An exclusive Z Space interview with Sharon Gless!

Although she might be best known as Cagney of Cagney & Lacey, in recent years Sharon Gless has tackled the kind of roles any actress would envy: the outspoken Debbie Novotny on Queer as Folk, Madeline Westen on Burn Notice, and an Emmy-nominated guest stint on Nip/Tuck.  But for her next big role, she’s on stage at Z Space, in what will no doubt be a memorable role: A Round-Heeled Woman.  Sharon graciously took time out of her day to tell us more about a project that’s close to her heart and long in the making. 

 

So I guess let’s start at the beginning. How did this story first come your way?

My husband and I had a huge fight one Sunday. Eight, almost nine years ago.  And he stormed off to his office and I stormed off to my desk in the kitchen.  He reads the New York Times from cover to cover.  So he comes back to my desk, and he hands me the New York Times and says “if you had any balls, you’d go after that.”  And he walked off!

I looked at it.  It was an article in the New York Times about this woman named Jane Juska and this book she wrote about having all these men.  I hadn’t even read the book, I called up my lawyer the next morning, and said “get it for me”.  I loved her interview .  She’s very articulate, and made the article very interesting.

It took me a year to get this.  After several months going back and forth, [my husband] Barney said, “Call your lawyer up and say you want to do a TV series with it, that’s what you should do with it”.   Have an adventure each week with a fabulous leading man.  A different one each week.  So I called up my lawer and said I’m going to do it as a TV series.  They liked that.  They thought I had the power to do that.

Well, it turns out I didn’t. But I got it.  It was mine.  Anyways, we tried everything.  I took it to Rosie O’Donnell, who’s produced on stage, and she said “it’s fantastic…but I don’t ever want to produce again.  But you’re a fool to let it go, because if you do, someone’s going to snatch that up.  You keep it and you do it, and when you get tired of playing it, I want to play it.”   So I thought, this is good feedback.  I’m still on the right track.

And every year and a half, I had to re-up the option.  When I look back, I thought it would’ve been so easy to sell it.  Anyway, Barney and I had gone off to Italy, and we took a side trip to London on our way back to see Simon Moore and Jane Prowse (the writers responsible for the stage adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery).  Barney gave them a copy of A Round-Heeled Woman, and said, “we think there’s something to this.  Let us know what you think.”

Simon said “I love it, but I’m in over my head”.  Never heard from Jane.  Six months go by, and I get this fabulous call from Jane Prowse: “Sharon, I’m so sorry.  I’ve gotten married since I saw you, and I’ve been around the world on my honeymoon.  While I was going around the world, I read A Round-Heeled Woman.  Not only is it fantastic, please – may I write it?”

So she goes to Brian Eastman, who produced Misery, so he knew my work, and Brian loved it.  He saw the potential in it.  And so two months later I sat down again with them, with Brian and Jane, and Brian says, 

“Sharon, I don’t think this is meant to open in the West End immediately.  It’s so American.”  So he listed all these towns:  “No…no… no… no… San Francisco?  San Francisco.. yeah..  San Francisco.  San Francisco is very cool”.

Well, we couldn’t sell it in San Francisco!  But the team went around, to speak to theatres that they felt were appropriate, and as part of that, they met [director] Chris Smith.  I couldn’t be happier.  He’s the right director for this piece.  And now we’re opening here at Z Space, and we can’t believe it.

What’s exciting is Jane Juska, the real woman, she lives in Berkeley.  The only person more nervous than myself is Jane.  My greatest joy in this entire process will be to introduce Jane Juska to that audience.  She had such a journey, and she’s so brave.  I hope we do it well.

It’s interesting how when an actor more known for film or television does stage, the first question people usually ask is “Why this role?”.  But it sounds like the better question here is, “Why NOT this role?”.

I think the problem is because nobody wants to hear about a woman my age who has sex.  But it’s more than just that.  It’s more than just Jane getting laid.  It’s not just that. It’s the whole journey of this woman’s self-discovery, but primarily her courage to take out this ad and say “this is what I want.”

She’s in therapy throughout, and we do it on stage, we run through it every time she gets hurt or burned or humiliated… and it is.  Some of it is a humiliating ride. I went to hear Jane Juska speak at the 92^nd Street Y.  We’d never met, but she knew I was there, and one woman said “Ms. Juska, why did you humiliate yourself like this?”  And Jane looked right at her and said “I had not been touched in 30 years.”  Imagine someone not being touched in 30 years.  I mean, shaking hands, yes, but still – “ I’m going to be 67, and I’m not going to die without experiencing this pleasure.”

You’re definitely known for creating memorable roles in a television, but with those you have the chance to really develop a character season after season.  What’s your approach for stage, where you’re taking us through the entire life a character in just one night?

When you have the longevity of a TV series, it’s fun.  The character grows and grows and grows.  Whereas each night, here, we have one shot.   Once I’m out there, I can’t yell cut.  They say theatre is the most fun of all, but I was trained on film, so theatre’s scary for me.  Most actors are trained for the stage, then they get a guest spot on a TV movie, and they can make some money, and they go on.  My experience was exactly the opposite.  I’ve done plays in the West End, but this is perhaps the most courageous thing I’ve ever done.  Just like Jane Juska.  This is the most courageous thing Sharon Gless has ever done.

And finally – you cite, LA, Toronto, and Miami as your favorite cities.  Is there anything San Francisco can do to get an honorary mention on that list?

I have a home in Los Angeles – I’m born and raised, that’s my roots. And then my husband retired and moved to Miami, so that’s where I lived for 13 years.  And I did Queer As Folk in Toronto for five years, and I just fell in love with it, and I kept my apartment there.  So that’s where I spend my time.  But to answer – that depends on how we’re received here in San Francisco.  Ask me in March!

Well, San Francisco is lucky to have you, especially from knowing your amazing work on Queer as Folk, and I think a lot of people here will be excited to take this theatrical journey with you!

Thank you – we hope everyone will come and take the ride with us.

A Round-Heeled Woman opens January 5, 2010 at Z Space.  Tickets available here or by calling 1-800-838-3006.  Visit www.zspace.org for more information!

 

Photograph of Sharon Gless as Jane Juska in A Round-Heeled Woman.  Copyright © 2009 - please do not reproduce without permission 

Letters from Paris

Here I sit in my top-of-the-stairs (8 flights, American, 7 flights, French; NO ELEVATOR) apartment in Paris.  The weather is perfect: that sort of fresh, hazy morning which brings a soft light not unlike San Francisco and its ocean mists.  This past weekend was the Journee du Patrimoine: austere French ministries in hotels particuliers; a little hidden Russian Orthodox church built all of wood, encircling two living trees; grand monuments like the Ecole Militaire and the Opera-- all open their doors to the public in this once-a-year weekend.  And voila, the history and beauty of Paris abounds. The street teemed with people all eager to take a good long look at their national treasures.  I have long believed that Paris IS theater; not only for the beautiful settings and its surprise moments (that Russian church!) but also because of the way the chairs in the cafes are aligned: facing outward so the passing street scene can be observed, commented on, and most of all, appreciated and loved.  

People here in Paris ask me constantly about Word for Word.   They are very excited that "Two on A Party" comes to town (many towns all over France!) in March: I've warned of its "adult nature" and no one seems the least bit phased. In fact, they are thrilled to see a short story by the great American writer Tennessee Williams.   It is France, apres tout.   As for my immediate plans, I will be teaching in the Word for Word style, and have a wide range of workshops just waiting--from small children at the Ecole Bilingue where I've taught many a time with other Word for Word women, and which I love for it's creativity and joyful spirit, to high school students at BRIO, a special nation-wide program dedicated to bringing lyceens to the university, to a full-on 12-week acting workshop for adults.  Next stop, the Paris premiere of Tobias Wolff's Bullet in the Brain.  ( Credit to Stephanie Hunt. Remember the parachute?  It's here, waiting in a closet in an apartment in the 7eme for its next adventure. )

I miss San Francisco and our creative team and our new home at the Artaud more than you can imagine, but let's face it:  Paris is, after all, Paris.   As Mavis Gallant (author of Mlle. Dias de Corta, among many other stories, said when someone asked her why she moved from Montreal to Paris :  "Have you seen Paris?" )
And, of course, there are so many Parises to be seen.  I'm reading a great book by David Downie entitled "Paris, Paris" which is a fascinating look at and history of everything from the Luxembourg Gardens to the mess made by President Pompidou to Mme. X, a "seduction expert".  

Everything is fresh and new and a little overwhelming (not the least being my projected visit tomorrow tothe Prefecture de Police to get my working papers in order), but very exciting and full of promise.  I'll keep the Letters from Paris coming.

-Sue Harloe

Artistic Director, Word For Word

p.s.  Being in Europe brings an awareness of the weight of centuries of history.  To that end, I recommend that everyone go and see Word for Word's next Off the Page, "The Tumblers", and see the brilliant story that Nathan Englander has conjured out of a dark and desperate time.    October 14, JCCSF 8 pm.

Class tensions

Came across this headline today, just as part of my general perusal of news: "College student with sword kills burglary suspect". Ok, I'm intrigued. In a nutshell: a John Hopkins student who had a samurai sword on hand when his house was broken into killed a burglar in what seems like self-defense. But what got me most about the article was this quote:

Kenny Eaton, 20, a junior political science major at Hopkins who lives nearby, said there was some tension between students and lower-income residents of nearby communities. The private Johns Hopkins is known for its health and science research and has about 4,600 undergraduates on its main campus. "You take kids who are paying $50,000 a year (in tuition) and then put them out in a very dangerous city environment, it's almost like a clash of civilizations," he said.

What's interesting here - and serves reiterate the Class Divide Initiative at Dartmouth which was the impetus for You Can't Get There From Here - is the implied sense of status. The juxtaposition of a $50,000 education vs. a dangerous city environment makes me wonder - at what point does it not become a clash of civilizations? When it's only a $10,000 education? What about the students who are on Financial Aid? The article references tensions between students and low-income residents - but what about the low-income students? By putting that price tag on the students, it's as if they're meant to be something above and exclusive to the world around them.

Just my two cents. Feel free to add yours, or join us after the show tomorrow night or next Thursday for a session of cross-class dialogue led by Anne Galjour that explores the issues at hand!

-Reynaldi Lolong, Marketing Associate

Good times had by all

Thank you to all for joining us on Thursday evening for the opening night of our Preview Season at Theater Artaud! We're excited to share our future with the community. Courtesy of Cheryl Mazak, here's a smattering of photos from the first of what will surely be many open house events to come.

THEATER REVIEW: Class Struggle at Z Space

THEATER REVIEW: Class Struggle at Z Space, courtesy of MissionLocal

Also check out our review in the San Francisco Chronicle:
"Innate charm and sensitivity...as the people spring to life, their stories are well worth telling and told well."


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Starting the school year right

Greetings to you all from the program administrator for Youth Arts here at Z Space.  Specifically what we do are workshops and residencies with students from grade 3 through high school using Word for Word techniques to activate literature and bring stories to life.   Since school has just started, we don’t currently have any workshops running (although that will change in the next few weeks, so check back!), so I thought I’d let some of the classroom teachers we worked with last year have their say, and show you some photos from past workshops. - Valerie Weak, Youth Arts Program Administrator

 

“Students are engaged deeply by Word for Word approaches; several students who say they “hate” reading (because it is difficult) were completely engaged in this process”

-Bayside Elementary School

 

“I got to see shy students shining. I saw english language learners speaking loudly and proudly. I saw the students work together, speak positively about each other, and encourage each other.”

-San Pedro Elementary School

 

“I saw my students up on their feet interacting joyfully with one another while interpreting literature.  What’s not to love?”

-Ida B Wells Continuation High School

Fresh off the page

Wow. I'm sitting here at Theater Artaud, our new home, looking out through these amazing leaded glass windows.  It's hard to believe it is true.  We have our very own theater!  Lisa Steindler, our Executive Director here at Z Space, and David Szlasa, our Managing Director, and all of the staff, have been working so hard over the last few months to make this happen and all that hard work has paid off.  Our first event in the space is next Monday, (8/31), and we're starting off with a bang. 

 

Word for Word's "Off the Page" staged reading series begins with T. C. Boyle's story "Killing Babies." It's a very provocative look at intolerance and unchecked anger from both sides of an issue.  Boyle pulls no punches with the character of Rick, (played in our reading by the wonderful Alex Moggridge), fresh from his second stint in rehab and with a big chip on his very hip, southern Californian shoulder.  He's been sent to live with his doctor brother and do menial, minimum wage labor in his brother's clinic.  What Rick doesn't bargain for is his reaction to the band of protestors outside the clinic.

 

We have a terrific group of artists assembled for this reading. Directing for Word for Word for the first time is Matthew Spangler.  Matthew is an Assistant Professor of Performance Studies at San Jose State University, where he directed the original developmental production of "The Kite Runner", which he adapted from Khaled Hosseini's novel, and which was also produced at San Jose Repertory Theater. He has adapted more than 30 novels and short stories for the stage. His plays, which have been produced throughout the U.S., U.K., Ireland and France, include a one-person show of James Joyce's Dubliners; an adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's short stories; and Mozart!, a musical-theatre adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's letters.

 

Our most talented cast includes the aforementioned Alex Moggridge, Will Huddleston, our own Amy Kossow, Matthew Purdon, El Beh, Matt Lowe and Nina Moog.  Nina incidentally is interning at Z Space until she returns for her second year at college in Scotland.  We first met Nina when we were in residence at Lick Wilmerding High School, and Nina starred in a wonderful story we staged there by Julie Orringer, called "The Isabel Fish."  That's the great thing about being part of Z Space - there are so many opportunities to develop young talents...and older talents for that matter! You can start out doing a workshop with our Teaching Artists, which leads you to an internship, which leads to an acting role.  Come to the Z to design, or direct, or act in one project, and you might bump into someone else working on a completely different project, you get to talking and before you know it - you're both collaborating on a brand new project!

 

I'm really excited about the Off the Page series.  It gives us and our audience an opportunity to explore many diverse stories.  Much as we'd like to, we can't produce every story that we love and these readings help us narrow down the choices. They also give the audience a chance to see behind the scenes a little - get an idea of our process. 

 

And we have some great writing to experience in the next few months! In September we have a special reading that is also a fundraiser for Z Space and Word for Word: Savory Thymes: a reading of M. F. K. Fisher's story "I Was Really Very Hungry" and a gourmet meal modeled after the one the protagonist of the story describes, served in a gorgeous garden in Mill Valley - don't miss it!  9/12, 5:00 pm.  October 14 brings Nathan Englander's "The Tumblers" - 8pm at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. In November we're thrilled to be able to do a Chapter from Elizabeth Strout's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Olive Kitteridge - for that we'll be back at Artaud on November 23 at 7pm.  On December 14 at 7pm we reprise our reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory" which was so popular last year.

 

I hope to see many of you here at Theater Artaud for the beginning of our Off the Page series and the beginning of our new chapter in this wonderful new space!

 

-JoAnne Winter