Director’s Notes

Laundry and Bourbon and Lone Star are particularly fun scripts to explore because each piece is totally independent and capable of being presented on its own. But put together the pieces build upon one another, each providing a richer and more nuanced understanding of the other. During our initial read through as a cast we even had moments where actors gasped as they learned information about their own character revealed in the companion play.

These scripts are deceptively simple. The language is not particularly difficult to get out of your mouth, and the given circumstances are relatively easy to understand; however, when you begin to peel back the layers of the story, a multitude of questions arise and you find a hundred different paths to explore. Each unearthed discovery feels like a conquest. Like Roy says, you feel like “the first explorer that climbed over that hill and saw—stretched out before him, in all its God glory —the Grand Canyon.”

Neither play falls firmly in the “comedy” category, and no one really gets the satisfaction of a happy ending. However, despite being a portrayal of a low point in most of these character’s lives, there is so much hope and joy peeking through. As a company, we have had so much fun spending time with these characters and exploring the dynamics of this tiny town. I hope you as an audience walk away saying the exact same thing.