Now Playing: Humble Boy

Photos by Mark Oristano.

Humble Boy Director's Notes

On one level, this very English comedy is a modern telling of "Hamlet." On another, and perhaps more importantly, it is a stunning study of a mother-son relationship. Ms. Jones has written a play that buzzes with ideas – superstring theory, beekeeping, and, most notably, the challenge of the parent/adult child relationship. What struck me most was the play’s use of Astrophysics as a metaphor, and how this young man’s search to understand the “physics” of his parents meeting, and long marriage mirrors his passionate search for the “quantum theory of gravity.”

Never very good at math, all of the physics references were way over my head. It took quite a bit of research to get my head around what terms like "quantum mechanics," “string theory,” “chaos theory” and “M-theory” mean. I am proud to say I understand theoretical physics a bit more now, and interestingly, I found it all opened my mind even further to this family's very funny and moving story.

The parent-adult child struggle is explored beautifully in this play. When we reach adulthood and begin to relate to our parents as fellow adults, the stories of their youth, the way they met and fell in love, become more and more important to us. Yet the more we learn, the less we in fact understand. As Felix Humble discovers, the parents we know are not necessarily the same people we hear described in our parent’s memories. The challenge of reconciling who our parents are with whom they were seems daunting at best. Nevertheless, if we are lucky and look hard enough, it can be “like pointing a telescope at a blank piece of sky and seeing a star that (we) have never seen before.”

There is a sort of game that the Humble Family plays with “collective nouns.” “Collective nouns” are nouns that denote a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit, such “a herd of antelope” or “a flock of birds.” After his father’s death, Felix searches for comfort by playing this game. During my research, I found some very interesting collective nouns. Here are some fun ones: (these are not made up – they are real!)

An abomination of monks

An ambush of widows

A kaleidoscope of butterflies

A tower of giraffes

A troubling of goldfish

A murder of crows

A den of thieves

A charm of finches

A clutch of eggs

It has been a privilege to work on this wonderful play with such a gifted company of actors.

WTT Announces Out of the Loop Headliner...

Headlining the 2007 Out of the Loop Festival will be WaterTower Theatre’s production of The Great American Trailer Park Musical, written by Betsy Kelso and David Nehls.

There's a new tenant in Armadillo Acres, and she's wreaking havoc all over Florida's most exclusive trailer park! The double-wide divas of this fine housing establishment have survived everything from kidnapping to no-good men to bad perms. But when Pippi, a “stripper on the run,” comes between agoraphobic housewife Jeannie and her tollbooth collector husband, a storm begins to brew that will shake these manufactured homes right down to their mobile foundations. Please note: This musical contains tacky outfits, bad wigs, crude language, adultery, road kill, electrocution and spray cheese.

A 10-day celebration of theatre, dance, music and art, the Out of the Loop Festival features performances by WaterTower Theatre as well as other arts organizations from the local area and the region. The festival will run March 1 – 11, 2007. Performances will be held at the Addison Theatre Centre, which contains three performance venues: the Festival Main Stage (seating approximately 100), the Studio Theatre (seating approximately 70), and the Stone Cottage (seating approximately 50).

In 2002, the Out of the Loop Festival was named “Best Inaugural Festival” by D Magazine in its “Best of Big D” issue. The 2004 Dallas/Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum awarded the festival with a special citation for providing performance opportunities to new works and new production companies. In 2005, festival attendance increased by 25% from the previous year to more than 4,000 patrons over the 10-day period. The 2007 Out of the Loop Festival will take place March 1 – 11.

Tickets to The Great American Trailer Park Musical are $15 each and go onsale February 20. Festival Passes, which include one admission to each festival event and an advance reservation option, are currently available now for $50 by calling the WaterTower Theatre Box Office at 972.450.6232 or www.watertowertheatre.org/outoftheloop.asp

Parade Cast

Another year, another show in pre-production.

We just completed casting for our upcoming production of Parade. With a cast of 29, it will be the largest show we have ever done. Actors are already trying to make sure they have dressing room space.

We are just beginning the pre-production process, so details will be forthcoming. But here's a sneak peek at who you'll see treading the boards at WTT come April.

Old Confederate Soldier/Judge Roan	R Bruce Elliott
Luther Rosser	Mark Oristano
Tom Watson	Gary Moody
Mr. Peavy	Michael Serrecchia
Hugh Dorsey	Stan Graner
Gov. John Slaton	Paul Taylor
Det. J.N. Starnes	Clay Yocum
Floyd MacDaniel	Ryan Roach
Off. Ivey	Jack Birdwell
Leo Frank	Donald Fowler
Jim Conley	Walter Cunningham
Britt Craig	Christopher J. Deaton
Riley	Matthew Johnson
Aid	John Garcia
Policeman/Prison Guard	Stephen Bates
Young Soldier/Fiddlin' John	Trevor Wright
Frankie Epps	Ryan Appleby
Sally Slaton	Cara Statham Serber
Mrs. Phagan	Jennifer Green
Lizzie Phagan	Julie Painter
Angela	Natalie King
Lucille Frank	Jennifer Pasion
Nurse/Assistant	Sara Shelby-Martin
Ensemble	Kristi Rowan
Iola Stover	Megan Kelly
Monteen	Kimberly Whalen
Essie	Katelyn Branson
Mary Phagan	Elizabeth Judd