Jacqueline Thompson will direct "Death of a Salesman" at The Black Rep. Images courtesy of The Black Rep.
The Black Rep is kicking off 2023 with a classic. The company’s Death of a Salesman, directed by Jacqueline Thompson and starring Ron Himes as Willy Loman, premieres January 11 at Washington University’s Edison Theatre and runs through January 29. Ahead of a busy tech rehearsal, we caught up with Thompson to discuss the continued relevance of Arthur Miller’s classic play and the appeal of The Black Rep’s latest production.
How did you get involved with this production?
Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep, reached out to me about actually doing two productions. The first production was at Nebraska Repertory Theater in Lincoln, Nebraska, and he was asked to perform as Willy Loman. He wanted to also bring a version of the show to St. Louis, so I've actually been working on this show since October. It's been really interesting, because there are different casts. I think from the first one we did, we had maybe two of the previous cast members that came to St. Louis. But everybody else is a new cast, and so that's just been interesting, to see how different actors bring these characters to life and make different choices. Or sometimes you see the same choices. The characters with completely different actors has been interesting. Nebraska was different because they also have students. It's a professional theater housed on the campus of the University of Nebraska. So there's a lot of directing, but also coaching and teaching. So that's just a completely different experience, as opposed to working with a full cast of professional actors.
It has to have been a really interesting past several months, having been so immersed in the same story for that long.
It has been. It's also very interesting to see what is coming to life this go-round. With different actors living those experiences differently in their bodies, different things rise up and you hear text differently. I think that this cast has done a phenomenal job of adding levity to a really hard, painful play. There are moments where I'm like, Oh, that line can be funny. Or there's a little joy, a little light in this moment that I might have missed the first time. And I think that's really important when you're dealing with a show that has this kind of depth, has this kind of tragedy, has this kind of family friction and dysfunction that a lot of us understand. You need to be able to find those moments of that.
What's it been like working with this group in St. Louis to put this story together?
It's really interesting, because, you know, our Loman family is a Black family, and it's a Black family in 1949. Someone asked, “Well, are you going to be able to shift lines? Are you going to reimagine lines? Will you be able to drop lines?” No, we have to stay true and honor the integrity of the text. But there are certain moments that, with this Black family being at the center, certain lines just land differently. And I think that's been really interesting—not forcing the racial or systematic things that come along with this, but just seeing how they naturally play out with these actors on stage. We have a really gracious, generous group of actors. And in a play like this, where it causes you to be vulnerable and open and honest, I couldn't have asked for a better cast. They're really imbuing things with a lot of heart and grit. And I think that's going to really show. It really pushes the story forward in a way that will provide a visceral response for audience members.
Do you think being an actor yourself has influenced your directing style?
Absolutely. A hundred percent. I think that—and it’s nothing against directors that have never acted—but being an actor first, number one, you understand actor language better. And two, I think you can identify actor fatigue at a certain point. There are certain times in a rehearsal process where I know they're done. I'm not giving another note. They have retained everything they can retain right now, or they have worked every moment that they can work. And they don't have the capacity to keep doing this over and over again at this moment. They're at capacity. So there's a lot of sensitivity to that from being an actor. I think, too, that sometimes as a director, I would like to step into the scene and just feel how my body would feel walking this path of blocking or being positioned at a certain place, or whatever in the moment. I think it just gives me a greater sensitivity to the actors’ needs.
Obviously this is a very familiar story, one a lot of people are first exposed to first in school. Why do you think it warrants revisiting for audiences? What do you think draws people back?
I think the quest for the “American Dream” is timeless. I think that the perceived notion of certain things that you're supposed to have by a certain age, by society standards, weighs on everybody, and it weighs on people differently. But there's this drive and this dream in Willy to want grander, greater things that aren't based in his reality. And, you know, on one end, there's nothing wrong with that. We all want to be the best versions of ourselves and to achieve these dreams. Nobody wants their dreams deferred, but what happens when that causes your demise? What happens when you put expectations on your children to live out a dream that you could not live? What does that do to your family? What does that do to your peace? What does that do to your joy? And so, the theme of that in itself is, again, timeless.
You were getting at it a bit before, but what makes The Black Rep’s production special for somebody who's seen this play once, twice, 14 times?
I think language lands differently with this cast, with these Black bodies on stage with the experiences and the things that we know about society through this family lens. So there's a completely different layer that I think will be new and interesting and will cause audiences to maybe see the play in a different light. The Black Rep is the “theater of soul.” So there's a different level of soul. For me—and this is a personal thing about acting—I think acting is spiritual. And I think that these characters do live inside these actors. There’s a different level of rhythm and spirituality and richness that these actors naturally bring that will give this story a different lens.
What have you personally learned from this story, having spent so many months working with it?
For me, it’s been about me reflecting on a lot of my personal dreams and wants and leaning into gratitude, no matter what has not shaken out or what I have not achieved by now, at this hour in my life. Gratitude for what is and is not, and not burdening myself with unnecessary expectations that will steal my joy. It’s also made me look at my own family dynamics—things that are beautiful and things that are hard. I think having difficult family dynamics is universal, and how we love in spite of and how we try to heal in spite of. Some things we may never resolve, but how do we continue life in spite of those things?
Is there anything else you’d like audiences to know?
I think what I always say is that I encourage audiences to be present and be open to the journey. There's this one moment where all these people are sitting amongst strangers and having this same experience together. And they're on this ride together. And when they're on it together, you hear it, you feel it. You hear people gasp at the same time, laugh at the same time. I love a vocal audience…as an actor, as an artist, as a director, you want people to be there with you. You want to hear the gasp, you want to hear the laughter, you want to hear the sighs and the sniffles. You want to know that people are fully engaged and committed to what they're experiencing. You want to see the work on stage move them in a certain way. So I woul just encourage them to be open—open and vocal.
