LNT's Creative Team's Thoughts on Search for Signs

What the Artists of THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE Have to Say About the Show!

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cover photo of Maura & Stoph courtesy of John R Snell Photography

Actor Maura O'Brien (on Trudy)

I love Trudy. She is smart, sassy and street-wise. She describes herself as crazy but I wonder if she is not more enlightened than the rest of us. As we hustle and bustle through our days, Trudy takes time to have fun, to live in the moment, and to enjoy and appreciate life and all its mystery. She teaches all of us lessons about life that we need to hear. 

Challenges: Lily Tomlin is iconic in her portrayal and she leaves big shoes to fill. I hope to do her justice. Jane Wagner is very specific in her writing and choice of words and they are all clues as to who Trudy is and how she should be played. 

 

photo of Maura O'Brien as Trudy courtesy of Jeb Wallace Brodeur

Actor Stoph Scheer (on the entire experience)

Lost Nation has felt like my theatre home for so many years, so returning to the stage there is always exciting.  I'm looking forward to working with Maura as an acting partner for the first time, and I'm also very much looking forward to being directed by Kim Bent once more, since my last project with him at the helm was years ago now when we did Turn of the Screw!  I'm also looking forward to getting to play so many different characters, there's always pleasure for me in getting to figure out how multiple characters move, speak, and think.

Stoph as Brandy (photo LNT)

Director Kim Bent

Jane Wagners play “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe ”, as performed by Lilly Tomlin, became an instant, era-defining Broadway phenomenon in the late 1980’s, and revisiting it gives us a bird’s-eye, rear-view mirror perspective of the bumpy road our ‘baby-boomer’ generation traveled to get us to where we are today. The plays sharp, insightful, three-dimensional humor is profound and revelatory, and its final statement of faith that our common humanity will eventually be our salvation is deeply convincing and joyfully reaffirming. It’s the kind of Theater experience we need now more than ever!

 

Director Kim Bent & Scenic Designer John Devlin install the "Walk/Don't Walk" Sign for the set

Scenic Designer John Paul Devlin

TRUDY says: “See, the human mind is kind of like…
a pinata. When it breaks open,
there’s a lot of surprises inside. Once you get the pinata
perspective, you see that losing your mind
can be a peak experience.”
 
I find this to be a truth on multiple levels—I am drawn to this illustration/explanation for the human mind as a pinata: you never know exactly what’s going to come out once you open it. As a designer this approach to life is both liberating and challenging. It is liberating because it gives me permission to go everywhere…and it is challenging because the guardrails are off and I never know where the story may lead me. Now our adventure is about how we approach telling Trudy’s story in a timeless sort of way that not only entertains, but tickles the imagination and curiosity of our audiences? My piece is the physical environment: how does a pinata look once it’s been opened?

 

PSM Anna Blackburn in high spirits with designers (Avi Sheehan and Andrew Vachon) & director Kim Bent on the first day of Tech

Production Stage Manager Anna Blackburn

One of the things I love most about The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is the reminder that it gives about how our lives are connected in ways we often don't realize. As we've worked on this production, I've been inspired by the creativity and dedication of Kim and our designers, whose work helps bring this world to life, and by Maura and Stoph, who tell these stories with such grace and humanity. The show culminates in a reflection on art and shared experience, the moments when an audience laughs, cries, or even gets goosebumps together. There's a line at the end of the show about those goosebump moments, and despite seeing the show again and again in rehearsal, I still get them every night. To me, that's what theater is all about: creating connection and reminding us that we're all part of the same story.