Series: New Television
Program: New Television
Episode: 611
Date: 1990-01-01
Subject: Experimental theater; Writing
Copyright Holder: WGBH Educational Foundation; The Kitchen and Richard Foreman

Clip Description
This episode of "New Television" features "Total Rain" by Richard Foreman.

"A half-hour narrative for television written by Richard Foreman, the piece stars Foreman and his ‘alter ego,' played by the actor Ron Vawter. Foreman acts out his own aesthetic, social, and moral dilemmas through interior, psychological journeys and actual, physical journeys as he travels from America to Paris and back. Through his interactions with his alter ego, he postulates the need for moral resolution and exposes the contradictions inherent in romantic longing. The piece is full of witty trickery, visual puns, and tongue twisters, as Foreman becomes a kind of archetypal icon for many hidden (perhaps not so obscure) neurotic tendencies in contemporary American society." -- WGBH press release

In ongoing dialogue with Vawter, Foreman analyzes the relationship between writer and actor. Everything Vawter says has been scripted by Foreman and is usually to the latter's advantage. The idea of rain as a metaphor runs through the work. "Come in out of the rain, fella," Vawter implores Foreman repeatedly. Foreman speaks of the name Quentin and its significance in his own life and in the Faulkner novels "Absalom, Absalom" and "The Sound and the Fury." He talks about the dizzying influence of Faulkner's "torrential" style. Foreman examines his relationship to Paris. Kate Manheim, who traveled through the city with him in 1973, is drawn into the work. As Foreman's confrontational style breaks down, his own vulnerabilities rise to the surface of the work. Produced by Cynthia Hedstrom. Directed by Ed Bowes and Richard Foreman.

Program Description
This episode of "New Television" features "Total Rain" by Richard Foreman.

"A half-hour narrative for television written by Richard Foreman, the piece stars Foreman and his ‘alter ego,' played by the actor Ron Vawter. Foreman acts out his own aesthetic, social, and moral dilemmas through interior, psychological journeys and actual, physical journeys as he travels from America to Paris and back. Through his interactions with his alter ego, he postulates the need for moral resolution and exposes the contradictions inherent in romantic longing. The piece is full of witty trickery, visual puns, and tongue twisters, as Foreman becomes a kind of archetypal icon for many hidden (perhaps not so obscure) neurotic tendencies in contemporary American society." -- WGBH press release

In ongoing dialogue with Vawter, Foreman analyzes the relationship between writer and actor. Everything Vawter says has been scripted by Foreman and is usually to the latter's advantage. The idea of rain as a metaphor runs through the work. "Come in out of the rain, fella," Vawter implores Foreman repeatedly. Foreman speaks of the name Quentin and its significance in his own life and in the Faulkner novels "Absalom, Absalom" and "The Sound and the Fury." He talks about the dizzying influence of Faulkner's "torrential" style. Foreman examines his relationship to Paris. Kate Manheim, who traveled through the city with him in 1973, is drawn into the work. As Foreman's confrontational style breaks down, his own vulnerabilities rise to the surface of the work. Produced by Cynthia Hedstrom. Directed by Ed Bowes and Richard Foreman.

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/New277.HTML