For Judson, it is a “tremendous” feeling to have Holy Ghosts back in New York after a 40-year absence. “We are incredibly honored we’ve been entrusted by the estate to bring this play back to New York City. And I can understand why Linney held onto it so tightly. It’s a ferocious script and when you’re dealing with religion and the south there are many ways for it to derail,” he said.
His experience directing this play has been “phenomenal.” “The cast, all 15 of them, are some of the most generous artists I’ve had the pleasure of working with. They just dive into the deep waters and do battle every night. Linney’s text is incredibly demanding and it takes no prisoners. You either have to commit fully to the circumstances and the stories found therein or go home. It’s just inspirational to watch. The team of designers care so deeply about the project and have given above and beyond. It’s been a dream,” he said.
“It has also been a bit of an emotional homecoming for me,” he admitted. “Revisiting my southern religious upbringing was something I had great trepidation about. I keep that pretty close to the vest and I knew this project would bring it to the surface. Come to find out, I wasn’t alone.”
Regarding his plans for the future, the acclaimed director said, “We are celebrating our 10th season this year and preparing for a big change come next season where we enter a new contract with Actors’ Equity Association, which is the actors’ union. In short, this will allow shows to run for longer periods of time which will allow for a greater impact. Actors will also receive a significant pay increase along with benefits, which has been a goal of mine for some time. We have several playwrights we’re in talks with about these future projects and can’t wait to present them.”
Digital transformation of theater industry
On the impact of technology on theater over the years, Jones said, “It has been pretty remarkable how things have changed in a fairly short time. From the producing end, it’s made things so much simpler and faster. You can shoot over a PDF to be executed, the audition notices go out electronically, headshots are collected electronically, minutes of meetings are immediately distributed over email, budgets can be shared, it’s wonderful. It enables us to focus more on the project.”
Jones continued, “From a production end, it’s also great. Sound design, for instance, has gone from requiring a DAT system to running QLab on a laptop. It makes going from imagination to reality much easier. Using LEDs means using fewer perishables, which ultimately means resources can be reallocated to other departments, which is helpful when you’re keeping an eye on the budget. The only downside I can see is when these stories become too reliant on technology that they can’t be told without them. I always ask myself, ‘If every technical aspect were to fail and we only had houselights, could we tell the story?’ If the answer is, ‘No,’ that’s a concern for me.”
On his use of technology in his daily routine as a director, Jones said, “Aside from email, we use Dropbox on a fairly regular basis. Makes sharing designs and files with everyone much easier. The Google Drive comes in very handy as well for centralizing information. We also rely on Slack for certain aspects where conversations are needed. And we use Google Hangouts for meetings where everyone can’t be present. But in the rehearsal room, I’m pretty old school. I still take notes on a legal pad with a fountain pen.”
For the theater fans and viewers, he concluded about Holy Ghosts, “I have never experienced a show like this. As I was watching and taking notes during yesterday’s run, I realized that it’s going to be impossible for audiences to merely observe this show. It demands that you give a part of yourself. You will experience an emotional rollercoaster through these people and you’ll leave talking about it.”
To learn more about Holy Ghosts, check out the Theatre East website.
