The Lamron sat down with sophomore Danny Carroll to discuss the Act One production he will be putting up this Friday, Dec. 8. He debuts his directing talent at Geneseo by producing his own show, Everybody Dies on the Seventy-Second Floor.
The Lamron: What can your audience expect from this show?
Danny Carroll: A comedy, but certainly not a typical comedy; there will be more laughter out of disbelief and downright confusion than anything else, but there is plenty to genuinely bust a gut over. It's a show rich in the cynic's philosophy, so it'll tickle the brain as equally as it tickles the funny bone.
The Lamron: Can you give the readers some idea of the show's plot?
DC: Not really, that's a hard question. I suppose the bare-bones version would be: a righteous and ideological homeless man climbs to the seventy-second floor of an office building and kills everyone. That little blurb there, however, provides very little of what the show is actually about. The plot holds no candle to the delivery.
The Lamron: How did you work with the limited budget and resources of an Act One?
DC: I've worked with fewer resources before. I'm used to "hole in the wall" theater venues and undertakings. Everyone has to start somewhere. I think, however, that on what we had at our disposal we developed a very entertaining show.
The Lamron: What was it like to work with a cast of your peers?
DC: Dangerous, but rewarding. I say dangerous because most of my cast consists of juniors (I myself being a sophomore) and sometimes it's risky having a younger director handle a cast of older, more experienced performers, it typically being reversed. However, there have been no problems whatsoever, these guys are here to have fun and I make sure we do that.
The Lamron: How did you work with the cast to prepare them for their roles?
DC: It's a disarming sort of script from an acting perspective. The actors are cast perfectly though-in fact, most of the parts were written for the actors themselves. The actors really have to get weird for this show…and they've had absolutely no problem achieving that.
The Lamron: Why did you choose to direct this show over others you've written?
DC: It was the first show I completed at Geneseo, so it's right that it be the first I produce. Aside from that, it's a script that calls for very little in the way of tech or budget (but at the same time it would function expertly with all the bells and whistles attached) and it's extremely entertaining in a visceral, non-taxing way. I figured I'd loosen up Geneseo to my style before getting really strange on them-a comedy is the best way to go about doing that.
The Lamron: What are some of the challenges of directing your own work?
DC: There are a lot of challenges. Down the road I plan on finding another director for my productions here at Geneseo-it's easy to become blind to many things when you're emotionally attached to a script you personally developed. A different director can be more rational and objective when it comes to decisions. We've had few problems with that however, and I thank the cast for that; they're very easy going.
The Lamron: Does everybody really die on the 72nd?
DC: All except for…well…I suppose you'll have to see it to find out.
Everybody Dies on the Seventy-Second Floor, will be performed on Dec. 8, 4 p.m. in the Black Box Theater.