In honor of Women's History Month, the Arena Dinner Theatre's current production is an offbeat play, written in 2009 by Sarah Ruhl called In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play).
Set in the dawning era of electricity in a seemingly perfect well-to-do Victorian home, six lonely people seek help from a local doctor with a strange new technology. Despite this scientific advance, what they really need is intimacy.
The piece, deemed a quietly subversive comedy by the critics, is a Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist, known for its witty dialog and exploration of the uneasy intersection of science, sexuality and emotional repression.
Here WBOI's Julia Meek sits down with director Emily Arata to discuss the fine points of presenting a play this bold and what she hopes theater goers will take away with them when they leave.
Event Information:
March 20-21, 27- 28
Doors open at 6:15 p.m.
Dinner service at 6:45 p.m.
Performance at 7:30 p.m.
March 22
Doors open at 12:45 p.m.
Dinner service at 1:15 p.m.
For tickets and more information visit the Arena Dinner Theatre website.
This is a transcript of our conversation:
Julia Meek: Emily Arata, welcome.
Emily Arata: Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
Julia Meek: Your show is a bold and very offbeat offering for Women's History Month, equal parts comedy, drama and social commentary on attitudes in the Victorian era plus the dawn of the crazy electrical age.
Very briefly, what is it like to direct such a piece?
Emily Arata: Oh, it's fascinating. It's so interesting.
Julia Meek: A lot there that you're sharing with the community and to absorb it yourself, it must be really something.
Would you give us as short a possible of a storyline, please, for quite a clever and complicated little story, granted,.
Emily Arata: [chuckles] At its core, it is the story of a doctor who has invented a vibrating instrument to cure women of hysteria.
And his interactions with his wife, who has just given birth and is struggling with motherhood and struggling with feeling understood.
Julia Meek: There is quite a loaded theatrical gun, you might say, to put on that stage, [Emily chuckles] and now it is a Tony Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist, also known for not only everything you said,
but the witty dialog, the exploration of especially the female experience. What's your take on the impact of such a project, and especially putting such a project right here in Fort Wayne?
Emily Arata: Well, the writing is beautiful and clever, and I think it really lends itself to making this just a very artistic piece in general. First of all, the writing is really beautiful.
And I think it really paints a beautiful picture of these relationships and these people and how they interact with each other. I think the impact is widespread.
I think because the writing is so smart, there are so many different issues woven into the story. So we have Mrs. Givings, who is struggling with new motherhood. We have American and, who is African American, and is dealing with the loss of her own son.
We have a visitor to the house who is British and artistic and he's the antithesis of all of the Victorian, you know, conservatism, but he is sort of shocking to all of them and sort of pushes them to think in different directions, some good, some bad, and sort of takes advantage of that a little bit, maybe not intentionally, but because he's different from them.
And then we have the nurse, the doctor's nurse, who simply is a nurse because she didn't want to be a teacher and she never got married, because one day she woke up and it was too late.
Julia Meek: So, right there we have half a dozen important Victorian themes, or Victorian era themes all going on, all mixed in with that Victorian inevitability of never say what you mean.
Never think what you're supposed to or not what you're not supposed to, yes. And I've got to say, Emily, you have never shied away from anything, any kind of a challenge as an actress or as a director.
So, let's begin with the fine points of everything it took to present a play this bold. Why bother to tackle it at all?
Emily Arata: Well, I have to say, Jordan Plohr originally pitched this play to Arena. He pitched it for years and years and years, and we were not sure that anyone was ready to see it.
But he kept presenting it in a way that really showed how lovely it is, and it's not what people think it is. And it's not bawdy, and it's not cheesy. It's really lovely. It's beautifully written.
He had to step away from directing the show at the last minute due to a wonderful career change, and so I stepped into the role. So, it's, it's been an honor, but it's also been a big challenge to take over the reins, sort of last minute, also.
Technically, this show is really interesting as well, because it's called In the Next Room, and literally, on the set, the set is split in half, and in one room is the living room, and there's like a partial wall, and in the next room is the doctor's operating theater, and so all of the action is happening in both rooms at the same time.
So figuring out how to paint both of these pictures simultaneously but get the audience to focus on which side which room they need to be looking in and listening to, has been really creatively exciting.
And I think for the actors, it was really challenging too, because it's, it's open. It's sort of the suspension of disbelief. So, it really isn't two rooms.
It's really just one big stage, but it's decorated and painted in a way that it looks like two separate rooms. So, for the actors to not look at each other, and, you know, interact with each other even though they're right there, has been really interesting too.
Julia Meek: Almost a little Victorian twist, some might say, looking at what you should and not what you should.
Now, okay, let's look at the themes: sex, intimacy, marriage, female desire, the constraints of patriarchy, the role of technology in human connection. Then as now, they're all relevant.
They all might be elephants in the room; they're all right there, set in a Victorian mode. Is that groove easy to get down in? As a director, what do you do?
Emily Arata: Well, again, I think the writing is so so smart, and that really helps. But I think part of it is getting into what we're used to thinking and what we're used to perceiving about each other and these concepts.
And then unlearning all of that and getting into the mindset of someone from the 1800s which was entirely different from what we're used to now.
Well, they're definitely [laughs] it's the same, but it's also very different, so, uh...
Julia Meek: And you all are actors, directors. But that is quite a leap.
Emily Arata: Mmhhmm. It's, It's interesting even the way we think of our physicality and our posture and all of that stuff, you know, husbands and wives.
Naturally, now, maybe you'd put your hand on someone's back. That wasn't so much a thing. If you were going to kiss your partner you wouldn't really do that in mixed company, necessarily.
Or if you do, it would be sort of awkward. And there's a part in the show where the married couple kisses and then it's like, well, should we go upstairs?
She's like, we could stay here, and he's like, in the living room, you know? So, the concept of like this is, mmmmm, everything is just very...
Julia Meek: Victorian? [both chuckle]
Emily Arata: Uh, yeah, prescribed and awkward and hesitant.
Julia Meek: And casting just had to be everything. Who were you looking for? What did it take to find them, the perfect actors for this?
Emily Arata: So, because there was such a quick turnaround on this show from me taking over as director at the last minute, and due to the nature of the show, I presented to the artistic committee and who this was approved by the board, that I would be able to precast the show. So I really wanted to feel that everyone was comfortable.
They were people that I trusted that I would feel comfortable during this process. And so I was able to pre-cast the show with every actor I've worked with before. Which is just a dream and a lucky thing that we always kind of frown on but boy, is it delightful! [chuckles]
Julia Meek: Mmhhmm, this is a challenge.
Emily Arata: Yeah, for sure. And so when I read the script as a director, because I think reading it as just reading it is one thing, and when you read it as a director, it's different.
But I really read this script as those people, like you hear certain dialog, or you see a reaction, and you think, oh my gosh, that's totally this person.
And so, all of my cast is people that I read the script, and I thought, oh well, that has to be Stuart. Like, that's Stuart. I have to get Stuart. It just must be Stuart. And luckily, everyone said yes. And so I am the luckiest director on planet Earth to have the dream team!
Julia Meek: Also, a well-respected director, and good for you and good for them. What an experience, after all, any big surprises, any revelations along the way?
Emily Arata: Constantly, constantly, we are always finding new things. We are always discovering new things about ourselves, about the script, about the characters.
Constantly. We laugh out loud at new things every night. We have sadness about new things every night. It's constantly; everything is new all the time. It's so great.
Julia Meek: And we've got to admit, Arena Dinner Theatre is known for its eclectic and innovative offerings, maybe even so this is on that edge of things.
How is this resonating within your circle of members and supporters from the start, initially, as we're even getting ready to present it to the public?
Emily Arata: I think, I think people are hesitant. People are hesitant due to the title and just the content. It is not what we typically would present at Arena.
But again, as Jordan told us time and time again, this is, this is not what you think. This show is not what you think.
And that is the biggest message I would like to get out to the general public who is hesitant. And I understand why. It's not what you think.
And we've had some good ticket sales so far. You know, it's not that no one is coming. It's just that there's a noticeable hesitation, for sure,
Julia Meek: I am curious Emily; Fort Wayne's community theater output is notable. In your mind, what do productions like this, on an edge, on an extreme, add to the mix? Why should we, why do we need to be bold?
Emily Arata: Oh, I think, I think that's the heart of theater itself. Is that theater allows you to think new thoughts and see new perspectives and challenge yourself and your thinking. And I think this show is just a perfect example of that.
I think these characters are so relatable, and for many reasons, and many different characters, for many people, will be relatable in different ways. They're so human, they're so vulnerable.
And I think we could all benefit from learning about ourselves in the way that these characters do?. I think everybody needs to be able to look inward sometimes and say, you know, that makes me feel weird. Why do I feel weird?
Julia Meek: That's a very clever point. It is a chance for people to look at themselves in a relatively easy way or a safe way and getting ready for the play. What did you do to prepare for this within the Arena?
Emily Arata: So, we worked with an intimacy choreographer. Her name is Megan Van de Laar. She is absolutely incredible. She made this the safest and most lovely process.
So her job is to make sure that everyone feels safe and everyone feels confident and able to express themselves and their feelings. It reduces the stigma, and it just makes sure that everybody's comfortable all the time.
So there is, there is no nudity in this show, but there is some physical contact that is suggested. And she really went through with the actors, not only helping with the blocking and the actual choreography of the scenes but also teaching them how to communicate with each other what they need in order to feel comfortable.
And that was truly so lovely to watch. And they have commented over and over how great she was and how helpful that was, and how comfortable they all feel.
Having terminology to explain, you know, what they're comfortable with, and all of that. So that was an absolutely invaluable experience for us.
Julia Meek: Going forward, intimacy coaches are a standard thing and also learning that kind of acting a new standard for even local theater.
Emily Arata: For sure. And, you know, I think intimacy, people hear intimacy, and they think sexual intimacy, physical intimacy. It isn't necessarily just that. It's the interactions, you know.
If you're gonna put your hand on someone's face like you're looking into someone's eyes, that is also intimacy.
You know, having just a close emotional interaction with someone is also intimacy, and so that is equally as important to get those connections right.
Everything keeps everyone safe so that they can do their best acting and relax into the role.
Julia Meek: And fresh and current. Yes, indeed. And as this is a bit offbeat, who do you hope to see at your performances?
Emily Arata: Well, everyone. But you know what would bring me the most joy? And I actually posted this on Facebook.
I hope that people who are nervous to see this show come see this show. And I really hope, because I will be there every night.
I really hope they come talk to me about it, because I love talking about this show, and I love talking about all of the research that the cast and I have done.
And I love digging deep into this topic. And I really would encourage anyone to come, and then please to come find me and talk to me about it. I would love that the most, so that’s what I hope for.
Julia Meek: And the themes may be ancient, but they sort of have been prevailing, certainly in the Victorian heyday, but on through the present. Is that actually brought to attention?
Emily Arata: Um, it's not in your face. It's really not in your face. It's truly an innocent Victorian representation of everything that they're going through.
But there is a wonderful line at the beginning of Act Two where the doctor says, what men do not observe because their intellect prevents them from seeing, would fill many books.
And I think that is so true even now. [both laugh] So that's another piece of beautiful, intelligent writing by Sarah Ruhl.
Julia Meek: Indeed, and skipping to the bottom line, then what do you think is the most impactful message here?
Emily Arata: I think everyone is having a unique experience of life, and I think learning how to meet everybody where they are and try to understand everybody as they are is so important.
Because that's really what we could all use right now is just understanding each other.
Julia Meek: And then, as its director, plus a very outspoken advocate for women's issues and for meaningful theater, Emily, what do you hope everyone in every one of your audiences takes away with them when they leave?
Emily Arata: Oh, I hope so much, particularly for women. I just hope that they are able to look inside themselves and understand themselves, because it can be really lonely if you don't understand yourself.
And the more you can do to get to know yourself, it's a beautiful thing. I hope everyone does that, but especially the women.[chuckles]
Julia Meek: Emily Arata is director of Arena Dinner Theater's production of In the Next Room, (or the Vibrator Play).
Thanks for sharing your story of this fascinating adventure, Emily, good job. Keep up the great work.
Emily Arata: Thank you.
