INTERVIEW: Run, don’t walk, to this Central Park theatrical experience
Photo: Melanie Jones is the creator of Endure: Run Woman Show. Photo courtesy of Christopher Davis / Provided by Everyman Agency with permission.
The New York theater scene has always been creative, but during the COVID-19 pandemic, performers and creative teams have upped the ante with originality and enterprise. Case in point: Endure: Run Woman Show, an immersive theatrical experience now playing in Central Park. The show is based on the “real-life struggles of runners” and celebrates the resilience of athletes.
Created and written by Melanie Jones, Endure runs, runs, runs through Aug. 8. The Suchan Vodoor-directed piece promises both a physical and emotional journey about a woman who is preparing to run her first marathon.
Here’s how it works: Up to 15 audience members receive a sanitized audio player and follow a single performer on a winding 5K journey (no worries, running is not required). For non-runners, that’s approximately 3.1 miles. Depending on the performance, the protagonist is played by either Mary Cavett or Casey Howes. In addition to watching the runner and hearing her inner-thoughts, spectators also get the opportunity to enjoy the nature of Central Park. Swedish composer Christine Owman also provides some soundtrack accompaniment, according to press notes.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Jones about her new show. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did you first get into running?
I got into running when I was 27. Some salty broads from work invited me to join their Saturday runs, which always ended in brunch. It was glorious, and I was completely hooked. I joined them just as they were all training for a half marathon, so I was kind of absorbed into that process. Completing my first half marathon was a game-changer. It was so encouraging and inspiring, I started racing longer distances from there.
What is going through your mind during a long race, like an Iron Man?
Everything. I mean that: Literally everything under the sun that a person could possibly think about or feel comes up during a long endurance event — mundane obsessions, deep psychic wounds, jingles from TV commercials, half-finished fights. Fear, hope, joy, pain, gas. And that’s just what comes up unbidden. There’s intentional tricks of mind, too, like cheering yourself on, mantras to help you keep going or distract from the pain, the constant tabulations of pace, time, distance.
Where did the idea for Endure come from?
Ha! Everything I just said. It felt to me like a person experienced a whole life in their mind (and body) during an endurance event. All human emotion, all human struggle, all human absurdity was present and alive. That was incredibly rich creative ground to draw from. The idea for staging the show in the park as a journey for both audience and performer, well, that was more practical. It was about money. I had enough to either pay for a theatre rental, or to pay people to realize the project with me. And as Suchan Vodoor, the show’s director says, I chose artists over real estate. Now I can’t imagine this show in a theatre. It belongs outside and on the move.
What can audiences expect from this unique theatrical experience?
Audiences can expect to dive into the world of a marathoner and hear an athlete’s innermost thoughts. They can expect an easy and relaxing stroll through beautiful public spaces, and occasional moments to run, if they want to. They can expect to be immersed in an audio-world of richly detailed, deeply emotional story and gorgeous music. They can expect cinematic beauty, smart staging, and all the magic of NYC’s iconic Central Park. They can expect pee jokes. Math jokes. They can expect a satisfying theatrical journey with synchronicity, magic and gorgeous performances from Mary Cavett and Casey Howes.
What it was like to work with the composer Christine Owman?
I have been blessed with incredibly generous collaborators on this show, and Christine was one of them. She is so damned talented. I traveled to Malmö, Sweden, and stayed with Christine in her home/studio for 10 days while we recorded and composed the show. She’d ask me what the core feeling or sensibility of a scene was, and then she’d go away and create this incredible score for it: playing every instrument, singing, layering it all. She really understood, on a cellular level, what this show was. And she brought it to life so beautifully. She also introduced me to the miracle that is banana ice cream.
What do you believe are the ultimate takeaways from audiences experiencing Endure? What do you want them to consider when they’re walking (running) back home?
My greatest hope is that audience members see in themselves their own resilience and capacity to endure hard things. A lot of folks will leave inspired to run — we’ve had folks start running because of this show. But, the show’s heart is about how all of us keep going. I hope everyone who experiences Endure remembers that they made it this far, and that is something to honor and celebrate.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Endure: Run Woman Show is currently playing through Aug. 8 in Central Park, New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
