Mary McCann: Coen, Mamet, Macy and Me
She wasn't onscreen long, but Mary McCann made a lasting impression as the bitchiest of Kate Winslet's playground "pals" in the movie Little Children. Sex and the City devotees remember her as a "power lesbian," and Spring Awakening fans saw her play the adult parts in the musical's original off-Broadway production at Atlantic Theater Company. One of McCann's favorite roles takes place behind the scenes, as executive director of the respected acting school run by Atlantic, where she was a founding ensemble member. And as of January 22, she's working with a triple 2008 Academy Award nominee, appearing in Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening at Atlantic's small Stage 2. Coen's trio of one-act plays has been shrouded in secrecy, with press materials promising tongue-in-cheek that they "unsuccessfully tackle important questions"; in truth, the three short plays are sly and surprising, acted by McCann & company with a playful edginess. She shared what it's like to channel the mind of a Coen with Broadway.com.
Twenty years ago, I was at the right place at the right time when I came to New York University and had the good fortune of studying with David Mamet and William H. Macy, and becoming a founding member of their Atlantic Theater Company. This moment in time led me on a journey in which I have had the opportunity to originate roles in many plays, including the hit musical Spring Awakening and Mamet's Boston Marriage, and to work with extraordinary writers, directors and actors including Mamet, Craig Lucas, Jez Butterworth, Tom Donaghy, Wendy Wasserstein, Peter Hedges and now Ethan Coen in Almost an Evening, his collection of three short plays. I'm a lucky duck.
Ethan's agent sent the plays to Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe to see if the company would be interested in producing them. It was a great moment, not unlike when Woody Allen called a few years ago. When I asked Ethan, "Why Atlantic?" he said it was "a viby thing"—that he knew of us through William H. Macy and had seen a few shows at the theater. He and Neil met about the plays a few times, and we were off and running.
Because of my great admiration for Ethan's work, I knew I'd be a self-conscious wreck when we started rehearsal. Once I got over that, the fun began. We rehearsed the plays for three weeks over the holidays, and Ethan and Neil couldn't have been nicer and more generous with all of us. They encouraged us to play and guided us to a greater understanding of the material and specificity in our choices. The writing is spare but rich, very precise and funny. I find it very similar to working on a Mamet play in that the rhythms of the writing are integrally linked to the content of the play. When you find the rhythm and can ride it, the experience is exhilarating.
As a founding member of Atlantic—who, like the rest of the gang, spent years painting the sets, cleaning the bathrooms and taking tickets—it has been exciting to watch the company grow. We are an ensemble, and the community and culture that's come from this has kept me coming back for more. Mamet and Macy encouraged us to create a company based on respect for the work and for each other—to treat each other well, to show up on time and do the work, have fun and have a full life.
Our mission is "to tell the story of the play simply and truthfully" and in our acting school, we teach young students to "analyze a scene according to the playwright's intentions." This commitment to the writer's intentions and the respect we have for the process of creating theater may be why we've gotten such great projects at Atlantic over the years.
Or maybe it's because we like to have fun. I hope that's the word on the street anyway.