Interview: Director Sean Graney
We caught up with Sean Graney during rehearsals for this sexy, chaotic comedy to find out what makes him tick. We got a little more than we bargained for…
What was your first introduction to theatre?
The first play I ever saw was Peter Pan, and I was bored.
So what’s your favorite play?
Woyzeck.
Who are your favorite writers?
Eugene Ionesco and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
What do you consider sexy?
I find the human mind really sexy, a really intelligent conversation is one of the most effective aphrodisiacs. I am totally lying. Actually, watching a woman touching ... [CENSORED BY COURT THEATRE].
Ummm… If you couldn’t work in the theatre, what profession would you choose?
Hobo.
Do you dream at night?
I always like dreams, and what I am fascinated with is reliving them in my head. Each dream has its own logic and accompanying feelings ranging from frightened, to erotic, to euphoric, to bizarre alien feelings we don’t experience in our waking lives. I like to relive those feelings by reintroducing myself to some images I remember from the dream. I love dreams. I wish we could interact with life the way we interact with dreams.
Do you consider yourself repressed?
For sure.
Do you have any brothers, sisters, pets, or a significant other?
Yes, one of each of the above.
What do you admire most in a person?
Compassion and self-reliance.
What talent would you most like to have?
To be able to not have to sleep or eat.
So, what’s with the cat fetish?
Jacqueline, the costume designer, and I were talking about having the costumes become more and more revealing of people’s repressions. We brainstormed a lot of ideas about what Sgt. Match could be revealing as his repression, since he is the last person we see take off his clothes. The ideas ranged from the bizarre to the grotesque; we both felt that the cat fetish sat the best.
Have you ever been a voyeur?
Yes.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
That is a toss up between “Work hard” and “Don’t @*#$ with people.”
What do you think about the Chicago theatre scene?
&%$#@ %^*#@! we don’t have the space for this one. Overall, I like a lot about it, but at times I get mad at it. I think we are still stuck in an American Realism mindset. Some people want theatre to move beyond that mind set, and those people are very exciting theatre makers, reviewers, and patrons. But a lot of people don’t and those people make me sad.
How is working at Court different from working with your own company, The Hypocrites?
I don’t have to fill out questionnaires at my own company. But to be more honest, it is completely opposite in many respects-for example, the time at Court spent in the rehearsal room, the amount of money spent on the design process allows for a lot more freedom, working with actors who don’t need to spend their whole day making money at some soul-sucking job, then come to rehearsal and give their remaining soul to the play. But there are some things that are better about working at The Hypocrites, for instance ... [CENSORED BY COURT THEATRE].
–Elaine B. Wackerly
