Theatre

“Drama is exposure; it is confrontation; it is contradiction and it leads to analysis, construction, recognition, and eventually to an awakening of understanding.”
— Peter Brook

Theatre is my first love. The rehearsals, the performances, everything. There’s something special about a bunch of people sitting in the small (preferably) theatre and sharing a living experience watching people right in front of them pretend to be someone else. It’s the ultimate form of storytelling. When a production is operating on all cylinders magic happens every night. Below are some of the plays that have been burned into my psyche.

  • AWAKE AND SING! by Clifford Odets

    I think it was around 2005 and Timeline Theatre in Chicago had a production of AWAKE AND SING! that blew me away. The performances, the staging, the lighting, the music, and, of course, Mr Clifford Odets’ beautiful story about a family confronted with the economic hardships and the stress it places on the relationships between family members. Absolutely magnificent performances. I think I bought the collected plays of Odets the next day and read them hundreds of times over.

  • PLAY by Samuel Beckett

    At a certain point I’m going to list every Beckett play, short story, and novel as an inspiration. This one stands out to me because it’s the first play of his I really understood. Godot is timeless. Endgame is a masterpiece. But this short play, I think, encapsulates the horror and comedy that is the human experience. At times depressing, at other times funny, this short play shocks the audience with the realization that our lives are nothing but an exercise in play.

  • MAJOR BARBARA by George Bernard Shaw

    Shaw is the first playwright, in fact I think he’s the first writer, who I learned that a story could be about something - an idea, a philosophy, and perspective on life. I was a huge Shaw fan when I was in college and did my best to read all of his plays. This is the one that sticks out to me the most. The conflict between tainted money and money that is pure with intent is a conversation that I believe will always be contemporary. The Undershafts represent the chasm between the idealism of youth and pragmatism of the older generation.

  • EURYDICE by Sarah Ruhl

    For my money Sarah Ruhl is the best contemporary playwright and writer working today. Her prose is poetic, light, delicate, yet the themes are aggressive, dangerous, and at times violent. Ruhl’s interpretation of the myth is fresh, imaginative, and thought-provoking. For me it’s a lesson in artistic choice and courage when adapting pre-existing material. Ruhl shows an artist what it means to adapt something and make it your own.

  • OUR TOWN by Thorton Wilder

    This is cliche to say, but I can’t think of any playwright of the 20th century that was more imaginative and forward-thinking as Thorton Wilder. Yes, OUR TOWN is the darling of high school productions, but when placed lovingly in the hands of professionals, this play can be pure magic - direct, endearing, and humbling. Like Beckett, Wilder has had a massive impact on what it means to push my limits creatively and seemingly selfishly while attending to the universal aspects of the human condition and experience that we all share.