Anna Ziegler - Actually

Anna Ziegler

ACTUALLY

OBERON BOOKS
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First published in 2017 by Oberon Books Ltd

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Copyright Anna Ziegler, 2017

Anna Ziegler is hereby identified as author of this play in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The author has asserted their moral rights.

All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to The Gersh Agency, 41 Madison Avenue, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10010, 212-634-8124 (). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the authors prior written consent.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

PB ISBN: 9781786823083

EPUB ISBN: 9781786823090

Cover image: RabbitWayne

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As I write this note, on September 27th, 2017, the current administration in the United States has just issued interim guidance that undoes or complicates some of the previous administrations mandates around the implementation of Title IX as it relates to cases of sexual misconduct on college campuses. One of these new measures has to do with the standard of proof used to determine the outcome of these cases; while the Obama administration stipulated that this standard should be preponderance of the evidence (otherwise known as fifty percent plus a feather) the current administration has suggested that schools have more leeway to decide what standard they deem appropriate. Now universities can adopt a clear and convincing standard, if they so choose, but preponderance of the evidence is still permissible (and in fact will likely continue to be used much of the time since it was also suggested that the same standard be applied to all campus misconduct cases and many, if not most, colleges use preponderance of the evidence when it comes to those other kinds of cases). When I wrote this play, preponderance of the evidence was the norm. Schools risked serious repercussions if they didnt uphold the various measures set out in the Dear Colleague letter penned in 2011 by the Education Department under President Obama.

The backdrop against which the play was written and the backdrop against which you are reading it (whenever you are reading it) is both hugely important and also, from my point of view, beside the point. The play, to me, not only holds up a mirror to a certain moment in time (2015 or 2016, probably) but also hopefully speaks to a larger and more timeless question about who we are as men and as women and what forces drive our actions. It looks at how difficult it can be to determine what happened in a bed between two real people capable of all that humans are capable of obfuscating, deceiving themselves, not understanding, not wanting to be impolite or to embarrass themselves, of letting need or insecurity take precedence over empathy. It asks that you consider whether good people can make bad mistakes or worse. And if Actually is making any kind of statement, it is that one, about the quality and complications of our souls. What standard of proof is used to determine the outcome of the case is not nearly as important to me as the human question at the heart of the play.

So even if you are reading this in 2025 or 2050, and colleges are no longer handling these kinds of cases (or if there are no more colleges!) Id like to think the story will still resonate. Only time will tell.

ACTUALLY was originally produced in a co-production between The Geffen Playhouse (Randall Arney, Artistic Director) and The Williamstown Theatre Festival (Mandy Greenfield, Artistic Director).

Opening night at The Geffen Playhouse was on 10 May 2017, with the following cast and creative team:

Opening night at the Williamstown Theatre Festival was on 12 August 2017, with the following cast and creative team:

The Off-Broadway premiere of ACTUALLY was produced by The Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer). Opening night was on 14 November 2017, with the following cast and creative team:

Id like to give special thanks to Daniella Topol, Amy Levinson, Tyne Rafaeli and Lileana Blain-Cruz, all of whom put in countless hours to help me see what this play could be. Thanks also to Mandy Greenfield, Randall Arney, and Lynne Meadow for so quickly giving this play not one, but three homes! The Lark Play Development Center, The Playwrights Realm, Seth Glewen, Elizabeth Rothman, Nicki Hunter, Will Cantler, Samantha Ressler, Jerry MacKinnon, Alexandra Socha and Joshua Boone are and were invaluable. But this play would not exist if not for Will Miller, and neither, for that matter, would our children, and so to him I am eternally grateful.