Lights, camera, direction!

With his show going up this week, Director Kyle Fabel has been as busy as an ant next to a chocolate-chip cookie. Before rehearsal on Tuesday, however, he combined his lunch hour with a much-anticipated interview with your favorite blogger (me). Talking to Kyle was like talking to a real artist - he took a few moments to think about his answers and spoke eloquently and thoughtfully, despite the frenzied setting of our interview (the Playhouse box office). So here's a bit of info about our resident artist at work:

As a child, Kyle was surrounded by theatre. His family performed in community theatre productions and church plays, but Kyle's passion for theatre seemed to outdo that of the rest of his family. Kyle called his high school self a "malcontent" who viewed theatre as life's only worthwhile activity. After twelfth grade, unseen artistic forces pulled him into double-majoring in theatre and writing at Marquette University and subsequently propelled him to NYU for his graduate degree in acting. He recalls that the best experience of his theatre education was going abroad to London while he was an undergrad. While in England, he took nothing but theatre courses and completely immersed himself in the world to which he most wanted to belong.

But there was something different about the way Kyle looked at pieces of theatre, and this unique sense of vision led him eventually to directing. Kyle realized that he wanted to have his say in every aspect of a production; his head not only focused on his own role, but constantly whizzed from lighting to sound to staging...he was meant to be a director.

In light of this revelation, I asked Kyle whether he considers himself primarily an actor or a director. He nodded, acknowledging the depth the of the question, and answered that he has "just turned the corner" onto a sidewalk of equal portions directing and acting, with maybe a bit more directing. The directing, he said, is "gaining momentum" and he foresees much more of it in his future.

As for directing The Last Five Years, Kyle said that directing a musical did not differ as much from directing a non-musical as he had expected. It is a bit more exciting, though, he said, considering its two vitally fresh elements that a drama lacks: singers and music. Basically, there is just "more stuff to throw on the canvas." Kyle acknowledged, though, that music even plays a large role in his non-musicals. Whenever he reads a new piece, sound and music are the first aspects he starts building, whether or not they are written into the script.

He got involved with The Last Five Years here at the Playhouse during a meeting with Artistic Director Sean Harris a few months ago. Kyle knew he wanted to direct a musical, and Sean knew he wanted Kyle to direct...so when Sean whipped out the list, Kyle pointed to The Last Five Years and that was that.

So if the title of this post didn't alert you, tonight is the official opening of The Last Five Years. An hour before the show we'll be having complimentary wine, cheese, and schmoozing (although you might have to pay for the schmoozing). And now that you know all about Carey, Jeff, Colin and Kyle, you're ready to have your head spun across time and stage for five years of songs, solos and summers in Ohio.