University Theatre presents Will Eno’s “Middletown” this November in the Howell Theatre. Performances are Nov. 14-15 and 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 17 and 24 at 2 p.m.
“Middletown,” by Will Eno, is a play directed by Joshua Waterstone, in fulfillment of his MFA in Directing for Stage and Screen at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“It’s a poetic, touching, and humorous play,” Waterstone said. “It explores the compact universe of a small, American town.”
As a friendship develops between longtime resident John Dodge and new arrival Mary Swanson, the lives of the inhabitants of Middletown intersect in strange and poignant ways in a journey that takes them from the local library to outer space and points between.
“Will Eno has been called a Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation,” Waterstone said. “Like Samuel Beckett, he explores existentialism and a search for meaning. ‘Middletown’ could be described as a meditation of birth and death and the lives shining bright in between, or what we do in between those two great mysteries of existence. In between the big questions is our life.”
Waterstone is working with a cast of 12, which play 22 parts. Part of his challenge is to make the metaphysics and philosophical exploration active and present.
“We aim to keep the play in the present. To keep it active for the audience and engaging and hopefully participatory in ways, as well,” Waterstone said.
One of the requirements was to incorporate projections and new media into the play.
“I felt this posed a challenge with ‘Middletown’ that exited me and also scared me,” he said. “The fact that it is such a deep play, that I don’t want to take away from the writing, the poetry, the wit and words and the fact that upon first reading this play I wasn’t sure how to incorporate the new media.”
Sky and earth are an important part of “Middletown.”
“So we’re incorporating filmed skyscapes, as well as other projection surprises,” he said. “The skyscapes are going to be in real time that have been filmed at different times of the day around Lincoln. When I think of Lincoln I think of the skyscapes here, they are a big part of life here, and that’s incorporated into the set.”
He recommends the audience come in with an open mind.
“It’s a contemporary play, but it also explores deep questions, and the characters don’t lie,” Waterstone said. “They very much get to the core of issues with each other. When writing this play, Will Eno said ‘I want to write a play that, to me, showed life as I know it. The feeling I have from living.’ So go in and see if you recognize a bit of your own life.”
Waterstone said his experiences in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film have greatly strengthened him as a director of both theatre and film. He had the opportunity to work alongside Hollywood Director Donald Petrie (“Grumpy Old Men,” “Mystic Pizza” and “Miss Congeniality”) on the Carson Film Series film, “Digs.” He also directed a short film last fall and is gearing up for one slated for production in the spring and is currently spending his elective class credits to learn additional skills in post-production and visual effects.
“I’m learning how to create the magic of film through the applications,” Waterstone said. “Applications such as Adobe After Effects, Photoshop and Mad Mapper open up a huge arena of possibilities that can also feed my theatrical side, because I know what’s possible in technology. If I wanted to direct Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest,’ and create a floating sprite as Prospero’s slave Ariel wisping across a part of the set and capable of flying up to the ceiling, I could do it digitally, which is fantastic.”
Waterstone has applied for a Fulbright grant to direct a site-specific play in Singapore exploring “Memory and Space.” He has also applied for grants through the Theatre Communications Group and the Dramatist League for other directing opportunities.
“I’m also looking for an observership grant, where you can basically observe a renowned director and assistant direct on a production with them to gain more experience and connections.” he said.
Waterstone, who is from Atlanta, Ga., was chosen by the Carson School to serve as the Artistic Director for Theatrix, the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film’s student-run theatre company, throughout his graduate career. In 2012, he directed and produced with Theatrix Sarah Ruhl’s comedy “Melancholy Play,” which was chosen out of 70 productions entered to remount in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V. “Melancholy Play” received awards in directing, lighting design and a national best actress award.
He recently produced and directed the short film, “Cubicle Life” by Micah Kafka, which received a Creative Project grant from the Lincoln Arts Council and received fiscal sponsorship from Nebraska Independent Film Projects, a Nebby Award for best sound design and was invited to the UFVA international film conference.
His experience as Artistic Director of Theatrix has given him a lot of experience with production.
“Artistic directing is something that I enjoy. It’s really been fostered here for me. It is a skill that I most likely would not have received in another program and something I’d be very interested in applying for, either through starting my own theatre company or applying to a position of Artistic Director at an already established company,” Waterstone said. “My dream job would be I’m a Producing-Artistic Director at a theatre that has a core-company of actors. I get to teach theatre and film classes as an assistant professor at a university, and I travel nationally and internationally directing. I would love that.”
Tickets for “Middletown” are $16 general, $14 faculty/staff and senior citizens and $10 for students and are available through the Lied Center Box Office at (402) 472-4747 or (800) 432-3231. Tickets are also available online at http://go.unl.edu/carsontix and one hour prior to the performances in the Temple Lobby.