Director’s job requires open mind, good tires

You might call Kent Nicholson an R&D guy. Only unlike most of the valley’s innovators, he doesn’t work in high tech, but in high art.

As director of new works at TheatreWorks, he’s always scouting the next big thing in the world of drama. He’s also one of the busiest freelance directors around, which means he logs a lot of time on Highway 101.

At 41, he has staged critically acclaimed productions of hot new plays all around the Bay Area. His eclectic directorial re`sume` includes Craig Lucas’ “Small Tragedy” at Berkeley’s Aurora Theatre Company, Dave Eggers’ “Sacrament” at San Francisco’s Campo Santo and Adam Bock’s “Five Flights” at the Thick House. In his spare time he’s made a name directing classics, including that unforgettable “All My Sons” at TheatreWorks in 2004.

We chatted him up recently as he zipped down the freeway from the Marin Theatre Company, where he’s directing “The Good German,” toward TheatreWorks in Mountain View, where he’s staging the regional premiere of Anthony Clarvoe’s “Ambition Facing West.” He talked about how, while juggling more than one play at a time, he tries to solve the mystery of each.

Why did you become a director?

I was on my way to becoming an actor and at some point I realized that my problems as an actor, my tendency to over-analyze everything and my tendency to look at the big picture instead of just my individual character, were actually strengths as a director. And over time that became the thing that I loved.

What appeals to you about “The Good German?”

It’s a really interesting piece. It’s a play about a guy who hides a Jewish guy in Germany in World War II and he’s, you know, your typical, average, ordinary German, put into this position of trying to figure out whether he should do the right thing against his better judgment.

I think the moral quandary he’s in is really fascinating, and even though it’s a play set in Nazi Germany, it’s very much about our times. It asks what do you do when your government has an official policy that you disagree with. How do you deal with that? How do you move within that society? It’s very much a play about now that uses an extreme situation to illustrate our situation.

Is it tricky dealing with plays that have such overt political themes?

Yeah, I think it is, because you don’t want to beat the audience over the head with it. The play is not pulling its punches, so you definitely run the risk of doing that, and how you maneuver through that is the challenge. You want to make the point without hitting people over the head with a hammer. That’s the balancing act. It’s hard.

Did you take a similar tack approaching Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” at TheatreWorks back in 2004?

Yeah. Miller is a polemicist and he wasn’t quite as good at hiding that aspect of his writing at that point in his career. We did have to pull back on some of that. But that play also lives very deeply within its characters. The key is to ground everything in the characters’ psychological behavior.

How do you help the actors dig down to that level of truth?

Usually, it’s a lot of table work, sitting down and reading it before we get it on its feet. Really kind of getting underneath every line, what’s being said and, probably more importantly, what’s not being said.

Is “The Good German” at all related to the movie of the same name?

No, but it may help us. People may come expecting to see George Clooney.

Couldn’t hurt! How do you switch gears from one play to another so quickly? Does the commute clear the slate for you?

The driv
Where do you live?

I live in Oakland, in part because it’s so central. San Francisco is too, but Oakland is cheaper.

So, what’s the process of deciding who directs what at TheatreWorks?

Basically we pick the season and then we see what makes sense for me. We put together a season that is right for the company without saying “you have to have something for me or somebody else.” We put together a mix of the classics and musicals and new plays, but the truth is we do shows that Robert Kelley (the artistic director) wants to direct. Then we see what makes sense for him to direct and you get left with whatever’s left.

Ah! I see.

But that’s OK. That has worked for the company for 37 years so there is really no reason to change it.

Are you a big fan of Clarvoe as a playwright?

Yeah, I am. I remember when “Pick Up Ax” was done in Chicago in the ’80s.

This piece has been on Kelley’s mind for a while. I actually hadn’t read it until he suggested it to me, but I’m finding it very interesting. It’s a challenging play that weaves in and out of three different time periods, and every actor plays more than one role so there’s a lot going on. Figuring out the jigsaw puzzle of the play has been fun. We’ll see how it goes. Hopefully everybody will like it. Hopefully it will be clear!

As director of new works, do you spend most of your time scouting for plays?

I do, yeah, that’s my job, to be aware of what’s going on and try and get my dirty little paws on it.

QWhat role will you play in TheatreWorks’ upcoming writers’ retreat?

AI’m very hands off, actually. I’ll give advice and be there to bounce ideas off of, but mostly it’s an artist-centered process. We give them time to get away from the hassles of daily life and just work. They’re not at home where they have to pay the bills and call the landlord and do all the things that get in the way of the writing.

QYou’ve got some very talented folks coming out, such as Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater of “Spring Awakening” fame. Aren’t you a tad tempted to eavesdrop on their process and see if you can produce one of their shows at TheatreWorks?

AWe really try not to put any pressure on them. They can come and work on whatever they want. I’m not necessarily looking for projects.

What I’m looking for is artists that will create the kind of works that we would want to produce. So I provide those artists with the time and resources to be an artist. We’ve been talking to Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater for a couple of years, and it just happens that the timing now is great for both of us because they’re coming off this huge Broadway success. This is a chance for us to get to know them better and for them to get to know us better. It’s a win-win.

by Anthony Clarvoe, staged by TheatreWorks
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View

7:30 p.m. Tuesdays; 8 p.m. Wednesday through Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays (check Web site for times)

Feb. 11

$20-$55; (650)903-6000, www.theatreworks.org

by David Wiltse

Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley

March 20

: 8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Saturdays; 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; 7 p.m. Sundays, through April 15 (check Web site for times)

$29-$47; (415)388-5208, www.marintheatre.org