BROTHEL
An interview with Thomas Prosser
INGRID PALOMO
RICK BARRERAS
Brothel is a play about people trapped in a decadent underworld. The play is set in late 1929 as the roaring 20s fade in the shadow of the Great Depression. Rick Barreras and I sat down with playwright- director, actor, Thomas Prosser to talk about his new play, Brothel. In full disclosure we are producers on this project as well as actors.
Ingrid Palomo
1. What inspired you to write a play with the title Brothel?
Thomas Prosser
The play was titled, Stormy Sailing Into Light, for the longest time. Life is a voyage and we all confront storms and hopefully prevail to dock at our own Promised Land or light signifying freedom. Regrettably it was not an easy title to remember, at least for me, hence the title Brothel.
Ingrid Palomo
2. Why the Opium Den?
Thomas Prosser
I am a great believer of showing events instead of reporting about them. Duchess, one of the working girls, announces early on she’s just visited the Chinaman’s. Its visually richer to see an opium den for the audience to witness the characters engaged in their acts. And I suspect people selling their bodies on a daily basis, might sometimes need the destructive relief opium or cocaine affords.
Ingrid Palomo
3. How much research did you do for the play in terms of time period, slang, historical facts?
Thomas Prosser
I read a number of books on prostitution and prohibition and life in New York City in the 1920s over a period of six months. Research is one of my favorite parts about creating stories. I like setting plays in different time periods that offer a wealth of information. We tend to censure ourselves in modern times, but not as much when we revisit the past. So I like to use stuff that is old and make it new again. A fabulous read from a famous New York City Madame in the 1920s- 30s was a Madam named Polly Adler is, A House Is Not A Home. Ms. Adler was a Russian immigrant whose ladies entertained high society as well as encountered a lot of corruption from cops, lawyers and judges.
William McCoy is credited with establishing New York’s Rum Row. He shares his colorful adventures during his four years running booze in the early 1920s in The Real McCoy. He registered his ship under a British flag and dropped anchor out past the 12-mile limit and sold cases of liquor to bootleggers who would race back to shore in speedboats trying to outrun the Coast Guard Cutters. McCoy’s character and liquor were trusted, unlike tainted booze that tragically left thousands blind or dead from being boosted with medical or industrial alcohol as well as other harmful ingredients. We still use the term The Real McCoy to label something as the real deal. As far as slang goes, reading books written back in the day reveals a lot of fun jargon. I always seek to use the slang of the day in my work as it helps create its own universe.
Ingrid Palomo
4. What influenced your writing the most?
Thomas Prosser
I wrote a book on Ernest Hemingway based on a solo show I performed, called Naked Hemingway. I learned from his economy of words to leave some things unsaid, an iceberg effect of what is below the surface. Also learned from acting techniques I’ve studied. Bringing a role to life apes the process of writing, in knowing character biography, place of scene, its atmosphere and making it real, time and what just happened. These clues are not always in the lines, but need to be known by the actor and hopefully noted by the writer, but aren’t always stated.
5. How many times did you rewrite Brothel?
Over a hundred times if going through the script from first page to last counts as a single draft. Or maybe that’s just fine-tuning the script, so take your pick. I am a big believer in rewriting as it allows one’s subconscious to work and refine things over time. I find this in common in acting with rehearsals and how a role grows from first rehearsal to opening night and beyond.
Ingrid Palomo
6. Who are your influences as an actor?
Thomas Prosser
Brando blew me away when I was in my early 20s, as did James Dean. I liked Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. I saw Anthony Hopkins on Broadway in Equus and I swear he hypnotized the audience of 2000. A great performance! I saw Barbara Harris on stage in the Apple Tree on Broadway and her work in three parts also rang my chimes.
Rick Barreras
Which Character do you relate to the most / is your favorite and why?
Thomas Prosser
I like both Windy Finn and Birdie Goldbird, the part I am playing. I worked as a merchant seaman from ages 17-23 so I relate to Windy Finn’s life. I met a lot of guys like him who yearn to burst free. Birdie Goldbird is trapped in a time of speculation he rightly fears will end badly which clashes with his decent core values. We don’t get to choose our time on earth and must deal with life as best we can. Sometimes our times fail us, like the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great depression that wrecked so many lives.
Rick Barreras
2. You set this play in New York in 1929 into 1930, how close do you get to this place in time as a kid in the 50′s? Any of your elders passing down stories.
Thomas Prosser
My father went to Catholic school and was poor and worked as a newsboy during the Depression hustling papers. He resented priests who drove Cadillac’s and nuns who whacked his hands with sticks to wake him up from fainting from hunger at his desk in school, was the most we ever heard of those days. My grandparents never talked about it to us, which is such a shame.
Rick Barreras
3. What were the most complicated intricacies to write between the relationships of the characters in Brothel?
Thomas Prosser
Madame Tremaine and Windy Finn were central to the play, but I was giving them short shrift. Enriching their backstories and challenges to overcome helped flush them out. I finally admitted this is an ensemble piece that doesn’t really have or want a main character, but if there are, then those two are it.
Rick Barreras
4. How long, how much time was spent writing “Brothel”
Thomas Prosser
Two years from soup to nuts, including research and writing the play to this point.
Rick Barreras
5. How many other plays have you written, what is their history like readings, productions, and act?
Thomas Prosser
I have written two solo shows. JFK In Retrospect was done at the Stella Adler Theater in NYC off Broadway back in the late 70s. Though I got paid for this, it was a compilation of JFK speeches as well as some scenes I wrote, its not my best work. I also performed Naked Hemingway in Oak Park and Key West at Hemingway festivals, bookstores, colleges and service clubs.
Two years ago my play Bum Tickers, a boxing drama set in New York City in the 1950s was performed at the Ruskin Group Theater in Santa Monica. I also directed and acted in it. And a novel The Green Dragon Jar and two works in progress, a novel called An Opium War, and a solo show about my sea adventures as yet untitled.
Rick Barreras
You sound busy. Thank you, Thomas.
Brothel runs from February 26- April 3rd, Friday and Saturday’s at 8 p.m. Sunday’s at 2 p.m. with two performances on Thursday at 8 p.m. on March 3 and March 31st.
The Eclectic Company Theatre
5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd
Valley Village, CA 91607
818- 508- 3003