From the dressing room - Oliver Kal as young Michal in The Pillowman
Posted by Oliver Kal on 10/26/2006
Wow… Working at Steppenwolf when I’m only 14? Yeah… It’s the best. I love hanging out with everyone there. Amy Morton was and still is the COOLEST director around! I can’t say enough good about this company. Other than, it has given me a great opportunity to expand my boundaries, and experiment with my career choices, for later in my life. I love hanging out backstage with all the actors. I have to put in a good word for my main man Danny McCarthy who is my dressing room partner. Elizabeth who tortures me daily : ). Yasen and Tracy they are awesome plus Tracy has THE coolest line in the play. Of course!… one that I can’t say! Michael who is an awesome older me, and Jim who is just great at storytelling. Oh, and if you want to know what any of these things have anything to do with me. Well, I suggest you go see the play! We have the coolest people. Last but not least, the other kids in the show (Quinn, Leah, Abby) they are the coolest bunch of kids I have ever met. I can’t believe that Steppenwolf gave me this opportunity to be a part of this cast, and experience live stage theatre. It has been one of the best experiences of my life, and I will forever carry it with me. I love you all! –Oliver.
Thanks for reading. Hoped you enjoyed! See the show. IT’S AMAZING!!
October 26th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Hello Hello! I just saw The Pillowman, and it was amazing, disturbing, but amazing. I dont know if this is the right place to ask questions, but I just had a few, and I was hoping that someone might help answer them.
What was the importance of the chandelier?
How did Katurian never know about Michal, especially when the parents did not start abusing the child until he was 8?
Why did Katurian lie about killing the children?
Why did Michal lie about committing the little jesus?
How did the actors of Michal and Katurian prepare for their roles?
Were Tapulski and Ariel of the same origin?
Great job Oliver, and eeeeverybody else!
thanks a lot!!
October 30th, 2006 at 11:33 am
From the Assistant Director of The Pillowman, Sean Graney…
What was the importance of the chandelier?
This answer may be more wordy than anticipated. In my opinion, the set of The Pillowman fits into one of the major themes of the production-that of Duality. The play deals with the idea of opposites or extremes then as the play progresses the distance between the opposites becomes blurred. The script called for the set to be an interrogation room. The idea for this production’s set came from the idea that the totalitarian regime was fairly new, and when they took over power, they moved into the most beautiful buildings that they could - therefore exemplifying duality by showing an old, aesthetic room being used as a new, functional room. The room in the production was designed after an old German Ballroom, in which the chandelier was centrally featured.
How did Katurian never know about Michal, especially when the parents did not start abusing the child until he was 8?
This was a question that was raised many times in rehearsal; however we could find no answer within the text.
Why did Katurian lie about killing the children?
Katurian felt that his execution was imminent. So he figured if he cooperated with the detectives like they wanted, he would have some leverage to save his stories. I feel that survival is Katurian’s main objective through the play, at the turning point occurs when he realizes his chances for bodily survival are nonexistent, so he figures if his art can survive, that may give some meaning to his confused life.
Why did Michal lie about committing the little Jesus?
So many of Michal’s actions are directly related to his relationship to Katurian, either trying to prove a certain equality or autonomy. At the point Michal lies about the Little Jesus, Katurian has already hit his head on the floor and repeatedly treated him like a child. He deliberately lies about the Little Jesus story to hurt Katurian. It is the most gruesome story Katurian wrote, and therefore the most hurtful to enact.
How did the actors of Michal and Katurian prepare for their roles?
Both actors prepared for their roles in very different ways. In rehearsals Jim True-Frost (Katurian) was very organic and let the role come to him in a very measured way. Letting the truths of the character reveal themselves through his actions. While Michael Shannon, would wrestle with the role, trying out vastly different ideas, until something struck a nerve with in him. It was very impressive to watch both actors work.
Were Topulski and Ariel of the same origin?
I hope I am answering the correct question. They both come from a dysfunctional childhood, although Ariel’s was certainly more extreme. And they both are Detectives for opposing reasons. Ariel occupies the position so that so he can genuinely help children, and Tupolski because he know he is good at it.
October 30th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Hello. I would like to ask you a few questions for an assignment I have been given as part of my drama class at the University of Chicago.
We noticed that the actor playing Ariel had a distinctive slavic accent. Was the role of Ariel written specifically for a slavic actor? If so was this meant as an allusion to the the totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe and Russia?
At some points of the play Katurian’s brother acted as though he was almost completely incoherent, while at other times he appeared to be almost keenly aware of what was going on. Was this purposeful, and if so what is the audience supposed to tae away from his character?
Does Katurian know the answer to the riddle story based on his family history?
Thank you so much for your time. We really enjoyed the play and we are looking forward to your response.
October 31st, 2006 at 5:34 pm
My husband and I are Steppenwolf patrons for more then 10 years but for the first time two weeks ago we have decided to stay for the discussion of The Pillowman. It was pretty interesting discussion but nobody has mentioned the interpretation of the play that seemed the most apparent to me. When we attended “the 31st-season kick-off “ celebration and Martha Lavey mentioned about existence of the Stppenwolf ‘s blog. This information was nicely coincided with my sleepless night, so I decided to share my interpretation of the play with fellow bloggers.
The story of the Pillowman:
Everything that we saw on stage is really happening in the mind of one man - Katurian. He is a writer, an artist whose imagination allows him to go beyond the limit the “normal” person would ever want to go or have ability to go.
His painful childhood recollection and his sick imaginary brother are also products of his imagination. He is remembering his parents as a torturers, but actually they have been a ordinary people who have to deal with unordinary, vulnerable child, whom they desperately wanted to convert to a “pink” piggy. In his imagination the break with his parents is equal to the murder, and he is blaming himself for that but on the other hand he finds justification because he was saving his brother = his uniqueness, his vision of the world.
The Policemen are actually representing the outside world. Katurian is desperate to understand it and to some extend fit but is falling most of time. In the rare occasions he can see the connection when his stories strike a cord with some experiences the other people had (lost of child, tremulous relationship with a parent) . The totalitarian regime presented in the play is needed to show us that for Katurian the real world is closed, he does not have access to it and can not influence it, and everything that is happening is beyond his control. His only dream that he will be accepted in the future (his dream to save his work for 50 years).
The “Green piggy” tale is a dream of the self-assertion, it allows him to remain himself, and preserve his oddities - his pain, and his “sick” imagination because this is a will of God/Nature.
The dream of the Pillowman is a dream of freedom from the torture within.
November 1st, 2006 at 10:11 am
Dear Tanya,
Thank you for posting. Your reading of the play is beautiful and compelling. I lead many of the post-show discussions and a number of times people have offered a similar reading of the play - suggesting that perhaps it all takes place in the mind of one man and that the brothers Katurian and Michael are actually two facets of the artist. Your reading is replete in its inclusion of the parents and the totalitarian state. It is fortifying to be in conversation with our audience and I am glad you decided to join the conversation on the blog. Thank you very much.
November 6th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
We noticed that the actor playing Ariel had a distinctive slavic accent. Was the role of Ariel written specifically for a slavic actor? If so was this meant as an allusion to the the totalitarian regimes of Eastern Europe and Russia?
This role was not written specifically an actor of any nationality.
At some points of the play Katurian’s brother acted as though he was almost completely incoherent, while at other times he appeared to be almost keenly aware of what was going on. Was this purposeful, and if so what is the audience supposed to tae away from his character?
Michal is a very complicated character, he is referred to being mentally challenged by all the characters in the first act. Yet his actions and conversations do not always reflect that of a mentally challenged person. In my opinion, Michal was affected by the torture of his parents. But his mentality was not affected as much as it could have been. However, ever since they were children, Katurian has been treating Michal as if his brain had been severely damaged. So Michal unconsciously started playing into the role of being more challenged than he actually was.
November 11th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
Hello from the Jobsite Theater in Tampa, FL. We just closed our production of The Pillowman and would all have loved to come out to Chicago and seen your take on the play. And what an intense play it was. I am curious if your experience with producing this show was in any way similar to ours. We should compare show tapes and notes. One thing is for sure, we were all quite drained at the end of the run and ready for it to be over… but at the same time it was such a profound and moving experience that no one wanted it to end.
Here is one specific question I would love to have answered. Did you experience this phenomenon… older audiences would love the show… love the performances, be stimulated and intrigued but would stand in the lobby at intermission asking each other why the younger people were laughing. Did your older patrons have a similar reaction? They enjoyed and appreciated the show but did not find the humor in it.
Break legs tomorrow!!!
November 15th, 2006 at 10:45 am
Hello to all at the Jobsite Theater! Thanks for posting on the blog. We too found presenting The Pillowman an exhilarating and fortifying experience. Interestingly, we did experience a similar response in terms of laughter. Without making sweeping generalizations, as there were certainly exceptions, it did seem that the production elicited laughter from our younger audience members in a way that our more mature audiences found confounding. We have post-show discussions after every performance and regularly an older patron would say that they had not laughed and could not understand why others did. Also, when sitting in our 500 seat house, one could here a kind of geographical laughter - a strong laugh from the right side of the balcony for instance. Or my favorite - the individual laugh when one person would guffaw entirely on their own. I think it has to do with the irreverence of McDonough’s wit and the fact that younger people have grown up in a pop culture that includes the work of Quentin Tarantino and others who traffic in violent and funny black comedy.