SPOTLIGHT ON The Public: Mona Mansour & URGE FOR GOING

Today we are continuing our series of coverage of the offerings this Spring at The Public Theater with the playwright of the new LAB production, URGE FOR GOING, Mona Mansour. With topics ranging from the Palestinian crisis to Patty Hearst and the play, ME AND THE SLA, that it inspired; her Lebanese upbringing; her affection for John Waters; humble beginnings at the Groundlings leading now to the New York premiere of her first play at the Public, URGE FOR GOING; and more. Additionally, Mansour provides her insights into the culturally rich material at the core of URGE FOR GOING, her own family's reaction to the controversial material and what audiences can expect from the drama.

The Public LAB's URGE FOR GOING, written by Mona Mansour and directed by Hal Brooks, starts previews tonight at the Anspacher Theater and tickets are available here. The plot centers around Jamilla, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl growing up in a Lebanese refugee camp and her complex relationship with her father - and, most importantly, her desire to escape by any means necessary. Mansour is a member of the Public's Emerging Writers Group and this is her major New York playwrighting debut.

Public's LAB & Patty's SLA

PC: What does it mean to you to be an Emerging Writer at the Public?

MM: It's overwhelming. To me, it's like walking into Harvard everyday. I mean, HAIR? It was just huge in my childhood; you know, CHORUS LINE was huge. In a way, the only way to manage it well is to trick myself. I feel extremely fortunate to be in a place that has always wanted to be on the vanguard and wants to take things on that are risky.

PC: The Public is an anomaly, especially the Public LAB.

MM: Look, I grew up on the West Coast and not at all in a theatre family, so, the fact that I knew The Public Theater by the time I was like eleven years old sort of says something, you know?

PC: TIMON OF ATHENS was just at the Public LAB. What are your feelings on their Shakespeare productions - and Shakespeare in general?

MM: I was a really nerdy sort of kid, so I would sometimes do my own Cliffs Notes to Shakespeare plays. You know, like a summary breakdown. It feels like one of those things where I am not one of those people who could totally devote myself to Shakespeare - like some of my colleagues - but its one of those things you have to constantly keep going back to. Definitely.

PC: What about as a performer?

MM: I think what's interesting for me having been an actor because the way I met language was through acting. It's funny you're asking me about Shakespeare today because two of the most profound acting teachers I ever had were Shakespeare teachers.

PC: Who were they?

MM: Well, I remember that one of them was John Jones, from the Central School in London, and the other one was John Hirsch, who ran the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for a number of years.

PC: What were the moments you remember?

MM: You could be seventeen and not get it at all, but if you are doing Miranda in THE TEMPEST something gets into your system. Something about language and the aliveness of it and where it can go. I remember working on, you know, Juliet's "gallop" speech and it's like, "No one would ever cast me as Juliet - even when I was nineteen!" But, getting to say those words and put my mouth around those words just imparted something into me, just doing them.

PC: Having the mouth of the poet put on your face, I've heard it called.

MM: Oh, how nice. I like that.

PC: What wisdom did those teachers impart to you?

MM: Both of them were so much about the language; like we've been talking about. It's not to say anything about any kind of acting school, but, now, for me, it obviously makes sense in how I came to be a writer: the stuff that really grabbed me the most is when it really became about, "What exactly is being said here in this text?" (Pause.) It always made me feel the most alive. I used to think, "Why can't I just do this? Why do I have to emote and everything - and to have access to my emotions?" (Laughs.)

PC: A writer not an actor, indeed! Did you see the Public LAB's TIMON OF ATHENS?

MM: I did see TIMON. I loved it. It's one of those things for me where it's, like, so now.

PC: So prescient. What did the themes provoke in your mind - as a person and as a playwright??

MM: Well, I guess it's one of those things, too, that I love things that have to do with money. I don't think they could have picked a better play to speak to what's been happening in the world. I guess that is the thing about Shakespeare, isn't it? There's always relevance to be found.

PC: So resilient and relevant. Speaking of always in fashion: tell me about your Patty Hearst infatuation.

MM: Oh, how many days do you have? (Laughs.)

PC: I love her in SERIAL MOM and her whole back-story, too, of course. Are you a John Waters fan?

MM: Oh, I love John Waters. I mean, I don't love all so-called low culture, but I think a good dose of low culture is really healthy. (Laughs.)

PC: What is your favorite Waters film?

MM: Oh, my God. How many times have I seen PINK FLAMINGOS? (Laughs.) POLYESTER. Yeah, it's so terrible but, at the same time, also, liberating and funny.

PC: What drew you to Patty Hearst - the subject of your first major play, ME AND THE SLA?

MM: Well, I grew up in LA. I remember when I was a little girl someone said to me, "Oh, you look like a little Patty!" This was after she had been kidnapped. That was all I needed. I then commenced to go out our sliding glass door to see if the SLA was coming for me every night. I really felt it was imminent. (Laughs.)

PC: You weren't the only little girl doing that at the time. It was a real fear - or dream.

MM: (Laughs.) You're probably right. I think the inspiration for that play was that you could look at it like, "How exciting would that be: to be lifted out of suburban doldrums and to be as sought-after as an heiress, who then becomes a revolutionary?" You can't have two sexier ends of the spectrum!

PC: It sounds like a Hollywood pitch. She was the first of the debutante felons: now we have Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, et cetera. What do you think of Lindsay's see through court attire?

MM: (Laughs.) I would never - with all due respect - put Patty with Lindsay. Remember, Patty was - I believe, very firmly - kidnapped. I think she was trying to survive. Most importantly, she would never wear a see-through dress to her own arraignment!

PC: And certainly not white shoes!

MM: (Laughs.) Never!

PC: How did your fascination with Patty Hearst develop into a play?

MM: Well, for one thing, the play came out of what was obviously a childhood fascination. But, also, what I tried to bring through the play was the fact that I was growing up in Southern California and we were Lebanese and the SLA was something called Simbionese - that sounded a little similar - and the part of the world that my father came from was producing quite a few terrorists. But, the other part of the play was the flipside of my own life and the underbelly. In terms of Patty Heart, I think she's endlessly fascinating because we can project onto her our own narratives.

PC: What's your theory on what happened to her?

MM: I firmly believe she was kidnapped and - for lack of a better word - brainwashed. I think she was kind of just doing what she had to do to survive.

PC: What do you think happened during those six or seven weeks she was missing before she reappeared at the bank robbery?

MM: She was kidnapped on February 20th and the Hibernia Bank robbery was April 16th or 17th. It's terrifying that I know this stuff! (Laughs.) But, I think she was blindfolded and kept in a closet. They had tons of political propaganda to throw at her. She was nineteen years old. She was not someone in the Army or someone who was trained to maybe withstand this sort of mind control. I think she felt that she was gonna die if she didn't do what they said. I really, really don't think it was that fun. I think we all like to think she was like, "I am f*cking hot because I am walking around with this sawed-off carbine." But, I think she was just surviving.

PC: What do you think of the Paul Schrader film of the events?

MM: I love that scene in the movie, actually. Natasha Richardson was so insanely gorgeous and talented and amazing. I think that that survival instinct in Patricia bothered people. People were ready to say, "Oh, she's just a rich b*tch who's telling her parents to f*ck off."

PC: That was endemic of that entire generation.

MM: Of course. But, the thing for me, in terms of a common thread in terms of myself as a playwright - it was a much sillier play than the one coming up now at the Public - but, it definitely was about how politics enter every home. (Pause.) I think she's just endlessly fascinating.

PC: Did you ever meet her?

MM: Well, I worked on and off in publishing. So, I was copy editor at the Hollywood Reporter - this was several years ago - and I had done my solo play about Patty, and a friend said, "Mona, listen: Patty is gonna be at this convention. I can get you in." I was like, "I almost don't wanna do that because: number one, I don't wanna seem like a stalker; and, number two, if I see her in person will it all go away?" So, I went.

PC: What happened?

MM: She was speaking and then there was a reception after, but, of course you don't ask her about the Tania days. You just don't. So, first of all, I was not a reporter and I didn't know what I was doing. Then, I got within ten feet and I thought, "I can't do this. I can't." And, I turned and walked away. It's frustrating.

PC: So, will ME AND THE SLA ever come to New York?

MM: No, I don't think so. It was one of those things where it was a solo play that I did as an actor. It just had to be, but the climax of the piece for me was me interviewing her - but, as I just told you, I never did. The result would be showing me to be a complete obsessive jackass and her saying that people just need to stop focusing on her and live their own lives.

PC: They always say the best playwrighting exercise is to interview your characters.

MM: That's so interesting.

PC: Moving to the new play, URGE FOR GOING: what was it like growing up Lebanese?

MM: It's one of those things where, in terms of just growing up, I always felt kind of marked in a way. I have two siblings who are named Tony and Andrea and I'm, you know, Mona. There were certainly no other Mansours. In kindergarten class I always knew when they were getting to my name because they'd act like it was all Zs or something.

PC: That's hilarious - and true with ethnic names.

MM: Yeah, it's gotten better now, I think, but, jeez! Now there's such a mix.

PC: Thank God.

MM: Thank God. But, anyway, during the mid-seventies and when the Lebanese civil war started, and, then the end of the seventies when our cousin came to live with us, I was gradually realizing that things were really horrifically bad over there. The culture had degraded to the point where all sorts of terrible things were happening and they were getting all the young men out of there. From a very young age I was always extremely aware of what was going on in the Middle East. I remember being judgmental of other kids who didn't know who Sadat was - what a nerd, right?

PC: What are the things you find to be in common with other cultures?

MM: Oh, so many things. Community. There's always food. We're loud.

PC: What do you think of the depictions of different ethnic groups in the media - specifically Middle Eastern?

MM: I don't know. I feel like I have a very limited view of it because I haven't seen everything that is out there. But, one of the things that made me really sad is - and we've had lots of different readings in different places - along the way casting this play, you would look at these demo reels of a Middle Eastern actor and he's playing the Spanish drug dealer; the Libyan thug; the sultan; and, the terrorist. And, it's like, "This is making me really sad." So, I feel like we are just starting.

PC: Starting to start.

MM: Yeah, I mean, I wonder about this sometimes, because there are places in New York and people I know - a company called the Newer Theatre run by these amazing women - and I don't know all of their stories, but it's very interesting to me that a lot of us are first or second generation and I feel like now the time is right for people to say, "Hey, I'm Arab-American and I am proud of that fact." And, more importantly, what that statement really means.

PC: How is that different from your parents' generation?

MM: My father's generation was all about assimilation. My father and I joke that I am more Lebanese than he is now. I mean he is not listening to the [real ethnic music] that I am, you know? So, if I am contributing to that movement with this play then I would be thrilled. That's not what runs me and that's not my guiding impulse - and for some playwrights it is - but, for me, it just sort of came about that I wanted to somehow write about Lebanon, and the more research I did, the more I got pulled into what the story was with the population of Palestinians that were there.

PC: What are your feelings on the conflict? It's a very complex issue, but you are an authority, in a way - especially in writing a play like URGE FOR GOING.

MM: It's a very difficult history with Palestinians. They got there in 1948. When I was growing up, since my family came from the Christian end of the spectrum in Lebanon, they were really anti-Palestine. You know, "They are ruining our country," blah blah blah. As a kid, I just took that in. I wasn't certainly debunking that at ten years old. But, as an adult trying to look at the situation, it's like, "Oh, my God. It's a really difficult problem," - I hate to use the word problem; like you said, it's a conflict - "and I can't believe that's where it is in Lebanon." It blew my mind how limited they were - for years they had no prospects of building a life for themselves. Then, a lot of things come down to an ID situation and when you got there. There are some people who have some bits of ID and not others. Just researching it was like, "Oh, my God." Just the pictures blew my mind.

PC: There's a defangedness. Soullessness. Something missing.

MM: More than that, it's the conditions. You see a picture and you realize the window is just a hole, you know? Lebanon itself is an endlessly fascinating place. It is full of this sectarianism and it sort of hangs by a thread, always - you know: this many Sunni; this many Shiite; this many Christians; this many Jews. The notion of Palestinians becoming citizens there is not something they want, obviously, because they want to go back - they want the right of return. Yet, the Lebanese are fearful of that - the specter of that - because then it throws off the balance of the country. It's so complex.

PC: What was the process like researching it?

MM: Over the past several years, I've just been endlessly fascinated by these questions. We never stop doing research. We have this great gal, Dana, who is a literary assistant at the Public and she put together a timeline.

PC: Poor girl. It's so complicated.

MM: (Laughs.) At one point she looked at me and said, "In 1956 after the Suez crisis do you know if the Gulf of Akaba went to Egypt?" and I'm like, "Honey, I don't know!" Even word-choices: it's possible even the word-choices could upset someone's sensibilities in the audience for this.

PC: What's the future? Is there ever going to be a resolution and peace in the Middle East?

MM: I have no idea. I always think, "Is there a way I can be more helpful in this situation?" But, if I could, I would be out doing that and not writing a play. It certainly cannot go on the way it is. It just can't keep going the way it is. It's untenable.

PC: Totally.

MM: I'd like to think, "Yeah, it will change." But, I'm just not the most optimistic person. It's very tricky, but I do believe that justice should be served. How that happens, I don't know. I think that it's a strength of this production that the director - Hal Brooks - is Jewish and we'll get into heated discussions about the politics all the time.

PC: How fascinating to have that perspective from a director for the material in this play.

MM: It's really healthy: we fight. I think it's extremely healthy. I think it's important for the actors in the play, as well, to see that it's an ongoing discussion - I don't want the play to be agitprop. Also, I want it work as a play - as a drama - I want it to be about a family; and be political and be funny; I want all those things to happen.

PC: What is it like working with Hal Brooks?

MM: He's a great thinker and he's history-based so we go back and forth a lot. In a way, I think there has to be someone like him for a play like this to work.

PC: Check and balance.

MM: Yeah.

PC: How do you anticipate audiences will react?

MM: Well, essentially, it's a drama about a family. I think, ultimately, when it's really working, you see how all the things that are going on outside their home are filtered into the home and how those things effect the family dynamic.

PC: And your own experiences with your dad and the rest of your family have been a source of inspiration, correct?

MM: Oh, my God! Yes! There's this one character who is really drawn from an uncle of mine. You know, he's the fat uncle who will just and talk and hold court for hours. After a while you are just like, "Oh, my God. When will he stop talking?" So, all of that ended up in the play. Also, since it's about a seventeen-year-old girl and her father, it's autobiographical - but, I think everything is autobiographical.

PC: Has your father seen the play previously?

MM: Yes, he's seen readings of it. He's not a theatre person, so his reaction was kind of funny.

PC: What did he think?

MM: He liked it. I mean, he's probably seen five plays in his entire life so it's not like he's an authority.

PC: What did he say?

MM: The first time he read it - and, again, it's not like he goes around reading plays, so I was especially touched that he wanted to - he said, "Oh, I think you captured it well. It's a difficult thing to talk about and I think you covered it very well."

PC: Where does the title come from?

MM: The title comes from a Joni Mitchell song.

PC: I knew it! How does that play into the play?

MM: Actually, I have no idea. At one point, I was just listening to this Joni Mitchell song and I felt this connection. One of the lead characters has a very distinct memory of going to London in 1967, and I think that's when she wrote the song. The song has such a literary feel to it - and the play has some references to Wordsworth. But, thematically, I remember looking for a title and thinking, "Oh, that's really it!" It really seemed to speak to the whole question of going back, going home, going away - all of it.

PC: It's a curious title choice for a play on the this topic!

MM: (Laughs.) Oh, I know, I know!

PC: Would you classify it as a realistic play?

MM: Yes, I would say it's realism and heightened realism and a few moments of breaking out of all of that. At times, I think it is sort of dense; at other times, not. Hal is doing such a great job orchestrating those stylistic shifts within it. I also wanted it to have references to modern life - you know, BAYWATCH and Angelina Jolie.

PC: What can audiences expect?

MM: Well, I wrote it for an American audience, so I wanted things to cut through that sense that people have of, "Oh, my God. Number one, I am going to be lectured to; and, number two, I don't know who these people are!" The BAYWATCH stuff seemed to fit - you know, there's a lot of bad television all over the world. But it also cuts through that whole sense and makes you realize, "Oh, people are people."

PC: Define collaboration.

MM: What a good question. I think that, for me - and I can only speak to being a very new writer - it's thinking that you will never make a change to your script and someone presents a case that maybe you should. At least saying, "I'll try it." Going back to working with Hal, I'll say, "Oh, my God. I feel like we just fought!" And, he'll say, "We did?" because he's just such a dude, I guess. Even as you are listening and considering that choice or that thing someone else is asking you to do: I think it's really important to be honest. Say, "Eww," if you have to. The other part of collaboration is that I am realizing what a lazy actor I am because of the actors I am working with now. They'll ask questions and they will do their research. It's overwhelming at times, but I guess that is part of collaboration: them picking up this thing you've created and taking it in their hands and asking, "What is this?"

PC: What's your favorite Groundlings memory?

MM: Well, I was in the Sunday company, and it was right when Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan and Cheri Oteri and Ana Gastyer sort of blasted onto the scene. Ana and I wrote a bunch of skits together. She is fierce!

PC: You can say that again! She was phenomenal in THREEPENNY OPERA.

MM: I know! She's extraordinarily talented. The thing that was great about the Groundlings was that it was like boot camp in a way: you had to constantly write new material and try it out in front of a group of people. Many, many, many times it would fail. Then, you try it out in front of an audience where it could possibly fail. So, most of my memories are of scenes that just bombed!

PC: What was the biggest bomb?

MM: Oh, we did it in class first and it bombed and the class said, "Oh, watch out!" Literally, not one laugh. So, when it was over, after we did it for the audience and it bombed, the lights went down and I thought, "I am not dead, it just bombed. I am leaving the stage now!"

PC: What's next?

MM: What's next is that I have this play about California and my mom's side of things. I've been putting it on the back burner. It's feeling like this whole thing could be a trilogy. There could be a third play. When I did the Emerging Writer's Group I did a prequel play to URGE FOR GOING, so another companion piece may be possible - I guess I am never gonna leave the Middle East! (Laughs.)

PC: What's it about?

MM: It follows URGE FOR GOING. The prequel ends in 1967 and it ends ambiguously - you don't know if he's going to go to the Middle East. One of my friends read the prequel and said, "I think this could be a trilogy." But, I guess if you find something that is compelling enough to you that you want to write about it - and it's endlessly rich - then it's something you've got to do.

PC: I congratulate you on URGE FOR GOING. Break a leg! This was great, Mona.

MM: I am so grateful to the Public. They've really made me feel like I belonged! Thank you so much. It was really, really fun talking to you, Pat. Bye bye.

 

Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg