Last night, I had a dream about my Dad, Dr. Robert Ullian, who passed away in 2005. I said to my wife, Michele, this morning, how much I wished he'd had a chance to see my show, Signs of Life, which just ended its five week run on March 21st. Michele said, of course, that he had.
Many survivors who saw our show, which takes place in the Jewish ghetto Terezin during World War Two, remarked upon how many details we managed to get right. A few took issue with details we got wrong -- usually deliberately, when the requirements of dramatic narrative took precedence over those of documentary. But for the most part, people who were actually imprisoned in Terezin were very generous and understanding about our efforts to balance truth and fiction, and most felt we got the balance just about right.
To the extent we got anything right, it's because we are good listeners. The most telling and remarkable details, such as the romantic gift of a home-made toilet seat, we learned about from interviews with survivors, not from books.
This ability to listen is something I owe very much to my Dad. Dr. Robert Ullian, a primary care physician who referred to himself as a simple country doctor (even though he practiced medicine in Cambridge and Boston), was widely considered to be one of the best diagnosticians in New England by his peers. When people asked him how he achieved this, his answer was simple: he listened to his patients.
To find out what critics and audiences said about Signs of Life, 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 follow Peter Ullian on Twitter, click here.
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.
To visit Signs of Life director Jeremy Dobrish's website, click here.
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