theatre has been mentioned in American Theatre M ...

put on ''Tamara'' for six weeks at the

Rodef Shalom Congregation Rodef Shalom Congregation is a National Register of Historic Places landmark in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, designed by architect Henry Hornbostel. Located on Fifth Avenue on the border of the Oakland and Shadyside neighborhoods, it houses Co ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Structure

There are five key choices in the play: :1. As characters leave and separate from a room, which will you follow? :2. Or will you wait and see who shows up in one or several rooms? :3. Will you follow the same character all the time, or switch characters as the play progresses? :4. Will you stay with a friend, or each adopt different strategies? :5. How will you respond when an actor gives you instructions (e.g., to follow them, or wait in the room)?

Responses

In 1995

David Boje David M. Boje is Professor and Bill Daniels Ethics Fellow, a past endowed Bank of America professor of management at New Mexico State University (NMSU) in Las Cruces. He has published over 120 journal articles, seventeen books, including Narrative ...

wrote an article for ''Academy of Management Journal'' about the play, and how people coming to a room in the play from different room sequences, will have very different

organizational storytelling Organizational storytelling (also known as business storytelling) is a concept in management and organization studies. It recognises the special place of narration in human communication, making narration "the foundation of discursive thought and ...

sensemaking Sensemaking or sense-making is the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences. It has been defined as "the ongoing retrospective development of plausible images that rationalize what people are doing" ( Weick, Sutcliffe, ...

of what is happening. Inspired by the play, Boje founded an academic journal titled Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry.Tamara Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry website
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References

External links