At its heart, what is your script about?
Barbara Lhota: Girl Found
is about how we deceive ourselves when we want or need something badly enough. It's about the need to see what we want to see.
It's also about the desperation of a girl/woman to be seen, heard, and ultimately loved. She is FOUND, which is really more about her own identity discovery rather than physically being found.
It's a story about survival and damage. It's about how people perceive truth as flexible when what they deeply need (approval, safety, love) is on the line.
What do you want audiences to feel when they leave the theatre?
Barbara Lhota:
Conflicted. Sympathetic. Moved. I want the audience to feel conflicted by the characters, not confused regarding what happened in the story at all, but unable to condemn or approve anyone. I would like people to discuss the girl/woman and the family's needs and weakness. I want them to feel sympathy for the family, particularly the aunt and her boyfriend. I want them to feel for the girl, to attempt to understand the reason she has followed this path. I want them to puzzle together the history of all the main characters (this is where the video projections come in). I want the audience fairly active through the play and puzzling afterwards.
What inspired you to write your script?
Barbara Lhota:
A couple of different inspirations...
Firstly there was French movie called
Olivier Olivier
that came out a long time ago that always haunted me. It was about a missing child who was found by his family when the boy was a teen. I won't reveal the rest of the movie but I was fascinated by multiple layers of the story. I was intrigued by how the family had to wrap their minds around the boy they remembered versus the older boy who was found. I was also taken with the mystery of how and why he went missing. I imagined what his life was like without his family. Did he remember it all? There was so much family secrecy in the story. This movie came out when I was in my 20s. Now flash forward to about a two summers ago... when I watched a documentary for the first time that completely blew my mind. But why it blew my mind - and even its title - would give away too much about this play. Suffice it to say that this play is inspired by a true story.
Also, I grew up in Detroit during the late 60s thru 80s - a particularly volatile time. I watched a lot of false hope in the city. I admire the survival instincts of Detroiters. Growing up during that time there, I also saw the slow decay of the buildings and yet the beauty of hope. I perceive a connection between these characters, particularly Sophia, and that image of Detroit.
What are the themes and motifs contained within your script? What are the conflicts?
Barbara Lhota:
I'm fascinated with how easily people can be deceived. The research shows it's pretty easy to do because people don't want to make the deceiver or anyone uncomfortable. It's actually a beautiful quality in humans that that is the case. A person walks in the room with a white lab coat, and we'll assume that they are the doctor unless they tell us otherwise. Even if we eventually have some concerns about them being a doctor, we probably won't bring that up unless someone else questions it.
Memory and the elasticity of memory is a theme in the play.
I used Detroit as a physical symbol of how the girl feels about herself and her psyche. I used the video projections to help us understand the girl's back story without having her to tell it all to us. Even the idea of the video projections of her as child fits this character because the audience thinks the video is related to one person or thing and then it turns out to be completely different.
I think the main conflict for the audience is: What the happened in the past to this girl and her family? Why is she missing?
I think a primary conflict for the main character is: I love these people; this is my norm, so I have no other choice but to do what I'm doing. Her best friend is her antagonist.
Discuss your use of language and the perspectives of your characters and how they shape your script
Barbara Lhota:
I use the imagery of Detroit to describe the characters. And I'm playing with perspective in multiple ways. One way is to make the audience feel inside the story, as if they ARE Dr. Cole (who is not seated stage but in the audience) - seeing it unfold, analyzing Sophie's behavior, poking her for her story, and deciding her fate.
How does your script work within Idle Muse Theatre Company's mission to be Transporting, Timely and True?
Barbara Lhota:
This story should definitely transport the audience - it should work on its most basic level as a good story. It's timely because I think stories focused on the need for love and acceptance are timeless and always relevant. As for truth - as I mentioned, it's inspired by several true stories. But more importantly, it examines how truth can morph when the need to see things differently is strong enough.
Have you personally experienced the gender gap in the theatre industry?
Barbara Lhota:
Gosh. I am certain I have, but I can't point to a specific theater incidence. (I can point to plenty of instances outside of theater.) I can't imagine I haven't since bias by gender which can unintentionally become discrimination is so wide-spread.
I always think of this example for gender....There was this professor (don't ask me who) who had a recorded lecture - a female voice and a male voice presented to students. One was on the subject of "Love and Relationships" and the other subject was "Math or Physics." He then had the students provide feedback regarding who was most effective at teaching the two topics. The male voice always rated higher for "Math and Physics," and the female voice always rated higher for "Love and Relationships." The best known playwrights are male so it makes sense that the male voice will have more power until we know the other voices (that identify as female and gender neutral) better.
I started writing plays a million years ago and I remember very few to no artistic directors who were women. Part of the way plays are chosen is how they personally speak to you. I see the opportunities and voices in playwriting really changing. I also think the theater is biased toward wealthy, high-educated individuals.
Oh wait a minute. When I first moved to Boston, before grad school, I applied at this theater in little Italy. I was applying to be a free intern, clean up papers, help the director get organized, etc and he kept on telling me I should pose nude for him. I think that one counts as gender bias.
What do you think is the best way to combat the gender gap in the theatre industry?
Barbara Lhota:
More female directors, producers, literary managers, and administrators- please, please.
Where do you see the future of the theatre industry going in terms of inclusion and the gender gap?
Barbara Lhota:
Heading in the right direction and I think we also need to close gaps in terms of racial and ethnic representation and representation of people with lower education and income levels.
