Interview: Embracing the Face to Face: A Conversation with Mad Horse Theatre's Christine Louise Marshall

"It's so wonderful to hear a playwright's voice and think 'I have never heard that said in that way. It's a lovely thing!' The Artistic Director of South Portland's Mad Horse Theatre Company is talking about the theatre's upcoming Maine premiere of Jennifer Haley's dark and riveting drama, The Nether, which opens Thursday, January 19, 2017. Marshall, who has also directed the play and created the props and costumes, is undaunted by the disturbing themes of Jennifer Haley's sci-fi thriller which raises provocative moral issues, because she says, " Despite the gravity of the situations it deals with, it is a beautiful piece that I find absolutely bewitching."

The Nether, which won the 2012 Susan Blackburn Prize premiered in Los Angeles in 2013 and subsequently received West End and NYC productions, explores the dark regions of virtual reality, the uncharted waters into which technology can plunge us, and the moral questions raised by indulging in fantasies that create their own perverse world. Marshall compares it to Pillow Man, which Mad Horse did some years ago, though she adds, "Many of the shows we have done in the last few years have salted their poignancy with humor and joy. The Nether digs in deep and has fewer funny moments. We are asking the audience to share this relentless experience. Once the play [which runs about eighty minutes without intermission] starts rolling, the shoes begin to drop, and the experience just sweeps you along."

Marshall says the company selectEd Haley's play in their usual manner. "We are always on the lookout for new works, and one of our ensemble members brought this in for us to read. Jennifer Haley is such a beautiful writer. She addresses these issues of technology, which you do not always think of as subject matter for the theatre. Her voice is so current, so fresh that we identify. And when we read it, it seemed a perfect fit for Mad Horse. We are a company that likes to do different things, and the intimacy of our space [50-seat black box] allows the communication between ensemble and audience to be very intense."

Marshall expands on the content of Haley's drama. "The material of her play is very difficult. The work asks questions like 'does a virtual experience encourage a literal experience or rather does it, as one character argues, keep people in the real world safe by allowing those with perverse fantasies to go to a place where they can indulge these without doing literal harm? The play makes the argument that as human beings we cannot change who we are. One character tells us, 'This is how I am wired; you can't change me. I have been cursed with both compulsion and awareness.' He knows something is wrong with him and that something cannot be removed from him. It causes him grief as he tries to figure out what to do. Then there is a police aspect to the drama as well, and this raises the question of whether a virtual world where there is pedophilia and perversity gives people more impunity in terms of what they think they are allowed to do. I am not diminishing the gravity of the issues this play deals with, especially the pedophilia, but what you think the play is about taken on face value, you discover it is not."

Marshall continues, explaining what she finds moving about the work. "There is so much longing in the play to be seen for who a person really is. We think that by virtue of technology, we can touch people around the world and they know us better. But in my heart, I feel I know you better when I can look into your eyes. This play is really about seeing each other face to face."

The Nether uses two company members, Nick Schroeder and Janice Gardner, and two guest artists, Paul Haley and Tim Ferrell, as well as a child actor, twelve-year-old Maiya Koloski. Marshall recounts the audition process and the moment of relief when they decided on young Koloski. "She walked in and did this reading, and she just nailed it. We had seen some excellent options up until that point, but the minute we saw her, we knew she was perfect for Iris. Maiya is twelve, but very petite and she passes easily for the nine-year-old heroine at the same time that she has the maturity to handle the material. Naturally, we talked with her parents [who are also theatre professionals] about any concerns they might have, but Maiya has proved to be the cog in the Entire company's wheel. As adults we remind ourselves of or demeanor and language, of course, but we have been able to be open and not particularly oblique in talking about the material. She breaks my heart when I see her work so beautifully with the others."

The rehearsal process has also been one of discovery, Marshall says. "We started in November with breaks to accommodate the holidays, but I feel we are in really good shape at this point. Because it is a small ensemble that is almost always at the theatre together, this builds a level of support for each other's work that resonates in the final product. As the director, I love watching actors have revelations about what a moment means. This time I think they will be getting to opening next week with a special awareness that we might not have achieved in a shorter rehearsal period."

Marshall is also excited about the technical production which features sets by John Sundling, lighting by Heather Crocker, and sound design by Jason Cote. As she chats, Sundling is putting together the flats for the evening's tech rehearsal, and he comments on how much he loves the freedom of the black box space: "It has a mesmerizing effect; it gives the actors a great deal of space and depth." Marshall adds that since the play is about virtual reality, they have had to create that world in the theatre and that they will use "a number of exciting bells and whistles." But she notes that as the rehearsal process moved along and "as we watched the actors penetrate deep into the material with spare, compelling performances, we decided to pare away a great many unnecessary effects to keep the visual as simple and honest as the emotional core of the drama."

Asked how she feels the Portland audience will react to The Nether, Marshall says, "We choose our plays because we love them and believe in them. And we are making every effort with this production to encourage discussion. We have added an extra audience talkback, and at every curtain speech I will be inviting conversation after the show. If there are objections or controversy, I will invite the person to see the show and then offer to talk with him/her about it."

Marshall also notes, though Mad Horse did not know this when they programmed The Nether, that the opening weekend falls just following the inauguration and a great many patrons may be in Washington DC. either for the event or the March on Washington January 21. That said, however, she has made a huge effort to capture the spirit of the nationwide Ghostlight Project into the opening. We have reached out to invite so many of our alumni to come share the moment with us, and by performing this beautiful, brave, and cathartic play, we hope to demonstrate our solidarity as artists and our continued commitment to support the arts and the truth they speak.'

Pausing to reflect a moment on what message she would most like Mad Horse's audiences to take away from The Nether, she replies, "I hope they come away understanding that people are more than any label they might wear. No matter how fast the world is moving and technology changing, human beings share a desire to be known for who they are, to communicate with other people honestly and kindly. This is something we must hold onto even tighter than before. It is critical we do not give up the face-to-face communication. If we can just take a minute and look into each other's eyes, maybe we would all feel better about the world we are living in and we could help make it move forward in a positive way."

Halting reflectively and then adding quietly, Christine Louise Marshall sums up her wish: "My hope is that the audience will want to talk after they see The Nether because Mad Horse's mission is very much about bringing people together."

Photos courtesy of Mad Horse Theatre Company

The Nether runs at Mad Horse Theatre Company, 24 Mosher St., South Portland, ME from January 19-February 5, 2017. www.madhorsetheatre.com 207-747-4148