DREAM August 6-29, 1998 Echo Theatre's inaugural season opener was the area premier of Dream of A Common Language by Heather McDonald. The story takes place in 1874 in Paris and explores the delicately complex balance between a woman's artistic calling, her family life, and the influence of societal constraints and expectations.
OF A COMMON LANGUAGE
by Heather McDonald
THE BASEMENT SPACE
3200 Main Street in Dallas
Directed by Pam Myers-Morgan
Featuring
Suzy Blaylock * Kateri Cale * Chamblee Ferguson
Linda Marie Ford * James Kille * Hunter Tharp
Stage Manager - Michael Starcher
Set and Lighting Design - Mark Hankla
Costume Design - Paul Wackym
Sound Design - Bob Myers-Morgan
Properties Design - Bonny Henley
Playwright McDonald was partly inspired to write the play after attending an Impressionist exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. She stumbled across an intriguing painting, and beneath it was a blurb describing a dinner held to plan the first Impressionist exhibit in 1874. What hit home with McDonald about the painting was the fact that none of the women artists who participated in that exhibition were at the dinner. Says McDonald, "I was struck that you could be a painter, but you couldn't be part of the dialogue."
In a recent interview, McDonald said, "that image of the men sitting down at the dinner table jogged me. I thought about what it was like, not to be at the table." She continued, "I wanted to write about that invisibility and how it can cause crippling, self-doubt...fury. McDonald explained that she also wanted to write a love story, but one within a marriage. She further stated, "I wanted to write about the longing, for women as well as men, to have a fusion of passion and work in their lives."
The critically acclaimed play was honored with six coveted Helen Hayes awards for its production at the Theatre of the First Amendment at George Washington University.
