By Yasmina Reza

A Teachers Guide

Table of Contents
Audience Etiquette..3
Characters....4
Synopsis....4
The Source............6
The Playwright.........7
Glossary of Words...8
Follow-up Considerations10
Internet Resources.12

The Alley salutes its 2001-2002 Education & Community Outreach Season
Co-Sponsors:

its Student Matinee Sponsor:

its Production Co-Sponsors:

and Large Stage Season Sponsor:

Audience Etiquette
For many of your students, a visit to the Alley may be their first theatre experience. It
may be helpful to discuss what they can expect or to have other students relay their own
experiences about theatre productions they have seen. Another important point to review
is the difference between live theatre and watching a movie or television.
Noise
Live theatre means live actors who can hear not only what is happening on the stage, but
in the audience as well. While laughter and applause at appropriate times are appreciated
by the actors, excessive noise and talking is not. Any sort of distracting noisehumming,
sighing, chewing gum, or carrying electronic devicesis discouraged. Cell phones,
chiming watches and pagers must be turned off during the performance .
Applause
Applause is used to acknowledge the performers and to voice appreciation or approval.
Traditionally, applause comes before intermission and at the performances conclusion.
These intervals are usually signaled by dimming the lights on stage and bringing up the
house lights. A curtain call in which the cast returns to the stage for bows usually follows
a performance. Applause is not expected every time the lights are dimmed or between
scenes.
Cameras
The use of recording equipment of any kind is not permitted in the auditorium before,
during or after the performance. Furthermore, the Alley reserves the right to confiscate
any laser pointers seen inside the auditorium. Visiting the theatre should be an
entertaining activity, but it is also one, which requires consideration for fellow audience
members as well as the actors on-stage. Unnecessary noise disturbs everyone. Knowing
what is expected of you as a member of the audience can make the theatre experience
more enjoyable for all involved. The approximate running time of ART is 90 minutes.
There will be no intermission.

Characters
Marc is a forty-something aeronautical engineer who prides himself in fending off
"modern culture." He withholds no judgments and spares no feelings, yet still expects the
eager endorsement of his friends.
Serge, a divorced dermatologist, is steeped in modernity, but cannot fully appreciate his
cultured lifestyle unless it is validated by those around him.
Yvan is the youngest of the trio, both chronologically and psychologically. A lifetime of
yo-yoing between decisions and kowtowing to his friends and family is beginning to take
an emotional toll on him.

Synopsis
ART begins with what will be the first of many revelations from Marc, a single, forty-something
aeronautical engineer. In the opening moments, he confides two key points: "My friend Serge has bought a
painting." and "Serge is one of my oldest friends." Over the course of the play, Marc, along with his friends
Serge and Yvan, will struggle to reconcile the emotions generated by these two seemingly innocuous
statements. The first major encounter takes place at Serge's apartment, where Marc sees for the first time,
"the painting." Serge, a dermatologist and devotee of modern art and culture has recently purchased (for the
sum of 200,000 francs) a "canvas about five feet by four: white." According to Serge, the painting, an
original Antrios, is a steal at this price, but Marc is not convinced and feels that his friend has squandered
an enormous amount of money on a trivial piece of art. Marc's opinion is thinly veiled and his attempts to
diffuse the situation with humor after the fact fail, as Serge takes a defensive stance demanding to know by
what standards Marc is evaluating the painting. Neither man is willing to recant and so the two part.
Once alone, Serge confides that it is alright if Marc doesn't like the painting, but the arrogance with which
he dismissed it is unbearable. Marc, too, is disturbed by the encounter and cannot believe that "Serge, [his]
friend, could have bought that picture."
Looking for affirmation of his viewpoint, Marc decides that he must speak with Yvan, the third member of
this trio. Yvan, who is accepting to a fault, is plagued with his own set of problems, including a new job in
the stationery business and his impending marriage. When Marc arrives at Yvan's apartment, Yvan is
frantically searching for the cap of his felt-tip pen and generally seems distracted. Marc, intent on gaining
Yvan's support in the painting argument immediately steers the conversation towards Serge so that he can
reveal what he considers to be his friend's great folly. Yvan, however, in standard form, will offer nothing
more than a non-committal, "If it makes him happy..." Marc insists that the problem is more serious than
Yvan realizes, that Serge won't even laugh at himself anymore. Yvan remains unconcerned and assures
Marc that he can get Serge to laugh.
The next scene opens with Yvan visiting Serge. Eager for approval, Serge brings out the Antrios for Yvan,
who reacts with well-meaning but uninspired appreciation. Yvan casually asks the price, as if he didn't
already know and when told, responds with a reassuring, "very reasonable." This prompts Serge to burst
into laughter and Yvan quickly follows. After they recover from this release, Serge mentions Marc's

response to the painting, and Yvan again acts as if he is hearing this news for the first time. Constantly on a
pendulum, he affirms Serge while still trying to excuse Marc's behavior, but Serge is not swayed and
declares that Marc is "atrophying."
When Yvan recounts his visit with Serge to Marc, he leads Marc to believe that the experience was more
confrontational than it really was. Marc is incredulous that Serge actually laughed and deconstructs the
moment until it is no longer just laughter but yet another indicator of the new Serge, "the collector." Yvan,
maintaining the middle ground concedes that he didn't like the painting but also defends its integrity as a
work of art. Marc claims that he is simply regurgitating Serge's mantra and asks Yvan of the painting,
"Does it make you happy?"
Now alone, each man grapples with his own situation: Yv an with the realization that he is incapable of
happiness; Serge, with his need for affirmation; and Marc, with the results of his rapid-fire judgment.
After purposing to be on his "best behavior," Marc visits Serge and agrees to give the painting a second
viewing. Serge attempts to be conciliatory, saying that life is much too short to be consumed with
something as trivial as a painting. Marc, too offers the proverbial olive branch, explaining that he tends to
overreact and lacks judgment. To remedy this, Serge prescribes reading the classic philosopher, Seneca.
Marc interprets the suggestion as a highbrow insult and the conversation that ensues is a clumsy exchange
which culminates in Serge accusing Marc of having lost his sense of humor. As the tension between the
two builds, Serge begins criticizing the absent Yvan, who is over half an hour late for their evening out.
When Yvan finally does arrive he launches into a lengthy self-pitying explanation of why he is late: he has
been trying, unsuccessfully to resolve the issue of whether or not stepmothers' names will appear on his
wedding invitations. Nonplussed by this rant, Marc turns his frustration with Serge onto Yvan. He criticizes
everything from Yvan's indecisiveness to his wedding plans to his artistic taste until defenseless, Yvan
storms out of the apartment. Serge chastises Marc for the attack, and as Marc agrees that he has
overstepped his bounds, the doorbell rings. When Serge opens the door, Yvan enters already talking,
explaining that he returned because he felt an obligation to help Marc with his "insane aggression." He
reveals that he has discussed both Marc and Serge with his therapist and offers to share Finklezohn's (the
therapist) insights on their relationship. The two men are furious that Yvan has divulged information about
their personal lives to a complete stranger but agree to hear what he has to say. Finklezohn's thoughts are so
complicated that Yvan has written them down and must pull out his notes to read to Marc and Serge. The
analysis is a convoluted syllogism which essentially questions the boundaries of self-identity within a
friendship. Marc and Serge dismiss it as nonsense and shame Yvan for wasting his money on such pursuits
while they continue critiquing each other's every move. They finally come to blows when Serge refuses to
apologize for calling Marc's girlfriend, Paula, "a life-denying woman." However, the only actual punch
lands on Yvan, who is trying to intervene. Although not seriously injured, he reacts as if he is and is
disturbed that Marc and Serge call only a brief timeout to assess the damage.
The three begin to question the very tenets of their friendship, struggling to remember what drew them
together in the first place. They dismantle everything about each other, from artistic tastes to character
flaws until there is nothing left to assault but the catalyst for it all, the painting. Serge asks Yvan for a felttip marker and gives the pen to Marc, urging him towards the canvas. Yvan watches in horror and disbelief
as Marc draws a skier on a slope on the Antrios. When Marc is finished, Serge's only response is, "I'm
starving. You want to go eat?"
Our final view of these friends is again at Serge's, as together they clean the marker off of the painting.
Each man, ni a private moment, reveals the hopeful uncertainty that he has for repairing this broken
relationship. Yvan, deeply shaken by what he has seen finds himself almost constantly on the verge of tears
but is comforted by Serge's show of self-sacrifice. Serge grapples with the after effects of dishonesty: he
knew when he gave Marc the felt-tip that it could be cleaned. Now he must question the value of his
sacrifice. Marc, normally the most straightforward of the three closes the play with a cryptic verse which
ends:
My friend Serge, who's one of my oldest friends, has bought a painting. It's a canvas about five
feet by four. It represents a man who moves across a space then disappears.
Marc's poem and the men themselves are, much like the painting, left open for interpretation.

The Source
Award-winning playwright and author, Yasmina Reza, was first an actor, typically being
cast as a temptress, but she says, "I never played a role I really loved." She credits this
experience with compelling her to write. However, unlike some actors-turned-writers, she
says that she does not write to generate roles for herself but rather to create an alternate
means of expressing herself. This is particularly interesting since Reza's greatest
commercial and critical success to date has been ART, in which she very convincingly
crafts dialogue for a trio of male friends. The context of the play way born out of an
encounter she had with one of her own friends, Serge Goldszal, to whom she dedicated
the play. He bought a painting similar to the white-on-white which is the focus of ART
and showed it to Reza. Describing the scene, she says, "I laughed and said, 'You must be
mad.' and then we both laughed. He loves the painting and knew I might not, and we
laughed because our complicity was in no way spoiled. But if he hadn't laughed and had
thought that the choice revealed his friends in another light..."
ART is, essentially, the dialogue that might have taken place if Goldszal had not been
receptive to Reza's laughter. She attributes the difference in reactions in part to the
natures of the relationships. Hers is a friendship between a man and a woman, but she
alleges that friendship among men is unique. She describes it as "terribly rigid," and says,
"often men have no real friends, French men at least. They have colleagues, contacts, but
not friends and when they do it is very strong, possessive, rigid. All the men who saw
ART said it is amazing, how did you understand this or that? I said I understood nothing,
I just noticed." She embraces the opportunity to "notice" things in this way saying, "I like
the freedom that men have in speaking. Women are not allowed that. We are taught to be
polite. It is very funny for a woman to write as a man because you can say things you
would not dare say as a woman." This on-looker perspective allows her to fashion in
ART a humorous and sometimes painfully accurate view of the complexities of
friendship, a dynamic which she describes as "at least as strong and as difficult as love."

The Playwright
Yasmina Reza (b. 1959) studied at Paris X University and later at the Jacques Lecoq
Drama School. She began working as an actress in France and appeared in numerous
plays by contemporary authors as well as plays by Molire, Marivaux, and Sacha Guitry.
In 1987 she wrote Conversations after a Burial for performance in France and won the
prestigious Molire Award for best author as well as many other awards. Following its
performance in France, the play was produced in translation in Europe and South
America.
Reza's French translation of Steven Berkoff's adaptation of Franz Kafka's novel The
Metamorphosis for performance by Roman Polanski was nominated for the 1988
Molire Award for translation. Winter Crossing (1990), her second play, won the 1990
Molire Award for best fringe production that year. ART premiered in Berlin and opened
in Paris in 1994, where it won the Molire Award for best author, best play, and best
production. It also won prizes in London for best comedy and in Germany for best
foreign play. The Unexpected Man (1995) was produced in London, France, and several
other European countries. It was revived in 1998 by the Royal Shakespeare Company at
the Barbican in London and has also played in New York.
In addition to playwriting, Yasmina Reza has also been engaged in screenwriting, with
two recent films shown in Europe: See You Tomorrow and Lulu Kreutz's Picnic. Her
novel, Hammerklavier, was published in 1997.

The Terminology of ART

The following are terms that appear in ART, which may be unfamiliar.

Gelsemium and Ignatia: Paula, Marc's girlfriend recommends these homeopathic

remedies to Marc to help soothe his nervous stomach and headache.
Quibbling: Marc faults Yvan for quibbling, or shifting the focus of an argument.
Vellum: The "world of vellum" to which Yvan refers is not a new galaxy on Deep Space
Nine but is instead, a reference to his new job in stationery, since vellum is a strong, light
colored paper.
Monastic: Yvan's charge that Serge's home is becoming increasingly monastic is a
comment on the apartment's modern, minimalist, monastery-like decor.
Monochromatic: This term is used to describe an object which consists of only one color
or hue. A contemporary example is the tone-on-tone trend in men's fashion which pairs
ties and shirts of the same color.
Atrophied: Serge implies that Marc's mind, like a muscle that has not been used, has
withered and become incapable of performing its job or atrophied.
Aesthete: Marc labels Serge with this term to suggest that Serge perceives himself as
being particularly sensitive to artistic beauty.
Trajectory: By referring to the painting as a "part of a trajectory," Serge and Yvan are
saying that it is involved in a progression of art and is not an isolated, meaningless piece.
Categorical: A categorical argument is one that is absolute or unqualified.
Seneca: Serge recommends that Marc read the works of this leading Roman intellectual
and philosopher of the first century to help him simplify his life. Seneca's most notable
writings are essays on Stoic philosophy, which directs its followers to make no overt
displays of emotion but instead to accept equally both the good and bad events in life.
Ostentatious : Serge is concerned about the placement of his new painting being too
ostentatious or showy.
Pompidou: This arts complex named after former French president Georges Pompidou is
located in Paris and houses the National Museum of Modern Art.
Deconstruction: This is a method of literary analysis initiated by French philosopher
Jacques Derrida which seeks to find multiple layers of meaning, including an author's
8

intentions, in a text by examining the different components of the text and considering
how those same parts have been used in the past.
Obsequious: This term indicates that Yvan has few, if any opinions of his own, and those
that he does have are seldom expressed out of deference to his friends.
Paul Valery: Considered by some intellectual circles to be one of the great modern
philosophers, this French writer began his career as a symbolist poet but is best known
for his later poetry and prose which present the conflict between contemplation and
action.
Ehlers Danlos Syndrome : A rare hereditary disorder that results in highly elastic skin,
abnormally flexible joints and fragile body tissues, this condition has no simple cure.
Aberration: Serge is near his cruelest point when he declares Marc and Yvan to be "an
aberration," or a deviation from that which is normal.
Gorgon: Marc lobs yet another insult at Yvan by likening Catherine, his fiancee, to one
of these snake-haired sisters from Greek mythology.
Apocalypse: Yvan uses this term, referring to prophecies of an ultimate destruction of the
earth, to characterize the apparent demise of his friendship with Marc and Serge.

Follow-up Considerations
WHAT IS ART?

According to Webster's dictionary, art is "an aesthetic object produced through the conscious use
of skill and creative imagination." However, this definition is open to interpretation and as a result,
the label ART has been attached to anything ranging from the Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre to
a six-year old's finger-painting taped to a refrigerator door. In your opinion, what defines art? Is a
particular level of skill or training necessary to create art or can anyone be inspired to greatness? Is
the process involved in creating a work of art as important as the finished product? Does a work
have to evoke a universal theme in the minds of its observers in order to qualify as art, or is it
enough that it is simply beautiful, interesting, etc. Consider these questions as you select three
items which you consider to be works of art. You may visit local museums and galleries, research
in books and on the Internet or use you own work or that of someone you know. However,
whatever pieces you choose, you must obtain an accurate visual representation of each of them.
Once you have these images, you should mount them on a piece of poster board so that they can
be displayed as a group. Look for common themes or characteristics among them. Is there a
specific element which unifies them or did you choose each for a unique reason? If so, what are
those reasons? Using these ideas, prepare a five to ten minute presentation in which you will show
your classmates your concept of art and explain why each piece qualifies as such. Make sure to
include in your presentation the names of the artists whose work you are discussing. If the artist is
identified with a specific artistic movement, also include that information. Be prepared to respond
to questions from the class.

WHAT IS TRUE EXPRESSION?

In ART, Yasmina Reza provides her characters with many different means of expressing
themselves. Three of the most common are silence; monologues, in which one character speaks at
length without interruption; and Brechtian speeches, in which the character "breaks the wall"
between the world of the play and reality and directly addresses the audience. Silence can be a
very effective communication tool and is used throughout the play by each of the characters. It
serves a variety of functions, from a defense mechanism to a form of punishment. Discuss all of
the uses of silence that you can remember from ART. What is the function of the silence in each
scene. Now choose one of those scenes and revise it so that instead of silence, the character reacts
with a monologue. As you write the monologue, consider what must happen in the rest of the
scene as well as the character's nature and mannerisms. Do not change the content of the scene,
only the way in which the ideas are expressed. After you have written the monologue, form a
group with two other classmates. In turn, act out each of your revised scenes, using the monologue
as its basis. Then, perform your monologue for your partners using the Brechtian technique.
Address them directly as your audience rather than as characters in the scene. After all members of
the group have performed their Brechtian speeches, discuss with each other which of the three
versions of the scenes, silence; the monologue or the Brechtian speech was most effective in
expressing the characters' thoughts and emotions. Why?

10

WHAT IS VALUE?

Clearly, these two men disagree about the value of the painting, but its cost remains unchanged.
For Serge, the cost is insubstantial because the value of the piece is great; however, for Marc, the
cost is astronomical because the value is non-existent. What is the distinction between the value of
an artwork, a concert ticket or a piece of memorabilia and the item's actual cost? What people or
influences in society establish the value and cost of an item? Are the two necessarily related or do
they operate independently of one another? Explore these questions by examining what our
collective culture considers valuable. Listed below are five items shown in the catalogs of
Sotheby's, the world's premiere auction house. Beside the name of each item is its selling price or
estimated selling price. Consider what you think each item is worth and rank them in order from
least to greatest. Explain why you made the choices that you did and how you determined the
value of each item. Did you make your decision based on the monetary value of the piece or were
your rankings motivated by other factors, such as interest in the person associated with the item or
sentimental attachments? What additional information about each item might alter your rankings?
Share your rankings and justifications for them with the class.

Cocktail dress worn by Princess Diana of Wales: Estimated selling price, $30,000-$40,000
Bat used by Mark McGwire: Selling price, $6,900
Fur vest worn by Cher: Selling price, $1,265
Painting by Pablo Picasso: Selling price, $275,000
Photograph of Marilyn Monroe: Estimated selling price, $900-$1,000

WHAT IS COMEDY?

Webster's dictionary defines comedy as "the genre of dramatic literature dealing with the comic or
with the serious in a light or satirical manner." What elements do you think are necessary in order
for a play to be classified as a comedy? Is there a difference between a play which includes comic
characters and one which revolves around a comic situation? How is it possible for a play to
address a serious issue in a "light manner?" What techniques might a playwright use to relieve
tension when a comedy becomes too serious? Consider these questions as you think of five
examples of comedies that you have read or seen and evaluate them. For each play, describe the
comic characters, the situation and the devices that the characters use to relieve tension. Be
specific. Rather than describing a character as "funny," explain what makes him or her funny.

11

WHAT IS A FRIEND?

ART playwright, Yasmina Reza has said, "I have the feeling that friendship is at least as strong
and as difficult as love. We are used to thinking that it is easier to be a friend...but that is not so."
Do you agree or disagree with her statement? How do you choose your friends, or do they choose
you? What can make friendship challenging? Does the fact that it requires work mean that a
friendship is not worthwhile? Are friendships static or do they evolve over time? Use these
questions to help you brainstorm ideas for a brief essay or discussion.

WHAT IS DUTY?

The characters in ART struggle with the issue of honesty in their friendships. Each of them, at
some point in the play must choose between saying what he thinks and sparing his friends' feelings
to preserve the relationship. What, if any, obligation do friends have to be honest with one
another? Does a half-truth told to avoid conflict ultimately cause the same damage as an overt lie?
Weigh both sides of this argument by making a list of pros and cons for absolute honesty in a
friendship.

Internet Resources
Teachers: Always preview web sites before suggesting them to your students.
http://www.gmu.edu/departments/fld/CLASSICS/sen.vita.html
Exercise your Latin skills by visiting this site which features the full text of Seneca's De
Vita Beata.
http://www.centrepompidou.fr/pompidou/home.nsf/docs/fhome
The on-line home of the National Museum of Modern Art, this site offers virtual gallery
tours.
http://www.lissack.com/writings/warsaw1.htm
Metaphor and Art--Organizational Sensemaking and Yasmina Rezas Play
By Michael R. Lissack, Henley Management College

12