'Streetlight Woodpecker,' Written by USU Professor, Premieres at SLAC

Shawn Fisher, associate professor in Utah State University’s Department of Theatre Arts in the Caine College of the Arts (CCA), created the Fusion Theatre Project for his students to partake in a year-long process to develop new plays in a workshop setting. Fisher and director Richie Call, assistant professor in the Department of Theatre Arts in the CCA, worked with the students to write and develop a play called Woodpecker King of Tacony in 2013. Fisher rewrote the play for a professional production, now called Streetlight Woodpecker.

“Streetlight Woodpecker is the original script plus an extra year and a half of rewriting,” said Fisher. “In terms of the overall themes and storyline, it’s very similar, but the structure and details have changed. At least 60 percent of this play is brand new.”

The play tells the story of Benji, a marine who has returned to his Philadelphia neighborhood after being injured during a battle. Bearing not only the medals he earned, but also the scars, Benji must now face the emotional wounds he avoided by going to war.

“Benji was challenged throughout his life by a very overbearing father who questioned his masculinity and sexuality,” Fisher said. “Benji’s best friend, Sam, is an openly gay school teacher. With Sam’s help, Benji tries to put the pieces of his life back together after his father’s death.”

Salt Lake Acting Company — SLAC — asked Fisher to do a stage reading of the play and shortly after contacted him to make the production part of the 2015-16 season. SLAC brought on other USU faculty members as the creative team, including Richie Call (director), Dennis Hassan (set designer/CCA professor), Nancy Hills (costume designer/CCA associate professor) and Adrianne Moore (dialect coach/head of the Department of Theatre Arts in the CCA). There are also student interns from the CCA working on the production, including Jen Grzybowski (assistant director), Courtney Millecam (assistant costume designer) and Josh Roberts (assistant set designer).

“Richie Call has been an invaluable part of this production and the play itself from inception,” Fisher said. “I trust him as much as anyone I know and his insight as a director is our greatest asset as we bring the play to an audience.”

The assistant director for the production was hired through SLAC’s University Professional Theatre Program.

“I have been granted the opportunity to learn firsthand about working in the professional world by participating in the actualization of a beautiful play written and directed by two of my professors,” Grzybowski said.

Grzybowski believes every audience member can gain insights about love, acceptance, family, friendship and coping with life from seeing the play.

“Shawn Fisher has woven beautiful and chilling life lessons into the story while peppering in quite a bit of comedy,” Grzybowski said. “As an East coast native, I find the Philadelphia cadence of the language refreshing and funny and the characters truthful in a heartbreaking way. There is a monologue Fisher wrote in which one of the characters discusses ‘coming out’ to his mother and the vivid details so full of acceptance and love move me every time I hear it.”

According to Fisher, it’s important to work as professionals off campus.

“The work indirectly serves our students because it keeps us at the leading edge of our art form,” Fisher said. “In this case, it’s also benefitting our students directly because they’re getting paid to work at a professional theater company.”

Streetlight Woodpecker premieres at the Upstairs Theatre (168 West 500 North, Salt Lake City) Feb. 10 and is open through March 6. For tickets and more information, visit SLAC’s website.

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Writer and Contact: Whitney Schulte, 435-797-9203, whitney.schulte@usu.edu