INTERVIEW: In ‘Goodbody,’ the smoking gun is just the beginning
Photo: From left, Dustin Charles and Alex Morf star in Goodbody at 59E59 Theaters. Photo courtesy of Carol Rosegg / Provided by Karen Greco PR with permission.
First-time playwright J.C. Ernst has crafted a new show that includes a mysterious barn in upstate New York, a recently murdered corpse and a smoking gun in the hands of the protagonist. Goodbody, directed by Melissa Firlit, is now playing at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan.
In the play, the character of Maria enters that barn and finds the corpse. In order to understand what happened, she needs to question the man who is bound and cowering in the corner. Soon enough, the audience needs to decide who to trust as they piece together what happened and whodunit.
The production comes to New York thanks to The Crook Theater Company. The cast consists of Raife Baker, Dustin Charles, Alex Morf and Amanda Sykes.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox spoke with Ernst about the play. Here’s what he had to say:
On the inspiration for the show …
“The inspiration came from probably boredom. I was doing lots of play readings and showcases, that kind of thing, and just readings at friends’ houses. And a lot of the stuff I was reading, particularly the new play readings that I was going through, I guess it was interesting. The subject matter was sometimes thought-provoking — yeah, sure — but it wasn’t fun. It wasn’t a joy to do. I wasn’t excited to play these roles, so I came home one night and was like, well, let me put my money where my mouth is pretty much. Let me sit down, challenge myself and let me write something that I would have a good time and really enjoy being a part in and try to do that with all the characters that are in this. Like, I would love to play every single character that is in the show, so I sat down — it was probably four years ago — and started writing.”
On how many changes occurred over the intervening years …
“The tone is definitely the same, but it is about ⅓ shorter. So I cut out quite a bit. I think that makes things sharper. I think the characters — their impulses, their objectives — are clearer, and so I think everything got sharpened. As far as plots, I had a character that never made it to the stage, talked about a lot in the first version. … That all got cut out, all the extraneous stuff. It just boiled down to the bare bones, the characters that are on the stage and just the information that is absolutely necessary that happened off the stage, so that’s kind of what has happened. We did a couple workshops with some really fantastic directors over the winter, and that really helped in that process.”
On whether he was active during rehearsals …
“I wasn’t at the beginning because we still wanted to do some more cutting and cut down the runtime of it, so, yeah, I have been less and less. So [a few weeks ago] I gave them the final copy of all the cuts and edits. Unless they come to me with any edits, I am not doing anything else to the script. … So I’m still working full time at my job. I’m a waiter. … So I’m still working there nights, and all my off nights, I will come into rehearsal and check it out. And if I feel like I have to say something, then I will, but I trust Melissa. She’s really, really talented, and all the actors, three of them I went to grad school with. … So I know them really well, and I trust them. And the fourth actor, he’s fantastic. I’m really stoked and trust everyone involved. I’m not too worried about not being in the room, which is really strange. If you knew me, that’s really strange for me to say. I’m really hands on. I really like to have my point of view known.”
On whether he would be in the audience for the show at 59E59 …
“It’s crossed my mind not to be in the room because I feel like I’m wanting to pace around. I’ve never written a play before. This is my first one, so I know I’m going to be very antsy. But I am going to be so excited [based] just what I’ve seen in rehearsals. Man, I’ve been enthralled and so excited and surprised. I don’t know how I could be surprised; I wrote the play, but it’s really, really fun. Yes, I know I’m going to be totally, completely a nervous wreck — probably. But I’m going to have a great crowd there that first night that’s going to be very supportive, and I can’t wait for everyone to see everyone’s amazing work in this. That will get me to overcome that nervous energy, I’m sure. I’m sure my knee will be bouncing during the show.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Goodbody continues through Nov. 4 at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
