If no one Tweets about it… did it make a sound?
October 23, 2009
The other night outside the theater, a woman asked me to sign her Playbill. Before I could ask what she thought of the show, she offered, “He should have killed you.” I thought that might make an interesting Tweet, if I had a Twitter account, which I don’t.
“Julia… Is being told what it is to be an insufferable human being.”
But again, no Twitter account, so I awkwardly mumbled, “those are some strong words” and let her reflect on what exactly about my character in Oleanna fueled them. Of course, I understand that the end of the play is intentionally harrowing. Carol is unrelenting, and both characters suffer the consequences. And I’m glad to see a strong response, an investment in the story. But why so much anger?
Last night, someone started shouting during the final act, and had to be escorted from the theater. (Sidenote: If you are an audience member, please don’t ever do that. Throwing tomatoes at the curtain call would be less disturbing, honestly, but at least let us finish the job).
I recently saw The Public Theater’s latest version of Othello, where Philip Seymour Hoffman relished Iago’s, “How am I then a villain?” It occurred to me that no one walks out of Othello thinking they were really happy to see Iago killed. He is clearly motivated by revenge, and feels completely justified in it… the villain is the hero of his own story. No one cries, “Burn the Witch!” at Lady MacBeth or Medea. And wouldn’t theater be really boring if every character onstage were an exemplar human being?
Oleanna is more contemporary, granted, and therefore more immediate and perhaps more threatening. I did not feel threatened by this woman, because she was, I believe, half-joking (whatever that means). It did give me pause, though. I can only guess that what made her blood boil is that Carol refuses to just let things go. Carol at one point in the play asks, I’m paraphrasing, ‘What do you want me to do, overlook your behavior?” And that’s exactly what she refuses to do. She insists that her professor’s words and actions go on record, and the argument remains over their context. But the idea that one should get over it, is somewhat irksome to me. Here’s a better articulation of why, on a different blog.
People need to have a record of their experience to validate it, to remember it, to understand it. Why else did we start writing? That’s all the more exaggerated now in this hyperactive age of constant reportage; Twitter, Facebook, three million “news” stations each with incessant tickers and four screens. Everyone seems to want a record of even the most mundane occurrences. “I wish I had a tissue” “I’m talking to my Dad!” “I can’t get my hair to stay still!” “I missed my train!” “I’m taking a dump!”
Can we just have an experience without having to broadcast it? Is the experience any less valuable or memorable if we don’t take note electronically? And instead of asking that woman “why, whatever do you mean?”, isn’t it somewhat passive-aggressive of me to quietly wax about it alone later at my computer? I’m not the first to ask if computers and mobile phones have broken down communication more than they have aided it; but these gadgets have made us more inclined to anonymously critique rather than confront. For all her faults, I think it’s refreshing that Carol confronts the way I don’t think I ever would. And that woman outside the stage door who confronted me probably still wishes Oleanna ended in murder.
Saw the play……love mamet and loved both actors…may you have a nice long run
I have a twitter account, but I rarely take it seriously and usually tweet while at work. I have it because I was once told I was “too old to tweet.” I’ll show those whipper-snappers who’s too old to tweet.
come on just break down and get the facebook and twitter. You know you want it
Personally, I like the instant updates one just about everything. Even the “mundane” stuff can be interesting once you get into the comments/replies. That is where most of the fun is
[...] I also really like her blog entry If no one Tweets about it… did it make a sound? [...]
You may take the woman’s remark as a compliment on your convincing performance, not at all as a threat to you personally. My wife and I saw your performance last Wednesday, during our visit to New York (from Holland), and loved it!
However, I think that the woman’s anger was not motivated by Carol’s not letting things go, but by the discovery that Carol deliberately sacrificed the Professor’s career and marriage, just to further her and her group’s goal.
Maybe, definitely maybe.
(Glad you liked the show).
“Definitely maybe” is somewhat ambiguous. Do you mean that the woman’s anger may definitely have been fuelled by the “deliberate sacrifice”, or that you prefer the other interpretation, that of Carol’s “not letting go”?
My interpretation may have been guided by the storyline in the window outside the theatre. I would rather not have read it before the show.
Sometimes we share\show our emotions while they are fresh without thinking how they will be accepted from other people and what they will caused in minds and behaviors of other people. We don’t control them every time or we simply just want to share them. Carol was also ickier for me then professor at the end of the play.
Well, yes, it’s a tragedy.
You have a tough job, playing a woman in Mamet. Tough tough. Tough. As a writer, tho, I’m sure he appreciates such elicit audience reactions. I dunno. You can’t defend Carol, but you can’t defend John either, yet still most guys (and I mean guys) sympathize with John. It’s male-centric. So you’re kind of screwed from the get go.
I thought you did really well in the play. The character of Carol was very interesting and I agree with Eric when he said that Carol was so driven to carry out her group’s agenda it overshadowed any shred of compassion for his career and marriage. I loved the power John had over Carol in the first act, the push-pull between the two in the second, and the strong hold Carol had as the play made its exiting act. It was very good and I enjoyed seeing you perform.
i saw oleanna yesterday afternoon. (i was in nyc for a quick weekend vacation from arkansas) i thought it was wonderful. what i so admire about carol is her ability to demand that her point of view be heard. i can understand the lady’s reaction outside the theater because the ending is so raw, however, for me personally, it is so much more complex. i left the theater and walked several blocks trying to see the situation from both character’s points of view. i graduated a few years back with a communiction degree and have studied the consequences of miscommunication, especially nonverbal. with that said, i think you did an amazing job. i will be back in the city soon and hope to see it again.
couldn’t agree with you more about electronic broadcasting. i was at lunch the other day and i overheard a girl ask the server to take her picture so she could post it on her blog, “today i had lunch at…” let’s live our lives and stop worrying about documenting every little thing we do.
thank you again for a wonderful performance.
In ancient times (more then 6 months ago) there was myspace, Then there was Facebook. Now we have twitter. Isn’t it interesting we constantly develop ways to talk to each other without ever actually looking someone else in the eye? Go into any bar in NYC and count the number of people texting. I admire that woman. She spoke her mind. All these electronic doodads haven’t made us afraid of communication, they have made us afraid of consequences.
That’s what I mean, I respect that woman for saying something directly to me.
Take the anger as a complement of your prowess as an actress. As for the characters, I blame him, he’s the older one, he should know better.
Any plans to celebrate the Yankee’s win?
(you’re not rooting for Philly are you?)
I had been hoping for Dodgers, Yankees. For the Joe Torre of it all. But, alas, I’ll be rooting for the Yankees… and I hope it’s a crushing defeat of the Phillies.
Spoken (written) like a true New Yorker.
You’re getting your wish. I don’t think the Phillies ever imagined losing perhaps the key game because Johnny Damon had the presence of mind to keep on going after stealing second because the shift was on and third base was uncovered.
I’ve just booked my ticket for the Nov. 21 night performance. I can’t wait!
I like this Internet age. I do have a Twitter account, and a Facebook, and a blog on LiveJournal and I use each of them differently. I think it’s very useful to stay in touch with my friends all over the world and it’s just a fun thing to do/read/whatever. What I don’t like is when news channels use it as a primary source of info.
No Twitter account…Someone is sure having fun being you…
“I’m not the first to ask if computers and mobile phones have broken down communication more than they have aided it; but these gadgets have made us more inclined to anonymously critique rather than confront…”
I agree, especially regarding communication between people on a personal level. Gone are the days, sadly, when someone could say they had received a beautiful love letter in the post. Today it seems to be ‘OMGZ I got TH3 bezt phone pic of myyy babi. She nekkid’ and such.
Modern comms are great for businesses but leave the opportunity to cancel planned meetings at the last minute quite easy to do. In the past, one would not be able to easily call/text at the last minute saying you’d be late or not coming at all. Folk were more punctual in a less comms driven era.
Anyway, sadly not seen Oleanna yet but will be sure to get tickets when in NYC next unless you’re bringing it to London’s West End.
If no one Tweets about…..does it make a sound? Priceless. A clever twist and funny thought on so many levels. Obviously I am not a Twitter fan. I complain about the telephone because I can’t talk face to face and see the expressions and reactions.
‘Get over it’. ‘Let it go’. ‘Move on’. And my most favorite ‘Deal with it’. These short sighted statements sometimes drive me batty. Not that they do not have their place but they generally do not lead to an open line of communication. We want to be heard but if no one is willing to listen and take effort, how do we heal/grow? A point nicely defined in your blog link. Of course my instinct is to take (the best I can, screens and all) others point of view and comprehend as much as possible. Hoping I can provide some morsel of insight to help.
I can’t help but wonder if the woman after the play decided to text or tweet about it?
i love hearing stories like this, it sounds to me like that lady believed what happend on stage was real and that she somehow found herself sitting in a university and bared witness to the whole series of events.
I myself would be mortified if some lady came upto me and expressed her opinion on a character that i’d played like i was the acctually character.
Liam
The woman outside the stage door who confronted you…so Carol must have evoked something and really hit a nerve with her. It makes me curious as to what the woman’s story is and what nerve did you hit from her life experience that brought her anger on? I asked the same questions about Carol and the Professor – I was trying to understand and make up a history…a life experience for Carol and the Professor so that I could understand their behavior. The play leaves a door wide open for the audience to make up a life story to justify the characters behaviors. And in leaving that door wide open reveals a lot about individuals, their interpretations, why and what hits them. That’s the beauty of the play.
We saw the play during preview and on opening night. It’s a provocative play and people got worked up. We participated in the Talk Back series and “sexual harassment” was brought up in the discussion. I think the production is more than just about “sexual harassment”. It’s more about how people behave.
Your work in this production is impressive. I have a whole new respect for you and your work that I didn’t have walking in. And respect for what you have managed to balance: a publicly private celebrity status (does that make sense?).
The new social media of connecting, interacting and networking online through Facebook and Twitter where I can check in on hundreds of people know what they’re doing, the conversations they are having, what they’re eating, without ever talking to them makes me miss real people.
P.S. I wanted to upload a photo of a a mannequin wearing a “guys thing” on display at this mall during Oct. fashion week to show you what you started with juliastilesstyles but am not tech smart enough to figure out how to do it. Oh well.
“He should have killed you?” Wow.
Audience reactions to this play sure are fascinating. At least you know you haven’t put ‘em to sleep!
I think the woman kind of missed the point, though. If the professor kills the student, it lets the student off the hook for her words, because (in this blogger’s humble opnion) her ‘words matter’, too. I like the fact that both characters have to live with the consequences of their actions.
As far as this electronic communications stuff is concerned, I have to draw the line at blogs and a fairly inactive facebook account.
I could say something about people texting or twittering too much – that is, not being ‘pod’-dy trained – but that would be blogging too much!
Ok, I’ve done it – I’ve gone and joined the bloggosphere, too.
(You’re such a bad influence
With hat duly tipped to the Monty Python gang, it’s called ‘the Ministry of Silly Thoughts’. I’m still trying to work out some bugs (like posting my own cover photo), but at least it’s up and running. Here’s the site:
http://theministryofsillythoughts.wordpress.com
Don’t forget to check out the ‘About’ page, share a silly thought of your own, and remember: be on the lookout for the Thought Police – they’re out there, and they don’t like bloggers, ’cause we’re full of silly thoughts!
Have a great Christmas, Julia!
Hi Julia,
Just found your blog through the link on the Oleanna website, which was linked through another website. (Oh the joys of back-tracking.)
Anyways, I’ve always found you to be such a fantastic actress and I can’t say how glad I am to have stumbled across your blog. Just reading about the various reactions and interpretations audience members have from watching is very intriguing and makes me wish I had chosen to attend a college in Boston just so I could make weekend trips up to NYC (and therefore see your play.) Alas, I am stuck in LA and hoping that Oleanna will make a trip over here at some point in the future. And you with it of course!
All the best,
Liz
Ironically, I got linked to this page through Oleanna’s twitter.
(Love twitter. I have absolutely no need for it, but I’m hooked)
I saw the show this past Wednesday when I was in New York visiting Marymount Manhattan. I’ve been researching different shows for monologues for college auditions (yikes) and Oleanna sounded really interesting. I loved loved loved loved LOVED the show. You were absolutely brilliant.
That woman’s comments were harsh, but at least she contained herself until after the performance. There’s plenty of people who for some reason feel the need to yell out during the show. … I thought the man sitting behind me was going to have an aneurism, my goodness.
I definitely disagree with her though. Even though Carol is definitely an extremist, he shouldn’t have taken it to that level. I feel that he was almost enabling her to do everything she did. At the end, he fed her major ammunition against himself. It was really foolish.
The show overall was so powerful. You were just phenomenal. I’d really like to use something from Oleanna for my college auditions, so I hope I can do it justice!
Best,
Chelsea
I got to see the play a couple of weeks ago in it’s final days of previews. It was great. There is something so wonderful in Mamet’s writing, this sort of electric emotion that is left between the lines. A hanging silent tension lingering between the actors’ gazes, reactions and movements. Mamet chooses his words carefully and they are usually delivered very rapidly and with a certain poise. But there is always room for energy and thoughts left between the characters and between the words for the audience to process, however quickly, and then think about it on a very personal level and go home with. Glengarry Glenn Ross had it too. The story and the message of this play lies in those moments I think and you and Bill did a great job guiding and releasing that energy in a fresh way for this production of Oleanna. I was wondering how this Broadway run feels in comparison to the London production several years ago in terms of the feel of the play on stage for you? The political landscape surrounding the issue of the play has changed but raw human emotions have not.
As for twitter, facebook and broadcasting our thoughts. Well yeah these tools might be useful for some stuff such as promoting and shouting out about things we love or are selling, but when someone tells me in the flesh, face to face about something I should see, read, or react to then I take it much more to heart. I remember the days not too far back when I would be turned on to a new band because someone actually played me a song on their stereo in their room through big speakers. Those moments still leave me with an impression and I still love those particular bands.
Twitter is hilarious for the thought that it gives people the comfort that everyone wants to know what they are doing every second of the day.
I guess someone didn’t tell the audience member that the play wasn’t like the “Rock Horror Picture Show” which wanted audience participation. XD
Well…in 1923 the Yankees opened a new stadium and won the world series and again in 2009. (New stadium didn’t work out for the Mets though).
Joe Gerardi picked #27 in anticipation of 27th series win and he helped some lady in a car accident who is 27 years old….
Just an observation.
Hi Julia. Just saw Oleanna today and thought you were incredible in it. I’ve long been an avid fan of Mamet. I must ask, is there always so much laughter from the audience during the play? I hate that kind of nervous, uncomfortable laughter that seems to occur during serious plays of films.. it’s as if people cannot understand the concept of straight-up drama. If this is a frequent occurance, does it throw Bill and yourself off?
Again, wonderful job.
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it.
As long as they are laughing with us, not at us, it’s a good sign the audience is engaged. Even spiteful laughter is okay, though. It can be uncomfortable, but it is still fuel.
While i know the basic gist of Oleanna, i have never seen the play and so don’t know the ins and outs of it. The aspect of your post that interested me was re: modern technology and the need to document.
I am possibly the last person i know without a facebook account. I had a brief foray into another social networking site, but felt physically uncomfortable anytime I loaded the page. I felt so exposed and watched and judged. I quickly realised I was voluntarily subjecting myself to this and hit delete. Now I am of the view that anyone who I like enough will have my phone number and can contact me the (relatively) old fashioned way.
But I know there are definitely people who believe that if they go out on a Friday night and do not have the photographs posted online by the Saturday morning, it really might as well not have happened at all. I am glad to know from your blog post that I am not the only one who finds this ever so slightly bizarre.
Only if it crashed in the woods like the tree with no one to hear it.
I kid, that has to be one of the dumbest questions ever asked.
“If a tree falls in the woods, and no one hears it, did it make a sound?”.
Duh, the lack of people does not simply remove the lack of noise. Some chipmunk was saying to another, “do you hear that creaking sound?”. Five seconds later and oops, “oh, so thats was it was”.
The unanswerable question could have been answered by a chipmunk, if you had bothered to ask.
And those are some amazingly harsh words. The question is figurative, not to be taken so literally, as is the one about the tree.
Your musings in this post are most luculent. In particular, i enjoyed the realization about the “validation of experience” [I paraphrase] by the recording and notation of experience. While an undergraduate at York University, I remember reading Alan Watts’ thoughts on this matter more than 4 decades ago. I have come to realize the truth he illuminated: The moment cannot be “caught.” Be here, be now..
Then again, even twittering and blogging in actuality, does not ‘escape’ the veracity of the reality that there is no “marking of the moment.” In truth, no matter how we record our “having a cup of coffee” or “going to the show” –there is no way to ‘validate’ experience since it is all equally “written on light, with light.”
Julie, I must apologise. The way that you read it, wasn’t the way that I meant it to be read. It is after all your blog and not my place to write anything that may be misconstrued.
In regards to tweeting, I can not make much comment about it,as I neither tweet, have a facebook or blog. Therefore once again, I would like to apologise for writing something that was accepted as less than cordial on your blog.
My misunderstanding; apologies.
The deeper question is – *why* do we desire to share anything about our lives?
It is because we each believe that we are unique, that we are special. We are social beings with relatively short memories. We seek to convey the emotion of a particular moment to others (not unlike acting), and to leave a record which allows us to recapture that moment on a later day.
Some just feel this more than others.
Regarding Carol’s supposedly admirable refusal to “let things go” and willingness to confront…I can’t agree with you. Even great virtues sour when deployed toward a wrong end.
On my reading (I’ve never seen the play live), the events as presented in Act One are grievously misrepresented in Carol’s report to the tenure committee (and, yes, I know that John is a pompous pain in the arse in some respects). The admittedly more serious event of Act Two is likewise misrepresented. You can argue that interpretation is subjective, but subjective perspectives untethered from objective reality are not and should not be a socially acceptable basis for damaging accusations. No matter how much we may wish to acknowledge the difficulties of communication and the subjectivity involved in interpretation, it remains the case that the aim on the part of any listener must be to get the interpretation right. Getting the interpretation wrong is a failure, and I don’t think that seeking retribution on the basis of a wrong interpretation is behaviour to be admired (nor, for the record, is John’s behaviour at the end of Acts Two and Three).
I can understand that someone who has bitten their tongue a thousand times in the face of provocation, or continually been the subject of others’ judgment and criticism, may find some catharsis is Carol’s relentless pursuit of an authority figure (and she does have some good points to make in Acts Two and Three, independent of her report). But neither you nor I nor Carol would wish to be on the receiving end of someone else’s unfettered “personal truths”.
I think it is a shame that Mamet didn’t give Carol a better case.
To answer Shafiq: We crave a deep experience of being alive. We are in love with the resonance . Photographs, tweeting, blogging, scratching “I was here” on a blank wall. Art itself, weather plastic or dramatic arts, are indicative of this urge. We are like the myth of Echo. We want to see that we are really there. So we crave that resonance. That, what musicians call, “reverb.” These doings create a reverberation of a present moment, present as an echo (like the myth). But everything we experience is a present moment. As William Faulkner observed, “The past is not dead; it’s not even past.” Memory is a present experience.
William Wordsworth wrote this poem.
“ANIMAL TRANQUILLITY AND DECAY
THE little hedgerow birds,
That peck along the roads, regard him not.
He travels on, and in his face, his step,
His gait, is one expression: every limb,
His look and bending figure, all bespeak
A man who does not move with pain, but moves
With thought.–He is insensibly subdued
To settled quiet: he is one by whom
All effort seems forgotten; one to whom
Long patience hath such mild composure given,
That patience now doth seem a thing of which
He hath no need. He is by nature led
To peace so perfect that the young behold
With envy, what the Old Man hardly feels.”
I think that all the current electronic communication options (twitter, fb, etc.) allow people to believe they can say whatever they want “anonymously.” It seems to give people courage that they might not otherwise possess if done face to face. Perhaps to reveal the mundane and know that many, many other participants are reading and following what you say makes everyone “a star.” Too anonymous for me…I like to see the face of the person I am talking to…the look in their eyes, the subtle movements in body that often reveal a thought and what is not said in response. I don’t think we should lose that…
It’s interesting, having both read and seen the show a number of times (sadly, not this production yet – it’s a bit of a hike from Toronto) I feel that with each new interpretation, Carol’s case does grow stronger. Honestly, I think it’s probably always been a strong case. Once the initial shock of how these events unfold wore off on me, my perspective began to change. John’s ignorance and mistakes, if you can even call some of them mistakes, become much more prominent with each viewing. (I’m curious if you experience something similar to this as an actor throughout your run?) Eventually you get the pleasure of a whole new viewing experience by watching this train wreck unfurl from very early on and it is just as cringe worthy! Carol’s desperation to learn and John’s unwillingness to = pretty fascinating drama.
It’s kind of funny how these types of forums also provide a LOT of room for miscommunication, as the posts from November 12 suggest. Yet without it, discussions like this would likely never be had amongst strangers without the fear of pepper spray. Context – such a pain in the arse! Best not to write anything at all I say… wait… crap.
Perhaps Carol does not properly weight the importance of the professor’s career and family because as a college student she does not have the experience or knowledge to have any real idea how hard those are to obtain. Therefore, it could be a folly of youth that she is unable to let go, regardless of the cost. John is also unwilling to let go. Perhaps even more than Carol. After all, he initiates the final meeting. His inability to let go may come either from a desperate need for approval and understanding from everyone, including from Carol, or his mistaken belief that every problem can be fixed through further communication. I guess those both contribute to his being a tragic figure. Being older, perhaps he should have known better about some of this, but it really is tricky to escape one’s past or the events that shape at a young age.
Also, how do you think people would react if the actress playing Carol was only average looking or even below average? (As opposed to a beauty like you). It’s an honest question, and I think it might affect people’s reactions.I can’t decide if it would make people believe John more about his intentions or blame him even more as being a hopeless lecher.
FInally, I once hated Facebook and now like it. I still hate Twitter but may change. I think technology can be incredibly useful for maintaining long distance friendships and relationships. I greatly prefer face-to-face interactions (I don’t even really like phones), but it hurts me even more to think about losing all my friends and family whenever I move, and moving a lot is also an unfortunate but present part of some of our modern lives. Technology can actually be one way to help compensate that for that. Also, like all technology, it’s mostly about the people using it, and I think people have decided to use these communication technologies in crazy ways. Luckily, I can tune most of it out.
[...] in Ethics, Metablogging, Privacy at 2:49 pm by lpearle Julia Stiles’ post about Twittering in a forest struck a nerve. People need to have a record of their experience to validate it, to remember it, to [...]
I just wanted to say that as a 60 year old grandmother I think you are a doll. I haven’t seen you in anything lately and I am hoping you have something out soon. I have tried to find online all the movies you have been it so I could rent them but I keep going in circles! (This modern technology and the old dog new trick thing)
Grandma Carolyn from Oregon
By “definitely maybe” (an oxymoron), I mean to point out that there are many ways to interpret the play. And Mamet writes it that way deliberately. There is a line in OLEANNA, “We can only interpret the behavior of others through the screens we create.” I hear so many varied interpretations and responses.