2011-2012 ELLY Nomination Snapshots | Big Idea Theatre

Big Idea Theatre is honored to be awarded nine Elly Nominations for our 2011 - 2012 seasons!  We couldn't be more appreciative of the artistic talent contributed by our fantastic company members and other collaborating Sacramento area theatre professionals.

The nominations for the 2011 season kick off with The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh, an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art.  Police interrogate a writer about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders. The Pillowman takes home three nominations: Best Overall Production - Drama, Best Direction (Kirk Blackinton) and Best Supporting Actor (Shawn B. O'Neal).

Twelfth Night, or What You Will, adapted by Brian Harrower, gives Shakespeare's classic cross-dressing comedy a modern twist.  Re-imagined during Mardi Gras in a post-hurricane New Orleans, this riotous, fun-filled romp amused us with drag queens, shipwrecked pirates, lovesick counts and earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Joel Ellinwood).

Big Idea patrons celebrated the joys of friendship in the delightful 2011 Little Bit Players holiday production of A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail by James W. Rodgers.  The 100-Acre-Woods friends are on an adventure: to find Eeyore's missing tail! Pooh grabs the nomination for Best Supporting Young People's Play Actress (Andrea Kersten).

Big Idea's 2012 season opened with Arcadia by Tom Stoppard, a beautiful exploration of truth and time.  This complex, sexy, and witty play moves seamlessly between 1809 and the present, asking us: Can we truly understand the past, and what does the future hold? Arcadia takes the nomination for Best Costume Design (Rachel Malin).

The 2011 - 2012 Elly nominations are rounded out by Tracy Letts' alluringly offensive and uncompromisingly violent white-trash, Texas crime thriller Killer Joe.  The Smith family got more than they bargained for when they hired full-time cop, part-time killer, Joe Cooper, to knock of a not-so-beloved family member for her insurance money.  This edgy piece earned three nominations: Best Lead Actress (Shannon Mahoney), Best Lead Actor (Rick Eldredge) and Best Lighting Design (Brian Harrower).

Actors React - Joe Cooper | Killer Joe

Meet Joe Cooper : dangerous, steely, smoldering.  On the surface, he may appear selfish, cocky and downright scary, but there's more to him than meets the eye.  Big Idea sits down with actor Rick Eldredge to discuss Tracy Lett's Killer Joe and the complexities of his character, Joe Cooper.

Big Idea: What was your first reaction upon reading Killer Joe?

Rick: My initial reaction? That is was cheap thrills.  Funny, exciting.  It reminded me of a Tarantino script.  But as with Tarantino, I found myself wondering if the piece had any soul to it.

Big Idea: Joe has quite the unique perspective.  What would you say defines his outlook?

Rick: His occupation as a detective.  I believe the things Joe has seen in his line of work has shaped both his morality as well as his approach to personal relationships.

Big Idea: How does Joe feel about love?

Rick: Ironically, Joe sees love as a rare and special thing.  I believe he has experienced it maybe once before in his life, and had a bad experience with in.  Being a cautious man, I think it took a special person like Dottie to change his mind about love.  Clearly, she is not the sort of girl he runs into every day, in the office, at the bar - that sort of thing.

Big Idea: About death?

Rick: I think Joe lives in a world where life and death are brethren.  He does not hesitate to kill when it suits his personal code of ethics, yet I believe he feels he is sort of the angel of death.  That old-time Baptist religion is ingrained in him.  Joe is fire and brimstone, old testament style.

Big Idea: What did you find most challenging in tackling and exploring this character?

Rick:  Joe has a weight to him - a slow tempo and ease of movement - that I, as a person, don't have.  He is very efficient in his behavior and movements, directed by a sharp intellect and cautious nature.  Finding and keeping that rhythm while remaining natural is difficult.

Big Idea: In Killer Joe, do the characters define their own circumstances or do the circumstances define the characters?

Rick: Though products of their environment, the characters are definitely directors of their fate.

Big Idea: How so?

Rick: The apple of greed is dangled in front of them and they all bite.  All save Dottie.  She is the innocent.  She is a product of her chaotic environment, yet somehow the force and strength of her character pushes through in a powerful way at the end of the play.

Big Idea: What would you say is at the core of Killer Joe?

Rick: Dottie.  She reminds me of mother nature or something.  Man gets cocky and does something to mess with the earth and mother nature sends a tornado, or hurricane, or something badass to humble us.  Dottie is that hurricane: quiet for most of the play, and then... SLAM!

Big Idea: How has this piece changed or enhanced your view of the world?

Rick:  It reminds me that sometimes, even in the most depraved, desperate individuals, there is a longing for love and order.

Press Pass | Hurlyburly

People are raving about the dark journey that is Hurlyburly. With strong content and graphic language, this show packs quite a punch!