The Story: Interview with Chris Abraham

At a certain point the author becomes a real person to me, a friend...

Chris Abraham has been the Artistic Director of Crow’s Theatre since 2007.  At Crow’s, he has directed numerous productions including Eternal Hydra,  I, Claudia, Boxhead, The Country, and Instructions to any future socialist government wishing to abolish christmas. He has also directed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canadian Stage Company, Tarragon Theatre, Segal Centre, Centaur Theatre, Globe Theatre, Theatre Junction, among many others. In 2000, he co-founded and was the Co-Artistic Director of Bill Glassco’s Montreal Young Company.  Recently he directed the Stratford productions of For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again, The Little Years and this year's acclaimed The Matchmaker. (Source: Crow's Theatre)

CHARPO: Since you were a young director, you have been closely associated with revivals of older plays. Then, this summer, Matchmaker was a huge success. What draws you to these works?

ABRAHAM: I suppose in Montreal, I have more often directed classics and revivals of Canadian work, but I don’t necessarily feel like this is my only beat as a director. I’ve moved between new plays, creation, Shakespeare and other texts from “the cannon”. This is really what I like to do. I’m drawn to these different kinds of experiences and challenges. I’m interested in projects that stretch me and stretch an audience. The Matchmaker was a play that I had seen a couple of times onstage and really enjoyed, and Thornton Wilder is an author whose other writing has really inspired me, including his novel “The Bridge of San Luis Rey”. Farce is also a genre that I love – because of the precision of the form and the discipline it requires from the team working on it. I’ve directed “What the Butler Saw” by Joe Orton and Feydeau’s “A Flea in Her Ear” (a few years ago at NTS) and had great times with both. I grew to love The Matchmaker because of what historian Bernard Hewitt calls its celebration of the “radical, the pioneering, the exploring, the creative spirit in man” – which animates all of the comedy in the play. I found there to be a tremendous spiritual force hiding behind the double takes, mistaken identities, and reconciliations of The Matchmaker. The play shines with special intensity because of this. 

the creative team doesn’t always initially understand where I am coming from, but eventually we get there

CHARPO: Once you sit down with a well-known play, what do you feel you have to draw from it so it doesn't turn into a museum piece?

ABRAHAM: I suppose I start by attempting to capture my first reactions on paper. I spend a lot of time doing text analysis and research about the period. I listen to music, watch films, read books. One of the most important things I do is read about the life of the author, either through biography or autobiography. I find that this step in my preparation of the play always helps me to feel closer to the author. At a certain point the author becomes a real person to me, a friend, and I begin to see the play as something that my friend is trying to do and has asked me to help him/her realize. I try to figure out and then write down “the main idea that underpins the text”  - an exercise from Katie Mitchell, that I find invaluable. Once I feel like I’ve grasped the author’s intent, I write a mission statement for myself about what I want to do with the play. It contains the nugget of my intention towards the play and the process. I pass it around to my creative team and eventually to my acting company. I come back to this statement regularly during rehearsal to make sure that I am on track and have my eyes on the prize. I don’t know if this always produces “non-museum theatre”, but it’s what I do to help get me to the source of the play and my own inspiration. When I am working from this place as opposed to trying to produce success, I am usually happier with the results.

CHARPO: Do the actors and designers always understand where you're coming from or is that part of the hard work too?

ABRAHAM: No, the creative team doesn’t always initially understand  where I am coming from, but eventually we get there. Successful communication with your collaborators – who are often new acquaintances – is one of the most gratifying parts of the job. I have had the privilege of working quite often with the same designers, including the uber-talented designer Julie Fox. We have a great short hand, and she is someone that I really rely on to help work out my ideas. Communicating is the most challenging and most important part of directing.  It’s the hardest thing to get good at when you are starting out. Finding your own groove, your own way of speaking and having confidence in the way in which you experience and communicate reality is key. It took me a while as a young director to find my comfort zone. 

CHARPO: Now, an un-nice question: have you ever read a play that is considered a classic and thought, "this thing is saying absolutely nothing to me"?

ABRAHAM: No, I don’t think so…I usually find something that interests me in most classics. That doesn’t mean that I want to direct them all. 

In other news, I have a new son at home...

CHARPO: You've been personally and professionally enormously busy. Give us all your news and how you manage the juggling!

ABRAHAM: In 15 minutes I’ll be jumping back to rehearsals for a new play that I’m directing in Vancouver called “Winners and Losers”. The writers and performers are the multi-talented Jamie Long (AD of Theatre Replacement) and Marcus Youssef (AD of Neworld Theatre). In the piece, they play themselves and play a game where they evaluate people, places and things as either winners or losers. The play is about the history, dynamics of, and consequences of competition in human endeavors. When I get back to Toronto, I’ll be jumping into rehearsals for the Tarragon remount of the Stratford Production of John Mighton’s “The Little Years”, which opens in November. After that I’ll come back to Vancouver to open “Winners and Losers”. Then I’ll be back in Toronto to begin rehearsals for Kristen Thomson’s latest “Someone Else”, which my company Crow’s Theatre will be presenting in January in partnership with the Canadian Stage Company. I can’t wait to get into the hall to begin rehearsals on this one. In the midst of all this I’ll be trying to squeeze in time to get Othello ready for production next season at Stratford. In other news, I have a new son at home, who I love and miss terribly right now – my wife and young daughter too. It’s a very busy time, but it’s great.

CHARPO: What's next?

ABRAHAM: …Stay tuned.