Review Fix chats with playwright Richard Curtis, who discusses his production “Godhead,†at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.
About Godhead:
By Richard Curtis, directed by Paul Navarra*; starring Laura Fay Lewis* and Mike Roche*. “Godhead†is the title of a favorite painting that the artist sold in a moment of weakness. Now she wants to meet the man who bought it, to discover if he is worthy of her masterpiece: He isn’t. *AEA Performance Schedule: Wed 3/23, 7:30pm; Fri 3/25, 6:00pm; Sun 3/27, 3:30pm
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?
Richard Curtis: In my one-act play Godhead, an artist who sold her masterpiece in a moment of weakness visits the man who bought it to see if he is worthy of her picture. He isn’t. The play was inspired by a conversation I had with an artist who was dismayed to discover his painting hung in an extremely inappropriate place in the home of the patron who bought it.
​
Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
Curtis: After laying down the essential dialogue and action, I revise my plays scores of times, starting at the beginning and adding and modifying, like rolling dough thinner and thinner until it is all but transparent.
Review Fix: What makes this different or special?
Curtis: It raises questions about whether art is pure and for its own sake, or whether it changes value if the owner acquired it for less than noble reasons, say, simply because it matches the decor of one’s living room .
Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
​
Curtis: I drew not just on my experience as a painter, but on spiritual experiences that play a role in this play. The process is mysterious; I do not know whence inspiration comes but it seems to present itself magically when summoned, like a genie.
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?
Curtis: I love being part of this community. I never cease to learn things.
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?
Curtis: I would love to put on an evening of my one-act plays.
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?
Curtis: Because there are no props, the audience will have to exercise its imagination to enter into the illusion. Every viewer will project meaning into the painting that is the subject of the play.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Curtis: I have a full-length comedy that will be done as a dramatic reading in the spring.
Leave a Reply