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Mud

Presented by Doorman Actors Lab at Midtown Art Center

September 3-September 13, 2009

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Doorman Actors Lab opened their first season on Thursday, September 3, with the bold three character play, Mud, by Cuban playwright Maria Irene Fornes. Sept. 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th. Thurs. - Sat. 8pm, Sun 2pm.

Written in 1983, Mud tells the story of Mae, a young woman who struggles to escape the poverty into which she was born. She works every waking moment, she tries to educate herself (although she is barely literate), and brings home an older suitor in the hopes he can elevate her. But the things she thinks will free her only drag her further down. The play decries the lack of support in a society for those wishing to improve their station in life.

Maria Irene Fornes  was born in Havana, Cuba on 14th May 1930. Following her father's sudden death she emigrated with her mother and a sister to the US, arriving in Manhattan as a Spanish speaker, in 1945. In the following year a brother arrived and in the next year another sister joined them in the US. Two older brothers remained in Cuba. One moved to the US in 1961 whilst the eldest, Raphael Fornes, "Cuco" remained. His letters to Fornes contributed to her creation of Letters From Cuba (2000). Sadly, he died in December 2005.

As a teenager in New York Fornes briefly attended a Catholic school but left school early taking various unskilled jobs. Fornes spent increasing time in Greenwich Village and there she trained with the painter Hans Hoffman, moving to his summertime Provincetown classes to pursue her painting studies. On the basis of some enthusiastic advice from a friend who thought she would enjoy Paris, Fornes traveled there intending to paint in France and Spain. It was whilst in Paris that, at a friend's recommendation - and not then speaking French - Fornes saw the original Roger Blin production of Samuel Beckett's En attendant Godot . Lucky's dilemmas would come to echo throughout many Fornes plays where her characters struggle from innocence towards experiences so often unattainable.

Her first publicly performed play, Tango Palace, was produced in 1963. She gained prominence in avant-garde circles and was a known friend of figures of 1960s and 1970s culture in New York, including the now deceased Joseph Papp and Susan Sontag, and was later championed by Performing Arts Journal (later PAJ).

She became a pivotal figure in both Hispanic-American and experimental theater, winning thirteen Obies. Some of her more notable works include Fefu and Her Friends (1977) and Sarita (1984). Fornes's influence in theater is vast, due not only to her unique vision as a writer but also her ongoing role as a teacher. She continues to direct plays and receive fellowships and grants from key foundations. Fornes received an honorary Litt.D. from Bates College in 1992. Playwright Nilo Cruz also studied with Maria Irene Fornes, who recommended him to Paula Vogel.

NOTE:  Contains strong sexual content and explicit language.