New Drama on the Freud & Jung Affair

Freud & Jung Revealed!
SECRETS
Staged Readings Begin May 18^th

What are your secrets? Hidden agendas? Closet tendencies? These were the striking and delicate areas of concern for Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, two Masterminds of 20^th Century thought. In a relationship that lasted from 1907 through 1913, these two men formed the theories and principles for modern psychoanalysis, becoming partners, collaborators and investigators of the mind and soul. Freud and Jung are known for having been pioneers in their field, additionally influencing the course of art, music, and literature, but few are aware of the intimate personal relationship they shared.

SECRETS: The Sigmund Freud – Carl Jung Affair written by Ken Wydro (Mama, I Want to Sing) dramatizes the intricate conflicts that engaged these giants during their six year encounter when they wrote each other nearly one thousand letters beyond their face to face meetings. Beginning on May 18th, a series of four readings will be given for SECRETS that invite interested or curious producers and theatre industry professionals to get a peek into the fascinating private lives of Freud and Jung as this play moves toward commercial production.

SECRETS starts at the point the two men first meet at Freud’s home and office in Vienna. Already established as an innovator in medicine, whose theories of the unconscious mind freed people from the fate of mental institutions, Freud was high-minded about the changes he introduced. As a researcher at the famed Burgholzli clinic in Switzerland, Jung was also seeking new methods of curing patients, and his youth combined with his commitment and enthusiasm for ground-breaking techniques won Freud over. They embarked on a collaboration so mesmerizing for Jung, that he began to fear homosexual feelings toward father figure, Freud. The turning point in their collaboration came when the pair, along with another associate, Sandor Ferenczi, accepted an invitation to lecture in America in 1909. While instrumental in securing the popularity of the movement they advocated, this trip also marked the erosion of their all consuming bond. Jung began to challenge Freud’s authority so publicly that even the entreaties of Jung’s ever constant wife Emma couldn’t seem to win back his confidence. Jung’s interest also started to stray toward his beautiful patient and paramour, Antonia Wolff, signifying another shift in his preoccupations. Realizing all of their many differences and succumbing to the judgements of colleagues like Ferenczi, the pressure on Freud mounted to break off his relationship with Jung entirely, a decision that eventually sent each of them plunging into their private despair.

For your consideration, SECRETS is a compelling play that is worthy of a Broadway production with star vehicle roles and passionate supporting parts for Emma Jung and Antonia Wolff, Jung’s mistress and partner for forty years. Continually surprising, intellectually stimulating and emotionally appealing, SECRETS offers a rich tapestry of layered relationships that express the needs, drives and passions of all its characters. Their interplay leads to a heart wrenching climax that was both inevitable and necessary for Freud and Jung to achieve their respective statures.

SECRETS will be presented by Vy Higginsen and Ken Wydro, seasoned off-Broadway and Broadway producers who have twenty five years of experience in creating, marketing and promoting shows. They are seeking interested and resourceful partners for this project which could also be promising for touring productions, especially in Europe and Israel.

SECRETS’ driving force; author, director and co-producer, Ken Wydro was the author/lyricist, director and co-producer of the Mama, I Want to Sing trilogy which played for more than eight years in New York, toured across the USA, Europe and Japan and had a successful run on London’s West End. Working with playwright August Wilson and director Lloyd Richards, Ken co-produced the Tony-nominated drama Joe Turner’s Come and Gone on Broadway. He is the author of four books and a professional public speaker.

Stage readings for SECRETS will take place on

Thursdays May 18^th, 25^th and June 8^th

at The Mama Foundation (149 W 126^th Street between Lenox and 7^th Avenues: 2 or 3 train to 125^th Street) at 7:00PM. A special reading on Wednesday May 24^th will be presented at the Jung Foundation (28 E 39^th Street between Madison and Park—Bertine Auditorium) at 8PM. All readings are one hour. Admission is free. Guests are invited for a Talk-Back after each reading.

For reservations and further information call
(212) 280-1045 or send e-mail to secrets.freudandjung@gmail.com.

SECRETS: You’ll want to know what they’re all about!