To kick off our brand new blog, we got the chance to sit down with Megan McGinnis, director of TR's upcoming production of Daddy Long Legs! Megan not only starred in the 2015 Off-Broadway production, but was a part of the show throughout the entire development process. Click through to read what she had to share!
Question 1: This production of Daddy Long Legs marks your directorial debut! Has directing always been a goal, or was this just an opportunity that came along at the right time?
I don’t think it was a general, “I want to be a director.” It was more, “I want to do Daddy Long Legs from a different perspective.”
Lauren [Kennedy Brady] wrote me an email months ago asking me if I had the script to Daddy Long Legs, because she was doing it in her season. […] I told her that I wanted to direct it. […] I was really thrilled that she said yes and that she’s given me this opportunity!
I’d actually never thought about directing. I can’t remember which run of Daddy Long Legs it was, but we’d all gone out to dinner. John Caird, our original director and book writer, he mentioned something – just very casually – about me directing a piece. He was like, “You should direct it some day.” I sort of laughed it off. It stuck with me though…
Then hilariously when Adam, my husband, joined the show Off-Broadway, he had very little time to be put into the show – and John could only be with us for three days or so. So for the two weeks or so following – let’s just say honestly the entire run – I would give him notes.
I would never have done that with anyone but my husband. But at the same time we discussed that I knew the show best, better than anybody else at this point. I’d done it on and off for seven years. I’d done every incarnation of it. I’d helped to develop it along the way. So I was able to fill Adam in on [so many details]. I think those two things together made me think I could do this show. But I don’t think it was a general, “I want to be a director.” It was more, “I want to do Daddy Long Legs from a different perspective.”
Lauren [Kennedy Brady] wrote me an email months ago asking me if I had the script to Daddy Long Legs, because she was doing it in her season. I said, “I do have the script, and I also have a director.” I told her that I wanted to direct it. I was really proud of myself. I went out, and I said to my husband, “I just told Lauren I want to direct the show.” She wrote back, and she said, “Well, I have someone in mind, but he’s looking at the whole season. If he’s interested in something else, then I’ll come back to you.” And she did. I was really thrilled that she said yes and that she’s given me this opportunity!
Question 2: What is it like to direct a show that you’ve not only starred in, but been involved with throughout the entire development process (since 2009)?
I was really terrified coming in. […] But I felt like I could have a conversation about everything… I was able to take what I had learned and then redevelop it with Hilary [Maiberger] and Max [Chernin]. I loved that – that we have this whole new show together, our own version.
I was really terrified coming in. I just thought, “Oh, I’m going to feel really on the spot. There will be people looking at me for answers.” I surprised myself – pleasantly surprised myself – the first day where I knew all the answers. I mean, I don’t know all the answers. Nobody knows all the answers. But I felt like I could have a conversation about everything, and listen to people’s concerns, and answer people’s questions and create with them. I was able to take what I had learned and then redevelop it with Hilary [Maiberger] and Max [Chernin]. I loved that – that we have this whole new show together, our own version.
I will say it is very cool to be able to decide things. As an actor you offer suggestions, and you never have the final say. It’s been very interesting to think, “Oh, I get to choose.”
And I do think that it has been very collaborative, but I enjoy the fact that when my actors turn to me and ask me for an opinion, I have an opinion – or I can honestly say, “I don’t know,” and we can talk about it together. My fear has not come true that I won’t know what to do.
Question 3: Have you ever felt you had to shift from “actor brain” to “director brain” during rehearsal?
Well, I don’t think it’s all that different. […] The show is from my gut. That’s what it feels like, so I can just talk to them through my instinct.
Well, I don’t think it’s all that different. Maybe especially in this show because it’s two people. I never have to look so outside of myself to place a thirty-person ensemble or something like that.
Someone asked me if I missed it, “Do you miss performing it?” I don’t. In that way I haven’t had to shift my brain. It’s never been, “Oh, I want to jump in there and sing the songs.” First of all, my cast is extraordinary, so I don’t need to.
There was one day in rehearsal when Hilary and I were working on a scene, and I was pointing out something in my script. She said, “Oh, did you not write any of this down, the blocking that you’re giving us?” I said, “No, no I didn’t.” She said, “Oh, I’m so surprised. That’s crazy.” I said, “I think it’s because so much of it is from my gut.” The show is from my gut. That’s what it feels like, so I can just talk to them through my instinct.
So yes, the shift has been surprisingly nonexistent. It seems very natural.
Question 4: Were there any elements from the Off-Broadway production you knew you wanted to change, or explore in a new way?
Lauren and I had talked about the arrangement of the seats in the theater. I really liked the idea of doing it in the round. After some discussion, we changed our minds and instead decided on this diamond shape.
I like it even better than the round, but what it really allowed me to do was think of the show in a different way — that maybe Jervis’s world can be in the center and Jerusha’s world can be surrounding his. Everything stemmed from that.
I had several conversations with John before we began. First, I wanted to see what he felt about me finally directing, and how he felt about me changing the design. The original design is mentioned in the script: that her space, Jerusha’s space, is separated from Jervis’ space. Jervis’ space is slightly higher – a higher level – and he’s in her study. Her world becomes whatever the scene needs it to be.
I felt that if I had that design I might automatically do the same production – to which John said, “Feel free. You helped create this. Absolutely, go ahead…But I think you can do something else,” and sort of challenged me. Then I said, “But the design is so good. It’s so perfect.” He’s like, “Yeah, but we came up with lots of other ideas” – sort of a challenge again.
Lauren and I had talked about the arrangement of the seats in the theater. I really liked the idea of doing it in the round. After some discussion, we changed our minds and instead decided on this diamond shape. I like it even better than the round, but what it really allowed me to do was think of the show in a different way — that maybe Jervis’s world can be in the center and Jerusha’s world can be surrounding his. Everything stemmed from that.
While the ideas of the show are the same, what John did so brilliantly in the original production was activating the letters so that it doesn’t become… You would think that a show that is all letters might seem dull. But all of them are almost recreated in a sense, and that’s entirely John’s idea and concept.
I just took that, and we did different staging and a couple of different ideas within that. Once that diamond shape was decided on, everything fell into place for me. We used trunks in the original production, and I wanted to look at that a little bit differently. I did end up using some similar ideas for the trunks because it’s just so good.
Question 5: In directing the show, have you discovered anything new? And did that surprise you?
No. I really do think I know the show inside and out! It’s a part of me, and it will always be a part of me. I love that.
Question 6: Having been with the show for seven years initially, and now reviving it two years later, what is it about the show that drives you back to it?
Everything. First of all, the music is so spectacular and also so varied. […]
And the characters themselves are so special. Watching someone like Jerusha Abbott grow into herself is an exciting journey. She’s someone that I think we all wish we were more like.
Everything. First of all, the music is so spectacular and also so varied. There are just so many different types of songs and flavors and styles. It’s so melodic. I could listen to the score every day. I mean, I have, and I never tire of hearing it. Never ever ever ever.
And the characters themselves are so special. Watching someone like Jerusha Abbott grow into herself is an exciting journey. She’s someone that I think we all wish we were more like. I like visiting her. I think we as audience members are more like Jervis, maybe more reserved and trying to rediscover the world, and Jerusha is the one that allows that to happen for him and for us.
It’s so special that I get to – that it’s still a part of my life. What else do I want to share about why the show is so special? I just feel like I could go on and on about it… [but you’ll have to come see it to find out for yourself!]
Question 7: What do you hope audiences will take away from it?
I think some of the things Jerusha tells us are things that we need to be reminded of every day. […] [In] “Secret of Happiness” there’s a beautiful little paragraph she says before the song:
“These are the big troubles in life that require character. Anyone can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage. To meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh, I really think that requires spirit.”Everyday I’d get there and be like, “Right, yes, okay. I can do this.”
I think some of the things Jerusha tells us are things that we need to be reminded of every day. I felt that when I was doing the show. Every day we got to “Secret of Happiness,” and there’s a beautiful little paragraph she says before the song:
“These are the big troubles in life that require character. Anyone can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage. To meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh, I really think that requires spirit.”
Everyday I’d get there and be like, “Right, yes, okay. I can do this.”
The whole show has those moments like that that are just such wonderful reminders – especially in this day and age when I feel like we’re fighting against a lot of negativity, and it feels like an uphill battle. Maybe that’s because I have a newborn child.
Question 8: How do you think today’s audiences relate to a show that’s set from 1908 to 1912?
It’s funny. I don’t actually ever think of the show as a period piece. […]
It’s interesting because in “The Secret of Happiness” – the song that follows that paragraph – the lyric is, “I’ve discovered the secret of happiness is living in the now.” I mean, we use that phrase all the time – but Jean Webster, when she wrote this novel in the early 1900s, basically coined it. She said it then, which is just so incredible that we are still trying to attain that. The message is timeless.
It’s funny. I don’t actually ever think of the show as a period piece. The only thing that makes it a period piece in my mind is ultimately how Jerusha and Jervis fall in love, because it does exist in a world that is…not ours. Things were different then, but Jerusha is so ahead of her time that watching her develop into this young lady, it feels just as timely. All those reminders that I was talking about, again, just as timely. None of that feels like it’s 1908.
It’s interesting because in “The Secret of Happiness” – the song that follows that paragraph – the lyric is, “I’ve discovered the secret of happiness is living in the now.” I mean, we use that phrase all the time – but Jean Webster, when she wrote this novel in the early 1900s, basically coined it. She said it then, which is just so incredible that we are still trying to attain that. The message is timeless.
Question 9: The Kennedy Theatre, which seats about 130, is similar in size to the Davenport (where the show played Off-Broadway.) What do you think it is about a theatre that size that fits the show so well?
What’s so great about this show is that it makes any space feel intimate. But it’s even cooler being in an intimate space because both Jerusha and Jervis talk to the audience. […]
I feel like we as audience members can feel like we’re a part of their journey, sort of helping them along.
What’s so great about this show is that it makes any space feel intimate. But it’s even cooler being in an intimate space because both Jerusha and Jervis talk to the audience. They are sharing with the audience throughout the show. The audience is the scene partner. It’s a wonderful way to share the story and share the spirit of the story. I feel like we as audience members can feel like we’re a part of their journey, sort of helping them along.
But that is not to say that they actually interact. They don’t, but you feel like someone is confiding in you. In a small space like that, you can have actual eye contact. It’s been fun working on that with Hilary and Max too, because they’re not used to that.
It’s something that John brought up the first day of rehearsal in 2009, and I was like, “You are crazy. You want me to look at people?” It changes the show. It really does – and often in a way audiences may not expect. It makes the characters more vulnerable on stage, which is so great.
Question 10: In the show, Jerusha has a line referencing Little Women – and, of course, you starred in the Broadway musical as Beth. But you were also involved in the pre-Broadway workshop productions of Little Women at Duke University in 2001 and 2004. Now that you’re back in North Carolina, have you had any chance to explore the area? Is there anything you want to do before you leave?
I want to go back to Duke. […]
Honestly, I want more time down here. It’s so beautiful. I love it. I remember loving it in 2001 and 2004, and I love it now.
I want to go back to Duke. I mean, the most gorgeous campus I’ve ever seen. I remember having lunch one day in the cafeteria. I don’t remember which year, but one of those. I was like, “Oh, I’m at Hogwarts.” It’s perfection. We went to Marbles Museum with our son, which was incredible, and I want to go back already.
What else have we done? We had some excellent Southern cooking at Tupelo Honey… Honestly, I want more time down here. It’s so beautiful. I love it. I remember loving it in 2001 and 2004, and I love it now.
For more on Megan, visit her website, or follow her here:
Daddy Long Legs
May 16-27
Kennedy Theatre
