If We Were Birds director Wendy Merk claims that this particular production is going to be one of the most difficult plays she’s ever directed.
The play has graphic sexual violence and centres around the theme of rape used as a weapon of war against women. But Merk has the skills necessary to pull it off, having experience with duties as varied as singing, acting, and directing.
“I studied theatre at the University of Victoria, and then I was cast in a musical for the first time,” says Merk. “And I thought, ‘I’m not a singer’; apparently they thought I was. So that’s what evolved and, actually, when you’re an actor, it’s crucial to have as many skills as you can.”
Being a female director is a challenge in itself. Facing sexism and reviews missing the key point of the director’s work is something Merk deals with on almost every production she works on.
“A lot of times what happens is that people don’t remember that there’s a director of the play, so they will comment on the acting, and they might comment on the set design, but someone giving a review will rarely comment on the directing,” says Merk. “They don’t get it; they don’t realize that the person in charge of all the casting and everything is actually the director. They don’t even mention it. So, actually, it’s not so much that I’ve been criticized as a director, but just been ignored as a director.”
Merk usually directs plays with old-fashioned themes or ones set in eras past. However, If We Were Birds tackles subject matter and includes scenes that are different from what Merk usually deals with, including a rape scene.
“That’s a pretty new area, because most plays aren’t going to be depicting stuff like that,” she says, “which is interesting because we all know that rape happens all the time. It’s not just in war times; it’s in everyday life. But it’s something that we, of course, don’t really talk about a lot; people don’t want to think about it.”
Merk has also worked in Toronto and says that despite Victoria being a wonderful city, the audience is not necessarily big enough to sustain a substantial artistic theatre career here.
“There are a lot of artists that work here and if you think you’re going to make it big here, you totally won’t, because there’s not enough of a base of people to buy tickets,” she says. “So, probably move to a bigger place. But you have to balance quality of living with your career; you have to decide what’s more important.”
If We Were Birds
Until October 17
$14/$10 for students, Theatre Inconnu, 1923 Fernwood Road
theatreinconnu.com