Shimmer (play)
Encyclopedia
Shimmer is a 1988 award-winning one-man play by American playwright John O'Keefe
. It is a solo performance, portraying multiple characters, that describes life on a harsh juvenile detention
farm in the Midwest in the 1950s.
, where two boys befriend each other. To survive the brutal environment, the two create their own fantasy world, in which the movement of streams and breezes becomes a language that travels between dimensions, a language the boys call "shimmer." The two boys are eventually locked up, and they are ultimately forced to carefully plan and carry out an escape.
O'Keefe based the play partly on his own experiences growing up in Midwestern juvenile detention centers. O'Keefe, who was born in Iowa, was first sent to live in juvenile detention homes at the age of 7, after his mother was declared unfit to care for him. For the next nine years, he was shuttled among eight foster homes, nine juvenile detention homes
, and five orphanages in 20 states. The end of Shimmer describes how he and his best friend escaped from the last of the juvenile detention centers.
"Shimmer is not strictly autobiographical," O'Keefe says. "Though the characters themselves are real, the [detention] farm was a much more brutal place than I portray it."
at Performance Space 122 beginning January 1989, and Off-Broadway
at the Second Stage Theatre
from July 10, 1989 to August 13, 1989.
The play has received very positive reviews. The New York Times called it "rivetingly kinetic." "Gliding and shadowboxing around the stage, Mr. O'Keefe physically re-enacts fights and confrontations with an edgy ferocity that feels so spontaneous one can almost forget the fact that [it] ... has been carefully rehearsed. And at key emotional moments, Mr. O'Keefe's speaking voice shades into song.... [This] is bravura storytelling that etches itself on the mind."
The San Francisco Chronicle
called the show "ravishing, heart-breaking" and "a solo-theater classic." "... O'Keefe plays second to no one in the transforming magic of the solo stage. Shimmer fuses language, voice, gesture and action in a rush of feeling. With an eerie intuitive power, the show captures the strangeness and sensuality, the loneliness and precious consolations of growing up afraid."
Shimmer was published in 1989. The one-man play has subsequently been performed across the U.S. and around the world.
in 1993, as the true story of a friendship between two boys from a juvenile home. The film aired on PBS on April 15, 1995.
John O'Keefe (playwright)
John O'Keefe is an American playwright, director and solo performer. Notable awards include the 2002 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Times Like These, and a Bessie Award for Shimmer, which was also made into a motion picture by American Playhouse.Born in Waterloo, Iowa in 1940, O'Keefe...
. It is a solo performance, portraying multiple characters, that describes life on a harsh juvenile detention
Reform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
farm in the Midwest in the 1950s.
Plot
The solo actor in Shimmer tells the story by becoming each character in turn. The play takes place in 1956, in a harsh Midwestern juvenile detention centerReform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
, where two boys befriend each other. To survive the brutal environment, the two create their own fantasy world, in which the movement of streams and breezes becomes a language that travels between dimensions, a language the boys call "shimmer." The two boys are eventually locked up, and they are ultimately forced to carefully plan and carry out an escape.
Background
O'Keefe wrote Shimmer after financial restrictions ended his plans for a five-actor play that had been commissioned, by American Inroads in San Francisco, in 1987. O'Keefe then asked if he could do a solo play, and the proposal was accepted. "It was a lot more money with one guy, and I just used lights and a music stand," says O'Keefe. "I wanted to keep the overhead next to zip."O'Keefe based the play partly on his own experiences growing up in Midwestern juvenile detention centers. O'Keefe, who was born in Iowa, was first sent to live in juvenile detention homes at the age of 7, after his mother was declared unfit to care for him. For the next nine years, he was shuttled among eight foster homes, nine juvenile detention homes
Reform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...
, and five orphanages in 20 states. The end of Shimmer describes how he and his best friend escaped from the last of the juvenile detention centers.
"Shimmer is not strictly autobiographical," O'Keefe says. "Though the characters themselves are real, the [detention] farm was a much more brutal place than I portray it."
Performance and reception
Shimmer was first performed, by playwright O'Keefe, in 1988 in San Francisco. O'Keefe subsequently performed the solo piece all over the country, including Off-Off Broadway in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
at Performance Space 122 beginning January 1989, and Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
at the Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
from July 10, 1989 to August 13, 1989.
The play has received very positive reviews. The New York Times called it "rivetingly kinetic." "Gliding and shadowboxing around the stage, Mr. O'Keefe physically re-enacts fights and confrontations with an edgy ferocity that feels so spontaneous one can almost forget the fact that [it] ... has been carefully rehearsed. And at key emotional moments, Mr. O'Keefe's speaking voice shades into song.... [This] is bravura storytelling that etches itself on the mind."
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
called the show "ravishing, heart-breaking" and "a solo-theater classic." "... O'Keefe plays second to no one in the transforming magic of the solo stage. Shimmer fuses language, voice, gesture and action in a rush of feeling. With an eerie intuitive power, the show captures the strangeness and sensuality, the loneliness and precious consolations of growing up afraid."
Shimmer was published in 1989. The one-man play has subsequently been performed across the U.S. and around the world.
Film
O'Keefe also adapted Shimmer into a screenplay with multiple characters, and it was made into an independent film by American PlayhouseAmerican Playhouse
American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart...
in 1993, as the true story of a friendship between two boys from a juvenile home. The film aired on PBS on April 15, 1995.
Awards
- 1988 Glickman Award for Best Original Play
- 1989 Bay Area Drama Critics' Circle Award for Solo Performance
- 1989 Bessie Award (New York Dance and Performance Award) for Choreographer/Creator
- 1992 California Arts Council Fellowship for the Shimmer screenplay
External links
- Shimmer at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Shimmer at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Shimmer and Other Texts by John O'Keefe