1. What made you decide to direct this play?

I am a huge fan of the plays of Canadian playwright Norm Foster. For RLT I got to direct his comedy play Office Hours November of 2000 (during RLT's 75th season). That same season RLT hosted the provincial TheatreFest 2001, at which Playwrights Canada Press had a sales-and-browse promotional table, from which I purchased several Norm Foster plays including Maggie's Getting Married and Ethan Claymore. I hoped eventually to convince the RLT Play Selection Committee (PSC) to select any one of the Norm Foster plays I had purchased, but I was especially fond of Ethan Claymorebecause of it reminded me of both the movie It's A Wonderful Life (featuring Jimmy Stewart) and the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol (I love the movie featuring Alistair Sim). This season at RLT, I submitted two comedy plays to the PSC - Ethan Claymore and Local Talent, thinking that I would be happy to act in or direct either play. The PSC picked BOTH plays for this season, and while I was available to direct either play Mark Claxton was unavailable during Ethan Claymore's time slot, so he's directing Local Talent for June 2009, and I get to direct Ethan Claymore. Yay! (Mark, I'll be auditioning for you for Local Talent in April!)
 
2. Was it easy to cast the roles?

Pretty much. Stage Manager Christine Haider and I had 3 evenings of auditions to cast the 6 roles. The number of people who auditioned was just right, and we saw & heard many terrific auditions. (Thanks to everyone who auditioned!). The easiest role to cast was that of Teresa the school teacher, as Meghan Pedersen was the only actress to come out to audition for the role! That doesn't detract in any way from her wonderful audition, and I was very happy to cast her and am confident she'll do her usual first rate job of the role. I've worked with 5 of the cast members in previous RLT shows: I directed David in The Winslow Boy, I acted with Glen in The Play's the Thing, I directed Meghan in Unity (1918), I acted with Kelly in Dry Streak, and I acted with Braeden (& Kelly & David) in Dear Santawhich was also written by Norm Foster, and I'm pleased to be working for the first time with Mathieu (who was in RLT's one-act play Awesome Ghosts of Ontariolast year).
 
3. What do you like the most about this play?

As with most Norm Foster plays, I find (1) the characters are both easy to relate to as well as quirky and interesting; (2) the dialogue is clever and witty, like your favourite well-written television sit-com. This one is a romantic comedy, and I'm a sucker for those (I love the new TV show Pushing Daisies, for example). Ethan Claymore also has one character who is a ghost (Sorry, shadow being!), which I find appealing. Add to that a bit of Christmas, and you get one pretty excellent play! The only thing I don't like about it is the title -- it doesn't really have "a hook" about it to interest you further in the play; nonetheless, those who come to see it despite the lack of "a hook" in the title will be well entertained.
 
4. What can we expect from this production?

I think everyone who watches the play will get a nice warm feeling for the holiday season, while enjoying some great comedy and laughs. It's a touching holiday romantic comedy, featuring a likeable, quiet, and sensitive egg farmer, Ethan, who has been in self-imposed seclusion for 5 years since his wife died from leukemia. His cantankerous and feisty neighbour, Douglas, has set for the two of them 4 missions to complete for Ethan before Christmas, including meeting the new school teacher in town, Teresa. Unexpectedly, Ethan is visited by the spirit of his recently deceased brother Martin, a pushy car salesman. It turns out there's some unfinished business between them, stemming from an event in their childhood.
 
5. How are rehearsals going?

Great! The one disadvantage that RLT's holiday play has is: lack of rehearsal space during October. Auditions were completed at the end of September for Ethan Claymore, but we couldn't start full rehearsals (with furniture, etc.) for nearly 4 full weeks, while we waited for RLT's Thanksgiving play Love, Sex and the I.R.S. to close, and for RLT's 2008 Fall One-Act Plays Cabaretto close. Fortunately, Ethan Claymore is not an overly long play, and we were able to get in lots of "table work" rehearsing and memorizing the dialogue during those 4 weeks. We're happy to be in the main RLT rehearsal space now, and for 5 weeks before our performance week.
 
6. What makes this play unique compared to others you have directed?

Ethan Claymore is the 10th play I have directed for RLT. I started directing in early 1997, and four out of the first five plays I directed were comedies. Then, starting with Agatha Christie's Black Coffee in November 2001, the next four plays I directed were all serious dramas, the most recent one being The Winslow Boy in April of 2007. Don't get me wrong, I love a well-done drama, but I'm very glad to be getting back to direct a comedy. Comedies are, in my opinion, just a wee bit more challenging and difficult to "get right" than are dramas. The director's primary job is to manage the size of each actor's performance, and in a comedy the director and the actor have to strike the right balance between overplaying and underplaying so that the comedy will come out just right for the play-goer. I hope that we, the cast & crew of Ethan Claymore have done that, and that all RLT play-goers will leave the Regina Performing Arts Centre with a warm smile on their faces, suitable for the holiday season.

7. If you can think of anything else you would like me to include, please feel free to tell me.

I want everyone to come and see RLT's Ethan Claymore for TWO reasons: (1) it is a wonderful holiday romantic comedy that I'm sure everyone will enjoy thoroughly, and (2) the more people who come to see it, the larger the donation I will make to the Canadian Cancer Society!
I will donate a maximum of $500, but the total amount of my donation will depend on how many people attend each night's performance of Ethan Claymore, as follows:
WEDNESDAY (Dec. 3): if attendance > 125 Ken donates $25; if attendance > 201 Ken donates $50; if attendance > 264 Ken donates $100
THURSDAY (Dec. 4): if attendance > 251 Ken donates $25; if attendance > 289 Ken donates $50; if attendance > 335 Ken donates $100
FRIDAY (Dec. 5): if attendance > 318 Ken donates $25; if attendance > 331 Ken donates $50; if attendance > 361 Ken donates $100
SATURDAY (Dec. 6): if attendance > 227 Ken donates $25; if attendance > 256 Ken donates $50; if attendance > 290 Ken donates $100
BONUS: if attendance at all 4 nights TOTAL > 1459 Ken donates an additional $100
So call all of your friends, call all of your family, call all of your workmates, and get them to come see Ethan Claymore, because the more people that attend the bigger Ken's donation to the Canadian Cancer Society will be!