Hotel Suite
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Derek W. S. Shore
September 26, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Director / Co-Producer.
What type of theater do you like most to work on?
I really get a kick out of theater that takes us to a surreal world just to the side of normal. Where the audience can not only accept that the actors on stage are reliving an experience for them, but that maybe this bizarre situation could happen to you next.
Why do you do theater (as opposed to film, or TV, or something not in the entertainment field)?
With a live audience, you have a unique opportunity to not only break the 4th wall, but to make the audience forget it ever existed. A monster can crawl over you on their way to eat someone. You can get up and dance on stage while a performer smashes a panel of styrofoam and confetti over your head, just to have it washed away by real rain. You don't have to just watch someone else have an experience. You get to have one yourself.
Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
Room 128, part of Hotel Suite, has such a variety of performances in it, I think the audience will talk about it for days. From the implications of a door that should have been locked, to a crazed, axe-wielding woman who declares "I'm going home!", there's lots to digest. All this interspersed with incredibly funny performances make for a great night of "what would you have done?"
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
Surprising. With all the twists and turns of these 6 one acts, you won't know what hit you, or what's coming next! And come back for our other 2 shows, Bug and Fool for Love, and take a whole different trip through the lives of some very fascinating individuals!
Can theater bring about societal change? Why or why not?
Absolutely. One of my heroes was Augusto Boal. His performance experiments in Brazil gave people, who felt they had no voice of their own, safe outlets to begin dialogues with those who could enact change. Or through his interactive performances, he gave villagers in small towns an outlet to act out different solutions to problems they faced on a daily basis. And then based on what they saw, they were able to make informed decisions about how to deal with these injustices.
It's also a great way to present the other side of a story. It's easy to tune out when you watch a TV show about atrocities somewhere else, but when you watch them happen not 10 feet away from you, it's a lot harder to ignore.
