Review Fix Exclusive: Laurie Rae Waugh Talks ‘A Pregnant Pause’ And More

Review Fix chats with director Laurie Rae Waugh, who discusses her new production, “A Pregnant Pause” and her goals for it, as well as her upcoming production this May.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Laurie Rae Waugh: The directing of this play came by way of a conversation with the playwright Meny Beriro at the 75th Birthday Party for Mr. James Jennings the Artistic Director of The American Theatre of Actors.  Meny let me know that James had already read it and all it needed was a director to get it produced.  Meny sent me the play and I loved it.  What struck me was the choices that the characters had made or have to make throughout the story line. I always take on projects that touch, move and/or inspire me. The subject matter of the play is what touched me.  The loss of a father is what moved me.  Even though I didn’t lose mine at a young age, I can still relate with the character.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Waugh: I am a very organic director.  I have a vision of how the play should look and I give the actors the freedom to play and explore.   I break the play down into beats and work the different sections with the main actors and then I add in the other supporting actors until we have gone through it several times before running it all the way from begin to end.  Once we have worked for a week or so on different aspects of the play, then I get the actors up on their feet to move about the stage.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Waugh: The subject matter is relevant to today’s issues about abortion.  The main character wants to have the child and her boyfriend doesn’t.  This is a hot topic in our country especially in this election year.  The difference between pro-life and pro-choice.  We get to see both character’s journey through the play and what they ultimately decide.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Waugh: Well it brought up a lot for me around loss.  I lost my mother to cancer even with her going though 6 rounds of chemo.  My father had a stroke and spent another eight months holding on until he passed away.  I share myself, my experiences and additional stories with my actors so they can see what I connect to in the script and how they might use my stories to enhance their character’s journey.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Waugh: I really enjoy working with original works and being able to have the playwright come and sit in on some rehearsals to get his feedback.  I am always excited to get to rehearsal to see what new layers the actors add to their characters.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Waugh: I ultimately would like to see a diverse audience who can relate to the different themes that run throughout the play. I would like to see our audience be touched by the relationship that has been forged between the 2 characters (Susan and Fred).

I want to continue to work with original plays and get involved with the different festivals in the city.  I also want to branch out and work with other theatre companies within the tri-state area.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Waugh: This is a really good question because what I enjoy about the play may not be the same for others.  I enjoy the connection between the younger and older generation and how they relate to the same situation.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Waugh: I will go right into rehearsal for a full length play called Family Matters written by Irving Greenfield which opens on May 18 and runs to May 29 in the Sargent Theatre at American Theatre of Actors.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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