Growing up the child of Korean immigrants in Arizona, playwright Julia Cho had little exposure to theatre, beyond the occasional class play or traveling Broadway production. But a trip to New York at 14 - and a chance ticket to John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation - left no doubt in her mind what she wanted to do. She began writing plays in earnest while in college, and saw her career take off soon after. Her plays - which include last season's critically acclaimed Durango at the Public Theater, as well as The Architecture of Loss, BFE, 99 Histories and The Winchester House - have been produced in major theatres around the country. The Vineyard‘s Associate Artistic Director Sarah Stern spoke with Julia about the unexpected phone call that sparked The Piano Teacher, and how the play has taken her in new directions.

What was the impetus behind writing The Piano Teacher? 
I think one impetus for the play was a half-buried memory of a conversation I had with one of my own piano teachers. She was a very kind woman and she contacted me years after I'd stopped taking lessons with her. I was too young at the time to understand why she was calling me. It made me uncomfortable and we didn't talk long. But as I grow older, I can see that she was just curious to see what had become of me and she probably hoped that in some small way she, and the piano, had touched my life. I could be projecting, of course; perhaps she had entirely different motives altogether. But the nice thing about being a playwright is you get to guess why people do the things they do and there can be a truth in it, even if it's entirely made up.

The other impetus for the play was probably the spate of recent movies and books about the Rwandan genocide a couple of years ago. In a very recent span of time there were major genocides all over the globe: not just Rwanda but also Bosnia and the Sudan. I felt unbelievably ignorant about genocide and its causes. I'm generally horrified but then I go about my day. And this started to bother me; just what is it that enables me to go about my day when all of these horrific things are happening? 

Somehow, all of these thoughts went into the play. It is a simple story anchored by some very dark and troubling issues. But I think this is how life is: a veneer of normalcy that often covers an abyss. And we each skate over it in our own way.

How does this play compare to some of your other work? Does it feel like a continuation of themes or styles you've been exploring? In what ways is it a departure?
To an outside eye, I think The Piano Teacher will seem like a departure. The main character is elderly and white, whereas many of my other plays are helmed by Asian American characters, such as Panny in BFE and the Lee family in Durango. But to me, it's a superficial difference. I've always had characters of many different races in my plays and I like to write from as many different points of view as possible. For me, the real departures are of form: The Piano Teacher stays in one place and it uses long scenes instead of quick cuts. I've never written a full-length like it. But the heart of the play is very much in line with a lot of the themes I've been kneading: memory, identity, loss, and the importance of story. 

Who are some of the writers who have influenced you or your work?
I fell in love with theater because of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation. I write plays because of Constance Congdon and Tales of The Lost Formicans. When I need inspiration I read Caryl Churchill, although that's a bit of a double-edged sword as it is also quite humbling. As for the greats, I particularly love Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. But most inspiring of all are my contemporaries: Sarah Ruhl, Anne Washburn, Rinne Groff, Quiara Hudes, Jordan Harrison, Lloyd Suh, and so many, many others. 

SPOTLIGHT ON DIRECTOR KATE WHORISKEY

Director Kate Whoriskey has been steadily gaining a name for herself as one of the most gifted young directors working today. With a large resume that includes both new and classic works - including the world-premieres of Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel and Fabulation, acclaimed productions of The Rose Tattoo and Heartbreak House, The Chairs, and The Tempest, plus new plays by such writers like Nilo Cruz, Sarah Ruhl, and Noah Haidle - Whoriskey's productions are being heralded as smart, sharp, and visually compelling.  In talking about The Piano Teacher, Kate says, "I was drawn to this material because it is deceptively simple. At first glance, it is about a piano teacher fast becoming a relic of her time. But this simple story of this charismatic older woman captures America in its current pivotal transition. Her story shows the clash between an almost folkloric Americana and a more fractured, modern culture where the threat of violence is impossible to ignore." The Piano Teacher is Whoriskey's second collaboration with playwright Julia Cho, following the premiere of her play, The Last Tree in Antarctica. "Julia's language is spare and she constructs the plot with carefully placed information. Her plays are unique in that they ask an audience to intuit the story - to search for clues and engage in constructing their own narrative as they watch the play."