William Goyen’s House of Breath opened on November 4, 1969 at Trinity Rep, in Providence, Rhode Island. Every year I look back on this play on this date. Why, you might ask? Two important reasons: it was a theatrical production ahead of its time, and it marks the occasion when I fell in love with Roger Morgan.
Roger in 1969
Directed by the brilliant Adrian Hall, with sets and lighting designed by Eugene Lee and Roger Morgan, House of Breath was a powerful, poetic piece about a family from the swamps of East Texas in the early twentieth century. The production pioneered non-traditional casting before the term existed, and explored trans-gender issues in outrageously flamboyant Adrian-Hall-style. The late great Ethyl Eichelberger (known at the time as Jim) played the role of a sexually repressed young man whose imagination transforms him into a black showgirl. I played Jim’s dead sister Jessie, brought to life through the memories of her family.
Ann in House of Breath, 1969
It is hard to describe how everyone loved that play. We knew it was groundbreaking. And it is romantic to remember the magic of that opening night. Roger and I were caught completely off-guard by the depth of our connection to one another; each of us secretly thought it must have been the high of the production that swept us off our feet. And partly of course, it was – it created the perfect backdrop. What I have recognized over years of acknowledging November Fourths is that the collaborative experience of that project provided the context in which Roger and I subsequently built our lives. Each of us was a creative collaborator, and the spirit of the work at Trinity quickened the pace of our courtship. Of course we fell in love that night! We didn’t know at the time that it marked the beginning of a collaborative, creative and frequently improvised life, lived together and separately, for forty years.
2009 (40 years later)
Roger always loved one particular moment in the play. Young Jessie remembers her brother dressed up as a King in a pageant, and declares with great wonder: “This is the wisdom I have learned!” Jessie, filtered through the collective memories of her family, marvels at the power of memory.
“This is the wisdom I have learned” is one of those code phrases that pops up in our marital dialogue; sometimes with humor at a “duh” kind of realization, and occasionally filled with the wonder that inhabited House of Breath and Trinity.
Collaboration, risk, and the belief that together we are doing something important in the world are, of course, 3 of the 6 Principles of Theatrical Intelligence. So in typical Sachs Morgan tradition, let’s give a hearty HIP HIP HOORAY!
Tags: Adrian Hall, Collaboration, Ethyl Eichelberger, Love, Risk, Roger Morgan
My name is Ann Sachs, and I'm developing a process I call Theatrical Intelligence®. This is my Beta-Blog, where I post ideas and bits of writing as I build the idea into a book and a business.
What a wonderful story! And, knowing the two of you, the story continues….
I am not surprised to hear of such an accomplishment. Everything I have seen from both of you involves Passion, Hard work and Understanding.
Hernan.
Thank you Mindy and Hernan, for being part of the collaborative story, which continues like one of those Adirondack trails: sometimes effortless, often terrifying, and always worth it.
Ann
Did Adrian Hall retire in Vermont? I ask because we had a small play house in Hyde Park, VT where we did musicals and plays. It was very campy and fun. Adrian Hall was the director there until she died.
I’ve seen these ‘old’ photos before–the ones of you and Roger, 40 years ago, and love the current one. Having known you during 35 of those 40 years, I think that you have created a truly unique and formidable coupleship! I love each of you and both of you together. Hip Hip Hooray! xo, Nancy
Carey, it is a different Adrian Hall, although it sounds as if the two had a common love of the theatre. Our Adrian is in his 80s, living in Texas, and still directing from time to time. Also, there was Adrienne Hall, the late Board Chair of the WPO. Obviously a formidable name!
Nancy – thanks for the “coupleship” comment. Love that word!
I love the quality of heart in this blog! And as we know, you gotta have heart, miles and miles and miles of …
Thank you Stuart, I DO have heart (and the fact that you say it is “quality” heart sends me over the moon!) I finally understood that song a few years ago: the more I give it away the more I get it back, and it keeps on stretching and growing and expanding into miles and miles of heart. Duh. (Sometimes it takes a while.)
Many people have asked about my HAIR in the 1969 photo: it was a wig! (You think my curly-headed-mind-of-its-own mop would stay straight for more than 2 minutes? Nope.)