Jonathan Berry


TS: What did you look for in casting the actors? What traits did you need? JB: With casting, all I’m ever really looking for is whether or not I believe the person is acting from a place of honesty. Once that’s established, I think about the needs of the play and the traits of the character – what qualities does an actor have, that the character also has? What is their energy, what is the vibe they give off coming through the door? Sometimes it is a physical thing – when we were casting Tommy and Jason, it was really important that the two people look like they could be brothers – so some physical similarities, and then also, the right age gap between them –as that relationship is crucial to the story telling. I will try to give everyone some kind of adjustment, to see if they are able to listen to and take direction. Also, if they are clearly a good actor who just has a different take on the character, I need to see if they can be flexible and have a willingness to try something else. Finally, I’m a big believer in intuition. Getting a read on what kind of person they are. The ethos of the room is really important to me, and a single person who is negative, or aggressive in a bad way, or is focused on the wrong thing can really turn a room quickly. I see it as putting together a team that has to work together – they need to be an ensemble, and I try to put people together who will be excited about working with each other.


TS: How will the play manifest itself visually? How are you collaborating with your design team? JB: The key word that we’ve been focusing on with the design is pressure – I see that the play happens from Jason’s perspective, so everything that the audience sees and responds to needs to be about supporting the feeling of Jason’s experience. Jason puts an incredible amount of pressure on himself to be successful, and he sees no room for error. He is also trying to keep clean and control an emotional experience that defies order. He says, of his experience, that all the color has drained out of his life, going from color to black and white. With the design, we’ve tried to create a space that feels a little blank, a white box that Jason has to manipulate to bring about the changes in scene to scene. Any changes in the space will be handled primarily by Jason, pushing one scene away, pulling another on. The design team has talked about the experience almost like a treadmill that keeps getting faster. It’s manageable at first, but as it speeds up, you have the breathless lack of control and danger of falling. The sound design will support that, and the lights and costumes are working in a limited


palate to create focus, isolation, and a sameness to the world. If we’re successful, your experience with the play should be one of pressure, of breathless increasing pace and finally, hopefully, one of release.


TS: What inspires you as a director? Do you see other directors’ work? Go to movies? Museums? Travel? JB: For me, I don’t have specific things that I do to recharge or to receive inspiration. I do see a lot of plays and love it when I see some kind of smart production idea that I’ve never seen before. But mostly, I try to find things that, while in process, make me think of the play. I find in trying to be open to that, if you’re lucky, the world suddenly becomes filled with things that reflect the play. It can be a piece of music, or an image, or a movie or newspaper article. I like photography a lot – both looking at and taking pictures. Particularly candid street photography – a photo that captures an honest moment, getting access to something that maybe should be private – I love collecting those – little life stories that inspire engagement. I try to just keep my eyes open. I see things all the time that I want to put on stage.


TS: We have a lot of young people participating in our education programs who want to direct. What would you say to a high school or middle school student who had those aspirations? JB: The most valuable thing for me, while directing, is my opinion. You are called on to make a lot of decisions and you need to know your point of view so you can have a clear response. So, at a young age, I’d actually practice having an opinion. When you read something, try to decide not just what you’ve read, but how you feel about what you’ve read. The other thing I’d say is that theater is a social medium – you are in response to the world you are living in – so at an early age, I’d cultivate an awareness of the world. Read the newspaper, pay attention to the events in your school, state, nation, world. And be wary of just repeating other people’s ideas. Try to stay interested in things outside the theater as well. Make yourself a citizen of the world. Theater, the best, most effective theater, is about illuminating commonalities between divergent people – bringing people together through shared experience. So I caution against isolating yourself too much – become a student of humanity, and find the commonality in people different from yourself. •


UPSTAGE SUICIDE, INCORPORATED 7


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