BLACKLISTERS' Luke Gomez Advises, "Buy a Shovel and Grab Onto Something Sturdy"

By: Brelby Theatre Company
 
 
Luke Gomez
Luke Gomez
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Feb. 2, 2017 - PRLog -- When asked what inspired his new work, Blacklisters, Lucas Gomez said, "Sometimes I like giving out obviously wrong answers because I get this question a lot with the types of plays I write but this one is absolutely genuine. My initial idea was based off a comedy music group from Australia in the early 90s called the Doug Anthony All Stars," he said. "They had a short-lived show in Australia in which they lived in a submarine with all of the world's most precious art and artifacts. There were mermaids and trolls and musical numbers and nail-gun violence and somehow that made me think about a show about fascism and art. I think I've always been drawn to dystopian stories and the thought about drawing in the idea of art and how it fits into that world made sense if I wanted to 'write what I know.'"

He continued, "I put the idea away for years until I started meeting with Brelby's writers group. It was an idea I talked about among others but that one seemed to really click with them above the rest. I started to develop it more around the time Brelby was choosing it's upcoming season when I pitched it as a commissioned work. In a way, beyond that first idea, this script was helped along by a lot people at Brelby."

He described the experience of seeing Blacklisters take shape in the rehearsal room.

"My time with the rehearsals as of now has been very limited," he said.  "But it's always exciting seeing it on its legs, watching the script actually take shape with the actors and blocking. Upfront, however, that hope and excitement is always covered with a healthylayer of anxiety and this is regardless of whether the show is going well or not.

He admits that it isn't always easy. "There's usually a dozen or so questions that go on in my head like "It this line working? Is it the actor? Should I add something? Should I get rid of something? Am I changing too much? Am I not changing enough? Am I overthinking this? Am I not contributing enough? Why does my eye twitch?"

Gomez admits, the current political climate throws up challenges.

"Above all else I wanted to tell a story. I want that to be clear for my audience," he quickly explained. "I don't normally set out to make a big message with my works but this is the most political piece I've written so far. That being said, I'm a lot less sure of my own political beliefs recently, so a lot of this was trying to reconcile my conflicting thoughts into one coherent story and I think I got there. Going in to this I had two questions I wanted to ask in the story and I laid them out for the director when was working on his initial concept.

Brelby Artistic Director, Shelby Maticic asks hard questions. "What is art's place/usefulness in an oppressive society?" and "Is inaction to cruelty and injustice just as bad as the act itself?"

Gomez is startlingly frank. "I don't believe I answer these questions, and any major statements to be made, I think, err on the nihilistic side. There are lot of things our main characters wrestle with, and not a lot of it turns out well for them. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't know.  How about 'Buy a shovel and grab onto something sturdy.'"

When asked people should know about this show going into it, Gomez replied, "There is a lot of explicit content. I believe this now holds the record of most f-bombs out of all Brelby's studio shows so far. It is rather dark but is meant to be slightly absurdist andstrange, so it's not all bleak. I mean, it is bleak, but hopefully not overwhelmingly."

Brelby partners with local downtown Glendale businesses to offer more options for audience members. By showing their digital ticket, audiences can receive 10% off of their bill at the Hop Stop Diner, 10% off of any entrée at Haus Murphy's Restaurant, and 10% off of a customer's bill at the Olde Towne Glendale (OTG) Beer & Wine Bar or the Gaslight Inn.

Blacklisters plays Feb 17-18, 24-25 and  March 3-4 at 7:30pm and at 2pm Feb 19 and 26. Tickets are available by visiting the official web site at brelby.com/tickets (http://www.brelby.com/tickets). General admission is $15 per performance. Admission to Blacklisters is included in the benefits of Brelby's ShowGO subscription: brelby.com/showgo. The Brelby Playhouse is located at 7154 N 58th Dr, Glendale, AZ 85301.

Contact
Cassandra Symonds
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Source:Brelby Theatre Company
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Tags:Brelby Theatre Company, Historic Downtown Glendale, Original Work
Industry:Arts
Location:Glendale - Arizona - United States
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