By Karli Korszeniewski
Everybody’s Favorite Mothers is a theatrical love story between a mother who became a reluctant hero, and her gay son, and how they walked together in what eventually would become the first Gay Pride Parade.
UC Santa Barbara’s department of Theater and Dance recently put on a LAUNCH PAD Preview production of Everybody’s Favorite Mothers, a new play written by James Still and directed by professor and chair of the department, Risa Brainin.
The play is based on real-life people: Morty Manford, an early activist and leader in the gay rights movement, and his mother, Jeanne Manford, whose activism began in 1972 when she wrote a letter of protest to the New York Post after her 21-year-old son was beaten and hospitalized for handing out flyers at the 50th Inner Circle dinner, a gathering of City Hall newspaper reporters who annually roasted New York politicians. A few months later, Jeanne Manford became one of the first, if not the first, parental figures to walk proudly with their gay child at a parade.
Manford and her husband went on to hold group meetings for parents of those in the LGBTQ community. It was initially called ‘Parents of Gays’ and about 20 people attended the first meeting. It is now known as PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and is one of the largest LGBTQ support organizations in the country.
The cast of Everbody’s Favorite Mothers, which was peformed at UCSB’s performing in Hatlen Theater. Photo provided by director Risa Brainin.
The play’s narrative takes place primarily in 1972 - 1973, a pivotal period in the gay rights movement. The timeline also jumps between the past and future, between events in the 70s and more recent setbacks and tragedies in the news regarding the LGBTQ community, offering a broad sweep of LGBTQ activism and rights.
A big part of the play deals with Jeanne’s internal debate on whether or not to march with her son Morty in the parade. She dreams about different historical mother figures such as Marge Simpson and the Virgin Mary, who all encourage her to show her support for her son by walking by his side.
Los Angeles-based playwright James Still has been guest teaching a playwriting class this past quarter at UCSB while working on Everybody’s Favorite Mothers.
In an interview with HFA, Still said that figuring out the structure of the play was one of his biggest challenges because the play jumps around in time, and because it features characters engaging in direct conversation with the audience.
“In this play, the structure is unique. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never written anything like it — it’s got its own unique way of telling a story,” Still said, “which seems to be, from my point of view, the way this needs to be told. And that’s the play’s way of telling me what this needs to be, and writing to what’s being revealed.”
Travers Tobis, a third-year BFA student at UCSB, plays gay rights pioneer Morty Mandford in Everbody’s Favorite Mothers. Photo provided by director Risa Brainin.
Still continued to revise and make changes throughout the show’s run from February 22 to March 2 because it was the first time it was performed and was in previews. He explained that when it comes to preview productions, he doesn’t necessarily make changes based on the audience, but being in the audience helps him see the play in a new way.
Travers Tobis, a third-year UCSB student in the BFA acting program, played Morty Manford. He says the play is very intimate because the audience is sitting on stage where the actors break the fourth wall to narrate or ask questions directly to the audience.
“The more the play sucks you in, the more you’re really a part of it because it’s all being put out in front of you. You see plays like Shakespeare a lot, where you’re sitting 500 rows back, and you can kind of hear them talking,” said Tobis. “You’re like ‘I’m sure it’s good acting, whatever.’ This is so up close it’s so personal. If someone’s making eye contact with you it jolts you awake, you’re there.”
When preparing for his role, Tobis had to figure out his approach to playing a character based on a real person.
“Most of it has been trying to find the difference between who Morty was in real life and who Morty is in this play. Because I’m not trying to do an impression,” he said.
“I don’t want people to feel like, ‘Oh well I saw a video of him. That’s not him.’ The more it feels like I’m embodying the spirit of what he is in this play—which I think James did an amazing job capturing—I think the most honestly I can [capture him] instead of doing a realistic dive into it.”
Still says he can’t control what the audience takes away from the experience but he hopes theatergoers see the play as an offer to transform [awareness] into action they might take.
UCSB Theater and Dance is staging The Crucible from March 5-10, guest-directed by Lisa Benavides-Nelson.
Karli Korszeniewski is a second-year Film and Media Studies major at UC Santa Barbara. She is a Web and Social Media Intern with the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.