The FAC’s Theatre Company starts the 2013 year off with Prelude to a Kiss, a charming and bewitching romantic fantasy. It’s a ‘Freaky Friday’ for the 21st century that explores the enduring power of love and the nature of commitment in this breathtaking and life-affirming comedy.
We asked the director, Garret Ayers, who is also making his Colorado directorial debut with this production, some questions about this romantic comedy:
What about the script do you particularly enjoy and appreciate?
The three words I always use to describe it are: sincere, simple, and magical. In this day and age, we are surrounded by waves of sarcasm, irony and irreverence, and it is great to work on a piece that is really sincere. There is a directness and poignancy to these characters that is quite refreshing. It requires the actors to truly be vulnerable. It costs them something. It is somewhat of a throwback, a kind of modern fairy tale. And these bits of magic, the fluidity of the script, its romanticism, all make it something I am really excited about working on.
Why is “Prelude to a Kiss“ a great piece for the FAC to produce?
It’s got something for everyone. This piece speaks to human beings in every generation, whether you are a pair of young lovers, a couple in middle age, or a grandparent/great-grandparent. Everyone loves a great love story. Especially an honest, unsentimental one. And this play has it in spades.
How do your worldly travels and extensive training inform your directing when you are in the theatre?
I look at directing a lot like I look at parenting. My main job is to be present. To watch. To create an optimal environment that inspires people to reach their fullest potential. Of course, through training, travel, and other experiences I have developed certain aesthetics, beliefs, interests, etc. but I try very hard not to let those things dominate the process. My interpretation and vision is obviously very important, but every script has a spirit and an energy that all of us in the room must discover together.
Ayers has worked for over a decade as a professional actor and director with some of the world’s foremost theatre companies. He trained at The Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Pontedera, Italy; founded the Harlem Theater Project; studied Traditional Vibratory Chant in Southern France; participated in the 2009 Lincoln Center Theater ‘Directors Lab’ and collaborated with members of such award-winning companies as: SITI, Tectonic Theater Project and Roy Hart Theatre. Most recently, he was the Charles Evans Fellow at the Tony Award-winning McCarter Theatre in Princeton, N.J. He lives in Boulder, with his wife and three children.
Prelude To A Kiss
On stage Jan. 29–Feb. 17, 2013