by Mary Couzens

An interview by Mary Couzens for EXTRA! EXTRA!

a Line & BR) 

Mary: Why did you choose to direct The Lightning Field in the first place Jared?  What attracted you to this play?

Jared: Well, David Ozanich (playwright), Cory Grant (played “Andy” in NY and is the Co-Artistic Director at BNY), H Ryan Clark (plays “Sam”) and I all went to NYU undergrad together.  That’s where the story starts.  J  We had all graduated and just finished making our first feature film together in the summer of 2003 entitled SEX FARCE (produced by BNY) which was written by David and starred myself, H, and Cory.  David had also at the time been accepted to the NYU MFA Dramatic Writing Program.  So… while David was in school, he began writing scenes about a gay couple who go on a pilgrimage to The Lightning Field.  I was a resident director at the NYU MFA DWP and began working with David in scene class to rehearse and develop what would later become the play you saw entitled The Lightning Field.  Oh… and I should also mention that Cory and H were the actors who work-shopped the play with David and I the entire two years of his MFA cycle.  So we have all been with the material since its inception, grown with it, changed with it, seen it in many incarnations, and now we are bringing it to London.  So, to answer your question more directly… I guess it was the collaborators that first drew me in.  We all work together a lot, and I get a tremendous amount of artistic satisfaction working with this crew.

Mary: How did the play come to be co-produced with the Oval House Theatre, in London? How did the relationship between the New York company – Banner New York and their London Associate Producers, Shamelessboyz come about?

Jared: That’s a two part question.  I’ll start with Shamelessboyz… The Managing Director of BNY, Jared Fine, had a working relationship with Peter Bull from Shamelessboyz.  Peter has brought a lot of his work to the States, and I had even met Peter briefly during Fringe NYC 2005 when The Lightning Field and Seduction were both playing.  Jared Fine and Peter had wanted to work together on something for some time and when Oval came to BNY with the opportunity to co-produce together in London, we felt this was the perfect opportunity for BNY and Shameless to collaborate as well.  Let me just take a moment to say: Peter Bull is amazing.  He has such a passion for theatre, and he really has his finger on the pulse of the gay theatre community.  He has done a terrific job of helping TLF find an audience in London.  He has also been a huge asset in helping BNY with issues of housing the NY actors and hiring local talent to crew and SM the show… not to mention pointing me in the right direction of which tube will take me home at the end of the night. J
As for Oval… they had a slot in their season.  BNY was in a position where we could produce it in accordance with their timeline.  And we went for it.  Everything just fell into place.  I believe Oval had heard about the play years earlier when it premiered at Fringe NYC.  The Oval House is an important institution.  They are building community around the work they produce.  The facility itself is more of a compound for artistry than just a theatre.  The staff is very skilled, very passionate, and very patient.  It was a pleasure being in their home.  They made us feel very welcome.

H. Ryan Clark and Rightor Doyle as Sam and Andy in The Lightning Field

Mary: I think one of the most wonderful things about The Lightning Field is the way it expresses the universality of light and dark aspects in love relationships, without over emphasising anything irrelevant to being in love, such as, in the case of this play, sexual preference.  I can't think of anything else I've seen in recent years, apart from possibly the film, Brokeback Mountain that gets that idea across so effectively.  What are your thoughts on that Jared?

Jared: Y’know, Brokeback and TLF both won GLAAD Awards the same year in 2005.  David, Cory, and I went.  We saw Ang Lee give a speech.  It was a pretty cool night.  I got a free Tommy Hilfiger bag and some tube socks.

Mary: I see De Maria’s artwork – ‘The Lightning Field’ as a metaphor for both the volatile aspects of us and the triggers that can set them off and the aspects we're attracted to/repelled by in ourselves and each other.  What relevance do you think the artwork has in conjunction with the themes of the play, as you view them?

Jared: The funny thing about the actual Lightning Field is that lightning doesn’t strike that often.  It’s a pretty peaceful place.  But every now and again, a storm will blow through… and I think people are that way too, for the most part.  And in my relationships with people, sometimes I can see their storm brewing, and sometimes I want to get as far away from them as possible… but other times, I want to be right in the path of fury.  I think all the characters in the play struggle with this dilemma.

Bekka Lindstrom as Lori in The Lightning Field

Mary: For me, another impressive thing about this production is the way it manages to exude such strength despite the fact that there is hardly any set to speak of, apart from a couple of folding chairs and a single steel pole which, under your direction, signifies the presence of the entire mile long field of 400.  How challenging was it for you, helping the actors get across the presence and the ideas the artwork suggests and how much of what they did in terms of physicality was already written into the stage directions?

Jared: Very little of the staging is written in the stage directions, though it was always David’s intention that the play be staged around a single pole.  I believe strongly in the power of minimalism, and with such a minimal scenic design every detail of movement, every gesture, every spatial arrangement of bodies is brought into focus. Composition becomes critical to articulating the emotional landscape of the characters moment by moment.  I think of staging as dance.  The right staging will free the actor to be full - moment to moment, night after night.  Throughout the course of the rehearsal process, I work with the actors to find the right choice for every beat in the play.  Everything is a choice.  Nothing is arbitrary.

Mary: You're also a playwright and author as well as a director and producer, and you usually create the sound design for most of your creative projects.  Which medium(s) do you prefer, or do you enjoy combining them?

Jared: Oh, I love’m all.  But, god help me, directing is what I love.  It is what I was put here to do.

Mary: After the Press Night performance at the Oval House, someone referred to you as ‘the next Orson Wells’! Who are your directorial influences? 

Jared: Just because I’m 6’2, 275 lbs, and a director with a severe alcohol problem… that doesn’t make me the next Orson Wells.  I’m so sick of people telling me that.  As for my influences… I’m inspired by the people I work with, and there is no better influence than experience.

Mary: I’d like to see this production transfer into London's West End, into one of its more intimate, but accessible theatres, such as Trafalgar Studios, or New Ambassadors, where I believe it could have a very successful run. But maybe that's just me, dreaming of the day that fringe theatre here proves that it's often more valid than large scale West End productions! 
In my opinion, I believe fringe theatre in general tends to be undervalued here, in London, which doesn't seem to be the case at all in NYC!
Could you comment on what you see as those differences in appreciation levels? Are there any plans in the works to take this production of The Lightning Field on tour, possibly across the U.S.A. via festivals perhaps, and then, through Europe? Is there any chance of it transferring from off-off Broadway to Broadway itself?

Jared: Personally, I’d like TLF to transfer to the West End too.  I think my entire team will happily entertain that idea.  And yes, there is a lot of talk of potential future productions in the UK and back here in the States.  Time will tell what the future holds. 
As for theatre appreciation… What drew me into the theatre as a kid was the catharsis: Going into a dark room filled with other people and sharing an intensely emotional experience.  I think a lot of contemporary theatre has lost sight of that, and I think TLF delivers exactly that.

Mary: How easy/difficult is it getting a play staged in London, as opposed to New York?  Could you talk about what's involved in that process a little Jared?

Jared: This play was made to travel.  It is a small cast with no set.  It’s all about the writing, acting, directing, and design.  So, creatively it was fun and easy.  This is my first time producing overseas, and there are plenty of challenges to be had there.  All of which were overcome (so far).

Mary: I, for one would like to see more of a give and take in terms of London, and New York exchanging fringe productions, with their original casts intact! What do you think the chances of something like that happening are Jared?

Jared: Sure!  We American’s LOVE to hear British accents.  So sexy.  Come on over!

Mary: The original New York production of The Lightning Field, which you also directed, was honoured with a couple of prestigious awards in New York, Best Fringe Play of 2005 and GLADD Best Off-Off Broadway play– in the same year.  Did the awards come as a surprise? Why do you think the play was so popular?

Jared: Totally surprise.  The play struck a chord with the gay community, and also the theatre community.  I think it is the first play to tackle a gay relationship and the issue of gay marriage from an honest, sincere perspective.  The play, from a mathematically point of view, has all the elements intrinsic to basic good drama.  AND – its 75 minutes!  Americans love a quick thrill ride.

Mary: Is there any project that you've always wanted to become involved in that you haven't been able to yet, one that would, perhaps fulfil a long-standing dream?  Doesn't have to be related to anything you've already done, though you seem to have covered loads of ground already in terms of dabbling in genres/mediums!

Jared: My next project, which is the love of my life, is CUTMAN a boxing musical which I wrote with Cory Grant.  The music is by Drew Brody (who wrote and performed all the original music for TLF).  The play premiered at the NYMF (New York Musical Theatre Festival) a few months ago and we are working on a full scale production now.  CUTMAN is the only thing I want to do next.  I honestly can’t see past it.  So, keep your eyes peeled London.

Mary: Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to our readers.  We recommend that each and every one of them go to the Oval House to see The Lightning Field ASAP!

Jared: Please!  I only have ten friends in London and they’ve all seen TLF three times already!  Thanks for the opportunity to dialogue about the play.

Tickets £12 / £6 concessions, (including Refugee Community Organisations)
Address: 52-54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW
Transport: Oval Tube (1 min, Northern Line), Vauxhall (15 min, Victoria Line & BR)
                               

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