The full title of the show is POTUS, or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.
When asked about where that comes from and the deeper sort of societal connection that comes with a group of women being responsible for one man, director Kate Gleason had this to say:
"There are many, larger societal implications, I'm sure, to the title. What I love about it is I think simply it could have just been titled POTUS, but I think we needed the addendum, because I think that we are living in a time where we see this sort of power dynamic where all of these amazingly strong and capable, women are working under administrations or organizations that are led primarily, by men. What we do see is that the women who are really supporting these male counterparts, are the ones who are actually really doing the work.
The ones who are really making the action happen. And I just think that it's, it's a fabulous title to use, as an addendum to that very big title of POTUS, which I think is kind of hilarious."
The show brings together a wide swath of characters and backgrounds, and has necessitated the invitation of several new talents to the Roaring Fork Valley, including interviewees Jasmine Jackson and Kate Gleason (both currently of Denver). Gleason has worked with TRTC Artistic Director Missy Moore in the past on Front Range productions.
When asked about her choice of the show during this season, halfway through an election year where the front-running candidates for POTUS are all men, Missy Moore replied, " I think one of the reasons that I was drawn to the show and decided to have it close my season is election year political ideologies. Everybody has their own ideas, but I think theater can be that vehicle that allows audiences to come together and find some levity and light and humor going into an election year that is a little nerve wracking. But by no means does it mean that Thunder River Theater Company is taking a political stand. It stands on either side. It is our job to tell a story, and a satirical one at that."
When asked about their favorite moments, each interviewee weighed in:
Jasmine Jackson: "There is a scene, a very long scene, in which my character is it's technically absent, but not really. So Chris is a White House reporter, technically on the outside and in some ways from the rest of the women that are working in the White House, they can be on opposite sides of what they're wanting to get, what they're wanting to let out.
And though she is technically absent during this huge scene where the rest of the female characters are, you know, she plays quite the role a bit later. It's maybe my favorite moment."
Missy Moore: "Mine would have to be developing and fine tuning. the inner tube choreography." (Currently left up to the audience's imagination)
Kate Gleason: "I would have to say that there's two scenes ish that I think are my favorite. The first one, it's the end of the first act and it's also the beginning of the second act. But it's when all of the characters are on stage together. We have all of these women on stage together, and it really, I think, encapsulates the beauty of this farce.
It captures how smart they are, how funny they are, how capable they are, and also the absurdity of the situation that they're put in, which is really, really wonderful. And I think it just, it shows the beauty of farce, really, to be honest. And it's also that it involves a lot of physical comedy, which is something I really, really love.
The other one that I really love is it's completely opposite. It's actually a scene that Jasmine is in, between the white house reporter and the first lady of the United States. Simply on the page, it looks like it's just an interview between two women. But I think because these actors are so strong and so funny and so smart, it becomes something much more, and I just love to see the way that that scene is unfolding in its entirety."
Having a farce that is entirely made up of a cast of women is a little unusual. Each interviewee shared something that's really special about that experience.
Missy Moore: "For me, it's the fact that this is a group of women who are put into a situation where they have to problem solve. And for the first time in my history as an actor, a female actor, these women are not objectified sexually. And to me, there is power behind that."
Kate Gleason: "I think the beauty of all of these characters and it's something that I led with the very beginning of rehearsal, and even when we started the casting. Is that everybody on stage, all of these characters, are great at their job. And it doesn't matter what their job is, whether they work at the White House or they don't work at the White House. Whatever they do, they're amazing at it, and yet they're put into these constant positions of high conflict and absurdity that they have to fix. And to me, I think that that's sort of the glory of this comedy is that it's really not based on any sort of romantic or jealousy or anything like that. It's a really about these women who are trying to, you know, save democracy and diplomacy and the United States. And, and I think there's something really, really funny in that.
Jasmine Jackson: "And no character is diminished. I will say, they are all vastly different people, different walks of life, different experiences. Yet there is that undercurrent of understanding that wouldn't necessarily be there, if we had a mixed gender identifying cast."
When asked if there was anything they were excited about, they had this to say:
Kate Gleason: "I'm really super excited to see all of these, uh, amazing women, funny, funny, funny, smart women up on stage creating this really amazingly smart comedy.
I think that appeals to a much larger base than what I think most people would expect. I spent a lot of time in my career as an actor and I do a lot of comedies and I also do a lot of farces. And this is the first as far as I've ever really experienced, it was all female and that really captured what it is for women to really work together and make something really smart and really funny.
So it was really exciting for me to be a part of that.
Missy Moore: "For me, as the artistic director, I'm really looking forward to challenging my audiences with this show. I think it's unlike something that Thunder River has ever produced historically. I just ask that people who attend this show, remember that theater is a subjective art form, and we're allowed to walk away with our own ideas, and hopefully you will be entertained."
Jasmine Jackson: "I'm hopeful and excited for this show. A varied audience. I'll say that when I've spoken about POTUS, just walking around town at the bars. The first question people ask is, 'So who is it? Who is POTUS? Which one is it? And what time and place in history are we?' And it's just like, it's not anyone.
That's a note by the writer as well. It's sort of just this ethereal amalgam of all that have come before and maybe all that will come after. And, so I think that enables you to come as an audience member to enjoy, to be engrossed in the farce, knowing that it is not a political statement.
It is a story about seven phenomenal women."
Just because the show is a comedy, does not mean that it is appropriate for all audiences.
Here's Moore again: "Yes, there are definite adult themes and quite a bit of language. So, if language and adult themes offend you, this might not be the show for you.
POTUS opens on June 14th, and closes on June 30th. Tickets are available at ThunderRiverTheatre.com or by calling the box office at 970.963.8200.
