He and I have never exchanged more than a brief, casual introduction. I sat next to him at First Rehearsal. That’s pretty much it—as far as he knows. But, for the month of September, I did little more than obsess over Gregory S. Moss’s House of Gold. When I was reading all of the plays for Woolly Mammoth’s 31st Season, HOG, as we call it around the office, became for me linchpin of a daring season: a challenging play, original in its structure and content, deceptively hilarious, and uniquely controversial. Like the first time I heard about the work at Woolly, House of Gold promised the kind of experience that makes no promises, except to blow your freaking mind. And so, when it came time to select an Assistant Dramaturg on the World Premiere production of this funhouse nightmare, I was the first in line. I had no idea what I was really asking for.
I had expected that my previous experiences as an assistant director in college, regionally and Off-Broadway would prepare me for whatever this process might demand. Wrong. Unfortunately, digging up critical analysis on Romeo and Juliet, or uncovering the significance of different flowers in the 17th century fell far short of preparing me for what lay ahead. First and foremost, you have to understand that Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company has a dedication to the dramaturgical examination of its work that would make many theater companies around the nation blush. There is no reference left unexplained, no source material left out of the rehearsal room. The literary and artistic departments thrive on the notion that no stone should ever be left unturned. Every artist in the process is provided for. So, for that month I arrived early. I left late. I didn’t check my e-mail. I didn’t go to meetings. I just lived with the play.
Realistically though, the challenge of working as the Assistant Dramaturg on House of Gold came not through the rigor of the process, but through the nature of the piece itself. Day after day, I went deeper in to Moss’s House, uncovering eerie worlds of child exploitation and murder. The world that loves the beautiful victim, that forgets poor abducted, that paints children as sexual figures and that revels in conspiracy, demonstrates a frightening lack of self-awareness. For every article and study criticizing a culture obsessed with scandal and gossip, there are countless websites, message boards and newsstand tabloid rags dedicated to sensationalizing murder and perpetuating the obsession with young beautiful victims.
As with every experience I have at Woolly Mammoth, my role in this process has pushed me to a new professional and artistic limit. The depth of exploration taken by the entire team at Woolly typifies why it stands at the cutting edge of theatre in America. As for House of Gold, it still holds its sway over me. This is a powerful, hilarious, dark, completely original play—and that’s what pulled me in originally. And yet through this process I have learned that the real seduction of House of Gold is Moss’s ability to shine a light on a cultural obsession, at once speaking for victims and implicating us in their fate.
~Tom Bonner, Assistant to the Artistic Director and Assistant Dramaturg on HOUSE OF GOLD
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