Theatre Calgary’s Play Guides and InterACTive Learning Program

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The Play Guide for The Shoplifters was created by:

Zachary Moull

Assistant Dramaturg

Want to get in touch?

Send an email to zmoull@theatrecalgary.com

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The Shoplifters runs from September 1 to 27, 2015

For tickets, visit theatrecalgary.com or call (403) 294-7447

Front cover image by David Cooper

Table of Contents

THE BASICS

The Company .................................................................... 01

Who’s Who? ...................................................................... 02

Time and Place ................................................................. 02

The Story .......................................................................... 02

EXPLORATIONS

Breaking the Rules

An Interview with Playwright Morris Panych .............. 03

The Stockroom Art Installation

An Interview with Set Designer Ken MacDonald ......... 06

Five Facts on the Five-Finger Discount ................................ 09

Security and Loss Prevention .............................................. 10

Cops and Robbers ............................................................. 11

CONVERSATIONS

Conversation Starters ........................................................ 12

Why Do People Steal? ........................................................ 12

Big Reads from Calgary Public Library ................................. 13

Spotlight Saturday ............................................................. 14

Meet the Cast ................................................................... 15

Sources ............................................................................ 17

THE BASICS - 1 -

The Company

THE SHOPLIFTERS

By Morris Panych

THE CAST Anna Cummer Phyllis Stephen Hair Otto Jeff Lillico Dom Nora McLellan Alma

THE CREATIVE TEAM Haysam Kadri Director Ken MacDonald Set Design Hanne Loosen Costume Design Anton De Groot Lighting Design Peter Moller Original Music and Sound Design

BEHIND THE SCENES

Patti Neice Stage Manager Ashley Rees Assistant Stage Manager Catharine Crumb Head of Lighting Chris Jacko Head of Sound Scott Morris Head Stage Carpenter Ron Siegmund Wig & Hairstylist, Wardrobe Master

THE BASICS - 2 -

Who’s Who?

Alma: A shoplifter

Phyllis: Alma’s accomplice

Otto: A longtime security guard

Dom: A new security guard

Time and Place

The Shoplifters takes places in the stockroom of a large supermarket, in the

present day.

The Story

Alma is a career shoplifter with a knack for getting the “five-finger

discount” from the supermarket. But when she tries to steal some

expensive steaks with her new accomplice Phyllis, she’s caught in the act

by Dom, an overzealous security guard on his very first day. Dom and his

boss Otto hold Alma and Phyllis in the back room of the store, but their

interrogation reveals more questions than answers.

“Thieves respect property; they merely wish the property to

become their property that they may more perfectly respect it.” –G. K. Chesterton

EXPLORATIONS - 3 -

Breaking the Rules An Interview with Playwright Morris Panych

One of Canada’s leading playwrights, Morris Panych has delighted and

shocked audiences around the

world with his darkly absurd

comedies about people on the

edge. At Theatre Calgary, we’ve

presented Vigil, 7 Stories, and

The Overcoat on the Max Bell

stage. In anticipation of our

Canadian premiere of The

Shoplifters, we spoke with

Morris about theft, theatre, and

his connection to Calgary.

What first sparked the idea for

The Shoplifters?

It was watching people steal, especially in grocery stores. They're often

bad at it and somehow still get away with it. Also, I read a story about

how 15% of shoplifting is done by seniors, and often it's just for something

to do as much as being based on need. That made me start thinking about

the different reasons that people break rules. It also happens to be a time

in our country when the political rhetoric is more and more heated about

criminal justice.

What do you find most intriguing about theft?

Theft at its worst is greed, but at its best can symbolize an act of defiance

against the system. What I find most intriguing is that while none of us

condones theft, we sometimes secretly applaud when something is taken

from the rich and given to the poor. We all have our own internal sense of

justice that doesn't always match the legal one.

Morris Panych

EXPLORATIONS - 4 -

Do you think there are grey areas where stealing can be justified?

Theft is wrong, no question; how wrong is the question. We all know in

our hearts that a starving person stealing food to eat is not the same, for

instance, as a rich executive soaking investors or embezzling funds. There

is a lot of in-between when it comes to wrongdoing.

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

I am my own thief. I stop myself more often than I let myself get away, so

I guess I'm a security guard. But I wish I was more of a shoplifter.

The Shoplifters premiered last year in Washington, DC. Do you

anticipate any different reactions at the Canadian premiere in Calgary?

Americans, I think, are innately more open with their responses, so they

are a little more vocal. They also are slightly less dark in their sensibilities,

so black humour can shock them a little more. Canadian audiences

probably sit somewhere between British and American in their reaction to

humour. That said, I really try to write from as wide a perspective as

possible, hoping that my themes are more universal than local. I am

interested in the human predicament. The most exciting thing for me is

seeing the reception of my work in different parts of the world.

Your husband Ken MacDonald designed the set for The Shoplifters, like

he has for so many of your plays. How does your creative collaboration

with him work?

Ken has an innate understanding of the underlying absurdity of my work,

while at the same time understanding that, at its core, there is a strong

undercurrent of realism. Ken can magically combine these two elements

so that immediately upon seeing one of his sets, one gets the intended

tone. Our collaborations start almost from the inception of the idea,

because often, if Ken can't see the visual component of the play I'm

working on, he won't like it as much. So it forces me to explore theatrical

metaphor in a much bolder way.

EXPLORATIONS - 5 -

You were born in Calgary and have a family connection to the area. Is it

special to have the Canadian premiere of The Shoplifters here?

I'm very proud, of course. There is something deeply fulfilling about

completing a circle that involves generations. My grandparents settled

east of the city early in the 20th century, in Baintree, which is now

deserted. My mother was born

in Rockyford near Strathmore.

During the depression, after my

grandfather's death, they were

forced to move to Calgary,

living a bit on the edge,

skipping out on rent and bills –

according to my mother,

although she could tell a story.

Later, she worked at the

granary exchange where,

according to her, she invented a

filing system only she could

follow, so that they couldn't fire

her. My mother has been very influential in my writing. Her dark

sensibilities affected me greatly as a child and even as an adult. And in my

office I have a picture of me at the Calgary Zoo, standing with my

grandmother in front of a polar bear. I still remember being terrified. But

my grandmother, who was a school teacher and a fierce grammarian,

always had a weird nursery rhyme to console me, usually about

somebody being thrown down a set of stairs.

Why do you write plays, as opposed to anything else?

I don't really know anything else. Theatre is the simplest, most satisfying

expression of storytelling, and it's communal, so it's ultimately a social act.

As we move further and further away from each other through

technology, as conversations become shorter and people are swallowed by

the screaming chaos of media in all its forms, theatre remains the last, best

refuge of living ideas and expressed feelings.

Morris Panych with his grandmother

at the Calgary Zoo

EXPLORATIONS - 6 -

The Stockroom Art Installation An Interview with Set Designer Ken MacDonald

By Linda Lombardi, Arena Stage Literary Manager

The set for Theatre Calgary’s The Shoplifters had its first life in the play’s

world premiere at Arena Stage

in Washington, DC. Its designer

Ken MacDonald is the longtime

creative partner and husband of

playwright Morris Panych, who

directed that first production of

his new play The Shoplifters.

Linda Lombardi of Arena Stage

spoke to Ken during tech week

in Washington to ask him the

secrets behind the 800 boxes

that make up the set.

What was your inspiration for

the design of the set and all those boxes?

I went to Loblaws in Toronto where I live, and I asked if I could go back

into the stockroom. I looked at a lot of pictures online of stockrooms, too.

They all had these metal shelves and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun if it

was just so magical, that there was no way of seeing how they were

stacked, to not see the shelves?” So I started off by drawing a very realistic

lunch room – I had a great big ventilator fan, a sink, a table, some

cinderblock – it looked very real. But it was boring. And then I came up

with the idea of stacking boxes and drawing them and it became an art

installation. It became larger than life and theatrical. It’s funny, you start

to accept it, don’t you? When you first see it, you think, “Oh my God!” but

then you think, “Yeah they’re just in that back room.” And the boxes are

hanging from the ceiling, piled high.

Ken MacDonald

EXPLORATIONS - 7 -

Are they all actually boxes?

They’re boxes, but they’re not boxes that assemble like you’d find in a

store. We bought them from a box company. They’re flat, and you pull

them together, staple them together, and then we hand-printed on 4x8

sheets of cardboard all the logos that we had determined we wanted to

use. Some of them were almost like silkscreen and a bit paler than normal.

Then that piece of cardboard is cut out, put on, and folded around the top

and re-glued on. Not every box is done – about 225 of the 800 boxes have

logos. I knew that I wanted them randomly staggered and that they

weren’t all flat, and then I just took a box cutter and went around and cut

them in different places and started opening them up. I really liked that

look. Then we started putting stuff inside. It’s very cool. I think people

will think, “Oh well you went to the Safeway and you got a lot of boxes,”

but no. Every box is chosen for its size, where it goes, what’s printed on it,

whether it’s taped, and whether it has a logo on it, and a stamp, and a

barcode, all that detail.

The set of The Shoplifters under construction at Theatre Calgary

EXPLORATIONS - 8 -

You’ve worked with Morris Panych on more than 90 productions.

We’ve been together for 35 years as partners – we’re married now. When

we first started out, Morris was acting and I was writing music a bit. One

day he came home and said “We’re going to write a musical.” I wrote the

music, because I play the piano and sing, and he started writing the show,

which we called Last Call: A Post-Nuclear Cabaret. We wrote about ten

songs, and our landlady at the time was a producer at a theatre company

in Vancouver, where we lived. So we played it for her and she liked it and

her company said, “If you complete it, we’ll do it.” So we did it and it was

a huge hit. We traveled across the country with it, it was made into a CBC

television special, and it started us writing musicals. We wrote two or

three more musicals after that, and that was 25 years ago!

When you’ve been together for so long, do you develop a short hand?

Oh totally! We get along fantastically. We do argue about design, because

he’s very specific and so am I. I’m a little impractical. He’ll say, “Yes, but

how does an actor get offstage?” While I’m saying, “But it looks so great!”

In the last 30 years I’d say we’ve done at least three shows a year together,

and there’s 90 just like that! We do have a shorthand in that we both love

the same kind of look – we both like to be really theatrical, we know we

want a twist to it in some way, we know that we like monochromatic

things, and we like things to look quite classical, in the sense that it could

be 1950, 1960, 1970...

Is there a show that you have always wanted to design that you haven’t

designed yet?

No, there really isn’t. I like working on a new play more than anything.

Like this. There are hundreds and hundreds of productions where you can

look online and see what other people did. I would much rather invent it

from scratch. I would much rather be the first person to do it. So any

dream play I have is a new play that I have yet to design.

EXPLORATIONS - 9 -

Five Facts on the Five-Finger Discount

1. Canadian retailers lose upwards of $3 billion a year to shoplifting and

other forms of theft. Small shops lose an average of $1000 each month.

2. Recent studies estimate that as many as 1 in 10 people are habitual

shoplifters. Men and women are equally likely to shoplift, and around

25% of shoplifters are under 18. Common motivations include poverty

and need, treating oneself, and thrill-seeking.

3. The most frequently shoplifted items are razor blades, alcohol, and

cosmetics. Other top-ten targets include batteries, pills, instant coffee, and

packages of meat. Most shoplifters steal items for their own use or for

their friends and family.

4. Shoplifters report being caught only once every 48 times they steal and

being turned over to the police about half the times they get caught.

5. The penalty for theft under $5000 in Canada can range from a fine and

community service to a maximum of 10 years in prison.

A loss prevention officer in the video surveillance room of a U.S. Army

Exchange store (Vince Little, The Bayonet)

EXPLORATIONS - 10 -

Security and Loss Prevention

Shoplifting is a major drain on retail profit margins, so most stores have

“loss prevention” policies in place to deter theft. These measures might

include videocameras, bag checks, and electronic security tags. Shoplifters

often need a moment of privacy to stash goods, so something as simple as

salespeople greeting customers on the sales floor – known in the industry

as “aggressive hospitality” – can be an effective loss prevention strategy.

When passive measures fail to reduce theft, stores turn to security guards

and in-house detectives. The presence of security guards can be a useful

deterrent in itself. But when it comes to actually confronting suspected

shoplifters, security guards can generally make an arrest only when they

witness someone in the act of committing a crime. The so-called “six-step

rule” was developed as a guideline in the 1990s to help security guards

determine when they had probable cause to detain a shoplifter legally:

1. You must see the suspect approach the merchandise.

2. You must see the suspect take possession of the merchandise.

3. You must see where the suspect conceals it.

4. You must maintain an uninterrupted surveillance to ensure that

the suspect doesn’t dispose of the merchandise.

5. You must see the suspect fail to pay for the merchandise.

6. You should approach the suspect outside.

Loss prevention measures can be expensive, especially when a store needs

to keep security guards on salary. One study found that American

retailers spend an average of 0.46% of their revenue on loss prevention.

This extra cost is passed on to paying customers through higher prices.

“There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.” –Gen. Douglas MacArthur

EXPLORATIONS - 11 -

Cops and Robbers

The endless struggle between cops and robbers (or security guards and

shoplifters) goes far beyond the playground and the shopping mall. It has

deep roots in legend and literature – and it’s surprisingly common for the

thief to take on the role of the hero. These are just a few iterations:

Many cultures have myths

in which fire is stolen for the

benefit of humankind. For

example, the ancient Greek

deity Prometheus steals fire

from Mount Olympus in a

fennel stalk and gives it to

mortals against Zeus’s will.

As punishment, Zeus has

him chained to a rock on top

of a mountain, where his

liver is eaten by an eagle.

In medieval English folklore, Robin Hood is an archer and outlaw who

supports the lower classes by stealing from the rich and giving to the

poor. The Sheriff of Nottingham, his nemesis, chases him through

Sherwood Forest to try to maintain order.

In Les Misérables, the novel by Victor Hugo and subsequent stage

musical, Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s children

and goes to prison for many years. When he takes an assumed name

upon his parole so that he can live a productive life, he is pursued

relentlessly by the police office Javert.

In tales of the Old West, the exploits of real-life outlaws such as Jesse

James, Butch Cassidy, and Billy the Kid take on legendary proportions.

The legends surrounding James, who robbed several banks and trains,

compared him to Robin Hood (although there’s no solid evidence that

he actually gave any of his stolen money to the poor).

Detail from “Prometheus Brings Fire to

Mankind” (1817) by Heinrich Füger

CONVERSATIONS - 12 -

Conversation Starters

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

Which grocery store aisle are you most likely to be found in?

Do you think of yourself as a have or a have-not?

Under what circumstances could you justify stealing something?

If you could steal one thing and never be caught, what would you take?

How much power do you think store security guards should have to

detain people they suspect of shoplifting?

Is there any moral difference between stealing from an individual and

stealing from a corporation?

Do you think that theft can ever be completely eliminated? If yes, how?

If no, why not?

Why Do People Steal?

Motivations for theft are remarkably varied, from poverty and need to

thrill-seeking and fighting authority. The reasons are often deeply

personal. One study, for example, found that many first-time shoplifters

had recently experienced a significant loss or other emotional stressor.

Episode #135 of the public radio show This American Life explores the

many kinds of theft and the many kinds of thieves, and includes a

fascinating interview with a senior-citizen shoplifter. It was one of Morris

Panych’s resources for his play. “Stories about crime,” says host Ira Glass,

“are a kind of snapshot of someone’s life and their problems at a certain

moment. Through our crimes, we express who we are.”

Listen: www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/135/allure-of-crime

Watch: CBC Doc Zone’s “The Secret World of Shoplifting”

www.cbc.ca/doczone/episodes/the-secret-world-of-shoplifting (video)

www.cbc.ca/doczone/features/fact-sheet-shoplifting1 (factsheet)

CONVERSATIONS - 13 -

Big Reads from Calgary Public Library By Rosemary Griebel

Shoplifter, by Michael Cho

Graphic Novel, 2014. Corrina Park supplements her dead-end

social life and mind-numbing urban existence with the thrill of

shoplifting. It’s not even particularly adventurous theft, self-

described as both “small time” and “magazines only, honest.”

Between grumpily writing advertising copy and catering to the

whims of a banshee-howling cat, Corrina comforts herself with

frozen dinners and second-guessing her own apathy. Illustrator

Cho’s debut novel is a funny and touching portrait of urban angst.

The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting, by Rachel Shteir

Non-fiction, 2011. The first serious study of shoplifting, tracking

the fascinating history of this ancient crime. Dismissed by

academia and the mainstream media and largely misunderstood,

shoplifting has become the territory of moralists, mischievous

teenagers, tabloid television, and self-help gurus. Tracing the

evolution of shoplifting through history (Eve, Shteir quips, was the

very first shoplifter when she swiped that apple), the author’s

fascination for the topic and sense of humor are infectious and

make the history of this curious crime compulsively readable.

Not For Nothing, by Stephen Graham Jones

Mystery, 2014. The town is Stanton, Texas, population 3,000; the

private investigator is disgraced detective Nicholas Bruiseman,

who's so down on his luck that he's forced to take a job as a live-in

security guard for the town's lone storage facility. This is his new

life, starting over with nothing in the town in which he grew up,

where every person he encounters – friend, enemy or ex-lover – is

from his school or the child of someone from his school. A plot

with twists, turns, and memorable characters.

CONVERSATIONS - 14 -

Catch Me If You Can, by Frank W. Abagnale

Memoir, 2002. Frank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert

Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most

daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history.

In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a

pilot's uniform and co-piloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the

supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license,

passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed

over $2.5 million in forged cheques, all before he was 21. Now

recognized as the U.S.’s leading authority on financial foul play,

Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-

fiction international escapades and ingenious escapes make Catch

Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.

Spotlight Saturday

Dig deeper into the ideas! Join us in the lobby after our fourth Saturday

matinee for lively conversations around the themes of our shows. Our

Spotlight Saturday events are free and open to all – no ticket required.

Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz of the Buy Nothing Year Project

Saturday, September 26, at 3:30pm in the Max Bell Theatre lobby

In 2013, two Calgarian roommates received international attention when

they embarked on a experiment many thought would be impossible to

complete. For one year, Julie Phillips and Geoffrey Szuszkiewicz took part

in Buy Nothing Year, a project that would almost completely limit their

purchasing from August 2013 to August 2014. By July 2014, Julie and

Geoffrey had fully converted to “freeganism,” acquiring essentials such as

food items only through their garden, their friends, and even the

dumpster. The project fundamentally changed the way Geoffrey and Julie

approach consumerism. “Consumerism can be viewed as a mindless

activity,” they write on their blog, while “to share resources with each

other forces us to connect and establish social community.”

Click on the book covers

to check availability at

Calgary Public Library!

CONVERSATIONS - 15 -

Meet the Cast

ANNA CUMMER (PHYLLIS)

Grocery store aisle: Bakery

Heist film: The Thomas Crown Affair (the first

one with Steve McQueen)

If you could steal one thing and never be

caught, what would you take?

An original Van Gogh (The Starry Night)

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

A shoplifter with a security guard’s conscience

STEPHEN HAIR (OTTO)

Grocery store aisle: Pizza

Heist film: The original Pink Panther

If you could steal one thing and never be

caught, what would you take?

I wouldn’t do it

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

Neither

“Property is theft!”

–Slogan of the 19th-century French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

CONVERSATIONS - 16 -

JEFF LILLICO (DOM)

Grocery store aisle: I’m a bit ashamed, but

my wondrous girlfriend usually does the

grocery shopping

Heist film: High Life, based on the play by

Canadian playwright Lee MacDougall

If you could steal one thing and never be

caught, what would you take?

I’d steal home plate for the Blue Jays to win

the World Series this year

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

In this day and age, when most of us want

the best for the world yet still unwittingly

contribute to its degradation, I’d have to say

a bit of both

NORA MCLELLAN (ALMA)

Grocery store aisle: International

Heist film: The Italian Job

If you could steal one thing and never be

caught, what would you take?

Someone’s heart!

Are you a shoplifter or a security guard?

Both

CONVERSATIONS - 17 -

Sources

“Allure of Crime.” This American Life #135, prod. Ira Glass. WBEZ-

Chicago. Jul 23, 1999.

www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/135/allure-of-crime

Cromwell, Paul. “Shoplifting.” In The Encyclopedia of Crime and

Punishment, ed. David Levinson. New York: Sage, 2002.

“Fact Sheet: Shoplifting.” CBC Doc Zone. Jul 28, 2012.

www.cbc.ca/doczone/features/fact-sheet-shoplifting1

Hampson, Sarah. “The Thrill of Shoplifting.” The Globe and Mail. Jul 18, 2011.

www.theglobeandmail.com/life/relationships/the-thrill-of-the-steal-

shoplifting-is-retail-therapy-of-another-kind/article625886

Haygood, Will. “A Story of Myth, Fame, Jesse James.” Seattle Times. Sep

17, 2007.

www.seattletimes.com/html/living/2003885037_jessejames17.html

“Psychological Studies.” National Association for Shoplifting Prevention.

www.shopliftingprevention.org/what-we-do/learning-resource-

center/psychological-studies

“Retail Crime and Shoplifting.” Calgary Police Service.

www.calgary.ca/cps/Pages/Community-programs-and-

resources/Crime-prevention/Retail-crime-and-shoplifting.aspx

“Shoplifting and Theft.” Calgary Legal Guidance.

clg.ab.ca/programs-services/dial-a-law/shoplifting-and-theft

Shteir, Rachel. The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting. New York:

Penguin, 2011.

“Theft of Fire.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft_of_fire