'Around the world' with Patrick Holland

Chris Klpatek as Passepartout; Photo by Tom Fritz Studios, Inc.

When you think of a successful theatre director, the image of Patrick Holland is probably not what comes to mind. With his curly black hair, casual pocket shirt and friendly demeanor, he does not resemble the stereotypical stage veteran. When he talks about his work, however, the young director is professional to a T, versed, energetic and billowing with confidence. He speaks eloquently, well beyond the number of years he’s been alive and working professionally as a writer, actor, and director in Wisconsin theatre.

Holland has been involved in all aspects of Bunny Gumbo’s Combat Theatre and has participated in the Madison 48 hour Film Festival with fellow Combat writer Anthony Wood. Moreover, he has directed two previous Milwaukee Chamber Theatre shows, Take Me Out and Crime and Punishment. Holland says his brimming youth has been an advantage to him, allowing him to imbue his staged productions with creative ideas and alternative solutions that give them wide appeal to a diverse range of theatregoers.

His latest staging is a unique production of Around the World in 80 Days at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. This on-the-nose titled story follows the adventure of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout as they attempt to circle the globe in just 80 days. In this fairly new adaptation by Mark Brown of the Jules Verne classic, five actors portray an endurance testing 39 characters over seven continents. The preview performance is tonight with the official opening tomorrow in the Cabot Theatre of Milwaukee’s Broadway Theatre Center. Around the World in 80 Days officially starts Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's 35th anniversay season and the 2009 - 2010 regular Milwaukee theatre season.

Born in South Carolina, Holland resided there for about 15 years before his father the architect, his mother the nurse, and he, moved to New Orleans. Attending school in South Carolina he began studying journalism while also participating in a lot of acting at the theatre department. Quickly realizing where his passion was, Holland changed his major to theatre.

Through an association the University of South Carolina has with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater Holland was able to get an internship there after graduation in 1997. After the internship and looking over the shoulders of Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan, Holland moved on to other directing fare. His name followed ‘Directed by’ for shows in the Brumdner Mansion, Bunny Gumbo’s Combat Theatre, and Bialystock and Bloom, before being approached by Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Producing Artistic Director C. Michael Wright about directing Take Me Out.

When asked if he considers himself mostly an actor, writer, or director, Holland states "director" without the slightest hesitation. His influences include his high school theatre director who staged many Shel Silverstein productions. Holland speaks highly of South Carolina’s Trustus Theatre, finding many exciting opportunities there to sharpen his theatre teeth. He also mentions film directors Wes Anderson and Michel Gondry as making a significant impact on his work. Curiously, his father’s architecture skills seems to have had an indirect influence, making a connection between the visuals of architecture and orchestrating a visual stage production.

Asked to describe his directing style Holland says, "I challenge myself to find something unique within the story but not impose on top of it. So I’m not going to put The Tempest on Gilligan’s Island." Holland transitions into his current production, "For Around the World the 80 Days there’s been all this marketing with it being Steampunk and stuff, but we didn’t set out to do that. We set out to just present what the story is about. It’s about a guy going around the world and how is he going to do it."

This simplistic approach fits nicely into the concept of Milwaukee Chamber’s Theatre's production. The logistic story elements raise some obvious questions. How are they going to do a train or an elephant or boat or a balloon– oh wait. There’s no balloon. The Verne classic actually has no balloon and neither does the play adaptation. (Fault the 1950's David Niven movie for adding that element.) The Steampunk concept, (Steampunk being the artistic movement that combines the Victorian era with modern technology), came out of Holland and the production team asking themselves ‘How are we going to do it?’ The result that audiences will see, states Holland, has a whimsy and charm about it, like stagehands controlling a scroll upstage to depict a moving train.

Holland expresses genuine surprise at how funny the production is and presents a complete lack of arrogance when he states how well the show works. Five actors, many of them playing multiple rolls, all coalesce into very satisfying entertainment. Says Holland, "[This is] a different kind of production for Chamber. Within one page you can be in Yokohama, Japan and half a page later you're sailing the Pacific, and then three lines later you're in San Francisco, and you have to make it all work. And I think that’s just really cool for the audience to see, how we can make it all work, and how we come up with some really fun and creative solutions for it."

With quite a few productions now under his belt Holland has learned patience and how to choose the projects that he personally connects to. He has learned how to organize and schedule and how to compromise and work creatively within budgetary constraints. He loves coming up with creative and interesting solutions to challenges presented by any given show.

No rest for the talented, the day after 80 Days opens Holland is moving on to an assistant director position for a show at Chicago’s prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre called Fake, written by and to be directed by Eric Simonson. Although he states no particular affinity for literature adaptations, they seem prominent on his resume, hence his next directing project will be heading back to Wisconsin to direct a children’s show called Lilly’s Plastic Purple Purse for Madison Children's Theatre. Beyond that he will be lending his multifaceted theatrical skills to Bunny Gumbo for more Combat Theatre.

Around the World in 80 Days will preview tonight at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre with the official opening tomorrow. The cast includes Matt Daniels as Phileas Fogg, Marti Gobel as Aouda, Chris Klopatek as Passepartout, Norman Moses in multiple roles, and Robert Spencer as Detective Fix. For ticket information call 414.291.7800 or visit www.milwaukeechambertheatre.com