Victoria-based director Zelda Dean was drawn to Absinthe, Bourbon, Vodka, and Sake because the play takes unexpected turns. Dean has worked with award-winning playwright Caroline Russell-King for 40 years and says she has watched her develop into her career.
“So, I’m intrigued by many of her scripts, but this script in particular is… very compelling,” says Dean. “It’s very powerful, and what I like about it is that there are major twists in the play, so things are not as they appear.”
Dean has read many scripts over her career, but this one really stood out for her because it brought about many different emotions and kept her on her toes.
“You know, theatre can sometimes be magical, and it’s hard to find the scripts that come across that way… It brings a sense of reality, there’s great connection as we go through the journey with the characters,” she says. “It challenged my perception, it kept me guessing. The play made me laugh when I first read it, it made me cry, it surprised me, and it actually made me examine myself. So, for a play to do that, I mean… I think it’s my 151st play that I’ve directed.”
The theme of “wherever you run to you bring yourself” drew Dean to the play.
“Well, one of the questions that the play brought to mind for me,” she says, “is, ‘Have you ever felt like running away?’ I mean, what if you could have a redo of your life, or a moment in your life, or in a relationship? What if you could script your own story, your own life story?”
Even though Dean always has a roadmap of how a show will end up, there are new discoveries during the rehearsal process.
“I always have an idea in my head of the frame that the play will end up in, on opening night,” she says. “But I’m always surprised by what we discover as we take the script apart, because when I’m working with actors, all I’m trying to do is help them find the truth in their characters, so that we stay true to the characters, true to the script.”
Dean has previously worked with actors Christine Upright and Ryan Kniel and knows what they can bring to the final production.
“I work in a collaborative fashion with my actors, but when the dust settles, the director decides what shape the show will be,” she says. “And I obviously have a good sense myself of what the shape of the show is, and how I hope it will end, and having worked with both of these actors I know their capabilities, and I know how much they’re going to bring to it.”
Dean believes that audiences may experience moments of surprise during the play, and she’s looking forward to their reactions throughout the production.
“This particular story happens to be intriguing, and that’s really why I took it,” she says. “It’s just intriguing. And I can hardly wait to see the reaction from the audience.”
Dean hopes that the overarching themes of the play will resonate with its viewers and lead them to an understanding about the urge to run away.
“I mean, I’m in my 80s, and, I admit it, that I’ve thought about it, yeah, that there are times we just want to run away,” she says. “So, I think that what people will take away from this is that there are different ways to run away.”
Absinthe, Bourbon, Vodka, and Sake
Various times and dates,
Wednesday, July 19
to Sunday, August 6
$25, Congregation Emanu-El Synagogue Black Box Theatre
bemaproductions.com