Thoughts on "Intimate Apparel" from the director-Fred Goodson

The day before opening:

Lynn Nottage’s beautiful and sensitive story of an early 20th Century African American spinster longing to find happiness and a sense of worth in the cold unfeeling streets of New York City is a stage director’s dream assignment. From my very first reading of the script I understood why “Intimate Apparel” is the one of the most produced plays in regional theatres today. We follow the story of Esther Mills, the lonely 35 year old seamstress who makes beautiful intimate apparel (corsets) for ladies. As a symbol, the very nature of the corset is binding, controlling, hiding, and though Esther makes beautiful ones, they often cover the real needs of both Esther and her clients. The intimacies revealed here go much deeper than what is revealed when we are stripped to our undergarments. The need to be touched --“to be held” as Esther discloses, is something we discover to be at the core of the characters in Esther’s journey. The characters as they are “exposed” emerge as personal, richly textured, longing individuals, and yet their struggle toward the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment are as current in today’s American society as they were at the time of the action in 1905. Issues of race, gender, immigration, morality, religious heritage, and education, combined with social and economic barriers and bonds all play significant roles in Nottage’s script as they do in all our daily lives as Americans and human beings. Here, then, is a play that speaks to both our hearts, our innermost desires and passions and our intelligence.

Producing the play presents some wonderful challenges for the director, designers, and especially the actors. The action is written in episodic scenes with the main character, Esther, moving from location to location throughout the play. Keeping the thrust of the story alive and always “forward moving” can be challenging. The play is comprised of two character scenes. The principal storyline is Esther’s, and she appears in every scene, with one of the other characters. The action and the “drama” must move seamlessly toward a poignant and appropriate end. This requires careful planning and execution with a setting that allows the character to move from place to place without hindrance, lights and sound that sustain and “push” the story and it’s emotional builds, and actors capable of “catching the ball,” the action, and moving it forward toward the goal of the play.”

In my research for directing Intimate Apparel, I discovered that many productions have occurred in theatres much larger than the Unicorn’s intimate space—theatres with fly systems, hydraulic lifts, large moving platforms and revolves at their disposal. Fortunately these technological wonders were not available to us, and we turned our attention to the story and to those intimate details of character for which the Unicorn stage is so well suited. I found this to be a much more effective way to tell Esther Mills’ story. I won’t give away any of our “technological innovations” for you here, but I welcome your thoughts on both our concept for and the effective execution of our production choices.

I am eager to hear your comments on all the characters and issues highlighted in this play. Who are the “good guys” and who are the real “villains”? Is there hope that our society will ever evolve into the American ideal? Just how wrong are Esther’s choices?
We hope to see you soon at the Unicorn. Come. Enjoy. Then, let’s talk about it.

Fred Goodson