Director's Note

Thank you for joining us at The Golden Carousel restaurant, where the food is “out of this world!” I am delighted to be here at Fairfield University directing Tina Howe’s brilliant play The Art of Dining. I have admired Tina Howe’s work over the years, and I am pleased to have this opportunity to enter into her unique domain.

The Art of Dining centers on a group of larger-than-life characters, each with their own special neurosis around food. Cal is a glutton and husband to perfectionist-chef Ellen, whose culinary creations send diners into fits of ecstasy. The first guests, Hannah and Paul Galt relish titillating each other with menu items, and the trio of friends, Herrick, Nessa and Tony, can’t seem to stop one-upping each other long enough to enjoy their food. Finally, the play centers on Elizabeth Barrow Colt’s gustatory- and quasi-spiritual awakening that begins when she tastes her soup at the gentle urging of her would-be publisher, David Oslow, who lovingly reaches a spoonful across the table. She is emboldened by his acceptance, and she inspires a moment of grace that ultimately serves to unite this ragtag bunch of characters. 

It only takes a little investigation to discover that Tina Howe was inspired and influenced by absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco. Howe recounts the story of happening upon a performance of The Bald Soprano: 

“It was as if I had been struck by lightning…. The sheer outrageousness of lonesco's dramatic sense and language, the way he turns things on their head. He is often called an absurdist. To me he is the ultimate realist. …it's the kitchen sink dramas and the formula comedies that are absurd because they present us with stereotypes, and not the real world.”   Modern Drama, 36 (1993) 27

Through our explorations in rehearsal we repeatedly found that the more we pushed the performances beyond realism, the more the play sings. In her stage directions at the beginning of The Art of Dining, Howe writes, “A surreal nostalgia suffuses the room. Things are on the verge of lifting off the ground or disappearing entirely. Nothing is quite what it seems.” Our production has taken its cue from this description, and our choice to have all of the food mimed – a decision born originally out of practical considerations – dovetails handsomely with Howe’s absurdist aesthetic.

Bill Clarke’s whimsical set hints that there may be more to this Golden Carousel than one would first expect, and Julie Leavitt’s playful, inspired costumes reveal elements of these quirky characters. As I am writing this, I am anticipating our first rehearsal with lights, though I know enough from my conversations with lighting designer Lynne Chase to know that I have a lot to look forward to.

And now… prepare for lift-off!

Jan Mason, Director