Embracing Uncertainty: BEN BUTLER in Rehearsal

by Mike Fischer

“There is a law. The law is clear. Fugitive slaves must be returned to their owners.”

So says General Benjamin Franklin Butler to runaway Virginian slave Shepard Mallory. Mallory is seeking refuge in the Union fort Butler commands in the heart of Virginia. Less than 24 hours earlier, Virginia had formally seceded from the United States. 

As playwright Richard Strand suggests in his play BEN BUTLER, things aren’t nearly as “clear” for Butler as he’d initially imagined. Butler may later say to Mallory that “everything is fine like it is.” But throughout Strand’s play, both the law and life itself prove otherwise, springing surprises that will forever alter the script Butler inherited – while making him a pivotal player during one of the most significant dramas in all of American history.  

With a hefty assist from Mallory, both Butler and his adjutant – Lieutenant Kelly – eventually open their hearts to the prospect that they might play their scenes in that history differently. Strand approached his play with a similarly open mind. “It is hard for me in retrospect,” he said during a March 2016 interview in American Theatre magazine, “to be sure what I had in mind when I wrote the play.”

For trained lawyers like Butler, soldiers like Kelly – and, yes, theatre artists like Strand – moving forward often involves summoning the courage to be uncertain or even lost. Straying from the path opens one to new ways of seeing. It frees the mind of the rituals and conventions that lead us to trace increasingly narrow circles. And it’s integral to how the phenomenally talented Michael Cotey approaches directing, as he’s making clear once again in directing Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of BEN BUTLER.

Multiple Choice(s) . . .

I spent time with Michael and his cast during the second week of BUTLER rehearsals. 

Michael Cotey (left) and the cast of BEN BUTLER:
Marques Causey, Drew Brhel, Chase Stoeger,
and David Sapiro.

The cast’s initial three days of invaluable table work – during which they’d explored the historical background to Strand’s play, as well as what makes their respective characters tick – were now behind them. Full runs of the play – during which the cast starts from the top of the show and works all the way through to the end – were still ahead of them. 

The rehearsals I attended occupied that unsettling but also exciting middle period during which actors were first on their feet, immersing themselves fully in each scene while playing with everything from where they moved to when and how Mallory nudged Butler and Kelly toward a moral awakening. 

Does that awakening happen for both men all at once, like an epiphany? Or did they – like most of us whose nagging conscience natters away at us even as we stubbornly continue to sleepwalk – gradually stumble toward a new dawn?

In challenging his actors to answer such questions, Michael urged them to exercise what Keats once referred to as “negative capability”: opening their minds to the many ways one might play a scene, without prematurely feeling compelled to choose one of them. Actors understandably want to lock down how long they hold a beat, how to inflect a line, and when to move in on a scenic partner; at some point they must do these things so that a production can cohere. 

But just over one week into the rehearsal process, Michael was in no rush for his actors to get there. Doing so risked overlooking possible solutions to a scenic problem – just as Butler risked missing a legal and practical solution to the dilemma posed by runaway slaves if he assumed he already knew all the answers. 

Butler, like the actors embodying this story, needed to take time to ask questions. Was he just going to interpret history? Or would he be an agent who might change it? 

. . . And Alternative Histories

During the two full days I watched rehearsal, Michael repeatedly sidestepped his four actors’ attempts to pin down how they should play a particular moment. 

“Just try something,” he said to them, more than once. Pick a place to stand or move, he’d suggest, without specifying the specific line where it should happen. He and his cast played with adding comic bits – in a script that includes a generous helping of humor – which he freely admitted he might later take out. Michael encouraged the cast to use as much of the stage as possible, while conscious that at some point they’d need to make definitive choices involving direction and space.  

“Everyone right now should be trying all the choices that come to them and seeing how they play out,” Michael said to me during a pre-rehearsal chat in MCT’s conference room. 

“Actors sometimes stop themselves midstream and then back up because they’re afraid of making the wrong choice and are trying too early to make the right one,” Michael continued. “I want actors right now to be making choices that may feel wrong, but that then cascade into other choices we might have otherwise never known are possible. And even if one makes a choice that ultimately doesn’t make sense, it can help us figure out what the right choice is.”

Michael emphasized that as a director, he himself regularly makes midstream adjustments, as he tries to practice what he preaches to his actors: remaining open to the hidden possibilities within a script. A moment. A performance. A life.

“You think you know what you want, but then you see your actors rehearsing the play and you learn more about what the play is,” he said. “You’re also learning how the actors in your cast work, and what’s the best way to speak with each of them about what you see. 

“I often feel full of BS in the early stages of rehearsal, because I know I’ll adjust what I’m saying and how we’ll proceed, based on things I see in the room. That’s why, in the first few weeks of rehearsal, I don’t like giving my cast an ultimate destination or saying ‘this is what you’ve got to do.’ I want them to figure some of that out for themselves. I want us to figure that out together.”

Much as Butler does, with the help of Shepard Mallory and Lieutenant Kelly. 

For what’s true in Michael’s rehearsal room is also true of the characters these actors play in BUTLER: By recognizing that history is contingent and messy rather than preordained, we can better appreciate and more fully inhabit each minute of the present, while leaving ourselves available to the full potential of the future. 

“So many possibilities,” George says at the end of Sondheim’s SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. For “every second of time,” as Walter Benjamin once wrote, could be “the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter.” One just need open’s one eyes. And see.

A Long History With Fugard

An Interview with C. Michael Wright
[ Director of The Train Driver ]


A Long History With Fugard
by Michael Cotey

Michael COTEY: You've had a lengthy relationship with playwright Athol Fugard and his work, as both director and actor. Walk us through that history.

Michael WRIGHT: Athol Fugard is one of my heroes.

I first met him back in 1982, when I auditioned for the Broadway production of his semi-autobiographical play "MASTER HAROLD" ...and the boys, which he also directed. At the audition, Athol actually got up on his feet and read scenes with me! I'd never had a director - much less a director who also happens to be the playwright - read with me in an audition situation. But that's the kind of man he is. He's a true artist, totally invested in the work, diving into every project with his body, heart and soul.

I was incredibly fortunate to then be cast as understudy to the lead and was able to perform the role for two glorious weeks on Broadway. Immediately after that, I played the role in the national tour, which included a few weeks in Toronto and a tour of five cities in Israel. Not only was Athol my director, he was also my mentor and my guide. He used to take me out for breakfast and tell me in-depth stories about growing up in South Africa. What a gift that was to have personal background about your character handed right to you! I vividly remember how kind and generous he was to strangers; he was as warm and open with waiters and box office staff as he was with his artistic colleagues. But at the same time, he was never reluctant to fully speak his mind or fight for what he believed in. I consider him a man of great integrity and I really learned a lot from him.

L-R: Delroy Lindo, C. Michael Wright, Athol Fugard and James Earl Jones,

 "MASTER HAROLD" ...and the boys (1983)

Coincidentally "MASTER HAROLD" ...and the boys was the show that first brought me to Milwaukee. A year after I left the tour, I performed the role one last time at Milwaukee Rep. (That's when I first came to Milwaukee and I fell in love with the city!) And then, many years after that, I directed my own production of the play at Next Act Theatre.

COTEY:  And you keep returning to him. What is it about Fugard's work you find compelling?

WRIGHT: First and foremost, I love the issues he writes about. I've always been particularly attracted to stories about injustice and the struggle between the haves and the have-nots.

Even though Athol's plays are specific to his South African experience, his themes are universal. He's incredibly courageous, not afraid to tackle extremely difficult topics head-on, even though his work has often been banned in South Africa. He would often say that he doesn't consider himself to be a political writer, just a storyteller. But the stories he chooses to tell have such profound impact and resonance.

Besides that, his language is so beautifully rich.  There's an almost heightened, poetic quality to it, balanced with a surprising simplicity and purity. And yet he's not shy about including a visceral, sucker-punch to the gut that can leave you reeling.

COTEY: THE TRAIN DRIVER has been said to be Fugard's response to post-Apartheid South Africa. Does this play carry a different feeling than the work he wrote previously?

WRIGHT: The majority of Athol's plays, especially his earlier works, are all intense and hard-hitting. Some of his newer pieces have become quieter and more introspective, but THE TRAIN DRIVER is a definite return to his roots.

I find this quote from Athol pretty revealing: "This is for me the whole; it's my truth and reconciliation. I think all of my writing life led up to the writing of THE TRAIN DRIVER because it deals with my own inherited blindness and guilt and all of what being a white South African in South Africa during those apartheid years meant."

COTEY: Why this play? Why now?

WRIGHT: Not only do I have a long history with Fugard's plays, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has one, too. Since this is an anniversary season, I thought it would be perfectly fitting to include one of his plays, combining my own personal history with MCT's. THE TRAIN DRIVER will be the fifth Fugard work produced here. (Interestingly enough, Shaw is the only playwright that's been performed here more than Fugard!)

Frankly I've wanted to direct this play ever since I first read it. But it's an extremely challenging piece. I needed to wait until the time was right for me to take this emotional journey to a very dark place. I wanted to make certain I was ready to commit to it 110%, just as Athol would, and approach it with enough clarity and focus.

Besides it's always time for strong, important plays that make you think about how you look at, and fit into, the world around you.

COTEY: How do you hope it will resonate with a Milwaukee audience?

WRIGHT: I hope it provokes much discussion about how we treat our fellow man and about the power of letting other people and other cultures into our circle.

COTEY: How do you prepare as a director?

WRIGHT: That varies pretty dramatically from project to project. I always try to read the script a lot, highlighting important lines or sections and making some notes. Sometimes I jot down staging ideas; sometimes I even play with the scenic model, arranging furniture and moving figures around. Sometimes I like doing fun research, like exploring artwork, music, films that just inspire me or are somehow representative of a specific style or time or location. Most importantly, I always try to spend time actually visualizing movement, stage pictures and specific moments that I want to capture. I also try very hard to see another production in the same theatre, so that I get a good sense of the playing space. Even if I've worked in a particular theatre before, I still like to sit in it again with an audience to be reminded of the general vibe of a space, as well as any sightline issues or acoustic challenges.

COTEY: I think most people have a vague idea what a director does in the room with his or her actors. How do you view the director's role in rehearsal?

WRIGHT: I think it's a director's primary responsibility to provide a safe and stimulating environment where ideas can be shared and creative risks can be taken. For me, it's very important to come into the process with some strong thoughts and opinions, but also with openness to new thoughts and opinions. I view the director as the "parent" in the room, overseeing the activities in a "playground," guiding the actors as they play, while generously encouraging collaboration and mutual ownership of the work.

Athol Fugard's THE TRAIN DRIVER, directed by C. Michael Wright, runs February 25 - March 15, 2015.

The art of a 'bro-mance'

An interview with director Michael Cotey
by Matt Wickey

As most regulars around the Broadway Theatre Center know, MCT's mission is to produce intimate, high-quality, professional theatrical works while employing, supporting, and nurturing local talent.  It is this dedication and mission that allows both MCT and its friends to celebrate the work of artists like Michael Cotey, director of MCT's upcoming quirky, 'bro-mantic' comedy THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE by Wendy MacLeod.  Michael is a Milwaukee-based director and actor who enjoys an incredibly impressive resume, working in nearly every theatre company in the city.  His work has also been featured in places such as both the Utah and Illinois Shakespeare Festivals, not to mention Youngblood Theatre Company, where he was a co-founder and artistic director from 2009-2013.  As a young theatre artist myself, people like Michael Cotey truly inspire me, so I was thrilled to be able to talk with him and gain an insight to his perspective on THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE. Michael was generous enough to let me "pick his brain" on all topics regarding the upcoming production, where the special relationship between man and man is investigated and uncovered. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!

For context on the conversation to follow, a bit about THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE's featured characters.  In the play, we first meet the character Bill McGinnis.  Bill is a seemingly stable and well-mannered man, and he has just moved in to a new condo with his wife, who we soon learn is "at her folks."  While Bill awaits her arrival alone in his new home, he hears a strange voice: "Hello?"  Jack Foster, his new next-door neighbor, has arrived.  And thus, our 'bro-mance' is born.

Matt Wickey (MCT): What is it like working on a script that examines a 'bro-mantic' relationship, with the unique perspective of a female playwright?
Michael Cotey: I find it fascinating when a playwright captures a voice other than his or her own so completely.  And (playwright) Wendy has done that here with two distinct male characters.  Just as actors use their great capacity for empathy to understand and relate to unfamiliar circumstances and emotions, Wendy has successfully empathized with what it means to be a man-and further, with how two men, seemingly different from each other, will stumble upon what unites them if left to each other for long enough (with just the right amount of beer to lubricate the conversation).  I couldn't be more excited to begin working on Wendy's marvelous and well-paced dialogue with the two "bros" of this 'bro-mance': Ryan Schabach and Dan Katula.

MW (MCT): This unique opportunity to speak with THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE playwright, Wendy MacLeod, fascinates me.  What has this connection provided to the process?  And further, what has it been like, in general, to have the chance to communicate with the playwright of this unique work?
MC: It's always great to have the opportunity to speak with the playwright, and Wendy has been very receptive to any questions I toss her way.  In my experience, I have often found that playwrights, while willing to help, enjoy seeing how we answer the questions of the play through our own exploration of it.  I imagine that's part of the excitement of writing a play.  Unlike a movie, which exists in a more permanent medium, a play can be revisited and the same set of questions can be addressed with a wholly different set of answers by the simple virtue of putting different people in the room to work on it.  My conversations with Wendy have been primarily simple clarifications and gathering her thoughts on what worked or didn't with previous productions of the show.  The rest I'm leaving up to the fun of the rehearsal hall.

MW (MCT): What first struck you about this script/piece?  How does this script "speak" to you?
MC: I'm drawn to the exploration of the relationships Bill and Jack have with the women in their lives; specifically how much they stake their personal identity in the loves of their life.  That's something I absolutely relate to, and in the two and a half years I've been married, it has been strange (in a great way!) to see that line between "mine" and "hers" or "me" and "us" blur.  Part of this show questions who we are if we aren't defined by our relationships with others.

MW (MCT): How well do you envision this script translating to the Studio Theatre space at the BTC?
MC: This script is perfect for a space the size of the Studio Theatre.  Scenic designer Steve Barnes has transformed the Studio Theatre into what looks like the skeleton of the same generic condo you'd see in any city of any state in America.  It feels empty, a bit of a suburban wasteland with something essential missing, not unlike how both our main men are feeling in the show.

MW (MCT): What excites you most about working on THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE?  Also, what are some of the challenges that you face (as a director) with this production?
MC: This is a real genre shift from what I'm used to tackling as a director.  Many of the things I've directed either have had a lot of moving parts, multiple scene and/or time shifts, larger-than-life characters, or all of the above.  In THINGS, we have two people in the same room, measuring each other up through their conversation.  At first glance, I wondered what I would bring to this script.  Upon continued study, however, it became clear that the real gymnastics of the play lie not on the surface with theatrics, but deep in the thoughts and in the thread of the conversation.  Peeling away the layers of this story one by one and at the right time will be the challenge, and that is very exciting for me. Thankfully, Dan and Ryan are both exceptional actors and Wendy's script is a strong foundation for any production to stand on.

MW (MCT): What would you like the audience to take away from THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE?  What would you like this production to accomplish?
MC: This show asks a number of questions about relationships, love, mortality, expectations, and preconceptions (among other things), but it offers few answers to those questions-and smartly so, in my opinion.  A major theme in this show is about taking honest stock of where we are in our lives, hence the title: THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE.  What we do with that knowledge after we cut through all of our defenses and deflections, and get to the honest, core truth of it…well, that's up to us to determine.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that this play is hilarious!  It does all of the above with humor and wit.  Like any good comedy, honest revelations are sudden and slipped in at just the right moment to sneak up on us between the laughs.

THINGS BEING WHAT THEY ARE runs November 20 - December 15, 2013 in the Studio Theatre of the Broadway Theatre Center, located in the heart of Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward.  Hope to see you at the show!