Out of Box Theatre gets Bright Ideas
Out of Box Theatre will be opening their newest production, Bright Ideas, September 13. Directed by Morgan Brooks, the play handles a very touchy topic: choosing the right preschool and the race to get your child into it. Below, Brooks talks about some of the characters drastic choices, how preschool can make everything fall apart, and relating to ridiculous characters.
Q. Bright Ideas is one of those shows that takes a modern dilemma and shines a big light on its triviality. While directing this show how did you balance the silly with the serious?
A. Everything in this play happens because these parents, Josh and Genevra, are so desperate to give their child the best start he can possibly have. That desperation made it very easy for our cast to find that balance between comedy and the darker side of their actions. What the audience can see is a terrible idea seems like a stroke of genius to Josh and Gen because of their manic desperation. We can laugh at them because we think we would never entertain such a ridiculous plan, but we never know what we’ll do to protect our children.
Q. Though about choosing and getting into the right preschool, Bright Ideas makes a child choice into an adult one. Do the characters ever see past the “keeping up with the Jones'” mentality while starting their child’s education?
A. There are moments where Josh and Gen ponder giving up the pace they have established for themselves by joining Bright Ideas, but Gen in particular is very caught up in making sure they fit in. Those moments where they consider giving it all up are the ones that really make them sympathetic as parents to me, despite all the crazy things they do during the course of the play.
Q. Preschool is the new Ivy League college in this play. And the decision is all based upon a specific dinner party. Is the play completely set within these limits?
A. The dinner party is the turning point for Josh and Genevra, but the play deals with the aftermath, as well. There always seems to be just one more thing they must do before they feel secure in their position at Bright Ideas.
Q. Toted as the show that makes you never look at preschool or pesto the same way. Without giving too much away, what role does pesto play?
A. Well, let’s just say Genevra makes a killer pesto.
Q. There seems to be a lot of strategy when it comes to the main characters, Josh and Gen, getting their child into the right preschool. Are they a team in the race for success?
A. The dynamic shifts between Josh and Gen as the play unfolds. They start out as, “partners in greatness,” but the stress of maintaining their place at Bright Ideas puts their partnership to the test.
