Marielle Heller, a professional actor, first came across this life-
changing book, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, when her sister gave it to her for Christmas, and decided the day
that she closed the cover, that she needed to find a way to translate this
story to the stage. She immediately picked up the phone and called the
publisher, almost reflexively. After many months of correspondence with
the publisher, the author (Phoebe Gloeckner), and her literary agent,
Marielle turned in a lengthy “theatrical adaptation proposal” outlining her
ideas for a stage production. The rights for this book have never been
granted to anyone before, and the agent warned her that it was unlikely
they would be granted in this case. Due to the highly personal subject
matter, and delicate themes in the book, the rights have always been
carefully guarded. They were waiting for the right collaboration to come
around. After reading Marielle’s proposal, the author and agent
granted her the exclusive theatrical adaptation rights to
the book.
Phoebe Gloeckner’s work is widely distributed, and published
internationally. She is highly regarded in the underground comic scene,
and her artwork shows at Museums and Galleries frequently. However,
her work is almost always controversial and has been blocked from
entering certain countries at the border, and banned from public libraries,
being called “a how-to manual for pedophiles”. Needless to say, an
adaptation of her work will carry with it the intrigue and controversy that
surrounds her name.
Working with Rachel Eckerling, formerly of Francis Ford Coppola’s
American Zoetrope, Marielle began conceiving the adaptation of
Gloeckner’s book. The challenge was for Marielle to write a mixed medium
theater piece incorporating the artwork from the book, filmed sequences,
and starkly intimate theatrical scenes. And that was no small task.
Marielle and Rachel called in the talent of Sarah Cameron Sunde,
Associate Director of New Georges, and Co-Artistic Director of Oslo
Elsewhere to co-direct with Rachel and help develop the work. Under the
mentorship of Tony Taccone, artistic director of Berkeley Rep, the three
women have been working intensely on the development of the script.