Best known for penning American Beauty and creating Six Feet Under and True Blood, Alan Ball’s roots actually lie in theater. East West Theater revives his uproarious 1993 Southern comedy where five unlikely bridesmaids are brought together for a wedding. Despite their different archetypes (rebel, housewife, klutz, church girl, free spirit), they share one thing in common – they can’t stand the bride. Throw in one bad-boy usher and a dash of wedding drama for what promises to be a hilarious and quick-witted show. Direcotr David Johansson (Rosemary's Baby, Almost, Maine) gives us a preview of the show
Congratulations on the new show. Could you give us a bit of a description of Five Women?
The play takes place during the afternoon of a big wedding reception. Five bridesmaids take refuge from the overbearing festivities and begin an ongoing conversation about food, love, family, religion, barfing, sex, Miss America pageants, wing-tip shoes and basically everything else under the sun. As we learn more about them, one thing becomes clear; none of the bridesmaids can stand the bride.
Why you decided to direct it?
The main reason I wanted to direct Five Women Wearing the Same Dress was because each character had really funny personalities and expressed such a vast array of different emotions. The play has a great pace, is lighthearted and has a lot of charm, but also digs through deeper topics about current issues regarding sexuality, gender roles, class structures and relationships in general.
How does this work differ from Alan Ball's more famed works and what are some of the qualities in this show that people will recognize?
It is clear that Alan Ball excels at writing brilliant dialogue. All his TV and film work is rich with witty exchanges and tense dramatic moments. And as most great writers do, he seems to truly understand how different mediums should be handled. Five Women is very different from American Beauty simply because it is a play, not a movie. Since it is a play, Ball focused more on making the dialogue and drama as sincere as possible rather than trying to needlessly infuse some epic arch or overly poetic moments into the story. What we are left with is a piece that feels like it has just revealed an honest little slice of these people's lives. What happens afterwards is anybody's guess, but during the play we feel like we are a part of the their lives.
Do the women in the show transcend their archetypes?
Absolutely, every woman in the play is based on an archetype, but we quickly realize that each one of them is full of interesting thoughts, grand ideas, terrible doubts, hilarious outbursts and closely guarded secrets. Every character transcends their archetype, without a doubt. Our assistant director, Charlotte Steiner, has very been helpful with finding out ways to bring the most out of every character. She has a lot of talent when it comes to both directing and getting things done. This is the first time I decided to work with an assistant director and this has definitely paid off since I am learning a lot from Charlotte's insights. It will be very interesting to see what project she decides to direct next.
The cast is quiet experienced. Could you talk about some of the actors and actresses involved?
The cast for this show is really something. I've worked with about half of them before. Cecilia Garcia played the lead role in 2013's Rock On and we had been trying to find a project to collaborate on ever since then. She has one of the more challenging parts and is doing an amazing job so far. I worked with Violet Mount on the Moliere show we did last summer. She plays an exasperated, sex-starved housewife, by far the funniest character in the play. The three remaining women, Emma Chandler, Emma Merritt, and Janet Hwa were all part of last October's Cabaret show directed by Dave Earl. Though they were a bit disheartened that this show wasn't a musical as well, they immediately signed up for this project and are having a lot of fun bringing their respective characters to life.
Jerome Mazet was also a part of the Moliere show and plays the only male part. A French native, Jerome has quickly grown as an actor and is currently involved in several plays, both in English and French. I've never worked with an actor more dedicated than him. He usually knows his lines one or two weeks into rehearsal! Though to be fair, the girls had much more text to learn in this play...
What's your funniest wedding story?
A Swedish friend of mine got married in California a few years ago. Though they were in a relationship at the time, it was still very much a 'greencard' wedding if you know what I mean. That said, my friend still wanted it to be a nice, romantic affair so she got a big group of friends together and hosted a real ceremony with all the drama that follows. Because her family wasn't there, it was decided that I would be leading the bride down the aisle to her groom-to-be. Needless to say I gladly accepted and played the role of proud father that entire day to perfection. Awkward speeches, pompous handshakes and a little too much champagne followed for the remainder of the day. Of course the marriage lasted less than year, but that doesn't really matter, we still had a great time!
You’re becoming a bit of a Shanghai theater veteran. What are your thoughts on the city’s theater community and do you find that it's growing?
The Shanghai audience is really amazing! It's hard for me to say whether appetite for new plays has actually grown or not, but a wonderful thing that has happened this spring is that a lot of artists have decided to put on more shows and they have been very well-received. So maybe it isn't that the audience is growing, but that the theater scene itself is finally catching up to demand. I've heard some talk that "maybe there are too many shows" but I disagree. More shows will lead to a more demanding audience, which in turn will lead to better shows.
Any shows you’ve recently enjoyed?
Little Shop of Horrors was a blast! I heard very good things about Oz, although I didn’t have a chance to see it. I’m curious to see how Urban Aphrodite produces Fight Club and East West Theatre will be doing Heroes later in May.
What are some of the biggest challenges that people involved in the city’s English language theater scene faces and if there’s anything you could improve, what would it be?
Needless to say, every show comes with a very diverse set of logistical issues and drama, so keeping your head cool and solving one problem at a time becomes extremely important. Main challenges usually involve venue availability. Some places can be very expensive and we often don't get enough time in the space prior to opening. That said, I firmly believe that what makes directing such a special endeavor is that every challenge becomes an opportunity to find a creative solution to that problem. If plays were easy to create, we would be left with some very boring theater.
Following this show, is there any projects that you’re working on that you could give us a preview?
A few projects are currently being prepped and will gain steam after Five Women closes. I've wanted to direct a play in French for a long time now and am happy to announce that I will be directing my first one this coming Christmas. The English title translates to something like Santa Clause is a Scumbag. It is an iconic cult comedy that everyone in France remembers fondly. Hopefully this is something that the 22,000 French expats in Shanghai can look forward to!
I am also writing my own material for original plays and musicals in collaboration with others. I really believe that the next logical step in the growth of Shanghai theater is for more original work to find its way to audiences. I think we will be seeing a lot more of that stuff coming out in the next year.
In the long term, I am very interested in finding ways to combine live theater with the world of mobile games. Having spent the last year working for a gaming company, I believe there are lots of ways to add audience interaction to shows by giving them the power to influence the events they see unfold in front of them. But this one is way farther down the road, for now I'll just focus on making every show I'm part of as good as possible!
Is there anything you would like to add?
I really hope people come out to see this show. The performances are some of the best I've seen in Shanghai in my two years here. I feel honored to be working with such a talented cast and think that as many as possible should come see them. I also hope that more people will get out of their comfort zones and audition for upcoming shows! As the number of shows have grown, so has the demand for great actors and crews. Directing and acting in shows for both East West and Urban Aphrodite has been an extremely rewarding experience and I hope that more enthusiastic people will join this buzzing scene that we are cultivating. Without a constant influx of new people, maintaining a healthy theater community becomes impossible, so don't be afraid to take part!
// Apr 23-26, 8pm (Thurs-Sat) and 5pm (Sat-Sun). RMB150-180. Strictly Designers, see event listing.
*********WIN!!!!*************
We have a pair of tickets to give away. Simply e-mail win@urbanatomy.com with the subject 'Five Women' by April 22
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