Meet our artists: Isaac Rathbone

As our new works program is fast approaching, we wanted to give all of you out there in bloggy land a chance to meet all the awesome artists who are donating their creative talent (not to mention time, energy, passion) to this project.

so, over the next two weeks will be posting interviews with playwrights, actors, and directors.

First up, playwright Isaac Rathbone. On October 24th, we will be presenting a reading of his new play, Prodigal Father, being directed by Dev Bondarin. You may remember him from our last fundraiser where he wrote "Hold the Bus", which was directed by Marielle Duke and featured Stephen Alan Wilson and David Nelson. If you can't wait until October 24th to see more of Ike's work, you're in luck! A reading of another new play of his is being featured in Oracle Theater Company's upcoming Truth be Told Series and you can find more info on that here: http://http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118227288234105

and now, the interview:

So, your play Prodigal Father was actually written specifically for our “Autism Initiative” project. What made you want to take part?

It was a very challenging topic to write about a there was a strict deadline. Both of those things are good things for me. They were good motivators to jump right in and write.

Do you have any background or experience dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

I don’t, which was another reason I was interested in tackling this project. I have, admittedly, have limited exposure to it. Its why there’s no character on stage with Autism. I wouldn’t know how to write that character yet.

Now in Prodigal Father, they family believes that the grandson’s Autism comes from Ben’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. With the constantly increasing number of reported cases of Autism, there are loads of theories (from genetic to environmental) on what actually causes Autism. Why did you choose this as the cause?

I am currently writing a piece on Vietnam and in my research for that I discovered this trend [of linking Autism cases to Agent Orange]. I wanted to tackle that idea while writing this other piece. I am not sure the validity of the theory itself, but it seemed to speak to me.

So what’s up next for you? You mentioned another piece you are working on…

I was commissioned to write a script for Hofstra University based on their campus in the period during the Vietnam War. It will be based mostly on oral histories I am gathering from alumni, activists, professors, and veterans. All of the text will be based on these histories and archived documents. It’s not all completely verbatim though, we are taking some creative license. The story is so big that we need to add focus in order to better serve it.

You tend to write a lot of historical plays, what about that is appealing to you?

That’s actually a relatively new thing for me. But, I really enjoy working on them. The research alone makes the experience well worth it and the play becomes a bonus.

For both this piece with us and your last, Hold the Bus, you focused on some less than savory characters. Was that a conscious focus?

I like the darker sides of characters a big more. I find it more interesting to write about.

Now not only do you write plays, you also work with a company that puts a heavy focus on new
work , Oracle Theater Company. Why new plays?

I think it’s important to provide an outlet for new work. There is something about that process that is so exciting for us. We just want to be involved in that somehow.

Alright, tough question time, what is your favorite play of all time?

Oh, The Dumbwaiter. If I had to be alone on a deserted island with a cast and a script that would be it!

Dream cast?

Michael Caine and…..Ewan McGregor.

Ok, what about a favorite play that you’ve wrote?

There’s Always A Band. Philip Emeott, David Nelson, Jason Little and I went to Cape Cod last winter to develop it. It’s a story about two soldiers stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but each other. It has yet to be done in New York though, outside of a ten minute version.

Speaking of New York, what’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on a New York
subway?

I once saw the three Hanson brothers on the subway. Each one had an age appropriate girlfriend too. So I rode the subway with them for a bit. It was pretty awesome. They were totally lost too and all asking each other where they were going.