EUGENE O’NEILL

FOUNDATION, TAO HOUSE

NEWSLETTERSUMMER 2018 ISSUE

Eugene O’Neill International Festival of Theatre in New Ross, Ireland,will feature four plays and a film. The plays by O’Neill are Mourning Becomes Electra, the S.S. Glencairn Cycle of four one-act sea plays, and the Danville production of Hughie. The fourth play is My Real Life by Eoin Colfer and the film is The Count of Monte Cristo, 1913, starring James O’Neill.

For more on the New Ross Festival: www.eugeneoneillfestival.com

One Festival, Two CountriesThe Inaugural Eugene O’Neill Festival in New Ross, Ireland

The 19th Annual Eugene O’Neill Festival in Danville, CA

“Passing the Torch”Aug. 31 - Sept. 30, 2018

We approach this fall with incredible anticipation as we usher in a couple of festival firsts. The19th Annual Eugene O’Neill Festival sees the introduction, for the first time in our festival history, of an Arthur Miller play. Miller is responsible for some of America’s greatest dramas, like Death of a Sales-man, The Crucible, and All My Sons. Additionally, this year’s Danville festival production of O’Neill’s Hughie will travel to Ireland to appear at the First International Eugene O’Neill Festival of Theatre in New Ross, Ireland, before touring Ireland.

Appropriately entitled Passing the Torch, this fall’s festival focuses on Eugene O’Neill’s influence on the genera-tion of playwrights that followed in his wake and took up the mantle of the American Drama. “Playwrights like Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and William Inge are the bridge between O’Neill, the father of the American Drama, and what we recognize as drama today,” says EONF Artistic Director Eric Fraisher Hayes.

The Tao House production of Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie will be paired with Role Players Ensemble’s production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at the Village Theatre this September. Rehearsals are underway, tickets are on sale, so don’t miss your chance to be a part of celebrating where the American Drama came from, how it grew, and where it may be going next.

Concert: Turlough O’Carolan: “Ireland’s National Composer in Music and Song” Sept. 20, 8:00 pm, featuring David Creevy and Melanie O’Reilly. Co-presented by the Eugene O’Neill Foundation and the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Sponsored by Chevron.

For more information: www.eugeneoneill.org Tickets: www.villagetheatreshows.com

EONF welcomes these new board members and their experience and special skills in many fields:

After retiring as a managing lawyer for Fortune 500 corporations, Terry Sherman has been engaged in pro bono legal work and serving in leadership roles (including strategic planning) for nonprofit religious corporations. Charles Jarrett brings to EONF long experience in marketing and product development, as well as in theatre management, acting, drama criticism, set-building, and photography. Although a Danville-area resident for many years, Linda Grundhoffer did not learn about Tao House and the EONF until 2010. She now feels privileged to be using her accounting skills as part of a team dedicat-ed to honoring the works and memory of such a great playwright. Marcia Harmon of Cottage Jewel Antiques is a veteran Danville merchant and event planner. Her marketing experience and passion for his-tory, the arts, and community engagement make her a great partner for our Communications and Festival Committees. A longtime editor and O’Neill fan, Carolyn McGovern enjoys working on communications on behalf of all the great programs of EONF.

L-R: Terry Sherman, Linda Grundhoffer, Charles Jarrett, Carolyn Mc-Govern, and Marcia Harmon. Photo credit: Ali Bodden

I Will Speak for MyselfThe benefit for the Travis Bogard Artist in Residence Program July 7 and 8 was an amazing tribute to the work of the program. I Will Speak for Myself, written by Valerie Joyce, a recent fellow, was performed by a gifted actress, Kimberly S. Fairbanks, portraying 15 African-American women who lived from the 1600s through Emancipation. They varied in age, degree of literacy, and region of residence, yet Fairbanks’ portrayal of each was unique and unfor-gettable. The review of Victor Cordell captured the special quality of the event: “I Will Speak for Myself is a powerful experience. Seldom told stories are supported by a scintillating performance. . . . [I]t ran only one weekend at Eugene O’Neill’s Tao House, a National Park Service property of interest in its own right. Sometimes venues contribute to the overall experience of art. . . . Tao House is a destination that theatre lovers in the Bay Area should enjoy whether to see a play or simply visit the park. The ghost of O’Neill stalks the grounds and the visitor can see his study where the playwright’s fertile output included his masterpieces. . . .” For the full review: http://forallevents.info/reviews/i-will-speak-for-myself/

Photo credit John Carter

Photo credit John Carter

National Park Service News

Visit the Eugene O’Neill National Historic SiteGuided Tours Available Wed., Thurs., Fri. and Sun. 10AM & 2PM. Reservations are required.

Self-guided Tours “Saturdays Without Reserva-tions” at 10:15AM, 12:15PM and 2:15PM. If hiking to the site on Saturdays, please be here before 3PM. The park is closed to visitors Monday and Tuesday.

Due to the location of this park, all visitors are required to take a free National Park Service shuttle to the historic home and grounds. Visitors are not permitted to drive their personal/private vehicles to the site. The shuttle meets at 205 Railroad Avenue in downtown Danville, outside of the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. Parking is available next to the museum. Admission to the site is free.

Reservation Line (925) 838-0249Visit www.nps.gov/euon for more information.

The Eugene O’Neill Foundation, Tao House is most grateful to you, our supporters, for your generous contributions that enable us to provide artistic and educational programs that focus on O’Neill’s vision and legacy. Thank you to the following donors (through July 2018).

Thank you also to all of our valued Crew Level and Actor Level members.

Benefactors ($5,000+)Eric Rudney Associates*Adam and Christina Richards*

Patrons’ Circle($2,500+)Bishop Ranch, a Sunset Development Project*Lisa and Brad Blackwell*Chevron*Linda Grundhoffer*Dan and Carolyn McGovern*Claudia Nemir*Neiman Marcus*Brian and Carolyn Thiessen*The Town of Danville*

Excecutive Producer ($1,000+)Ed and Linda Best*Danville Rotary Club*Gagen, McCoy, McMahon, Koss, Markowitz and RainesIrish Consulate General*Kay JonesPaul and Florence Rowe LibinFred Levin and Nancy LivingstonMac and Florence McAuleyJack Schwartzman Family FoundationPhil and Shari Scott*Robert Sehr*Diane and Don Shinnerer*United California Brokers*

Producers’ Circle ($500+)The Leo and Celia Carlin FundWendy and Tony CooperRoberta EiselBarbara and Rob GrantMarcia HarmonRonald and Virginia IversonPat and Trudy McMahonDon MetzPam and Nate PattersonDon and Sharon RitcheyCarol RosenblumDonald and Ginia ShawlJohn and Carol SherrillSusan and Frank TerzuoliCarole Wynstra*

Directors’ Circle ($250+)Mary CamezonMarci and John CassidyDan and Penny Cawthon-Washburn Charitable FundCamilla N. EwingPaul and Marilyn GardnerBart Gledhill*Beverly LaneBert and Joyce MichalczykGary Schaub and Maria Gounaris*Carolyn ShafferTerry and Millie ShermanJohn SternRobert and Sandra StorerWinifred StriblingSusan and Karl TaylorKatherine and Richard WilliamsKay Yun and Andre Neumann-Loreck

Playwrights’ Circle ($100+)Donald and Constance ApostleRobert ArellanesNancy BartholomewPhil Bellman Christopher BowenZander BrietzkeKyn and Jow CastellanoJoan CheveneyKaty Colbath David and Linn CoombsGary and Loucille De AtleyJack and Cecilia DeRieuxJoseph P. Ficurelli Marianne and Bill Gagen Beryl GaidosKevin and Robin GilmoreJoan D. Harberson Dale and Joanne Haukland Eileen Herrmann Rosalind HirschVirginia Hooper Susan Jackson

Superintendent’s Message As we preserve the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site over time, each year presents the National Park Service (NPS) with special funding opportunities, as well as facility shortcomings that define what we do in a given year beyond our regular operations. Here are some projects park staff is up to this year. The Tao House Guest Room landscapes, tonal paintings akin to visual poetry, were recently conserved and will be replaced with high-quality reproductions until we diagnose and fix moisture problems in this room. Also in the realm of museum man-agement, we received NPS project funds to digitize materials from our manuscript collection, so that originals can be handled less and electronic versions can be shared widely. The work is done by a student hired through the NPS Diversity Internship Program, which contributes to development of a workforce more reflective of the American population. The young trees in pots that have been across from the Old Barn since early this year are almond and walnut trees that will be planted in fall as part of ongoing maintenance of the Tao House orchards and restoration to their O’Neill-period appearance. Less happy news on the vegetation front was the loss of a venerable oak that overshadowed the park entrance sign. The tree died last winter and was removed in the spring. Looking up the hill from Tao House, you may have seen the spring-

fed, coopered water tanks that supplied the O’Neills with water. These will be lined with a waterproof material that will stop ongo-ing leakage due to structure age and pecking by birds. Finally, you will be happy to learn that an upgrade of the electrical service in the Old Barn will support more sophisticated stage techniques and thus enhance the dramatic qualities and audience experience of plays performed in the Old Barn. Hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the year’s activities aimed at preserving the character of the historic site, maintaining and sharing O’Neill’s legacy with the public, and improving and adapting facilities to support Foundation programs. We’ll see you at the Festival! Paul Scolari, Acting Superintendent

Gail K. KamererWard and Leann KanowskiAnne KubasCharles LewisNancy LieberRosalie E. Malatesta Sharon McCarthyJim and Brenda Nirenstein David PalmerPatricia RezakJanet RobertsRuby RobinsRichard T. Russell David and Sara Selway Marlan L. Shanks Gail and Douglas SmithKaren StepperBarbara StevensGerald StramJoanna and Dennis TangMichael and Joyce WahligRodney H. Washburn Sharon WatkinsonGeorge C. White

Anne Fletcher, Travis Bogard Artist in ResidenceThe first artist in residence fellow to arrive in 2018 was Professor Anne Fletcher of the Department of Theatre, Southern Illinois University. A historian of stage design, she described her time at Tao House as extremely helpful to two projects on her horizon: a chapter of a book on Provincetown Playhouse designers and a full-length study on O’Neill’s potential in-fluence on American theatrical design. Working on the Tao House grounds and in the archive in its library has contributed to both—for the first, to dig into the letters and other materials on the Provincetown era and O’Neill’s later career, and for the second, to enjoy the serenity and the inspirational atmosphere of Tao House. She found a wealth of new information in the Foundation’s library’s research materials and also discovered a play of O’Neill’s that she had not previously known. Anne’s success in retrieving new information while at Tao House demonstrates the importance of the Travis Bogard Artist in Residence Program.

Studio Retreat 2018“What are they thinking??” is a phrase you might associate with young people today, particularly in these restless times. Answers to this question were exuberantly revealed in eight plays performed at the 9th Annual Eugene O’Neill Studio Retreat. Teenage playwrights presented works that were disturbing, funny, ironic, nostalgic, and always entertaining! And the actors’ energy and hard work made the plays sparkle.

Students came from 12 high schools: Alhambra HS in Martinez, Deer Valley HS in Antioch, Pittsburg HS in Pittsburg, Mt Diablo HS in Concord, in addition to schools in the San Ramon Valley. This year our budding playwrights and actors had the opportunity to perform their 10-minute plays at Danville SummerFest, as well as for friends and family in the Old Barn on the final Sunday. The polished acting and intriguing playwriting benefited from the consistent and insightful coaching of professional guides

and interns: Norman Gee, Program Director; Jessica Holt, Playwright and Acting Coach; Natalie Rich, Assistant Director and Studio Retreat alumna; Pierce Woodward, Acting Coach and Retreat alumnus; Gabby Solis, intern and Retreat alumna. Many thanks to our Education Chair, Katy Colbath, for managing the Retreat, the National Park Service for transportation and other arrangements, the many Foundation volunteers for help in varied assign-ments, and the Lesher and Wood Foundations for funding this program. See you all next year!

Photo Credit: Charles Jarrett

Photo Credit: Charles Jarrett

* Includes Festival Sponsorship