"I'd be lying if I said my father [playwright Horton Foote] didn't help me get this production off the ground," concedes playwright Daisy Foote, whose play "When They Speak of Rita" opened Off-Broadway, at Primary Stages, May 17. "I've had it done regionally, but in New York it's become harder and harder to get my plays produced. They don't seem socially topical."
Set in a bleak and impoverished New Hampshire town, "Rita" tells the story of a bored and disappointed woman-a wife and mother-who runs off with her son's buddy and later returns vanquished, no more fulfilled than when she left. The play also considers how her poignant and self-centered affair affects the members of her family.
"My themes, I suppose, are searching for belonging, humanity, and purpose," says Foote, adding that "Rita" 's low-keyed realism doesn't help sell the work to New York producers, either. Indeed, it's a style and sensibility that's not in favor today. So suggests the 30s-something Nyack, N.Y., native, who is speaking to us over the phone. Yet, ironically, it is precisely that esthetic that brings to mind her Pulitzer- and Oscar-winning Dad's creative voice. Check out "Tender Mercies" or "The Young Man from Atlanta."
"When I go to a meeting with a producer, I'm frequently told how much he likes my father's work," recalls Foote in a tone suggesting both pride and a little discomfort. Perhaps she's even a tad defensive. "We're both fascinated by family and human nature, although I think my plays are more plot oriented than my father's."
Besides Dad, says Foote, other writers who have influenced her include Alan Ayckbourn, Sean O'Casey, and Willa Cather. The latter's presence-specifically her novel "Lost Lady"-is palpable in "When They Speak of Rita."
Foote admits that, until five years ago, her father was deeply involved in her work, scrutinizing each of her plays. He was especially helpful, she acknowledges, in teaching her the craft of playwriting. "I'd work with him on structure. That's the hardest part of playwriting. He doesn't work with me that closely anymore. Now, he'll see the play for the first time when it's in a workshop."
This time around Dad serves as "Rita" 's director. And he's not the only family member who is engaged in the project. Actress Hallie Foote, Horton's other daughter, is playing Rita, the title character. The family collaboration marks a maiden voyage for all three Footes.
"I wanted my father to be the director because he has a real feel for the actor. That's very important in this play," comments Foote. "And although I did not write Rita for Hallie, she understands my writing and I trust her as an actress. Like me, she sees the danger in playing Rita sentimentally, a character who ends up nailed to the cross. That's not what I'm going for here. Rita isn't a complete victim. My sister understands that."
The biggest writing challenge is "maintaining truth," an irony in light of the fact that "Rita" was inspired by a true-life event.
Curiously, Foote has had an easier time selling screenplays than stage scripts. Only three of her eight legitimate plays have been produced-regionally. At the same time, all six of her screenplays (three adaptations, three originals) have been optioned, one of them scheduled to go into production this fall: an adaptation of Elizabeth Jolley's short story "The Last Crop."
It's About the Process
Brought up in New Boston, N.H., Foote recalls want-ing to be a writer from the time she was in high school. "I wrote short stories and plays and thought about writing a novel. I'm still interested in writing a novel." At Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., Foote majored in American Studies, with an emphasis on American women writers, particularly-and not unexpectedly-the work of Willa Cather.
When Foote arrived in New York City, by her own admission, she was no go-getter. "I mostly had a good time, built up an eclectic circle of friends, and made my living waiting tables. I did some writing, but I was not especially competitive about it."
Indeed, as Foote tells it, she still isn't aggressive in her ambitions. "The process of writing is what interests me." And apparently the laid-back viewpoint has served her well. While honing her craft-"I didn't start finding my voice until I was 29"-she began sending her work around to people she respected, seeking them out for their opinions, not for career-boosting opportunities they may have offered, she stresses. Still, she got her first agent through a friend who recommended her. "I have never had any problem getting read or finding representation."
Foote's first major break-and, paradoxically, grim awakening-came with her screenplay adaptation of Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" On the one hand, the unsolicited screenplay was optioned by Angelica Huston. (The submission wasn't totally cold; Foote's agent submitted it.) On the other hand, Hallmark Hall of Fame already had a movie adaptation of the novel in the works; Foote and Huston were simply too late. Nevertheless, Huston's interest in Foote's work opened doors, at least in the movie world.
Foote's development as a playwright, however, was slower going. There was no one turning point; over time she realized that "The work was starting to get easier for me. I also began to accept myself as a writer and came to the conclusion that if it's an adaptation of someone else's material that I'm being considered for I will no longer do it unless I relate to the work. It just takes too long and the writing isn't as good.
"If I were not a writer, I think I might be a vet or dog trainer," Foote offers disarmingly. "I also love politics. Perhaps if I were settled in a small town I might run for office or be a political consultant. James Carville fascinates me. I'd love to be him in another life," she chortles.
One thing is certain: Foote has never had any desire to act and her interest in directing is tenuous at best, although she has toyed with it. But after watching her father direct she has decided she doesn't have the patience for it. "The best directors, at least for my work, find the actors' performance more important than technical feats or visual effects."
In movies, of course, the visual elements are central, Foote says, confessing that writing visually is the most daunting task for her as a screenwriter, suggesting that if she were to direct films, the visual demands would be overwhelming-indeed, alien-to her. Demonstrating again just how family oriented Foote is, she asserts, "I'll let my husband, actor-director Tim Guinee, direct my movies."
At the moment, however, her thoughts are most focused on "When They Speak of Rita," and her belief that audiences regardless of age, ethnicity, or economic class will relate to the title character. "We all have some Rita in us. We all know what it feels like to be stuck in life. At the same time, I hope theatregoers leave the theatres asking themselves if they're taking everything out of life that they can. Are they living life to the fullest?"
So, now that the rehearsals are over, would she want to work with her father and sister again? Foote doesn't miss a beat: "Absolutely!"