Stage Notes is a weekly aggregate post about theater, classical music, dance, comedy and stage news, events, reviews and other pertinent information. In this post, we have an exclusive Q&A with director Hadley Shipley, the nonbinary director of You Must Wear a Hat written by C. Meaker. They talk about the show just ahead of its closing performance.
Stage Notes Calendar
Opening this week:
Broadway at the Center: The Music Man, today-Saturday at the Winspear, pictured.
Rover Dramawerks: All’s Fair in Love and Theatre, today-March 28.
The Firehouse Theatre: The Producers, today-March 29.
Stage West: A Case for the Existence of God, today-March 29.
Garland Symphony Orchestra: Alice Burla, pianist, 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Granville Arts Center.
DSO Pops: Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton, Friday-Sunday.
Texas Ballet Theatre: Diversions, Friday-Sunday at Bass Hall.
Verdigris Ensemble: A Western, Friday-Sunday at Hamon Hall.
Repertory Company Theatre: Curtains the Musical, Friday-March 22.
Allen Contemporary Theatre: Escanaba in da Moonlight, Friday-March 29.
Garland Civic Theatre: Rumors, Friday-March 29.
Irving Symphony Orchestra: A Classic’s Classic with Vicente Campos, Saturday.
Opera Arlington: Cabaret Kunst featuring Gabrielle Gilliam, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Farr Best Theater.
Jubilee Theatre: Test to Testimony, Tuesday-April 26.
Onstage now:
Echo Theatre: You Must Wear a Hat, through Saturday at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Family Music Theatre: Disney’s Frozen, through Saturday at New Vida Center.
Hopeful Theatre Project: Something Rotten!, through March 21 at MainStage 222, pictured.
MainStage ILC: Native Gardens, through March 21.
Broadway Dallas:A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical, through March 22.
Dallas Theater Center: Where We Stand, through March 22 at Bryant Hall.
Theatre Three: Penelope, through March 22.
Upright Theatre Co.: Seussical, through March 22.
Circle Theatre: King James, through March 28.
Pocket Sandwich Theatre: Arsenic and Old Lace, through March 28.
The Core Theatre: Charley’s Aunt, through April 12.
Fever: SAW The Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of SAW, through April 12 at Theatre Too.
Director Hadley Shipley reflects on their directorial debut at Echo Theatre
This weekend, Echo Theatre closes its world premiere of You Must Wear a Hat by C. Meaker. The show opened Feb. 27 and also marked the debut of director Hadley Shipley. The nonbinary director discussed their experience in helming this ecological, trans, nonbinary tale.
The show stars Cameron Casey as Tuesday, Dahlia Parks as Weeks and Henri Sudy as The Rabbit. A desolate tale set in a hat shop at the Great Barrier Reef, the cast is all gender nonconforming. The story follows the two who exist in a gray area but provide companionship after a worldwide disaster with a rabbit that keeps hovering around the two.
The show closes Saturday at the Bath House Cultural Center.
Dallas Voice: Your first show is almost in the books. How are you feeling about the run?
Shipley: I’m really proud of it! I couldn’t be more thrilled with my actors and the incredible work that this design team did. I know it’s bittersweet because of everything coming out right now about trans/drag performance which shaped some of my feelings as the run went on. Because of these horrible reminders, that honestly made it feel all the more important to have trans representation right now.
How do you describe the show?
It is a very still and quiet show and much of it is this lonely experience. I wanted that to come through in my approach by focusing on Tuesday and Weeks’ connection first. A lot of the play has to have this baseline emptiness which is felt when they are apart.
There are a few themes there but is one central?
The climate stuff is very much at the forefront and is the vehicle that opens talk about a lot of issues.
How does it feel to have such a trans/nonbinary forward cast and show to helm? Does the show specifically call for a fluid cast?
First, it’s really hard to get trans work produced. And it’s hard to get trans people onstage. And yes, let me find the specific wording – Meeks explicitly states that Tuesday and Weeks should be played by nonbinary, genderqueer, gender nonconforming, and/or trans performers. Both characters could be any race, however, they should not both be white. Considering they’re the only representatives of this world, they should represent a difference in body type, age, race, and ethnicity, ability, gender expression, et cetera.
What stuck out to you about the show?
Oh, there’s a whole conversation around rabbits being treated like an invasive species. That felt very relevant to me – this idea of being treated like we don’t belong somewhere. It’s really, really heartbreaking, but I think a lot about that. As someone who had trans friends growing up, and as someone who is non-binary, that hits really close to home and it is in the subtext as well.
That sounds heavy to experience as an audience.
Yes, but the show has a lot of hope in it. The show is about finding joy and pain and a way to celebrate life even when it’s gone. But also, it’s about finding a community which was very important to me.
Congratulations on the show.
Thank you so much!
–Rich Lopez