Staging A New Work

Director Interview

“I Know I’m Not Broken”: A Staged Reading

Written By Senna Hubbs

What is “I Know I’m Not Broken” about?

“I Know I’m Not Broken” is a play that focuses on emotional strife and physical violence as well as the issues of members of the LGBT community. There are also issues with alcoholism and physical deformities. The play is about coming to terms with yourself as you are and not letting other people get in the way of your happiness and what you want to accomplish.

This is not your typical Thalian production, it’s a staged reading. So, you’ve been having to work with the writer throughout this project. What’s that been like?

Working with writer has been great. Senna has a lot to offer. It’s really good to be able to turn to Senna and ask what she meant with the script. WIth most shows, the director is working off his or her own interpretation and the interpretation of the actors. So, it's really good to be able to work with our interpretations while being addressing the writer and understanding what her original intention was in order to weave the two together to make an even stronger production.

What has inspired you during the process of putting this piece together?

A lot of my inspiration comes from the connections between the characters. I think that allows the process of the staged reading to be simpler. Its easier to make really good connections with the text and people if you’re able to see the words on the page and you’re able to be reading them and find new things in the text than the part of the text that you’ve memorized. Being able to work in the text so closely in a stage reading allows a lot of room to find new connections that you can make with the other actors. We also have been working on getting the audience involved and get them to make a connection with the actors too. That’s what really inspire me. It’s also inspirational to see this particular play in general because it really delves into the psyche of different characters with these different issues that normal people deal with that we don’t see. For the characters, they are very real and are being brought here. The thing that has inspired me the most so far is being able to tell the stories of these characters and how they are making connections within themselves and with other people/

What is your previous directing experience?

My past directing experiences are horror comedies. In the past, I directed a ten minute play for Thalians called “The Rodeo Drive Slasher” by Dorothy Reeves. That experience was very different because it was part of a larger production that included a lot of other ten minute plays. Dealing with a comedic play is very different. The process is a lot different because there is a lot more research into the particular issues versus the particular characters. I am also currently directly another ten-minute horror comedy” for a directing class.

What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered?

I think one of the biggest challenges is definitely the time span. This is being put together in four rehearsals which is complicated considering how deep the play and how much happens within the span of this play. That's been a challenge but the actors are really rising to that challenge. Even though it's a staged reading, they are memorizing certain parts, they want to memorize it so they can do more action during certain parts of the play. So I think thats fantastic and they are doing a great job. We all are really working with the time period really well and it will turn out great.

Another really big challenge is trying to connect with the play but not put myself in the play. Because there is so much emotion built up in the play, it’s easy to get sucked in. They’ve made me cry in rehearsal before. Some really intense stuff happens here. So that's challenging for me to direct with even though I have a really close connection with some of that stuff that happens.

What are the audiences going to be excited about?

I think that they are going to be excited to see how funny it is in certain places even though it is such a deep play. Because part of these characters is that even though they are going through these struggles, they are going through them because they are making new relationships with people. Part of these new relationships is joy--they are having fun with each other until something comes along that turns that sour. There are definitely a lot of moments of joy and happiness where the audience is going to laugh at the characters. I think the audience will be happily surprised to be able to see those sides of the situation as well.

What is the future of the Thalian Blackfriars? Do you think you will do more staged readings?

I think staged readings are fantastic. There is a lot of things a writer can learn just from a normal reading - just from hearing it spoken. Then being able to see an actor act out your play even if they are holding your script in hand gives you so much insight into exactly what your writing is going to turn into once you let it go. It’s also a very interesting process for the writer to be involved in because the writer gets to see how people interpret their writing instead of just what their intention was in their writing. The writer can see some of the changes that they may not normally get to see. There were a couple of different times where Senna was taking the dramaturg, Isaac Hopkins and I after a rehearsal and was like “You guys got that? Well, I didn't mean that, but I like that.” So, it’s a very interesting process and something writers can really benefit from.

Any additional comments?

Everyone come see it! It’s going to be a beautiful show.

"I Know I'm Not Broken" debuts on November 19th at 7:00 PM in MLC Room 250. Tickets are free.