Research Catalog

Poppa piece story of summer 1975.

Title
Poppa piece [sound recording] : story of summer 1975.
Author
Robbins, Jerome.
Publication
1975.

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Spoken word recordingPermit needed *MGZTL 4-2725 JRCPerforming Arts Research Collections - Dance

Details

Additional Authors
  • Estate of Jerome Robbins. dnr
  • Oral history archive.
Found In
Jerome Robbins Collection
Description
1 sound disc (ca. 59 min.) : digital; 4 3/4 in.
Summary
Jerome Robbins recounts his experiences in the summer of 1975, when he suffered a severe bout of depression. He describes his symptoms and his experiences with taking the anti-depressant Elavil; the involvement of his psychiatrist Shervert Frazier; his arrival at McLean Hospital, near Boston, and his feelings about being there. He comments on the behavior of his companion Ron Ifft during this period. Robbins describes the physical environment at McLean and the other patients. He talks about his feeling that the experience represents a turning point in his life, and his thoughts about his future direction. He recounts a story about two women, Faith and Edna, whom he met on the beach on Long Island in 1969 following a bad experience while taking LSD. He discusses his desire to work on something other than ballets, and his dissatisfaction with his experience during New York City Ballet's Ravel Festival. Robbins speaks about discovering the Cambridge, Mass. area during his stay at McLean. He and the other speaker discuss his current house on Long Island, N.Y. (where the recording was made) and other beach houses he had owned. Robbins talks about other health problems he was having, and discusses the merits of anti-depressant drugs versus psychoanalytical talk therapy. The recording ends abruptly.
Alternative Title
Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.
Subjects
Note
  • Jerome Robbins speaks to an unidentified female friend about his episodes of depression and experiences at McLean Hospital in summer 1975. This is one of a group of recordings made by Robbins in the mid-1970s, in the initial stages of planning his autobiographical theater work Poppa piece. Consisting of conversations and "audio notebooks," these recordings contain material he used for the development of Poppa piece.
  • Sound quality is generally good, but there is some distortion in the voices at the end of the disc, due to damage in the original format. The recording begins and ends abruptly.
Access (note)
  • Permission required.
Funding (note)
  • Preservation was funded by the Jerome Robbins Foundation.
Source (note)
  • Estate of Jerome Robbins
Biography (note)
  • Poppa piece was an autobiographical theater work created by Jerome Robbins, incorporating music, dance and dialogue. Planned and developed over many years, Poppa piece was rehearsed in workshops at the Lincoln Center Theater in 1991, but was never produced.
Linking Entry (note)
  • Forms part of: Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.
Call Number
*MGZTL 4-2725 JRC
OCLC
754843175
Author
Robbins, Jerome.
Title
Poppa piece [sound recording] : story of summer 1975.
Imprint
1975.
Access
Permission required.
Original Version
Original format : 1 sound cassette (ca. 59 min.; 1 7/8 in. per sec.; 2 channels). Originally recorded 1975.
Funding
Preservation was funded by the Jerome Robbins Foundation.
Biography
Poppa piece was an autobiographical theater work created by Jerome Robbins, incorporating music, dance and dialogue. Planned and developed over many years, Poppa piece was rehearsed in workshops at the Lincoln Center Theater in 1991, but was never produced.
Linking Entry
Forms part of: Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.
Local Note
Archive original: *MGZTCO 3-2725 JRC
Source
Gift; Estate of Jerome Robbins, 1999. NN-PD
Added Author
Estate of Jerome Robbins. Donor
Oral history archive.
Added Title
Jerome Robbins Collection. Audio materials.
Found In:
Jerome Robbins Collection
Research Call Number
*MGZTL 4-2725 JRC
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