{"id":61184,"date":"2023-10-31T12:30:55","date_gmt":"2023-10-31T16:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/?post_type=lecture&#038;p=61184"},"modified":"2024-04-30T08:49:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T12:49:27","slug":"sam-shepard","status":"publish","type":"lecture","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/lecture\/sam-shepard\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Shepard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"wp-block-umw-hero alignfull umw-custom-block umw-hero umw-hero--dark-text umw-hero--white umw-hero--with-no-media\"><div class=\"umw-hero__inner\"><div class=\"umw-hero__media\"><\/div><div class=\"umw-hero__title\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__title__wrapper\"><div class=\"umw-hero__eyebrow\">great lives lecture series<\/div><h1 class=\"umw-hero__title__header\">Sam Shepard<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-umw-hero-ctas alignfull\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links\"><div class=\"container\"><div class=\"umw-hero__links__wrapper\">\n\n\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<div class=\"wpv-view-output\" data-toolset-views-view-editor=\"75d9c4cfc551a5032b6f28f18125f570\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-toolset-views-view-editor wpv-gutenberg-view-wrapper-61885\">\n\n\n<div id=\"wpv-view-layout-61885-CATTR57205ec053dabcb49268c5ec1ac5a3fa\" class=\"js-wpv-view-layout js-wpv-layout-responsive js-wpv-view-layout-61885-CATTR57205ec053dabcb49268c5ec1ac5a3fa\" data-viewnumber=\"61885-CATTR57205ec053dabcb49268c5ec1ac5a3fa\" data-pagination=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;61885&quot;,&quot;query&quot;:&quot;normal&quot;,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;disabled&quot;,&quot;effect&quot;:&quot;fade&quot;,&quot;duration&quot;:500,&quot;speed&quot;:5,&quot;pause_on_hover&quot;:&quot;enabled&quot;,&quot;stop_rollover&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;cache_pages&quot;:&quot;enabled&quot;,&quot;preload_images&quot;:&quot;enabled&quot;,&quot;preload_pages&quot;:&quot;enabled&quot;,&quot;preload_reach&quot;:1,&quot;spinner&quot;:&quot;builtin&quot;,&quot;spinner_image&quot;:&quot;\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/plugins\/toolset-blocks\/embedded\/res\/img\/ajax-loader.gif&quot;,&quot;callback_next&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;manage_history&quot;:&quot;enabled&quot;,&quot;has_controls_in_form&quot;:&quot;disabled&quot;,&quot;infinite_tolerance&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;max_pages&quot;:1,&quot;page&quot;:1,&quot;base_permalink&quot;:&quot;\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lecture\/61184?wpv_view_count=61885-CATTR57205ec053dabcb49268c5ec1ac5a3fa&amp;wpv_paged=WPV_PAGE_NUM&quot;,&quot;loop&quot;:{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;data&quot;:[],&quot;id&quot;:0}}\" data-permalink=\"\/greatlives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lecture\/61184?wpv_view_count=61885-CATTR57205ec053dabcb49268c5ec1ac5a3fa\">\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n          <h2 class=\"lectureDate\">Lecture Date: January 30, 2024<\/h2>\n\n<h3>The UMW Theatre Lecture<\/h3>\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Great Lives 2024: Sam Shepard\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/908295985?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"533\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\"><\/iframe>\n<div class=\"topicSummary\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters-206x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium alignright\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters-206x300.jpg 206w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters.jpg 688w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 206px) 100vw, 206px\" \/><p>After an introduction to the life and work of Sam Shepard, John will examine the many themes that animate his 1984 play True West, which is being presented in the spring semester by the UMW Theatre Department.<\/p>\n<p>The play answers the dramatic question: What happens when two antagonistic brothers are couped up in their mother\u2019s house on the edge of the desert? Before the final standoff, a typewriter, ample toast, and a badly abused ten iron will be weaponized by the pair.<\/p>\n<p>Shepard\u2019s trademark mix of dark humor, family treachery, and dramatic tension are present throughout True West. However, its author is out for something more with this play. Though the future Pulitzer finalist almost died stillborn.<\/p>\n<p>The playwright knew True West was the best thing he\u2019d written as soon as the play was finished. Yet, getting its premiere off the ground in New York City was long delayed by none other than Shepard\u2019s own actions \u2013 his disappearing at critical times during pre-production in order to star in the film Raggedy Man, and sparking endless long-distance battles with legendary producer Joe Papp over casting choices. John will present a short version of this perplexing incident in Shepard\u2019s career and how the play was ultimately pulled from the fire and restored in a second \u201cpremiere,\u201d 3,000 miles from Broadway.<\/p>\n<p>The themes to be subsequently discussed will include the long and twisty roots of Shepard\u2019s belief in multiple personalities, which in part drives the plot of True West. As an adult, this idea was reinforced for him through his involvement with G.I. Gurdjief, a Russian mystic of dubious reputation. John will discuss the main ideas behind Gurdjief\u2019s belief system and the ways in which it impacted both play and playwright.<\/p>\n<p>Shepard\u2019s relationship with his alcoholic father, a one-time war hero and teacher who became mostly absent from his son\u2019s post-adolescent life, hovers like a specter over True West. He is a subject of both humor and fear, and always a cautionary tale that the two brothers must recognize before it becomes too late for them.<\/p>\n<p>The closing of the frontier in 1890 and the subsequent death of the American West were topics that long interested Shepard. In his plays and prose, he often riffs on the idea of an authentic West versus its disheartening modern replacement marked by overdevelopment, fake adobe storefronts, rampant consumerism, and casual vulgarity. As he famously said early in his career, \u201cOld ranchero California is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"lectureSpeaker\" style=\"padding-top: 1em;\">Speaker: John Winters<\/h2>\n<div class=\"speakerInfo\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters8099-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail alignleft\" alt=\"\" title=\"\" style=\"\" srcset=\"\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters8099-150x150.jpg 150w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters8099-50x50.jpg 50w, \/\/www.umw.edu\/greatlives\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2023\/10\/Winters8099-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n<p>John J. Winters is a veteran journalist, arts writer, educator, and author of <i>Sam Shepard: A Life<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>He is a Massachusetts native whose career has included everything from racing horses, to working for a Fortune 500 company, to teaching in the state\u2019s prison system. Over the past three decades, John has written for newspapers, magazines, web sites and for broadcast.<\/p>\n<p>He turned his academic focus to the life and work of Sam Shepard nearly a decade ago. The result was his 2017 biography of the renowned playwright, fiction writer, horseman, and actor.<\/p>\n<p>John is a graduate of Emerson College and Bridgewater State University, and has taught at Bridgewater, Roger Williams University, and in the Department of Corrections division of Community Colleges of Rhode Island.<\/p>\n<p>He lives in Rhode Island with his wife, Karen Callan, and their pets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"season":[1247],"class_list":{"0":"post-61184","1":"lecture","2":"type-lecture","3":"status-publish","5":"season-1247","6":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - 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