The following is a question and answer session between Cara Hayden and Cody Daigle about Cody's new show A Home Across the Ocean, which will open in New York on September 18th. The show is being produced by MTWorks.
Cara Hayden (CH): Where did the idea for A Home Across the Ocean come from?
Cody Daigle (CD): Two places. I started writing Home right after finishing work on Providence, which was about grief and its paralyzing effect on people. And I guess I wasn't really done with the idea of grief -- I wanted to explore grief as an animating force, a force that jump-started someone's life instead of shutting it down.And I wanted to write something about gay marriage and gay families, but I didn't want to write something that felt like "here's a play exploring the issues of gay marriage and gay families." I wanted to write about what it would be like to live that reality. And those two impulses came together and made "Home."
CH: So, how do those two ideas work together in the show?
CD: Grethe and Connor are a mother and son who, at the start of the play, are grieving the loss of the family's patriarch. Grethe, in her grief, writes a letter to a man she hasn't seen in 35 years. Connor and his partner Daniel are at the end of the process to foster a child -- a 13-year old girl named Penny. Grethe's "man from the past" comes for a visit, and his visit tests how ready they are to make these big changes.
CH: Why was it important for you to write about gay marriage and gay families?
CD: Well, first off, I want to get married and have a family one day. Sooner than later, because I ain't getting any younger. I'm 34 now, so basically I became irrelevant in the gay community ,oh... five years ago.I'm kidding, of course, but it's certainly a more present concern for me now.
And I think it's more important to note how we write about gay marriage and gay families. I'm proud of this play, because it depicts a world in which a committed gay couple fostering a child and creating a family isn't the source for conflict. It's just a fact of the world. The conflict comes from other places, from these people just being flawed and struggling people, not from homophobia or anything like that.It's like the last subversive way to depict gay people -- as normal, ordinary people who are just like everyone else.
CH: How did the play end up being produced in New York?
CD: Last summer, I submitted the play to the folks at MTWorks, who produced Providence in 2008, for their NewBorn Festival. They liked the show, included it, and it got its first reading in January. After the reading, they asked if I'd be interested in having the play included in their fifth season. I, of course, said yes.I've now had two really wonderful experiences working with the people at MTWorks, and I think the plays that have emerged on the other side of these experiences are both really strong pieces. The company's not only been wonderful because it's opened the door for my work to be seen in New York, but these artists are really great at developing and nurturing a script. The process is all about what's best for the play, and I'm just so lucky and grateful to be a part of what they do.
CH: What do you hope people take away from the play?
CD: I hope they think the show speaks authentically. I hope they find it truthful, honest. I hope they relate to these people and like spending two hours with them. I hope it moves them. Everything else is bonus.Oh, and I hope they come back to see it again, and bring three friends with them.
CH: Will local audiences see the play?
CD: I don't know. The show has some tricky casting that would be hard to pull off here, but I'd love, at some point, to do at least a reading of the play here.
CH: So what's next for you?
CD: Next up is a project I'm really excited about. I'm directing a production of the play Barrier Island by David Stallings. David is the artistic director of MTWorks and he's an actor in Home. He's also a terrific playwright, and I'm really thrilled he's letting us mount this show here. The play is this beautiful ensemble drama set in a Galveston bar as Hurricane Ike approaches the coast. It's a great play, and audiences here are going to love it. It opens in December.
A HOME ACROSS THE OCEAN, produced by Maieutic Theatre Works, runs at Theatre Row (10 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) Sept. 18 - Oct. 2, Tuesdays at 7:00 pm (followed by a talk-back). Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 pm.Tickets are $18. For more information, visit http://www.mtworks.org. To purchase tickets, visit http://www.telecharge.com.
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