Savage/Love
Winthrop University | 2020
By Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin
Savage/Love is a play comprised of 19 poems telling stories of love and loss. While these poems were written in the 80's, we worked to involve gender, race and other factors that impact contemporary relationships to bring the show into a more modern realm. This allowed audiences to further connect to these stories and the characters they depicted.
A look at some of the poems and the process of making Savage/Love
Script Analysis
Table work rehearsals are one of my favorite parts of the process of a show.
Since poetry can be more open to interpretation than a conventional script, the cast of Savage/Love really helped to shape the stories that we were telling through this show.
First Moment: Love at first sight
"Maybe you would turn away from me. Or you could say let's go together, forever."
Beggar: Freedom from toxic relationships
"Could you give me something, anything at all, I'll accept whatever it is."
"I have everything I need, and what I don't have I know where to get it anytime I want."
Savage: Domestic violence
"YOU who makes me believe that we're lovers. YOU who lets me pretend.YOU who reminds me of myself. YOU who controls me."
Acting: Relationships on social media
"Now we're acting the partners in love. Now we're acting the estrangement."
I incorporated our "sign" for love into much of the movement throughout the show.
The sign placed the ASL sign for "sorry" over the heart, illustrating the duality of love and loss.
