Page 9 - STA Sensitive Guys Playbilll 081420

FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

An early draft of the play Sensitive Stages. To the insanely talented playwright M.J. Kaufman and agent Beth Blickers who
Guys landed in my inbox about four said yes to us when we concocted a plan to go forward. And most especially to director
Leslie Swackhamer who opened up her full heart to this story and to the manner in which
years ago. It came in when I was we could tell it in a COVID world. Leslie is simply one of the finest artists in Houston.
on vacation and therefore my email That she calls Stages home is an honor for us all.
sent it to an archive to wait upon So here we are beloved audience, production 2 in our 2020-2021 season. We got
here in an unexpected way but we got here just the same. Together. There is much
my return. For whatever long-lost work for our world ahead and that work isn’t on hold because the world has changed.
reason, I did not open the email Self-examination, social critique, art and stories are more important than ever. And
this story in particular is one we are so proud to share.
with the script when I came back Wishing you much peace and good health as we journey onward together.
and thus the play sat unattended

in my electronic file room.

Lights out. Now move forward two years; I had just returned to my office having had
lunch with director Leslie Swackhamer – a lunch wherein we discussed our shared love of
plays that bend convention. I typed into my email search the name of an agent who often
shares such interesting plays with me and suddenly the lost email popped up. I read the
attached play and loved it. Thus, began the long and winding road to share Sensitive Kenn McLaughlin
Guys with you, our beloved Stages’ audience. Artistic Director
From the start, I was drawn to this play’s courage; not only that it wrestles with issues of
gender and identity in deeply intelligent ways but that it does so with a compassionate
heart and dares to find comedy in unexpected places. The journey into the core of the
play is deftly handled as each scene carefully leads the audience to the heart of the
matter – rape culture in America. It is a play that reveals itself slowly - and often subtly
– through a constant questioning of power and privilege. But the play is also boldly
theatrical – there are no male identified actors in a play called Sensitive Guys! It is
through this integration of comedy, biting systemic rebuke, and inspired theatricality that
the play finds its unique and powerful voice.
I saw the final dress rehearsal for Sensitive Guys on March 13, 2020 on the Lester and
Sue Smith stage at the Gordy. The show was one week away from opening. At the time,
I was in rehearsal for Hook’s Tale and the cast and crew of that production were taking
a short break during which we determined that it was unsafe to continue to do our work
with the realities of COVID 19 all around us. I went to explain the situation to the cast of
Sensitive Guys and the full creative teams of both shows decided to join together so that
the cast of Sensitive Guys could perform the show they had so lovingly rehearsed for at
least one audience. I have rarely - if ever – been so moved by any rehearsal of a play.
That very day, I knew we HAD to find the way to save this work and share it. The power
of the play, the care of these artists, and the moment to express these ideas was – and
is – now. And so, while the theatre world collapsed around us all, we all kept our eyes on
making sure that Sensitive Guys could be seen here in Houston.
I hold the deepest appreciation for the actors of this play – Rachel, Emily, Raven, Mai
and Donna - for hanging with us as we formed a plan to share the work they have all so
brilliantly created. I celebrate the mad genius that is Peter Ton who - from intern years
ago to our hero now - has been a loving and constant contributor to the artistic life of