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Lions roars again
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A couple of months ago I posted my first rabidly (ooh - maybe bad word choice) enthusiastic article about the splendid play "Lions" by playwright Vince Melocchi that premiered last year to glowing reviews at Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice.
Then I find out that the play is being published by Samuel French. A huge honor, richly deserved. (See that article here.)
Now I learn that the play is back! by popular demand! It reopened at PRT in January and runs through the first weekend in May. So all of you great-theatre-experience-cherishing Angelenos out there who didn't have a chance before can see it now. How cool is that?
Recently I asked director Guillermo Cienfuegos (who also designed the production's stunningly naturalistic set), playwright Vince Melocchi and some of the cast about their experiences with and reflections on the creative adventure that has been, and now happily continues to be, this seminal production of "Lions." Here are some highlights of my interviews:
Q: (to director Guillermo Cienfuegos) When you first read it, what compelled you to want to work on the play? How did it speak to you as a director?
Cienfuegos: The play was actually only half written when I first read it. Still, the idea of the lives of the characters being juxtaposed with the Detroit Lions' 2007 season was a very interesting theatrical idea to me. But the more time Vince and I spent talking about the characers (mostly at Starbucks) the more profoundly I fell in love with them and had to be involved in telling their story. Vince wrote a hell of a play.
Q: As director, what was your biggest challenge?
Cienfuegos: Well, a cast of 13 strong-minded people is pretty challenging, particularly in creating a rehearsal schedule that accommodated everyone's specific needs. But time was the biggest challenge. There wasn't much of it. I felt the whole time like I was working over my head. With dramaturging and directing the play and designing the set and sound, it was a very labor intensive job done at a breakneck pace. Still, it became clear early on that there was something special about this play and these people at this point in time, and things that I was going for kept falling into place. These actors bought in(to it) and worked their asses off to get the job done, even when it seemed like it would never work. Matt McKenzie in particular had an enormous amount of material to learn and a huge journey to take, and what we did would not have been possible without him diving in so completely.
But even with all that collaboration and good faith and strong belief in what we were doing, the night before we opened the first workshop run of the show, I was convinced that "Lions" would represent my most ignominious failure. But it came together. And as the play continued to have life, we were able to keep discovering it and carving away to the heart of it. And it got stronger and tighter.
Q: The ensemble work is seamless and the dialogue seems totally spontaneous. How collaborative was the process behind this production?
Cienfuegos: The last two plays I directed were developed entirely through improvisation during a rehearsal process of several months. In this case, we had just three weeks. And three weeks of just evenings and weekends. So out of necessity I had to focus on getting the play on its feet quickly. That being said, I don't know how to work without games and improvisation and collaborating deeply with the actors and the playwright. I just try to set up the rules, create an environment for people to play in, then guide and select from the work that happens.
Playwright Vince Melocchi: It was very collaborative. I did TONS and TONS of rewrites, before and during rehearsals. Guillermo, my producer, Lisa Nichols, and all the actors actors were instrumental in this play being what is it.
Haskell V. Anderson III (Mike "Biscuit" Croissant): The surprise was the process. It was so easy, so conversational, folks just getting together and talking, getting to know each other. We talked about life, our history our growing up, our neighborhoods, our schools. We really got to know each other and we became a close knit family. We easily learned to take care of each other and we really do like each other. More than that---we love each other.
Cienfuegos: I'd just like to say that as closely as Vince and I worked on this piece, I didn't write a single word of this play. He created this thing and deserves all the credit that he has been receiving. I'm just glad that I could help bring it to life.
Q: What do you enjoy most, and what's the play's biggest reward for you?
Matt McKenzie (John "Spook" Waite): I enjoy the journey through this great arc of a character that Vince has written. Before each act I take a big breath and flash through all that is about to happen to me and I feel an exhilaration. Then the lights dim and we go on. It's a thrill I've only gotten a few times in my career. I think you only get it when playing the truly great roles.
Sarah Zinsser (Gail Finch): The fact that this character was written for me is huge. And makes it so cherished. Vince--whom I have known for over 20 years--pulled my picture and Matt's picture out of an envelope, and the title 'A Night of Lions,' and wrote that beautiful scene. The scene has morphed some naturally but it is basically the same. And that ten minutes was the starting point of the whole play! In the thousands of years that I have been fully engaged in the 99-cent theatre scene, nothing of that import has happened. I have been involved in lots of important and wonderful stuff but nothing quite meets the import of that. (Now the fact that he wrote a foul-mouthed spinster Packer fan is something I try not to think about! But at least I'm funny.)
My note: um, funny is not the half of it. You'll have trouble breathing.
Q: What has been the biggest challenge?
Valerie Dillman (Beth Waite): Finding Beth's core, getting down to that elemental strength that contains not once ounce of bullshit. It was also exciting. It's a daunting experience to try and fill the shoes of Vince's characters. They demand a lot. Beth demands a lot. What I like most about Beth is her courage and her strength. She's a bell ringer in this play and it's not an easy bell to ring. I like being able to come in and say what needs to be said, do what needs to be done, no matter how painful. Telling the truth in this play is painful. Fortunately Guillermo, our director, was there to make sure I got there. I trust him completely because he is a person who is passionate for the truth.
Matt McKenzie: Guillermo has been telling us to "make a mess." I think he means don't impose yourself on the play; let it come to you. That's hard to do. I want to be in control onstage but to attain that messy spontaneity he's looking for I've got to let go. I think I've been able to achieve it in fits and starts but it's something that I'm still working on.
Q: What do you think is the overall message of the play?
Valerie Dillman: The play is about surviving. The 10th Ward survives on hope and friendship. They have faith in each other.
Sarah Zinsser: I think the message is ultimately hopeful. But it is veiled, not hitting you over the head or tied with a bow.
Haskell V. Anderson III: Hope. There is a lot of that now. Redemption. We want that and we show that. Every character in the play gets a chance to have it. That is what this play is about. Folks who are beaten down but believe in the chance that life is going to be good again. We are telling folks that hope is never going to die, no matter what, because we have each other.
Cienfuegos: For me, the idea was to tell the truth about these people as it is. They did everything they were supposed to do. They believed in the American Dream and all the institutions that that entails, and they worked hard to hold up their end of it, never thinking that those institutions would let them down, that the country they literally built would come to glorify the bottom line and forget all about them. I don't know if it gives hope. What's hopeful is that they keep fighting. They get up every day and keep trying.
Matt McKenzie: I'm not sure the play is sending a message as much as it is issuing a call. I think it's a call to society in general and to all of us individually, to honor the promises we make to each other. Nation to citizen, employer to worker, husband to wife, friend to friend ... these relationships have explicit or implicit promises. The contract goes both ways. We are responsible to each other. That's what "Lions" says to me. I think that is eminently hopeful.
Q: Vince, what is the most gratifying element for you personally in the success of "Lions" ?
Vince Melocchi: Being able to create a work of art with some of the finest people on earth. I'm very, very lucky.
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