PlayMakers Repertory Company’s PRC2 series opens tomorrow night with “A Number.”
The play, written by Caryl Churchill, tells the story of a father who clones his son.
“A Number” is just the beginning of an exciting season for PlayMakers that features plays covering topics from British history to vibrators.
Staff writer Grace Tatter spoke with Joseph Haj, the artistic director for PlayMakers, about his background in theater and the upcoming season.
DTH: What’s the best part about your job?
Joseph Haj: The best part about my job is the opportunity to make work for a really smart audience. I think it’s the greatest gift an artistic director can be given — the work for smart people.
DTH: How have you changed as an artistic director since you arrived here five years ago?
Joseph Haj: I have a staff that I love and trust deeply, and I think what that’s allowed over the course of five years is the opportunity to really spend time around the art and art-making and the guiding of plays through the rehearsal process. It’s allowed me to delegate a lot of responsibility and focus on the art and the future, and to keep my eyes lifted toward a further horizon and to guide the organization towards its best self.
DTH: How has your time as an actor and director informed your decisions as artistic director?
Joseph Haj: I think it’s very helpful to be a generalist. It’s very helpful if you’ve spent time in various areas of the theater. I’ve spent so many years as an actor and director. Knowing how hard it is to do those jobs well sensitizes me to the needs of our artists and what they need in order to be successful.
I will also say that the characteristics of doing my job well are the same as leading a rehearsal well. You’re seeking direction, you’re seeking creativity. You have a sense of where you want things to go and you know you can’t get there yourself.
DTH: What are you most excited for this season?
Joseph Haj: I’m excited for all of the plays. All of these plays are in our season because we’re crazy about them. It’s very, very hard to choose, like picking your favorite child. I’m directing the Henry plays (William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV” and “Henry V”), so I’m over the moon about those.
I love all of these plays and it’s because we have such a deep commitment to them that they’re in our season at all. I’m looking forward to what I think is a bold, daring, far-reaching series of plays.
DTH: What are you most excited for this week?
Joseph Haj: “A Number.” It’s a play by Caryl Churchill and it’s so mysterious. It’s fantastically provocative. The way our set designer Jenny Chambers has created the set — these two actors are in our laps. We feel almost like voyeurs peeking into this little world. I just watched a run-through and these two actors are great.
“A Number” opens tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. in Kenan Theatre.
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