INTERVIEW: New Charles Mee play explores life of artist James Castle
Acclaimed playwright Charles Mee’s newest work is soot and spit, a biographical portrait of James Castle, billed as one of the country’s great “outsider artists.” Castle was born profoundly deaf and never learned to read and write; his creative outlet was his artwork.
Mee’s play, produced by Our Voices Theater, is part of The Archive Residency, a collaboration between IRT Theater and New Ohio Theatre, where soot and spit runs through June 17.
Kim Weild directs the world premiere production, and recently she exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox. In the interview, she opens up about working with Mee and what inspired her to join this project. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What was it like collaborating with Charles Mee?
Joyous, nerve-wracking, exhilarating and transcendent. He is uniquely original, a remarkable human being — his generosity of spirit is humbling. A gentle giant who has the uncanny ability to put everyone and anyone at ease. He’s very collaborative. We have great fun bouncing ideas back and forth, yet there are moments when he says no to an idea. I greatly appreciate that challenge, having something to push against, but that’s also in his writing, too … having something to push against.
An example is that there is a section in soot and spit where there are four long monologues in succession of each other. When I first started working on the piece, I called him to discuss this section. I wanted to know more about where it came from in him and also if he might consider moving the speeches, interspersing them throughout the piece, and he very strongly said, ‘No. I knew exactly what I was doing when I wrote this.’
I remember being a little thrown off guard. I hadn’t heard this tone from him before, and I became silent for a bit because I anticipated having a discussion with him. Then, I heard him say, ‘It’s a landscape. The play is a landscape.’ And I am not sure why, but I immediately understood. To this day, I am so grateful he said no. I won’t lie it was an intense challenge to figure it out, but it’s a magical part of the play.
What interested you in this play?
The humanity in it. It is a celebration of Castle’s life and the perseverance of the human spirit. Castle was [determined] to make himself into an artist despite how others viewed him. Like most artists, Castle made art because he needed to make art. He never learned to read, write, sign or speak, but his art was his language — a beautiful, rich, haunting and powerful language evoking longing, loneliness, humor and silence. It is also the only play that Chuck has explicitly said is about disability though he only just acknowledged that fact.
And there’s something else, soot and spit is also about the special bond I share with my brother, Jamie. Born five years before me, he happened to be born profoundly deaf. He himself communicated through drawing and only came to learn sign language later in life as he started out in an auralist school. Having him as my older brother has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. He has taught me much about love, patience, kindness, compassion, courage, tenacity, communication, the value of silence, how to feel and hear with my eyes. He has taught me that each of [us] is deeply original and how to look beyond the fear of difference and embrace connection.
What do you hope the takeaway is from the audience’s perspective?
We are clear that we are offering up a kind of unique theatrical experience as we bring Castle’s world to life through bluegrass music, dancing, American Sign Language and multimedia projections of Castle’s artwork. We hope soot and spit will enable the audience to experience ‘other.’ We also hope the audience will take the initiative to learn more about James Castle.
How challenging is the piece for the actors to perform?
You’d have to ask them, but I think they’d say it’s been challenging.
When did you realize a life in theater was a life for you?
Fifth grade. Siwanoy Elementary School. I was playing Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker. I got all worked up in a scene, and as I exited the stage, I slammed the door. I heard the audience response on the other side. I’ll never forget the electricity I felt of putting my thoughts into physical action and the realization that it awakened others to connect.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
soot and spit is currently playing the New Ohio Theatre as part of The Archive Residency. Performances run through June 17. Click here for more information and tickets.
