INTERVIEW: Robert Montano’s ‘SMALL’ is centered on how dreams can change
Photo: Robert Montano stars in SMALL at 59E59 Theaters. Photo courtesy of Dorice Arden Madronero / Provided by Matt Ross PR with permission.
Robert Montano not only wrote the new solo show SMALL, but he also stars in the play. And if that wasn’t enough: The show is 100 percent true, based entirely on Montano’s professional experiences. In the play, Bobby is a jockey who is trying to win big in the competitive world of professional horse racing. He has many ups and downs to his career and life, but when being a jockey doesn’t pan out the way he had hoped, the theatrical stage beckons him for a new career choice. At its heart, SMALL is about dreams and whether these dreams should change as one progresses from year to year.
The production, which is currently playing 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan, originated at the well-respected Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point, New York. For the New York City transfer, the show received quite the push from an outside producer: Yes, Chita Rivera, is among the producing team for the 59E59 run.
Recently the play’s director, Jessi D. Hill, exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox about the show and what inspired its creation. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired you to direct SMALL?
Bobby and I had the same agent who introduced us. We arranged to meet, and I asked him to read his current draft of SMALL to me out loud. I was riveted, and it was so unique. I had never come across a story like his, and I got very excited about helping him craft it into an absorbing theatrical experience. I pitched him an approach to it, which was entirely executing physical theater and dance supporting his text, and we decided to work together. And what a ride it’s been! When I learned about Bobby’s career and how he found his way from the racetrack into the dance world, I convinced him to write the “dance” part of the story, which was the major work we did on the text together. I was onboard from that point forward.
Are there any additional challenges directing a solo piece?
As many additional challenges as there are additional joys! In this case, the writer is the performer, and the story is 100 percent true, drawing on some very personal and painful autobiographical material. Helping a solo performer navigate stirring up their real lived experience while also helping them make an entertaining piece of theater is always the line you’re walking. How to tell a personal story to inspire and move an audience without tripping into it feeling like therapy or navel gazing? This is always a primary challenge with autobiographical solo works where the writer is the performer.
Is it interesting having your performer also be the writer?
Absolutely. You get to know each other pretty well, because it’s often just the two of us and the production stage manager in the creative room. So, it’s extra satisfying to have the time to go deep into conversation and collaboration with one artist over time. It’s especially rewarding when you’ve been working on this piece for as long as Bobby and I have. We’ve learned so much about it together, taken it through many incarnations, and we’ve really earned each other’s respect and count on each other’s taste, honesty, and artistry.
What would you say is the message of the piece? Although not everyone will become a jockey (or grace a Broadway stage), there seems to be some universal themes at play.
I think most everyone knows what it is to chase a dream — a career, a person you love, etc. And no matter how hard you try, no matter how much you love and work for it, you just can’t make it happen. So, you eventually have to let go of that dream, and it’s painful. Yet, just when that door closes, another can open. I hope SMALL leaves the audience thinking about their own dreams (past and present) and how they ended up on their own path, and to have faith that the life path they’re on now is the right place to be for wherever they are in their journey.
When did you know this was the career choice for you? Did you think about acting first and then transition to directing?
The acting bug bit me in late middle school, and I never looked back. I was lucky to have interest and a lot of encouragement to try directing in my late teens and pursued both directing and acting training throughout my life. In the end it was all to be a better director. I joke with actors I work with that I’m an actor in a director’s body.
What was it like working at Penguin Rep Theatre and now 59E59?
I love working at 59E59. Everyone is wonderful! Penguin Rep is also wonderful. They gave us everything we needed to make this show a reality. There’s always a feeling of being part of a family at Penguin that I’m so grateful for.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
SMALL, written by and starring Robert Montano, is directed by Jessi D. Hill and continues through Saturday, Sept. 2 at 59E59 Theaters in Midtown Manhattan. Click here for more information and tickets.
