STT Announces Double Feature By Caryl Churchill

As the third offering in its 2019 season, Second Thought Theatre will present a double feature of the rarely produced Caryl Churchill plays Drunk Enough to Say I love You? and Here We Go. STT Artistic Director Alex Organ directs both plays. Returning to the STT stage as part of the dual-cast ensemble are Brandon Potter (Straight White Men) Jenny Ledel (Revolt. She said. Revolt again., Empathitrax, Grounded), and Blake Hackler. Joining these alum in their STT debuts are local luminaries Kieran Connolly (Dallas Theatre Center Diane and Hal Brierley Acting Company member) and Rhonda Boutte (Kitchen Dog Theater company member). Presenting both plays each evening as a single offering, the Caryl Churchill double feature begins with previews on Wednesday, June 5 and runs through Saturday, June 29. All performances will take place at Bryant Hall on the Kalita Humphreys Campus, 3400 Blackburn Street. Tickets to each performance can be purchased online at secondthoughttheatre.com.

Few authors have altered the landscape of modern theater with greater impact than Caryl Churchill. One of the greatest living playwrights in the world, Churchill has written more than 40 plays as well as for television, film, and radio during a career that has spanned more than six decades.

"I'd been itching to produce her work at Second Thought and knew that she'd written a handful of exciting and challenging pieces in the last 15-20 years, but that many of them were shorter plays, "said Organ. "Two in particular stood out to me, but with run times of less than an hour, neither, on its own, felt like a full evening of theater. By presenting this double feature, we are giving our audience a chance to experience two of her pieces for the price of one - not as companion pieces, because they share little common ground thematically - but as an opportunity to explore lesser-known, shorter works from one of theater's most legendary voices."

Drunk Enough To Say I Love You? is an examination of American identity through the characters of "GUY, a man" and his seducer, "SAM, a country". At a moment in history when America is wrestling with its own identity in violent and surprising ways, the torrid affair between Sam and Guy represent the dual face of America - the abusive yet irresistible - as Sam's bloodlust becomes too much for Guy.

Here We Go is a meditation on that most universal of human experiences: death. First, we witness a group of acquaintances at a post-funeral reception, where we listen to them speak about the man who's just passed. Next, we encounter the dead man at the moment his earthy life ends, and we watch him begin his journey into the next plane of existence. Finally we see this man right before his death, receiving end-of-life care from an in-home nurse. This simple but powerful ode to ephemerality reminds us of the fleeting nature of our existence on earth and provides a possible glimpse of what might lie just beyond.

STT Artistic Associate Aaron Johansen (Lela & Co., Incognito, Revolt. She said. Revolt again.) will design lights, and Amanda Capshaw returns to design costumes, having previously designed Lela & Co., Empathitrax, and Martyr. Combining their talents as Jim/John Make Noise, STT alums John Flores and Jim Kuenzer will co-design sound.

The double feature of Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? and Here We Go opens with previews on Wednesday, June 5 and Thursday, June 6 at 7:30pm. Opening and press night is Friday, June 7 at 8:00pm. The PWYC performances of Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? and Here We Go will take place on Wednesday, June 5; Thursday, June 6; Monday, June 10; Monday, June 17; and Monday, June 24 at 7:30p. PWYC tickets are available at the box office one hour prior to the start of the performance and are subject to availability. Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? and Here We Go runs through June 29. Tickets are on sale now at secondthoughttheatre.com and can be purchased for $25.

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