INTERVIEW: Trying to save modernity in new musical comedy ‘I Am Nobody’
Photo: Meghan Finn directs I Am Nobody at The Tank, where she serves as artistic director. Photo courtesy of Skye Morse-Hodgeson / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
In the new musical comedy I Am Nobody, the main character of Lucas is having something of a technological and emotional breakdown. He has decided to walk away from his job manufacturing silicon microchips for cellphones, and he’s on a quest to destroy modernity, as press notes indicate. It’s up to his coworker, Nathanial, and a friend he meets on the road, Naomi, to find Lucas and somehow save the day from inevitable disaster.
I Am Nobody, currently playing New York City’s The Tank on West 36th Street, comes to the Big Apple courtesy of Greg Kotis, who wrote the book and co-wrote the lyrics of Urinetown: The Musical. The show is directed by Meghan Finn, artistic director of The Tank, and co-presented by Kotis’ Theater of the Apes.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Finn about the new musical, which stars Sarah Coffey, Emilio Christopher Cuesta, Ayun Halliday, Patrick McCartney and Inney Prakash. Finn has had her work produced by The Tank, the V&A, Serpentine Galleries and The Wexner Center. She is a frequent collaborator with playwright Mac Wellman. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What did you like about Greg Kotis’s show when you first read it?
When I first read I Am Nobody I was most excited by the comedy. Greg’s sense of comedic timing, and the adventurous leaps he takes in script and lyrics, left me with the sensation of pure pleasure and silliness. He isn’t afraid of being deeply silly even as he is taking on an impossible task: a hero’s journey set against the pitfalls of modernity in our bizarre technology-obsessed world.
How would you describe the story to someone looking to catch a show in March?
Nathanial, an ion injection specialist (what?) who works in a cleanroom, must find his coworker who has made off with highly specialized microchips from the lab. His true ambition in the theft was a quest to destroy modernity. Nathanial falls in love along the way with a poetess/waitress and must brave the modern world to find his friend and to avoid prison for a crime he very much didn’t commit. It’s a nasty little underground musical that breaks all of the rules, and everyone plays guitar.
What do you like about these characters of Lucas, Nathanial and Naomi?
They are hilarious and wholly unique characters, albeit somewhat familiar tropes. Naomi possesses somewhat ninja-like skills with a garden hoe. Nathanial is lovably innocent in his dedication to modernity but learns his lesson in the end. And Lucas, I think we all feel like Lucas on a daily basis when it comes to how the average person currently relates to technology. We could all use a little revolution.
As a director, how do you help the ensemble find the laughs in a comedy?
I create a room of ‘yes, and’ first and foremost. I am interested in bad choices just as much as good ones. Mistakes in the rehearsal room — when we let them play through, and we make a space where comedians can play, can be the greatest gifts to a process. With actors like this, who are such gifted comedians a lot of times, I spend the process trying to corral them rather than direct them. I want to set parameters, but within them I try to leave as much space as possible for everyone to play for as long as they can. Maybe indefinitely in some cases.
What accomplishment are you most proud of for your time at The Tank?
We do a lot of plays. Last year we produced 18 fully-mounted co-productions. I want to get plays out of drawers, and out of readings and workshops — so they can be in the world, fully-realized. I want to see plays actually done. And at The Tank we make that possible for a lot of truly incredible artists. That’s what I am most proud of so far.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
I Am Nobody, directed by Meghan Finn, plays through March 28 at The Tank in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
