Director Noah Silas. Photo courtesy Rapid Lemon Productions.
Noah Silas is a company member of Baltimore’s Rapid Lemon Productions, the resident theater company at Motor House in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District of Baltimore. For the third straight season, Silas is directing a main stage production for RLP. This time it’s the regional premiere of “Dead and Breathing,” a dark comedy by Chisa Hutchinson, which first appeared as part of the 2014 Contemporary American Theater Festival.
Cantankerous Carolyn Whitlock has been in hospice for far too long and just wants to die already. But she’ll have to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to convince her oversharing and very Christian nurse to help her end it. Together, two women are forced to confront life’s (and death’s) most difficult questions in this fast-paced, heart-grabbing comedy. “Dead and Breathing” investigates morality, mortality, and the intense tug-of-war between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift.
What is your favorite thing about directing this play?
I thoroughly enjoyed working with the talent. Valerie Lewis and J Purnell Hargrove captured the
complexities of this play very well. They made my job easy.
How has the experience of working with this material changed you?
The material gave me a deeper understanding and appreciation for the nuances of the LGBTQ+
community.
What do you think audiences should expect from this production?
Audiences should expect to be engaged in the on-going conversation about transgender rights and
inclusion in society. What does true acceptance look like?
You’ve done a lot of work with Rapid Lemon Productions. What keeps you coming back to them?
The trust they have in me to maintain a safe space for actors and designers, coupled with the space they give me to allow my creativity to flow, keeps me coming back.
What’s the next big thing you have coming up?
Follow me @thenoahsilas on all social media platforms to tune in for updates.
“Dead and Breathing” appears March 11-27, 2022 at Motor House, 120 W. North Avenue in Baltimore. All performances are live, and available either in-person or streamed online. Tickets are available at the door or online. Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. (playscripts.com)
