INTERVIEW: Eden Theater Company turns its focus to the kitchen for latest installment of ‘Room Plays’
Photo: Diane Davis serves as producing artistic director of Eden Theater Company. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Emily Owens PR with permission.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still raging around the world, individuals have become closely acquainted with the ins and outs of their respective homes. Leaving the house or apartment and interacting with crowds has become too dangerous while the coronavirus continues to spread, so by default, everyone has become a homebody.
Building off this new reality, the Eden Theater Company has spent the past few months exploring various rooms in the house for theatrical inspiration. Their expansive, four-part series concludes this month with The Kitchen Plays, a smorgasbord of three mini-productions that deal with that sacred (and perhaps misunderstood) place of food, fun and family. The offerings are presented live on Zoom through Feb. 20.
The Kitchen Plays consists of Ginger Bug by Jake Brasch, which depicts Perry as a cooking-obsessed viewer of TV personalities Guy Fieri and Mary Berry; Passion Project by Cassandra Paras, which follows auditioning actors Sophie and Larry; and For the Family by Madison Harrison about Tara, who is set to host her estranged parents for Thanksgiving. In total, the three plays run 50 minutes.
At the helm of The Kitchen Plays and the Eden Theater Company is Diane Davis, who serves as producing artistic director and also directs For the Family. Her curation of this theatrical evening, and the overall Room Plays, has offered thoughtful commentary on the isolation and uncertainty of living in one’s home during a pandemic. Recently Davis exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about The Kitchen Plays. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
How did the idea for The Kitchen Plays come about?
We wanted to do a site-specific theater event that was in some ways an extension of the Room Series but something unto itself with the idea of moving into onsite live theater.
What can audience members expect when they sign up for these Zoom shows?
The plays are all new works written within the last couple of months, and they will be performed live. The live performances will be streamed on Zoom — it will be a performance in real time not something pre-recorded. We want our audience to know that they are part of a live event encouraging the actors by their presence on Zoom. However much we are separated by the pandemic Zoom world, this live performance is a moment in time together. We really want to get back to live theater, and we thought this would be a good first step back.
How was the experience of directing For the Family for a virtual audience?
Rehearsals for the first two weeks were on Zoom. Most of that work was table work and rewrites as we explored the intersection with the onsite and online. Our writers had to balance between the two worlds, and this became trickier than we thought at points.
How important is the kitchen as a setting? Did the room provide many theatrical possibilities?
The kitchen is the hearth of a home. It is a place where many of us let go of our inhibitions. We eat, we create and we consume in the kitchen, and in these times the kitchen has become a new place for finding a sense of safety, always nourishment, but also community as we share our kitchens with others on Zoom.
How much has COVID-19 devastated the theater community?
Many people were financially ruined by the pandemic, but several found new ways to creatively survive. So much excellent new digital plays are coming out in readings and taped performances. Theater people have become more tech savvy when it comes to getting the technological screen as the central stage.
For me, I have never wanted to get that comfortable for the Zoom world. At ETC we wanted to keep our mission of new play development — keep actors creating unique characters and get performances in the homes of our audiences. Despite being apart from the stage, the COVID pandemic has forced us to reconsider our theater — to re-examine who we are in this community. I believe many theater persons found their heart to become more interested in the ‘screen’ world but a theatrical performer is more or less on hiatus — the opportunity to regroup creatively.
What do you hope for the future of theater?
Getting under the hot lights, and getting people in seats looking at a stage with actors living truthfully in their imaginary situation — to experience the visceral energy of live theater.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Kitchen Plays, produced by Eden Theater Company, runs through Feb. 20. Click here for more information.
