Talking With... Seth Rozin

Playwright of BLACK GOLD

Conducted by Peter Bonilla, Literary Manager, and Arlicia Miller, Literary Intern

InterAct: One of BLACK GOLD’s primary targets -- big oil -- is becoming more and more of a favorite target these days, owing to everything from the environmental cause to a stronger China to worldwide fears of a nuclear Iran, etc. Beneath the play’s slapstick humor, sight gags, and phallic jokes, what is the message you want the play to send about the oil-driven world? Is it a cautionary tale?

Seth Rozin: Well, let’s start with the fact that the premise is totally absurd. Not that you can’t buy an oil rig on eBay (there’s usually one being auctioned every few weeks!), but I imagine our oil-hungry leaders would know if there were any large pools of crude sitting idly underneath any un-drilled corner of the U.S. As with all my plays I started with a question, and the question here is “what would happen if our most coveted commodity was discovered under the poorest, most consistently neglected region of the country?” I’m less interested in skewering “big oil” per se than I am in looking at the scale and degree to which our world and our lives are driven by our own addiction to oil; even to the point of literally driving an entire community to extinction.

IA: People are surely going to see shades of Hurricane Katrina in the play’s depiction if inner-city Detroit, despite the fact that the natural disaster that decimated New Orleans has been replaced here with the discovery of a wealth of natural resources beneath inner-city Detroit. How does this “reverse Katrina” comment on America’s treatment of its inner cities?

SR: The idea for BLACK GOLD came to me in the wake of hurricane Katrina, when the federal government’s response to the situation seemed to me to be appallingly slow and inept. I wondered how the same government might respond if, instead of being devastated by a natural disaster, the same region was discovered to be sitting on an untapped reservoir of riches. Suddenly, a perennially poor community becomes the object of overwhelming envy and attention. And then, of course, the question is “will this underserved community be able to reap the rewards from this discovery?”

By-and-large it seems that the Federal government pays little attention to the plight of inner cities. More to the point governments, in general, pay little attention to the plight of the poorest people in the land. With the exception of those congressmen who directly represent districts facing inner-city problems, I assume most elected officials don’t think it is worth their investment in these communities. In spite of their convictions – which may include a commitment to improving the lives of the needy -- their mandate inevitably becomes getting re-elected, and poor people don’t represent an influential voting block. And as the disparity between rich and poor continues to grow (there was a recent study asserting that the richest 1% of the population owns 21% of the country’s wealth!) the poor become increasingly marginal in their value and influence in the political world. Personally, I believe that the two major priorities of the Federal government should be national security and providing for the needy, because if they don’t, who will?

IA: You’ve said time and again that BLACK GOLD is a very conscious emulation of the style of Israel Horovitz’s play LEBENSRAUM, which was produced at InterAct in 1999. How did that come to be? Had you wanted to try and write a play in that style, or did you come up with the topic first and find that the style fit the subject?

SR: When I first read LEBENSRAUM I was completely enamored with the style. I found it so refreshingly theatrical and inventive in its storytelling, with three actor/narrators chronicling action all around the globe, bouncing in and out of characters with minimal props and costumes. A big part of the entertainment value in LEBENSRAUM is seeing how a small cast can bring to life such an epic story. And how such a serious subject can be handled with so unique a brand of absurd and theatrical humor. It was an absolute joy to direct here at InterAct and again at the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles the following year. I had always thought of writing a play that would span the globe and interweave several seemingly unrelated stories. So, when I came up with the idea for BLACK GOLD, I knew right away I wanted to incorporate the LEBENSRAUM approach.

IA: Compared to your earlier plays MISSING LINK and REINVENTING EDEN, both of which had their world premieres at InterAct, BLACK GOLD is a decidedly non-naturalistic effort. What special challenges did writing in this form present, and what advantages did you find it had as the writing progressed?

SR: I had more fun writing this than any other play of mine. So many of the rules one usually applies were simply irrelevant in the process of writing BLACK GOLD. For instance, playwrights are typically advised to focus the action on a small set of characters, all of which should be fully developed. In BLACK GOLD, quite a lot of the characters appear only once or a handful of times and serve only as a brief glimpse of how the world at-large is responding to the central events of the play. I can’t tell you how incredibly liberating it is to write a play without any concern for the number of roles, knowing that a talented cast of six will play literally dozens of characters each. Another rule is that action should be shown, not told, but as I learned directing LEBENSRAUM, concise and comedic narration can help a play’s action move forward at a wonderfully frenetic pace. The biggest challenge, by far, is keeping the play’s momentum up as it unfolds from its absurd beginning to its outrageous conclusion. It’s the kind of play where if it sags, it dies.

IA: Many, if not most, of the events in the play are the result of America’s oil-motivated actions that have put the world on edge. With the country electing a new president in 2008, do you see things going in a different direction? How much can be accomplished by policy alone?

SR: I believe that any meaningful change in our energy consumption and corollary environmental deterioration has to start from the very top. Our next President, along with the leaders of China, Japan, India, Germany, Russia, etc. must work together to reign in the “big oil” industry while also investing, seriously, in alternative sources of fuel. Our current leaders have made it clear where their priorities lie, and we are seeing the many prices we are paying for their hubris: A sky-rocketing debt that our children and grandchildren will inherit; an increasingly wider gap between the richest few and the rest of the population; a war without seeming end in Iraq; new conflicts looming with Iran and Pakistan; plummeting respect among our traditional international allies; increasingly hostile opposition from muslim extremists around the world; and the prospect of irrevocable damage to the planet. Of course we need a new direction, but who really has the vision, the balls and the clout to fight for it?

IA: Though the black community seen in the play is cruelly disenfranchised by its government, it is also torn apart by its own internal conflicts and ideas for how it should move forward. How much of the burden lies within the community and its issues of identity and advancement?

SR: One of the most devastating effects of poverty, it seems to me, is that it breeds resentment and hopelessness. Without hope people become embittered, sometimes even violent. That’s what happens in BLACK GOLD, even after oil is discovered. We’re seeing that here in Philadelphia, as the murder rate continues to rise sharply in the poorest parts of the city. I believe it is incumbent on our leaders, first, to offer a ray of hope to these communities. Hope can be offered through social programs, financial incentives, creation of jobs, tackling urban blight, and above all, improved education. But it is also incumbent upon a community to find resources within itself to respond in-kind to the hope that is offered. This is, of course, extremely complicated and costly, and requires a steadfast, long-term commitment. Two four-year terms of a mayor are hardly enough time to transform a community. I do have a great deal of hope for Mayor-elect Michael Nutter, whose comments at InterAct’s Season Kick-Off event [on September 24, 2007] lead me to believe he truly understands how important this issue is, and how to approach the problem in new and substantive ways.

IA: We go through this every time we produce a new play by Thomas Gibbons, but were there any special challenges for you in writing this play that, even with its very large cast of characters, focuses on a black family, and occasionally makes the black community the object of satire?

SR: I feel like I’m satirizing almost everything in BLACK GOLD, so everyone gets poked! But at the center is a kind of “everyman” inner-city Black family facing the kinds of real struggles that I hope will garner our respect and concern. It is important to me that the play reveals a healthy range of African Americans – from an ambitious congresswoman to a parasitic hustler, from a pretentious academic to a soulful mechanic, from a shrewd presidential aide to a selfish schoolyard punk, from a morally-centered reverend to an intellectually gifted student. Working closely with Tom Gibbons on all of his “race” plays has certainly helped pave the way for my comfort level in writing BLACK GOLD, as has my involvement with a number of African American theatre artists, including Bruce Robinson, Frank X, Cathy Simpson, Dwight Wilkins and others. But ultimately, it is my imagination that has driven this play from the beginning.

IA: Having been at InterAct for twenty years now, having directed numerous world premiere plays, having written a handful of plays of your own, and having had to contend with the myriad challenges facing small, politically oriented companies, how do you feel about InterAct’s evolution over the first twenty years? What are the triumphs? What are the frustrations?

SR: The primary triumph is survival. We have endured, even thrived, in an increasingly competitive theatre scene, having never produced a classic, a musical, a holiday or children’s show. I’m incredibly proud of this. It means that our mission remains distinct and highly valued, and that the quality of our work is high as well. There are, of course, specific projects that have had more success or have been more meaningful than others. Nothing will probably ever compare to the experience of directing and producing Tom Gibbons’ 6221, his three-act epic about the MOVE tragedy. It was an extraordinary blurring of the line between art and life that offered tremendous meaning to audiences and artists alike, while shedding light on a seminal event in our City’s history. Other pivotal productions for me and InterAct include LEBENSRAUM in 1999, IT'S ALL TRUE by Jason Sherman in 2001 and Tom Gibbons’ PERMANENT COLLECTION in 2003. The other triumph for me has been the community of artists and audiences who have come to identify InterAct as their theatrical home. They remind me why the struggle is so worthwhile. And our outreach program, InterAction, has made a real difference in the lives of a lot of young people. I’m especially proud of that.

There have certainly been some enormous frustrations. Local theatre critics have never been very supportive of our mission or our work on stage, and it’s only getting worse. There have been some very dark times when the viability of our mission seemed to be in jeopardy, and I had to consider alternatives. But the alternatives never felt worth my energy, and InterAct always has. The truth is we have chosen a very impractical course in an already impractical industry. But that’s what makes our survival so rewarding.


IA: As the company looks forward to its next twenty seasons and beyond, what do you think are the challenges facing us both in Philadelphia and in the wider theater community? How has the company evolved, and how has the community adapted? What do we have to deal with in 2008 that we hadn’t thought about in 1988?

SR: The professional theatre scene in Philadelphia was tiny in 1988. There were maybe five Equity theatres and only a handful of locally-based professional theatre artists. Now, there are 24(?) Equity theatres and another 50-60 non-Equity theatres, a Fringe Festival, an active Theatre Alliance, and a first-rate talent pool. I believe InterAct has played a key role in the evolution of Philadelphia’s emergence as a nationally-respected theatre town; not only because of our distinct mission and body of work, but through our very active involvement in the founding and leadership of the National New Play Network.

But the road ahead is full of challenges. During the Rendell administration in the 1990s the arts scene really flourished in Philadelphia. Funding from both foundations and corporations was more accessible and abundant, and major media outlets like the Philadelphia Inquirer had extensive coverage of the theatre scene. But in the last several years that momentum has been stalled. The aforementioned flourishing of theatres has led to unprecedented competition for audiences, funding and media coverage, all of which have generally plateaued or diminished. So, like all of our colleagues, we’re scrambling to find new ways to promote, sell and pay for our work. Again, I have high hopes for Michael Nutter, who seems to understand how powerful an engine the arts are for Philadelphia’s economy.

I sincerely believe, with all my heart, that our mission is more important than ever. But it is not going to be an easy road in a culture that is sliding steadily away from a sense of community and toward one of convenience.

IA: Both as InterAct’s Artistic Director and as the former president of the National New Play Network, you’re a leading authority on the path new play development and production has taken in the country over the last several years. InterAct is getting ready to announce the first recipients of the company’s 20th anniversary playwriting commissions. How important a step in the company’s history is this, and how is it important that InterAct not only be a producer of new plays, but a developer of them as well?

SR: I’ve always believed that playwrights are the true chroniclers of our time. So, instead of waiting to hear from them we’re giving them an incentive to start thinking proactively about the issues of the future. It’s an important gesture on many levels. It will hopefully generate a body of plays that will make it to our main stage season. It will create and/or further deepen our relationships with at least twenty playwrights. It will raise our profile as the country’s only theatre with such a serious commitment to new political plays. And it is as clear a signal as there is that InterAct is alive and kicking!

IA: Many of the plays in InterAct’s current season deal with the effects that a single action or decision can have across generations on a personal, political, and cultural level. What of those kinds of pivotal events or decisions do you see going on now, and how do you think we’ll have to answer for them in the next generation?

SR: There’s a long list, but the three that strike me as most vital are global warming, the war in Iraq, and immigration. I think if environmentalists had called it “global scorching” or “planetary chaos” people – even those in power -- might have paid more attention long ago. But we are only now beginning to understand the full effects of the erosion of the ozone layer that surrounds the earth’s atmosphere. Incremental warming doesn’t, in itself, elicit a sense of urgency; but the shrinking of major polar ice caps and the extraordinarily erratic weather-related disasters in recent years should start to galvanize more support for action. One of the reasons many leaders of industrialized nations aren’t acting more swiftly and decisively on global warming (apart from appeasing influential corporations) is because the major casualties, at first, will be those living in the “third world” where weather-related disasters like the Southeast Asian tsunami can wipe out entire islands. This is alluded to briefly in BLACK GOLD.

I also think that looming legislation on immigration reform – both during the remainder of Bush’s term and the next Presidency -- will have a significant impact on the American economy, the divide between rich and poor, law enforcement and the education system, at minimum. I believe that the issue of race has been the most singularly defining social issue in America over the past quarter century, and that class will be the defining issue in the next 25 years. The battle over immigration reform has less to do with how we deal with illegal versus legal immigrants, but rather how we deal with a significant influx of immigrants who suddenly, dramatically increase the population of the lowest working class.

IA: And what about for you? As a playwright and artistic director, what are your hopes for the coming years?

SR: I often get asked what would lure me away from InterAct, and the truth is there isn’t anything I can think of. I’m doing what I love, exactly the way I want to do it (though it would be nice to have a bit more support!), and I don’t think I could feel as fulfilled or rewarded in any other situation. That’s why I’ve fought through some very difficult times, and expect to do so again in the future. Given the state of the world and all of its aforementioned challenges I feel that InterAct’s mission is more and more important all the time. My hope is that InterAct will be able to sustain a small yet loyal core of supporters over time and that our already unique brand of theatre will continue to be valued.

For myself, writing has become a bigger and bigger part of my life. I have a whole lot of ideas in different stages of evolution, and I hope to forge a serious playwriting career.

SUBSCRIPTIONS, TICKETS & SHOW TIMES

Performances of BLACK GOLD are Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. 3-Show Subscriptions are now available for the reamining shows in InterAct’s 20th Season, ranging from $41.00 to $73.00. Individual tickets are $15.00 for preview performances, $23.00 Tuesdays - Thursdays and $27.00 Fridays - Sundays. Purchase information is available by calling 215-568-8079; by dropping by InterAct’s box office at The Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA; or through the links provided below. InterAct offers discounts for senior citizens and full-time students (with valid I.D.). Group rates are available, and students with proper I.D. may purchase Rush Tickets for $10.00 five minutes before curtain (based on availability).

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Introduction
Last of the Boys
Black Gold
Frozen
House, Divided