Theater Spotlight of the Week: Susan Sargeant

by Shawn Parikh

Susan Sargeant has quite a reputable name in the DFW theater world as a director and actress. She also serves as Artistic Director of Wingspan Theatre Company, which is opening Edward Albee's "absurdist" piece The Play About the Baby this week, which she is directing. Thus, she is perfect to feature this week to get insight into the theater company and the play.

We start off by talking about her career in Dallas, and why she started Wingspan. She talks about what niche this theater company fills, and what sets it apart from the many other companies in DFW. I ask her what makes her decide what plays to choose each season.

Being very insightful towards Edward Albee, she talks a lot about his aims and genius in writing The Play About the Baby, and how it can relate to his other plays, such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. I ask her how she as a director will make this piece relatable to an audience and what she hopes their response will be. She explains her directorial vision for the show and how she collaborated with other design elements to make her vision come true.

The play does include nudity, so I ask her how she is able to get the actors comfortable during the rehearsal process. Finally, since she is a prominent actress and director in DFW, I ask about her preference between the two.

The Play About the Baby runs from October 25 - November 10. Pay-what-you-can performances occur on October 25th (opening), November 3rd (matinee performance) and November 8th. There will be two post-show talkbacks on Friday, October 26th and Friday, November 2nd. For reservations or more info, call 214-675-6573 or e-mail wngspnthco@tx.rr.com.