In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play by Sarah Ruhl opens at Silver Spring Stage, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD on Feb. 22. The play is a look at how men in the Victorian Age regarded women’s sexuality. The ladies’ repressed sexuality was often treated as a medical condition.
The play runs weekends from Feb. 22-March 16. For tickets online.
I had a chance to ask Jen Katz the Director some questions about this provocative production.
Jen Katz makes her mainstage directorial debut with In The Next Room or the vibrator play by Sarah Ruhl. She has previously directed one acts for Montgomery Playhouse, reaching the state-wide festival in 2017, and assistant directed The Underpants and The Great Gatsby, both with Rockville Little Theatre, and Love and Kisses with UpCounty Theatre. She has also served as Stage Manager for “House of Blue Leaves” and “A Delicate Balance” at Silver Spring Stage, and Book of Days at RLT, as well as Deck Manager for “Radium Girls,” “Jake’s Women,” and “The Great Gatsby,” all with RLT. She has also appeared on-stage at Rockville Little Theatre, Silver Spring Stage, Montgomery Playhouse, and UpCounty Theatre.
Did you choose “In the Next Room” or did Silver Spring play selection pick it and you were selected? If you chose the play, what made you pick that one? If you were chosen to direct, what creative ideas did you present to the committee?
The play selection committee selected the play and then I was chosen to direct. In presenting to the committee I expressed my sincere belief that, despite its title, this show is about relationships and communication – talking about how the different characters have different “love languages” that their partners aren’t always meeting. I also talked about finding the funny moments that are present in the script but can easily be overlooked in lieu of the more dramatic or emotional moments.
Casting the play would seem to present some issues? Did you need to fill in people on what the play was about or did they already know? If the former, what did you tell them?
We put on our casting notice a note about the show dealing with adult themes and that we highly recommended reading or at least being familiar with the show prior to coming to auditions. That being said, a fair number of people were actually already familiar with the show before we put out our casting notice.
What were the directorial problems in this play? What directorial decisions did you make as to the vibrator scenes without spoiling the performance?
The biggest directorial problem in this show was balancing the action in two separate spaces – especially since Silver Spring Stage is in the somewhat unique situation of having an audience on two sides of the stage. In terms of the vibrator scenes, we employed some blocking and placement techniques so that everyone feels safe and comfortable. We also made sure that we had an intimacy coordinator working with us on the show.
What message do you think this play has for women today? For men?
I think the show has the same message for women and men – it’s all about communication and finding a common language with your partner. You may be saying what they need to hear but they may not be able to recognize that in the way you’re communicating it – or vice versa.
This play was done at Lincoln Center. Silver Spring Stage is much more intimate. Did this cause any problems? How were they resolved?
On the contrary – I think this show is so much better in a more intimate space! The intimacy of the space allows for the emotion to really come through and allows for some of the smaller, more subtle moments of the show to shine.
