INTERVIEW: Doménica Feraud explores the grieving process in new play
Image: someone spectacular is a new play by Doménica Feraud. Image courtesy of artist / Provided by official website.
Doménica Feraud, the playwright behind Rinse, Repeat, is back with a new play called someone spectacular. The show, which opens off-Broadway July 31 at the Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street, follows the ups and downs of a support group for people dealing with the loss of a loved one. When the audience first meets the group, the leader has not shown up for the latest therapy session, and this drives the members into chaos, according to press notes.
someone spectacular, directed by Tatiana Pandiani, features a predominantly female creative team. The cast consists of Gamze Ceylan, Alison Cimmet, Delia Cunningham, Ana Cruz Kayne, Shakur Tolliver, Damian Young, Nicholas Delaney, Rebecca Hirota and Feraud herself as an understudy.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with the playwright to learn more about someone spectacular, which is currently on sale through Aug. 31. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What’s the significance of the play’s title? Why lowercase the words?
My Mom, Nathalie Feraud-Salame, died two years ago. She was 51 years old. Her loss was sudden and earth-shattering. Without her, my world lost its color. A reverse Wizard of Oz. This play is dedicated to her. She was my someone spectacular, the person who made life worth living. The words are in lowercase because they are directly taken from a character’s line — “I lost someone spectacular.” This is sadly a very common experience. Death and grief are universal, and to me, keeping the title in lowercase emphasizes the everyday nature of loss.
When you finished Rinse, Repeat, how long did it take you to begin work on someone spectacular?
After finishing Rinse, Repeat, I wrote a different play, Mija. The process was delayed due to the pandemic, but in early 2022, I was introduced to our director, Tatiana Pandiani. And we staged a reading that April. A month later, my Mom was diagnosed with cancer, and three weeks after that, she was dead. I couldn’t write for a while. I filled journals with letters to my mother, but playwriting was unfathomable. In March 2023, I went on a writing retreat, ostensibly to work on Mija — someone spectacular poured out of me instead. I wrote the play in a month, sent it to Tatiana, and after implementing her notes, we staged a reading that summer. We’ve spent the past year workshopping the play, with frantic bursts of rewriting, and now here we are!
Would you say the chaotic result of this group therapy session is because the group is leaderless? What do you think that says about society?
One of the reasons this session is chaotic is that the group is leaderless. Grief is an individual process. Talking about loss can feel like walking through a minefield. A counselor is important to help guide everyone towards healing and to enforce boundaries that protect each member of the group. Without that guidance, things get very messy. However, the chaos that ensues isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being leaderless allows the characters to grow in new and important ways. Ugly as things get in the play, this “depressing band of misfits” ultimately helps each other. I think society bestows too much power to people in positions of leadership. As individuals, we are more powerful than we think. I’m inspired by Gen Z and the ways they advocate for change. They are not afraid to push back and demand better. Chaos is obviously not ideal, but sometimes it is helpful.
Were you influenced by any other plays that feature therapy sessions?
I was lucky enough to attend early readings of Dave Malloy’s Octet. Watching that musical gave me the confidence to trust that a group therapy session makes for compelling drama. I was also inspired by Bravo reunions! We’re told that people sitting in chairs isn’t interesting to watch, yet I was riveted during the Season 10 Vanderpump Rules reunion. Other sources of inspiration include Annie Baker’s The Antipodes, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit.
What’s the act of writing look like for you? Are you tucked away from the world? Do you write on a laptop with headphones in a crowded setting? Specific hours you work?
I like to write in nature. With my first drafts both Rinse, Repeat and someone spectacular, I sat outside for the entirety of the writing process. With edits and rewriting, I can truly write anywhere. I love crowded settings, but I don’t put headphones on. I find conversation and ambient noise conducive to my writing process. The more distractions, the easier it is for me to focus. I also do a lot of writing with my dog, Gloria, snuggled up in my lap. She is my greatest muse! My hours are wildly unpredictable. Sometimes I’m typing away until 1 a.m.; sometimes I refuse to touch my laptop after 6 p.m. It depends on the project and what stage of the process I find myself in.
How has the collaboration been like with director Tatiana Pandiani?
It’s been amazing. Tatiana is brilliant. She has a clear vision for the play, and she’s not afraid to advocate for changes that ultimately make the show better. When I watch Tatiana work, I feel completely at ease. I feel comfortable stepping out for ad meetings and even missing portions of tech, which is rare for a control freak like me! But that’s the beauty of working with a collaborator I trust completely. Our cast has taken to calling her fearless leader, and I think the nickname is incredibly apt.
How important is it to have a predominantly female creative and producing team supporting the project?
There are people of all genders doing wonderful work on this project, but to have female leadership has felt very freeing and empowering. Historically, most plays, films, television shows are written, directed and produced by men. As women, we have often seen ourselves through a male lens. I believe this has had a profound effect on how we view ourselves. Across almost all industries, men are given more opportunities. It is important to me to uplift women in whatever way I can, and this has truly been an incredible group to work with.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
someone spectacular by Doménica Feraud continues at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
