If you haven’t had a chance to catch it yet, this weekend is your last chance to see Stone Soup Theatre‘s Durang7 production, a set of one-acts by the playwright Christopher Durang. We haven’t seen the production, but we’ve acted in at least a couple of the included plays in our day and the scripts alone recommend the show. He’s got a funny, satirical wit.
John Ned of Stone Soup recently dropped Durang a few questions in e-mail. Here’s what he heard back:
John Ned: was Durang7 too mathematical sounding? Should we have called it something like Seven Stages of Durang, Seven Layers of Durang, Or Seven Deadly Durangs, for example?
Christopher Durang: I like Durang7 – sounds like Windows7 also. Anyway I think a perfectly good title.
JN: You’ve encouraged productions of mix and match one-acts. Is there a mix of your plays that you wouldn’t recommend doing?
CD: Not so far. Just wouldn’t want the evening to be too long, my only concerns. (though I have no set time limit, it’s more how it “feels”)
JN: The “character sketches” (DMV,Gym and Funeral) hold up so well , because we’ve all had run-ins with these kinds of people. Has there ever been a real life petty tyrant that you’ve tried, or wanted to write about, but somehow couldn”t?
CD: I can certainly think of a few petty tyrants I’ve run into. Or people unwilling or unable to sort through problems. (A computer thing I’d mailed back because it was incorrectly said to be compatible with my system, never got logged in somehow and I kept billing for it endlessly… infuriating until some kind soul on my 5th or 6th call figured out the computer entry mistake they were making about not SAVING the info I had sent the part back. That kind of thing.
Actually my late friend Wendy Wasserstein got her driver license in her late 30s – she really didn’t want to drive, but thought she should. She DID pass, but they lost the fact she passed in the computer. The idea that poor Wendy would have to go through the driving test again seemed wildly unlucky – and her trouble inspired my DMV tyrant, partly. (I think they somehow didn’t make Wendy have to redo the test… though I forget how or why they solved it…)
JN: Out of the seven plays we’ve done, do you think of them as your children , and love them all equally, or do you have favorites?Or ones your not so crazy about?
CD: Well I do sometimes think of plays as “children,” truthfully. I don’t take it as far as loving them equally. Of the ones you’re doing, I’m particularly fond of “Actor’s Nightmare,” which is a sturdy comedy and I’m happy how often it gets done (especially in schools); I like all the other plays you mention, but am tickled to see “Desire Desire Desire.” It’s less “well crafted” than my Glass Menagerie parody (For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls”) but I like the rambling nature of “Desire..” and think the set-up that Blanche and Stanley are stuck waiting for Stella to come back is funny. And Wendy and I wrote “Medea” for a Juilliard anniversary benefit, and had a lot of fun writing it.
JN: OK I said I would ask three questions and really asked five–no wonder I flunked math. Thank you in advance for your time and generosity. It’s been our total pleasure to perform your work and the audiences have loved it. ( “Durang7” runs through Nov22) Best Wishes, John Ned
CD: Best wishes on your production… hope it goes great! best, Chris Durang
Thursday – Saturday 8 pm, Sunday matinee at 2 pm. General Admission: $16-20, under 30: $13, Seniors and Matinee: $16. Full details on their web site.