Two for Tea

Amy Ryan, Tony-nominated for her performance in the Roundabout's revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, has found much inspiration and friendship in the theater. She recently sat down for tea with her former Uncle Vanya co-star Anne Pitoniak 'night Mother, Picnic, Dance of Death to dig deeper into the text of Streetcar while sharing personal experiences of being stage actresses in different generations. Before stunning audiences as the Stella in Streetcar which she also performed in last year at the Kennedy Center, Ryan appeared in Uncle Vanya, The Distance From Here, The Women, Crimes of the Heart, Saved, The Author's Voice & Imagining Brad, Three Sisters and toured nationally with The Heidi Chronicles and Biloxi Blues. Read on to find out why these two longtime friends have such a connection to each other and to A Streetcar Named Desire.

There's so much written about Tennessee Williams and A Streetcar Named Desire, that it would just be foolish to join the ranks. Even Tennessee writes in his biography Memoirs that his plays can speak for themselves. He'd much rather write about his love life. I think I'll stay far from that too, but I will write about tea with my great friend Anne Pitoniak.

One thing I love about theater is the birth of new friendships that can come of it. Perhaps it's the immediacy of intimacy that is demanded of us as actors. Some will lead to "showmances" and others to lifelong friendships. Anne and I met during the Roundabout production of Uncle Vanya and became fast friends. I knew there was so much to learn as an actor from Anne, as well as about life. It is my great hope to continue working in theater as long as Anne has. She is a great inspiration to me.

So I spent Mother's Day how fitting with Anne. Over tea we talked about theater, love and life. I told her how perplexing it was to read so much opinion on the original production of Streetcar; mostly by people who weren't even born at the time of that production. So I thought it best to ask Anne's opinion. What was it like to see the original production on stage at the Barrymore? I believe it is Elia Kazan's film that informs most peoples' memories.

Anne's first play was The Trojan Women at the University of North Carolina. After graduation in 1943, her teacher advised her to move to London to work in the theater there. Instead, Anne traveled overseas to perform in plays with G.I.'s. "About a dozen women were sent over to perform in plays. I traveled to Japan and the Philippines. Similar to the U.S.O., this group was called believe it or not, A.S.S." Anne shrieked with laughter. "I can't remember what it was short for but you can use your imagination!"

Anne met her future husband there and was married a couple of years later. In the years that she was raising her two children, theater was always part of her life, but it was more in the background. "I was busy working in commercials, which was looked down upon greatly. Only when Joseph Cotten did one, was it legitimzed." She started studying acting again in 1975, this time at Strasberg. Her teacher then and now is Ernie Martin. Once her children were grown, Anne came back to the theater--most famously in 'night, Mother with Kathy Bates. "What I love about theater is that there's so much to learn from other peoples' points of view," said Anne. "From 'night, Mother I learned to listen to my children by what they were not saying. Once a lesson from theater is awakened in you, it will never leave you."

Amy Ryan: Anne, tell me about seeing Streetcar on stage.

Anne Pitoniak: Streetcar was absolutely an incredible experience for us all. It had such an impact. What I am interested in most about theater is behavior. I saw Rudy Bond in Streetcar as one of the poker players. Six months later, I saw him in a production of The Seagull and he was absolutely different. It made such an impression on me, what behavior can bring to a play. Marlon Brando revolutionized what we thought about men in theater. I don't think that we had any real... uh…

AR: Go on Annie, say it!

AP: He was so sexy! He really took over all of us--all ages, all interests. He really was an international star. All the actors were great, but he was the beacon. I had an aisle seat. He ran down the aisle from the back of the house to get to the stage yelling, "STELLA!"

AR: From the back of the house?!

AP: Yes, I can still feel the wind coming by me. You'll hear a dozen stories of how one felt during Streetcar. It was filled with landmarks. It liberated all of us. How we would use our bodies and our voices.

AR: Annie, do you think it's fruitless to revive Streetcar?

AP: Do you?

AR: No. There's a whole new generation out there that is encountering Streetcar for the first time. They have no knowledge of the movie either. My sister's in-laws brought their 15-year old grandson to see the show. To see the look on his face afterwards backstage... Fruitless? Absolutely not.

AP: I think we've allowed some of the arts to grow up and keep growing but theater is a funny animal. How could we dare revive Chekhov, Miller and O'Neill and not our greatest American play? We must allow for revivals, always.

AR: I think there is such a strong opinion on Streetcar and prejudice about it because it is in my opinion the greatest American play. I think many have a strong feeling of ownership about it. Why is it that we can have such diverse "Willy Lomans" in Brian Dennehy, Dustin Hoffman and Lee J. Cobb, but when one takes on Stanley and Blanche there is such public outcry? People feel very possessive of these characters. I think Tennessee says it best in the most useful piece of research assembled in rehearsals for this production. He said, "There are no 'good' or 'bad' people. Some are a little better or a little worse but all are activated more by misunderstanding than malice. A blindness to what is going on in each other's hearts. Stanley sees Blanche not as a desperate, driven creature backed into a last corner to make a last desperate stand--but as a calculating bitch with 'round heels'... Nobody sees anybody truly but through the flaws of their own egos. That is the way we all see each other in life." Myself included here. I look at this play with my own flawed ego, as do others. What we expect from it, what we demand.

AP: Do you have any superstitions? Or rituals?

AR: They change from show to show. For Streetcar, I say a little prayer to Tennessee. Ask him to look out for us. Do you?

AP: My script always has to be on the left hand side of my dressing room table. And my characters must always have the letter M in their name. If it's not there, I will always give them a middle name. Of course starting with M.

AR: WHY M?

AP: It's the middle of the alphabet. It's balanced. I appreciate balance. It's important to acting.