The week before auditions for Jekyll & Hyde, I had a conversation with Stacey about her thoughts and dreams of the show, the company, and her experiences.
David Tolles: Why did you choose to direct Jekyll & Hyde?
Stacey Spain: I never classified Jekyll and Hyde as fantasy or horror…even as a kid it made sense to me that each of us has many faces to show the world…our masks of profession, duty, family and honor. Jekyll and Hyde is about this journey of integration and acknowledgment. We are all yearning toward, searching for, breathing with, longing to love and be loved, right? And equally and in the opposite direction are the shadows of all of that: hate, anger, lust. Not pretty or talked about but just as real human expressions. This play lives in the territory between expectation and reality. The actors have this delicious job to tear this man apart and put him together again. It is so hard to love a monster, especially if he is beautiful to gaze upon. My job will be to allow the audience to create their own alliances, see their own connections and love the reflection closest to their private self.
DT: How did you get involved with RLT?
SS: RLT is a Reno institution, I became aware of the excellence of their production values and the depth of commitment from their board volunteers during Beckett. I was privileged in my previous position with the City of Reno to read RLT’s grants which outlined their production plans and uses for the new theater, I can remember thinking…these are smart passionate people who will get the job done…who wouldn’t want to come play in their yard?
DT: When did you start directing?
SS: My growth as a director began with my interest in new works and playmaking when I worked for Idaho Theater for Youth. Often (when there is no script yet and you are working with a group of artists) leaders emerge to sculpt the message, that is how I leapt from acting to directing. My graduate studies revolved around acting but as a theater professional before I attended Purdue, I knew that you must be willing to take on many roles to work consistently in the theater and directing is one of the most challenging endeavors to undertake.
DT: What do you love most about directing?
SS: Well, again speaking as a playwright, I love and revere words, the story, the world created on the page and as a director I strive to bring that specific world to life. I worked as a dramaturg at Idaho Shakespeare Festival and while there learned how to apply several play analysis methods to tease meaning from scripts…as a director the job is to convey these layers of meaning to the cast in a way that creates meaningful action onstage.
DT: What do you look for in actors when you’re casting?
SS: Courage. Physical and emotional flexibility, specificity and honesty.
DT: Any final thoughts before the journey begins?
SS: We are lucky to be in a market where theater can still be about the journey – process oriented with eyes, of course on that final product we’ll deliver to the audience. This span of time spent with this script has the power to transform lives. I hope to provide a safe space for exploration and I hope to deliver this story in an exciting, dark, scary and passionate way. I hope to offer a way for actors to embrace their shadows within the context of this script.
