"In the Next Room" at Victory Gardens

In the Next Room was produced by Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago, IL from September 9 to October 9, 2011. The production dramaturg was Kristin Leahey.

The three main avenues that Leahey and the production team used of communicating dramaturgical information were lobby displays in the theatre, notes and printed information in the program, and electronic resources on the theatre's website.

Glossary

Here's a glossary of potentially unfamiliar references in the script, with the page numbers on which they first appear in parentheses.

Electricity on Video

Here's a short documentary about Edison’s smear campaign and the electrocution of Topsy the Elephant:

And here's some of Nicola Tesla’s demonstrations as seen in The Prestige:

(start at 14:00)

Race after the Civil War

• In the decades following the Civil War, African Americans struggled to exercise their newly acquired civil rights and obligations. Immediately following the war, these "new" United States citizens asserted their civil rights, participating eagerly in government. Their early gains quickly evaporated in the toxic political climate of Southern Reconstruction. By the end of the 1870s, southern whites had effectively proscribed most blacks from voting or participating in state and local government (the law denied the vote to women of any race).
• Economic opportunities remained limited for most African Americans in the decades following the Civil War. Racism, economic downturns and agricultural crises combined to encourage hundreds of thousands of southern blacks to migrate north in search of a better life. Within a single generation, a distinctly urban lifestyle and culture developed.
• Religion was an especially powerful and unifying force. Like the churches of newly arrived European immigrants, African American churches offered their members far more than a place to worship. Churches promoted cultural solidarity and provided spiritual and community support.
• Even in the North, however, African Americans did not enjoy the same social and economic mobility experienced by millions of European immigrants arriving in the same period. Employers preferred to hire native-born whites and immigrants for higher paying industrial jobs. Many believed that blacks were farmers by nature and were thus ill suited to industrial employment. To make matters worse, most trade unions excluded African Americans, effectively shutting them out of the labor movement. These economic and social conditions limited employment opportunities for black men to the most taxing, dangerous and menial positions. Opportunities for black women were still more restricted, confined mainly to domestic service in white households.
• In the year 1890, the percentage of black women who were gainfully employed more than doubled that of white women. This trend remained up until 1940.
• Interracial relationships did happen but were rare.
• In the 1880s, out of 3,808,334 recorded unions in the U.S. in which the husband was between the ages of 20-40, 3,932 were interracial. That’s barely over 0.1%.

Information from University of Massachusetts.

Visual Media: Spa Towns

Victorian Fashion

For Women
As in the previous decade, emphasis remained on the back of the skirt, with fullness gradually rising from behind the knees to just below the waist. The fullness over the bottom was balanced by a fuller, lower chest, achieved by rigid corseting, creating an S-shaped silhouette.

The bustle returned to fashion and reached its greatest proportions circa 1886-1888, extending almost straight out from the back waist to support a profusion of drapery, frills, swags, and ribbons.

Bodices were very tightly fitted as a result of darts and princess seams. In the early 19th century dropped waists were common, creating a very long torso. Most ended in a point just below the waist.

Corsets stressed a woman's sexuality, exaggerating hips and bust by contrast with a tiny waist. Women's ball gowns bared the shoulders and the tops of the breasts. The jersey dresses of the 1880s may have covered the body, but the stretchy novel fabric fitted the body "like a glove."

Day dresses generally had high necklines, and shoulder width was emphasized with tippets or wide collars that rested on the gigot sleeves. Summer afternoon dresses might have wide, low necklines similar to evening gowns, but with long sleeves. Skirts were pleated into the waistband of the bodice, and held out with starched petticoats of linen or cotton.

The usual undergarment was a combination, a camisole with attached knee- or calf-length drawers, worn under the corset, bustle, and petticoat. Woolen combinations were recommended for health, especially when engaging in fashionable sports such as riding or tennis.

For Men
Three piece suits, "ditto suits," consisting of a sack coat with matching waistcoat (U.S. vest) and trousers (called in the UK a "lounge suit") continued as an informal alternative to the contrasting frock coat, waistcoat and trousers.

The cutaway morning coat was still worn for formal day occasions in Europe and major cities elsewhere, with a dress shirt and an ascot tie. The most formal evening dress remained a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark waistcoat. Evening wear was worn with a white bow tie and a shirt with a winged collar.

Here are some video examples of typical fashion:

Victorian Manners: The Video Game!

Check out this fun game to teach you about Victorian manners!