DIRECTOR SAM GOLD JOINS LONGTIME
COLLABORATOR ANNIE BAKER FOR JOHN
Over the last five years, Sam Gold has been the director behind
an arsenal of productions that have left audiences riveted.
From the musical Fun Home—with book and lyrics by Residency
Five playwright Lisa Kron—to Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing at
Roundabout, Gold continually draws out performances from his
ensemble of actors that are as subtle as they are virtuosic.
Gold’s artistic partnership with Annie Baker has been one
of the most fruitful theatrical unions of the past half-decade.
Since Baker and Gold first teamed up on Circle Mirror
Transformation at Playwrights Horizons in 2009, the pair
has gone on to collaborate on The Aliens at Rattlestick
Playwrights Theatre, Baker’s adaptation of Uncle Vanya
(above): Maria Dizzia and
Michael Shannon in Uncle Vanya
at Soho Rep, 2012.
(below): Annie Baker at the first
rehearsal for John, 2015.
at Soho Rep, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Flick.
that they don’t carry the same kind of weight or angst that they did six
years ago. It’s like: “oh ha ha, here we are disagreeing about X again.”
I think we’ve both made a lot of adjustments and also trust each other a
every breath, every hiccup
in a thought, every tense
inarticulate silence is
orchestrated like a carefully
composed piece of music.
lot more. Each show is a little different, but I think on every one we agree
to spend way more time talking about the design than the average play-
The symbiosis for the director-playwright pair comes
wright/director team, and I think we’ve also figured out how to create a
as much from Gold’s keen understanding of text as it
really good supportive atmosphere in the rehearsal room with actors.
does Baker’s artistry with time, shapes, and silence:
“Annie’s writing is this unbelievable combination of
S: Why does this particular play feel like the right one to start your
Signature residency?
natural and precise. The characters are so deeply
AB: It really does feel like the right one. It’s a show I’ve been thinking about
talking. It feels easy, casual, and unconsidered.
for years, and I wrote it with the Diamond space in mind. I’m working with
But the truth is that every breath, every hiccup
actors and directors I already know and love, so there’s a safety and trust
in a thought, every tense inarticulate silence is
there, but the play is also a departure for me in terms of its tone and where
orchestrated like a carefully composed piece
it goes in its last hour. So I’m excited and scared. Being part of the
of music. A lot of my work is to help actors
Signature residency really allowed me to take risks while I was writing it. n
approach the text from both of these angles.
and fully articulated that it feels like they are just
Both very naturally, like a causal improvisation, and very formally, like a member of an
orchestra, attempting the most challenging
and precise and delicate piece of music.” n
(right): Sam Gold at the first rehearsal for John, 2015.
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