I screwed up.
The Signs of Life program has gone to the printers, and I failed to give the credit to the people who really, really made my contribution to this show possible.
I'm speaking, of course, about the people who took care of my kids while I attended rehearsals.
Most of the people I know who work in the theatre are either independently wealthy, don't have kids, or no longer work professionally in the theatre. It's very hard to be a working theatre professional and have kids. Some people do it. Not many.
Although my work has entertained, and continues to entertain, thousands of people around the world, like most playwrights, I don't make a huge amount of money. That's just the economic reality of writing for the theatre. The trade-off is that I write what I'm inspired to write, and, when push comes to shove (which is rare, but happens), no one can force me to write what I don't believe in.
I have been extraordinary fortunate in my career working within this economic model. I've worked with some of America's top directors (Harold Prince, Lynne-Taylor Corbett, David Esbjornson, Jeremy Dobrish) and at some of America's preeminent theatres (En Garde Arts, the Denver Theatre Center, the Cleveland Public Theatre, HOME for Contemporary Theatre and Art, Goodspeed Musicals, The Directors Company, the Cleveland Playhouse, the Prince Music Theatre, the Center Theatre Group at the Ahmanson Theatre, and Amas Musical Theatre). I've collaborated with some of the best people in the business, including Joel Derfner and Len Schiff on Signs of Life. My work has been brought to life by some of the best actors out there, including the current great cast soon to be appearing in Signs of Life at the Marjorie Deane. I've written work I am proud of, and had the honor of seeing it fully staged in front of enthusiastic and supportive audiences.
I've not, however, made a whole lot of money. But that's OK. If I had made choices that made money, I might not now have such satisfying work to show for my efforts.
Even so, one of my major challenges since my son, Alexander, was born nine years ago, followed by his brother, Caleb, six years ago, is trying to be a full-time parent and a full-time playwright in the same twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Being a primary caregiver is as demanding a job as any, but, of course, you don't get paid for it. Being a playwright is also a demanding job, but you don't rake in the cash doing that either. When my kids were born, I couldn't justify spending money on a full-time nanny, nor did our family budget support such an expense.
So, I wrote during nap-times and after the kids went to bed at night, when I wasn't too tired from changing diapers and chasing my kids around the playground all afternoon. When Alexander was a baby, our friend Monica Mikolajczyk came over on numerous occasions and cared for him while I finished the first draft of Signs of Life. When we lived in Inwood, in Manhattan, Anna and Eileen McCarthy, two sisters from the neighborhood, would look after Alexander from time to time when I had a deadline to meet. They charged way too little for their incredibly nurturing care.
Later, after my family moved to Beacon, sixty miles north of NYC, my father, Dr. Robert Ullian (who passed away in 2005), generously provided funds to pay for an occasional babysitter so I could keep writing. Anna and Eileen McCarthy would drive or take the train up to Beacon to look after my kids when they could. Both my father and my mother came to stay and take care of the boys for short periods of time when I had to be away. My wife, Michele, despite working a full-time and extremely demanding job in the city, would work from home on days when I absolutely had to be somewhere else. Sometimes, I'd take the kids into the city for a meeting, and their uncles, Lawrence Sohner and Barry Greene, would care for them for an afternoon. Once, I left the kids with Michele's mother, Genevieve, at the Central Park zoo, while I went to auditions. And, finally, now that both Alexander and Caleb are full-time students, South Avenue Elementary School provides a safe and nurturing environment for my boys between the hours of 8:40am and 3:10pm, while I work on revising Signs of Life for production.
During the Signs of Life rehearsal period, my Mom has come down to stay with us and care for the kids for three separate week-long periods. Michele has worked from home on several days when it was not convenient to do so. And our good friends and fellow South Avenue parents, Tyease and Waldren Levers, along with their oldest daughter, Brittany, have, on several occasions, picked up my kids from school and entertained and cared for them until my wife or I got back from the city.
And my wife, G-d bless her, is the hardest working woman I know, working her tush off to always make sure her family always had food on the table, a roof over our head, gas in the tank, and decent health insurance.
So, I really need to thank all these people whose names do not appear in the program. They, as much as anyone, made Signs of Life possible:
Robert Ullian
Annette Ullian
Michele Ullian
Anna McCarthy
Eileen McCarthy
Monica Mikolajczyk
Genevieve Sohner
Lawrence Sohner
Barry Greene
Tyease Levers
Waldren Levers
Brittany Levers
The teachers and staff at South Avenue Elementary School
And, finally, Alexander and Caleb, who inspire me every day.
To order tickets to Signs of Life: A Tale of Terezin, click here.
To visit the Signs of Life website, click here.
To find out more about Signs of Life off-Broadway, click here.
To visit the Signs of Life Facebook page, click here.
To visit Peter Ullian's Website, click here.
To find Peter Ullian's "Fan" Page on Facebook, click here.
To learn more about Peter Ullian's non-musical plays, click here (website contains material intended for mature audiences).
To read Signs of Life Lyricist Len Schiff's blog, click here.
To visit Signs of Life composer Joel Derfner's website, click here.
To read Signs of Life composer Joel Derfner's blog, click here.
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