Jake Lipman Interview
It’s probably difficult to shut up a woman whose nicknames were “Martha the Mouth” or “Mouth of the South.” Shut Up Martha which premieres at the DC Fringe on July 13th is based on the life of Martha Mitchell. Her Husband John Mitchell was the Attorney General under Nixon’s presidency. Martha had loose lips and a penchant for gossip. She would hear snippets of information and rifle through her husband’s classified documents and then spill the tea to reporters. How very scandalous!
“If it hadn’t been for Martha, there would’ve been no Watergate.” — former president Richard M. Nixon
Shut Up Martha was written by multi-hyphenate artist, Jake Lipman.
Jake Lipman is the producing artistic director of Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions, which she founded in 2006 with a mission to produce and create thought-provoking comedies. Since its founding, she has produced over 40 productions. In 2018, she developed a new play about feminism in the workplace called Relentlessly Pleasant, and was awarded a Puffin Foundation Grant for its development. In 2015, she adapted her favorite novel, The Inn at Lake Devine, by Elinor Lipman (no relation) into a play with music. Other writing includes two seasons of the web series “Smart Actress,” several TV scripts and solo shows, including Up a River, Down the Aisle, and Aiding and Abetting. BA from Smith College, MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School. It was wonderful to get the chance to chat with her the night before the exciting premiere of her work.
As awful as the pandemic was for all, particularly artists who relied on in-person endeavors, some good came out of it for some people. “Before the pandemic, I was a whirling dervish in NYC, producing theater, acting, directing, and occasionally writing. When the pandemic shut down live theater, I began writing a lot more.”
With Shut Up Martha, Ms. Lipman veered away from the topics she normally writes about. This project worked out well for her. “I mostly write about my own experience — losing a parent (Up a River), being from a big bohemian family in Massachusetts (Little Faith), to feminism in the workplace (Relentlessly Pleasant).”
“But when I saw a documentary about Martha Mitchell on Netflix, I saw an opportunity to write about what I didn’t know — Martha Mitchell was the whistleblower of Watergate, and yet most people under 50 don’t know her name or the pivotal role she held in the scandal.”
“Once I had written it, I was inspired to apply to the Capital Fringe in Washington DC to premiere it there — what would be more fitting than telling the story of Watergate in the very town where it happened?”
“I am thrilled to be premiering Shut Up Martha in the Capital Fringe in Washington DC this week – July 13, 15, and 16 (www.shutupmartha.com).”
Ms. Lipman recognizes that delving into history requires a greater sense of responsibility in terms of the necessity for historical accuracy. “Yes I feel a greater sense of responsibility — in fact, an early version of the play was largely transcribed from real video footage of her — but it lacked a throughline of what motivated Martha to do what she did.”
“This led me to do more research and expand the story to include imagined conversations that could justify the actual events of the story.”
With so much history that exists and new history being made every moment, it’s only natural for some significant historical events to possibly into the background. Ms. Lipman gives her take on whether or not she feels that Watergate has been forgotten. “I wasn’t born yet when Nixon was president, or when five men were caught breaking into the Democrat’s offices inside the Watergate complex, so I only knew what I had learned from movies like “All the President’s Men” and podcasts like “Slow Burn.”
“While I think the lessons from Watergate have faded with the passage of time, it is my hope when there is a compelling play, or movie, or book about a time period, that new audiences and younger people can learn what older generations have gone through and can see the parallels to their lives now.”
Ms. Lipman has no shortage of art to create and expand upon. Shut Up Martha will not be silenced. In fact, there are plans to make it longer. “I am working on another script about school boards called Bored Moms, and I plan to expand the Shut Up Martha script beyond the one act it is at present, into a two-act play in NYC and possibly some kind of filmed story.”
See Shut Up Martha in the area where it actually took place, Washington, DC!
Talk about historical accuracy!
July 13th 6 pm
July 14th 10:45 am
July 15th 7:45 pm
Capital Fringe Venue: Squirt Theatre
1050 Thomas Jefferson Street NW, 1st Floor
Washington, DC 20007
Tickets are only $15
Showtones 