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Actor Sarah Wilson digs deeply into David Mamet’s complex women

SPEED-THE-PLOW by David Mamet, directed by David Storch, with Ari Cohen, Jordan Pettle and Sarah Wilson. Presented by Soulpepper at the Young Centre (55 Mill). Previews from today (Thursday, July 5), opens July 16 and runs in rep to September 22. $51-$68, some rush and discounts. 416-866-8666. See listing.


When theatregoers think of playwright David Mamet, they usually conjure up images of the hyper-aggressive and sexually manipulative men who populate works like Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo.

But those guys are only part of his arsenal of electric characters.

“Because of their prominence in his works, many say Mamet’s a misogynistic writer, but I don’t think so,” says actor Sarah Wilson, who’s about to open in Speed-The-Plow, her second Mamet play for Soulpepper.

“His women, like Karen in Speed-The-Plow and Carol in Oleanna, which I performed last year, are always more than they appear to be.”

Wilson has given some thought to both characters, who in their first scenes seem weak and unfocused.

“Karen’s a temp in the Hollywood office of the newly promoted producer Bobby Gould, whose friend Charlie Fox has just brought him a surefire action script. Oleanna’s Carol is a shy, insecure, upset student who’s come to her prof about her mark.”

By the middle of each play, the characters seem to have developed totally different personalities: Karen tries to have a hand in Bobby’s studio decisions, while Carol dictates what and how her instructor should be teaching.

“I love playing women who don’t fit into the conventional female mould of ‘But Daddy, I love him!’ The audience is set up to think of both Karen and Carol as A, but viewers soon discover that the characters are really B – and so much more.”

Speed-The-Plow has only three scenes, but Karen morphs constantly throughout.

“At first she’s submissive, serving coffee to these two older, powerful men, but by the end of the first scene she has the balls to ask questions about the movie business that are unusual for a temp.

“When Bobby asks her to give a courtesy read to a book he has no intention of filming – he just wants to get her over to his house that night – she blossoms with the opportunity,” says Wilson, who’s been in the Soulpepper company for several years and trained both at George Brown and the first Soulpepper Academy.

“She develops a mission to have Bobby green-light this idealistic book as a film and not do the shitty prison film that Charlie brings him. In other words, she wants him to create something that will serve humanity instead of just making money for the studio.”

What’s fascinating about Karen, offers the actor, is whether her motives are as untainted as she says they are.

“Is she completely pure or, as Charlie says, as ambitious and driven as the two men? The audience gets to watch and decide.”

But the play isn’t just Karen’s story. Wilson smiles thinking about Charlie and Bobby, “classic Mamet guys who are vicious with each other and quickly turn into dick-swinging assholes who act in a strangely aggressive/affectionate way.

“But there’s also a surprisingly beautiful quality, a gorgeous quietness to moments in the play that can be overlooked with the fast dialogue and quick power shifts.”

The second scene, in which Karen tries to convince Bobby to make a film of the book she’s read, has an excitement and emotional depth that’s not what you expect of Mamet.

“It talks about how we live now and what it’s like to be alive,” says Wilson. “There’s an awareness of money and the cynicism associated with it, but also a potential and longing for something truthful and uplifting.

“And just like the aggressive scenes, it has a directness that’s a real pleasure to play and listen to.”

Additional Interview Clips

The difficulty of memorizing Mamet’s dialogue:

Download associated audio clip.

How different Soulpepper directors (David Storch with Speed-The-Plow and Laszlo Marton with Oleanna) work with a Mamet script:

Download associated audio clip.

jonkap@nowtoronto.com | twitter.com/nowstage

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