“You need a lot of cigarettes,” said Chris Arnold, a first year graduate student making his professional directing debut at TheatreWorks this semester.
Arnold referred jokingly to the stress connected to the directing process — a job that he has come to love since he took it on.
Arnold is currently involved in directing the play Cherry Docs, by David Gow. Cherry Docs is a 90-minute two-man play about a skinhead and the Jewish lawyer who defends him when he is charged with the murder of a man of Asian descent.
“I like to do edgy material,” Arnold said.
Arnold said he enjoys plays that raise social issues, but also said his taste covered a wide range, from stark drama and dark comedy to musicals and farce.
Arnold came to Memphis this fall to start graduate school after graduating from Illinois State University in Bloomington with a bachelor’s of science in acting.
Although he grew tired of acting in college, he decided not to leave the world of theatre, but changed concentrations for graduate school.
“I like to tell stories, and I can tell stories,” Arnold said. “Along with storytelling, leadership ability led me to directing, too.”
Arnold said he takes an open-minded approach to directing. He said he has a flexible mental picture of the play, but by letting everyone involved bring something to the table, he can create a better product. Arnold said he tries to let the actors do what they want, and he’s not controlling.
“I do a lot of question-and-answer time for the actors,” Arnold said.
He said this is an exercise used to help actors learn about and get into their characters.
Besides coaching the actor, according to Arnold, a director’s duties include research, assisting with set, sound and costume design.
Arnold said the research he did for Cherry Docs was very interesting, and was one of the best parts of the job.
“I spent the summer researching for The Goodman Theater in Chicago,” said Arnold, who said he would ultimately like to become the artistic director for that theater.
For the immediate future, Arnold will be busy with graduate school, but he said he hopes to direct some University of Memphis productions next fall or spring.
Arnold said if he were able to choose any plays he wanted to direct, he would be interested in directing Fences and Assassins.
Cherry Docs is finishing its run this weekend, starting Thursday and ending Sunday. Call TheatreWorks at 274-7139 for more information.
