It’s time! Time for the Performing Arts Office’s annual Pioneer Performance Series. This year, the PAO is putting on the Tony Award winning musical Spring Awakening. InstaRam interviewed Dawn Simmons, the director of the show, to find out her thoughts on it, and what she hopes the audience will take away from it.
-So what made you want to be a director, and what is your favorite thing about being one?
I wanted to be a director, because it gave me the chance to exercise the control you don’t get to as a playwright. It let’s me advocate for the text, the actors, and the play in a way that no one else can. It’s also interesting to me to work as an interpretative artist. As a playwright, I try to create these really twisted, funny and fantastical worlds. But when that work is interpreted by someone else, you see your work through someone else’s eyes. Directing gives me the chance to experiment with the mechanics of my imagination, seeing and interpreting someone else’s work, and showing them a new perspective.
-What were some of the things you were looking for when you were casting Spring Awakening?
I was looking for a cast that had good chemistry. Good voices, and a wide range of looks. I wanted to cast people that felt like good collaborators and who seemed like they’d be fun to work with for 4 weeks. I was also looking for fearless people, or people I thought would be fearless. The script tackles a lot of dark issues and I wanted open people who were willing to traverse the dark with me. Who could find the light and the hope in the script and who could also plug into my offbeat sense of humor, cause at the end of the day, humor helps, but we’re all going down a pretty morbid rabbit hole. So we also needed a group that could be respectful while having fun.
-What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?
When I ask an actor to do something that’s out of their comfort zone and they go for it. When I suggest something semi-outrageous and they cringe and then try it. When an actor doesn’t like my initial suggestion, but has a new idea of their own. When you see that moment of understanding on an actor’s face when something new is illuminated. When I see true connection between people acting in a scene. Those are my favorite moments. Also, being in the actual theatre we’re performing in, that’s magic. Oh, seeing the choreography and music come together. Those moments inspire.
-What is your favorite song from the show?
Favorite song, that’s a hard one. I’m hearing “Left Behind” in a new light. I think because Kevin (Melchior), let me know that it was his favorite song and the voices in chorus are haunting. When people explain how they connect to a song, I tend to take that on. “Those You’ve Known” when Wendla, Melchior and Moritz all sing together, it always stirs up emotions, and I find myself fighting back tears. When I first came to the piece, “Dark I Know Well” was the song I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. It’s so raw and it punches you in the gut. After working on this show I find that “The Mirror Blue Night” and “Whispering” catch me off guard every time. They have more power and passion behind them than I realized and they are marvelous examples of story telling.
-Describe Spring Awakening in one word.
sublime nihilism (couldn’t do it in two, not in a way that was satisfying).
-You have a very clear vision for this show. What inspired you when creating this vision?
Thank you for your kind words. There is a lot of mythology around this show, both the original German play and the contemporary musical. I wanted to add a different shading to the story. Modernize it but not too much. Staying true to the story’s original intention. A Catholic school setting seemed to support Wedekin’s commentary on authority and religion and lent to the pathos of the music. It helped me frame the acts of rebellion in the piece. The institution of the Catholic school gives everyone something to push against or lean on for support. Shows like The Facts of Life, movies like Tess, Endless Love, My Body Guard, The Breakfast Club, Heathers and Old Enough all had an influence on how I want the characters to approach their obstacles.
-What is one thing you hope the audience will take away after seeing Spring Awakening?
Once you get past the fantastical, hyper sexual, hyper stylized world of the play, I hope people find a moment of catharsis. While I don’t love the idea of “theatre for therapy” this musical does not pull away from difficult issues. The music gives voice to really complex subject matter. I hope it helps people process and gives them an outlet for whatever they may be feeling. At the end of the day, whenever I work on something, I want people to feel, deeply, feel something, extreme joy, sadness, frustration anything as long as you leave the theatre charged, buzzed and talking about what you just saw.
Spring Awakening runs Thursday-Friday at the C. Walsh theatre. You can reserve your tickets in the Performing Arts office on the 4th floor of the Donahue Building. Hurry now before they are gone!
