Educator's Packet: Things to Know

Basic Facts

The Quick-Change Room: Scenes From A Revolution is a full-length play in two acts written by Nagle Jackson. There is a cast of at least 5 females and 5 males and runs approximately 2 hours including the intermission.

Intro to the Plot/Characters
The Quick-Change Room is the real, but more metaphor for the rapid change of Russia from communism to free-market capitalism while backstage at the Kuzlov Theater in St. Petersburg. Nina, the daughter of the talented wardrobe mistress, Marya, has been cast as Irina in a revival of Chekhov's play The Three Sisters just as the dissolution of the Soviet Union is getting underway. She eventually uses her "talents" to persuade Boris, the procurer and box office manager, that what The Three Sisters needs in the New Russia is some more movement and maybe some songs. The Three Sisters becomes an American style musical titled O' My Sister! so they can keep the audience coming. Now that Russia is going through all these rapid changes people are getting let go from their jobs, like Lena, Marya's friend and wardrobe assistant, and Nina's sometimes boyfriend/theatre electrician, Sasha. The long-time yet aged prima donna, Ludmilla, is moved off stage and ends up backstage working in wardrobe and Sergey Sergeyevich Tarpin, the greatly respected artistic director, is kicked upstairs while Boris takes over the once art driven "business"(with the assistance of Sergey's former assistant, Timofey). No matter how the theatre-devoted lead actress, Anna, tried (as fellow lead actor Nikolai didn't) there still was no foreseeing how badly the changes were about to be or how much worse could get.

Introduction to the Author
(Paul) Nagle Jackson was born in Seattle, WA on April 28, 1936. He started out as a performer in various Oregon Shakespeare Festivals performances and revues from 1957-1968(including a couple of television appearances) which segued into stage directing from 1965-early 1990's. He directed shows for the very same Oregon Shakespeare Festival and for many other Festivals and theatres across the U.S. from New York to California. He has also directed outside of the U.S. at the Bolshoi Dramatic Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia and the Trondelag Theatre in Trondheim, Norway. It was is Russia that he got the idea and motive to create The Quick-Change Room. "Inspired by his time directing a production at the Bolshoi Dramatichny Theater of Leningrad (currently St. Petersburg) in 1986, playwright Jackson pays homage to artists struggling with political change, specifically to those who were forced to deal with losing government subsidized arts budgets during Perestroika. "The play is a tribute and a gesture of great love to the wonderful Russian artists with whom I was privileged to work," Jackson said. "It was a fascinating time to be in Russia; heady optimism was in the air. But a cynical side of my nature kept asking: 'Do they know what they're getting into?'" Then he became the Artistic Director of the Milwaukee Rep where his first playwright credit goes to an adaption of Mystery Plays in 1971 and he has written since then. You may know some of his other works such as The Utter Glory of Morrissey Hall, This Day And Age, Taking Leave, A Hotel On Marvin Gardens, The Elevation of Thieves, and Bernice/Butterfly: A Two-Part Invention. Nagle Jackson married Sandra S. Suter (an actress and singer) in 1963 and has two children, Rebecca and Hillary. He is currently still the Artistic Director of The McCarter Theatre Company and can be reached at Office--c/o McCarter Theatre Company, 911 University Pl., Princeton, NJ 08540

http://www.filmreference.com/film/54/Nagle-Jackson.html
http://uwnews.org/uweek/article.aspx?id=45426

Production History
The Denver Center Theater Company did the original production in January of 1995 at The Ricketson Theater and was directed by Paul Weidner. Allen Young of Variety Magazine says, "The lighthearted farce only suggests the incredible change..." and it's "...a powerful regard for the glories of Russian theater's great tradition and the vulgarization of theater as it seeks to "face reality."" Since then it has been produced at many different theatre over the years, like the Pacific Resident Theatre, for example, where it was performed by the Lab Theatre Company in 1997. It has also been performed at several institutions such as Whitman College in 1994, in 2004 by both the University of Michigan and Creede Repertory Theatre of Creede, Colorado, and by the University of Washington in 2008 just to name a few. Some of those reviews read, "...a bittersweet comedy" and "...presents a metaphor for change in society that is applicable even today." "...highlights the absurdity of politics, greed, and American musicals, in a simultaneously serious and laugh-out-loud funny play...".

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117909708.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
http://www.michigandaily.com/content/russian-heritage-honored-theater
http://www.cozine.com/archive/cc2004/01240291.html