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What's next for you?
Goldsmith: I'm a full-time lawyer right now but would love
to transition to making a living as a writer. Hopefully,
Danny Boy will be a step towards that. Writing-wise, I'm
working on a comic screenplay about the kidnapping of the
Queen Elizabeth and a play about the last two Jews in Afghanistan.
I'd also love to try to adapt Danny Boy as a TV or movie
script.
Goodrich: Short term, I'm getting married. Then I begin
to teach this fall at Frostburg State University. There
has been talk of shooting a pilot of Danny Boy, and I would
indeed like to pursue that.
What type of theater do you see?
Goldsmith: All types really. Broadway, Off, and Off-Off.
New plays, revivals, musicals, you name it. I don't see
much avant-garde work. I really prefer stories told in a
somewhat naturalistic way, though I'm occasionally pleasantly
surprised and moved by more cutting-edge works.
Goodrich: Cheap theater. It amazes me, if I may dish for
a moment, that someone who has studied theater at NYU can't
afford to see theater in NYC. I have been very fortunate
working at Off-Broadway houses like the Women's Project
and Classic Stage Company, as I get to see the shows that
they produce. I try to be a supportive friend and see what
theater they are creating. I've been spending a lot of time
recently attending poetry readings, as I am most interested
in language.
Who or what are
your influences?
Goldsmith: One of my favorite modern playwrights is the
late Herb Gardner, author of such plays as A Thousand Clowns,
I'm Not Rappaport, and Conversations With My Father. Conversations,
especially, I think is such a wonderful play. Elegiac and
funny and moving. I've also been tremendously influenced
by the other playwrights and screenwriters in Urban Myth,
a writers' group I've been involved with for years.
Goodrich: Theatre-wise, I've always taken my influences
from other writers, not necessarily other directors. I can't
get enough of Pinter and Ionesco. They've influenced my
timing and use of silence. And though Danny Boy wouldn't
fit into that genre, I'm in awe about their use of offstage
menace. I've recently reread Ann Bogart's A Director Prepares.
It's difficult to learn a lot from a book on directing.
But it's fun to explore the theory conveyed. I also have
many contemporary poetic influences: Stephen Dunn, Billy
Collins, Sharon Olds, Stanley Kunitz.
Can you tell us about some of the
challenges you've faced in preparing Danny Boy for its premiere
at the 2006 New York City Fringe Festival?
Goldsmith: I'm pretty nervous about the fact that our actors
only got into the theater space once, over a week before
we're scheduled to open. But we did get a great theater
that we wouldn't be able to afford otherwise, so I guess
I shouldn't complain. The show times might prove to be a
challenge as well. My jaw dropped when I saw that we were
scheduled to perform one show at midnight. But hopefully
some insomniacs will straggle in.
Goodrich: The first challenge was a casting challenge. The
actor playing Danny Boy had to be just right. Charming yet
self-effacing and local. That was nerve-racking, but we
finally settled on the perfect actor. The other challenges
have been timing. I'm getting married and have to decide
what my own priorities are. Working with the Fringe has
been so thrilling, but of course it has challenges of its
own.
Elena [Holy, the festival's artistic director], of course,
has organized a remarkable event. I'm guessing she has incredible
staff as well. This thing is huge, with over 200, I believe,
shows participating. Because of the number of shows, this
has presented certain technical difficulties. Sharing the
space with many other productions, for example. In order
to load in and strike every night within 15 minutes, we
have to create a compatible set. But of course everyone
faces these challenges. Everyone is on the same page. I'm
just happy to be a part of this. |
