BWW Interviews: Jeremy Duncan Pape and WOYZECK, FJF

Woyzeck, FJF will be on a limited engagement from February 28th through March 21st at the New Ohio Theatre at 154 Christopher Street in New York City. The show has been adapted by Jeremy Duncan Pape and D.L. Siegel. Brought to the stage by NoWin Productions, it is also directed by Jeremy Duncan Pape and stars James Kautz (Artistic Director of The Amoralists) as Woyzeck.

In Woyzeck, FJF, Georg Büchner's modern classic Woyzeck has been radically re-imagined as the haunting story of a condemned man desperate to uncover the truth in a dangerous world. Using Büchner's original dialogue, No-Win examines the end of a man's life through the lens of his own insurmountable madness in this riveting production of one of the most acclaimed and influential plays in the history of German theater.

Jeremy Duncan Pape holds an MFA in directing from the New School for Drama and a BFA in acting from Philadelphia's University of the Arts. His directing credits include Carlos Cisco's The Last Days, Bill Winegardner's Waste of Space and William Whitehurst's Knuckleball, which won Best Drama and Best Overall Production at the 2008 San Francisco Fringe. Jeremy's directing and design work was seen in the Amoralists' critically acclaimed 2008-2011 seasons at P.S. 122 and Theater 80. From 2006-2010 he was the Associate Artistic Director and Technical Director of EndTimes Productions. Currently, Jeremy is the Production Manager for The Amoralists and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and the founding Artistic Director of No-Win Productions.

Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Jeremy Duncan Pape about his career and Woyzeck, FJF.

What was your earliest interest in theater?

I was around 6 years old and they stuck us on stage in an incarnation of The Swiss Family Robinson. I was the kid who memorized the entire script and whispered lines to the other kids when they forgot what they were supposed to say. The next year, somebody thought it would be a great idea to cast me as Snidely Whiplash so of course I 'choreographed' my first stage fight (against Dudley do-Right. Also I wore a giant mustache and spoke in a scary voice). I was hooked early.

Who have been some of your personal mentors?

I was lucky and had a couple of very inspiring teachers/directors when I was in high school. John Watkins and Larry Goldstein consistently challenged me in ways that other teachers never did, they inspired me to explore and to create, and they always amazed me with how much they were able to accomplish with so little. There have been others, but these two got to me first.

What performances have inspired you?

I distinctly remember seeing Jefferson Mays onstage in I am My Own Wife. What an amazing performance that was! But when I find myself needing a jolt of inspiration, I usually just think back to the last time I attended the Edinburgh Fringe. 5 years later and it still gets me amped!

How is adapting and directing Woyzeck, FJF very distinctive to your career?

This sort of manipulation of text is a place that I thrive. I have had the opportunity to do this sort of adaptation a few times before, with the likes of Chekov and the Clash, and have found that I have an aptitude for realigning other people's words. As for the rest of the production, I think that the attention to detail and agile performances are significant markers in my work. This is a demanding piece for everyone involved. Which is probably also a marker of my work.

What challenges has this piece presented?

One of the biggest challenges to the piece is defining the world and the rules of the world. This is true of many plays, but this particular production needs very strict rules in place and quickly, so that we can break them. My ideas of insanity have a lot to do with expectation and operating in opposition to expectation and you cannot have expectation without rules.

Is there anything else about Woyzeck, FJF you'd like our BWW readers to know?

I feel it is important to remember that these characters are based on real people. Marie and Woyzeck were real people whose lives were ended before their time and we have done our best to honor those people, and to not judge or moralize them.

We asked Jeremy Duncan Pape about his plans for the future.

My next confirmed project is directing William Rough's Dragonslayers as part of the Dramatists' Guild's Friday Night Footlights reading series (May 22nd), and after that, getting married in October!

For more info you can visit https://www.Facebook.com/NoWinProductions

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jeremy Duncan Pape