A reflection on directing And It Was Good
Kristin Thiele
And It Was Good asks what it means to be human and to be a child of the divine.
Drama has been a part of my most of my life—I started directing plays in my late teens. But I haven’t been able to tell people I was directing an original play . . . until now.
The difference between a classic script and an original is message. With a classic, you tweak a message that’s been given before. The audience shouldn’t be too surprised—and while that can feel like an old friend, it can also feel like a lot of pressure. You must live up to expectations, in your own mind and in the mind of the audience. With an original, you start anew. The audience should be surprised. You’re not expected to interpret scenes in any particular way. It’s freeing, and it’s what drew me to And It Was Good.
The play is a modern fable. Like fables of the past, the story—a Jewish doctor is blackmailed into helping a woman re-create elements of the creation story—is fantastical and dark. It raises questions about what makes a god, about whether we have a right to judge God and about what happens to our belief system when God doesn’t act as we believe His moral outrage should dictate. It also asks about whether technology helps or hinders our humanity? The big question: what does it mean to be human and to be a child of the divine?
And It Was Good begs the audience to think and to question but does not give trite answers.
And It Was Good, College Hall, Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 8.30 PM. $10; Free (Festival Pass holders).