A talk about Serenbe’s A Walk in the Woods
Serenbe Playhouse opened its newest show in The Season of Change last night, A Walk in the Woods. The play is not your usual whimsical, fun outdoor event. It packs a huge punch of political and the two characters involved have a huge decision to make that will impact the world. Below, the director, Harrison Long, talks about how current this play actually is, surprise guest stars, and how important the tiny truths are.
Q. A Walk in the Woods has a bit of a misleading title. Though set in the woods, the content and meaning of this “walk” are very dire, political, and powerful. Can you tell audiences a little bit about the premise of A Walk in the Woods?
A. In the woods near Geneva, Switzerland, two arms negotiators, one American and one Russian, meet to hash out an arms deal away from the scrutiny of the paparazzi. The play is loosely based on actual events. Two arms negotiators working in Geneva in 1982, American Paul Nitze and Russian Yuli Kvitsinsky walked together in the woods. Afterward, they were able to hammer out an arms-control proposal. Playwright Lee Blessing invents four conversations spanning the better part of a year and bridging the first and second terms of the Reagan Administration.
Q. What was it like to direct a show that has an original setting of the outdoors, not on a stage but in its natural location?
A. It really surprised me to find out that our production is the outdoor premiere of such a highly acclaimed play. It seemed like an obvious choice to me. A Walk in the Woods is a perfect fit for Serenbe, a community replete with gorgeous green space and majestic trees. The trees are really the third character in the play. Not only do they provide a stunning backdrop for the action, but they also double as a visual foil to the nuclear missiles the characters are bartering.
Q. What were some of the hangups when dealing with working in the elements? And did these seem to act as tiny bonuses for characters and depiction?
A. There is a huge advantage to working outside. You don’t have to imagine the environment because you’re actually in it. Of course we have to keep our fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate. Also, each of the scenes takes place in a different season. We have to be crafty about communicating the change of seasons with flowers, leaves and clothing. The actors have to create the sense of winter while wearing winter clothes in the summer! You’d be amazed at how convincingly they create the illusion of cold in such heat! Then there’s the wildlife. One evening a beautiful deer arrived in the perfect position, just upstage of the actors, during the final moment of the play. It was breathtaking! For a couple of days we strategized about how we could coax the deer to do that every night. Unfortunately, we never heard back from the doe’s agent. Our final dress rehearsal was a hoot. This hilarious jack russell terrier kept running onto the stage. Allan, who play’s the Soviet diplomat, was forced to improvise: “What a nice little Swiss dog!” But don’t worry. Now we have a dog interception team in place. We were relieved to find out the interloper isn’t a Serenbe resident and won’t likely return for an encore performance.
Q. Botvinnik and Honeyman, the main characters in this play, meet in the woods to avoid being heard and feel the safety of an un-bugged, and unmonitored arena. These fears are probably even more amplified in today’s culture. What was it like working with this emotionally intense material and portraying such dire situations?
A. The play stands alone as a dynamic piece of theatre because the writing is so skillful. And frankly, we’ve got two of the best actors in the Southeast playing these two powerhouse roles. It’s like watching Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier in the ring. But there’s additional electricity because the play is as current as yesterday’s headlines. In Berlin last week, President Obama called for a nuclear reductions treaty with Russia that would “move beyond cold war nuclear postures.” The Russians immediately responded saying: “How can we take seriously this idea about cuts in strategic nuclear potential while the United States is developing its potential to intercept this strategic potential?” The play is more current than we even realized it would be.
Q. Though set during the Cold War, the ideas, fears and political climate still ring true today. What were your hopes for an audience’s take-away with this show?
A. Empathy. It’s a destructive human habit to psychologically separate from people different from ourselves. How can we achieve lasting progress without trust, without the ability to look across the negotiating table and recognize ourselves in one another? How can we break through the gridlocks, both at home and abroad, brought on by our individual and collective needs for power and security? Theatre tells tiny truths with a lowercase “t.” When we do our job we plant the seeds of personal awareness. But on down the line, these tiny truths can result in incremental change.
