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| Dr. Peter Safar (Ryan Warsing) introduces Dr. Nancy Caroline (Anne Rematt) to the Freedom House paramedics and dispatchers. Credit all Photos: Brandon Pierce |
On
the heels of a highly successful run of Freedom House: Giving Life a
Second Chance that just closed on February 1 at the New Hazlett Theater,
playwright L.E. McCullough takes a look back on his play that focuses on one of
Pittsburgh’s many first accomplishments.
Before
the Freedom House Ambulance Service cane into being in 1967, street and home
side medical care was often sketchy and inadequate. Many times, stricken people
in desperate need for medical aid had to rely on the police, firefighters and
poorly trained workers for care that often required an immediate profession
response to have an effective and successful outcome,
Time
proved to be of the essence as victims were serviced inadequately before they
could be removed to the hospital for more urgent care follow up. Pittsburgh’s
Hill District proved to be the first location in the nation where trained
paramedics filled this need with the creation of the Freedom House Ambulance
Service in 1967.
Until its dissolution in 1975, the
service went on the serve as a model for similar organizations across the U.S.
and around the globe. One of its later leaders, Dr. Nancy Caroline, wrote a
book on Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training that still serves to the
day as an important educational tool around the world.
McCullough’s play recently got its
world premiere staging as part of Prime Stage Theater’s 2025-2026 season. The
work received critical acclaim from both its audience and local critics. Now
that the run has come to a successful conclusion, the playwright looks back on
the production and forward to things yet to come.
Q: How many plays have you already written and
where does Freedom House fit chronologically into your repertoire? What other
topics or issues have you considered in the past in some of your other work?
A: Freedom House is the very latest, and
it is #218 in my list of published and produced plays. My first play, Blues
for Miss Buttercup, premiered in New York City in 1995, and since then I’ve
published a couple dozen books of original plays, mostly used in educational
settings. Check this URL for https://www.educationalclassroomplays.com/ and
you’ll get an idea of what I’ve been able to cover.
Q: How did you come to decide to write Freedom
House and what research had you done to help develop the
narrative?
Two years ago, I saw the WQED-TV documentary on Freedom
House produced by Annette Banks and was intrigued by this paramedic origin
story that happened here in Pittsburgh but was now mostly forgotten. I
discovered there was no stage play written about the subject, so I thought I'd
like to do that. It was a story of vision and courage and community uplift, and
those are the kind of themes I like to write about because they’re inherently
dramatic. I talked to Dr. Wayne Brinda and the board of Prime Stage Theatre,
and they thought it would make a good production.
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I immediately began researching and found other film
documentaries and books and a broad array of newspaper articles written about
Freedom House in the 1960s and ’70s published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh New Courier. There were also many articles
referring to Freedom House published in medical journals of the time that were
describing the new breakthroughs in emergency and trauma medicine Dr. Peter Safar
was developing at the University of Pittsburgh. I was also able to talk to
several paramedics and staff who had worked with Freedom House, including some
members of the original trainee class. They gave very interesting insights into
the beginnings of the project, and I was able to collect a wide range of
information from a lot of different perspectives, including Dr. Safar's
394-page autobiography.
Q: How did you go about casting the play? Did you
have any one in mind before you started the audition process? How did you come
about choosing Scott P. Calhoon as the director?
A: Dr. Brinda asked Scott Calhoon
to direct the public staged reading of the play we did back last May at New
Hazlett Theater. That was a one-act version about 45 minutes long, and we
decided to expand into two full acts. Scott did a wonderful job on the staged
reading, and he was excited by the possibilities of telling the Freedom House
story in a larger time frame.
The theatre holds the auditions, and we have a lot of fine
actors in Pittsburgh. Two of our current cast – Cynthia Dallas and DeVaughn
Robinson – had performed in the reading last May, and it was great to get them
back. Of course, the final casting is always dependent upon whose schedule
allows them to be available for all the rehearsals and performances.
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| After a long arduous shift, Freedom House paramedics (DeVaughn Robinson and Darrin Mosley Jr.) relax in the Crawford Grill to music by dispatcher (Katy Cotten). |
Q: Was it your idea to partially set the play in the
Crawford Grill? Whose idea was it to include the musical interludes sung
by Willa “Katy” Cotten in the text and who chose the selections?
A: The Crawford Grill setting was
suggested by Scott Calhoon when we met to talk about expanding into two acts,
and it was an inspired choice that worked very well. We needed an interesting setting
where we could listen in on the paramedics as they convened off-shift and also
interacted with the community. We wanted a physical setting where the news
breaks and other relevant events that existed parallel to Freedom House could
be introduced in a natural way and be discussed while moving the plot forward. Having
the Grill as the basic setting anchored the story in the Hill District and
allowed us to acknowledge the cultural and social elements that were part of
the time and the people involved.
As a musician and composer, I’m always interested in using
short bits of music to advance and enrich the narrative. In the one-act we had
a few musical interludes, and with the two-act we had actors flowing across the
set with quick costume changes, so we needed more music to “cover” the
transitions between scenes.
I coordinated all the music, including the pre-show mix of
1960s/’70s soul and jazz and R&B excerpts that would help ease the audience
into the time period vibe. We had local pianists Dwayne Fulton and Jason
Kendall record a couple accompaniment tracks with a gospel and jazz feel.
When Katy Cotten was cast – and she had just starred as Ma
Rainey in Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” – Scott
and I definitely wanted to create more moments where the character she played
could sing live songs that conveyed the emotional mood of the plot.
Q: How closely in rehearsal did you work
with the director to bring the play to the stage?
A: I like it when the director and
actors can dig into the script I’ve provided and infuse their own creativity as
they bring the words into action. I’ve been playing music in bands since I was
a teenager — music like blues, jazz, Irish, bluegrass, Appalachian, rock and so
on where you need to become skilled at collaborating within an ensemble
dynamic. At figuring out how to balance everyone’s interpretation of how to
present the music to the audience. I’m a firm believer in letting the actors
and director and even the tech crew feel free to offer up insights into how the
play moves.
Q: In retrospect, is there anything you’d have done
differently? Are you thinking of fine tuning the script, or
are you satisfied with the way things are?
A: Very satisfied with the script, with the
performance, with the positive acceptance by the audience – particularly the
many EMS and medical folks who came to see the play, even some from outside the
state. In retrospect, maybe we can reprise the show when the city isn’t in the
icy grip of an epic deep freeze.
Q: Do you see the play moving on to other venues in and
around the city or even much further afield?
A: We’re definitely looking to have Freedom
House: Giving Life a Second Chance
presented again. Wherever and whenever. It’s the type of story that isn’t just
of interest to people in Pittsburgh. It’s a story that connects with everyone.
Q: Is there another play in the works or the planning
stage? What subject(s) would you like to explore dramatically?
A: The great 20th-century Italian playwright Dario Fo
said, “A theatre, a literature, an artistic expression that does not speak for
its own time has no relevance.”
That’s a view I embrace, so I’m pretty certain my next play
will have some basis in what’s happening with our world right now in political
and social terms. Even if what’s happening took place a thousand years ago. Or
a thousand years in the future. It has to speak for our time to our audiences.
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| Playwright L.E. McCullough, Ph.D. |
About the Playwright
L.E. McCullough, Ph.D. is a Pittsburgh journalist and
author of 52 books of fiction, non-fiction and plays, including 218 published
stage and script works performed at venues in the U.S., Canada, Europe,
Australia, Africa, Asia, Polynesia and the Middle East.
His commissions include plays on Galileo, World War II
journalist Ernie Pyle, 1920s jazz artist Charlie Davis, pharmacist Eli Lilly,
Catholic activist Dorothy Day, Mercy Hospital founder Frances Warde, President
Grover Cleveland, singer-heiress Libby Holman and, for the National
Constitution Center, a play on the U.S. Constitution.
He is the book writer for Orphan Train (lyrics-Michael
Barry Greer, music-Doug Katsaros), a featured presentation of the 2013 Grand
Central Terminal Centennial just published by Gitelman & Good.
From 1996-2000 Dr. McCullough was Administrative Director
of the Humanities Theatre Group, an Educational Theatre program at Indiana
University-Purdue University-Indianapolis where he specialized in designing
drama. education workshops for teachers and supervised a nationally touring
social-issue theatre company. He is a board member of Prime Stage Theatre,
Pittsburgh’s nationally acclaimed educational theatre company.
www.educationalclassroomplays.com.
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