Letter from the Director of Red

“What is past and passing and to come.” 

I read this play in 2019 at the cusp of the pandemic and what followed was, as we all know,  a time of tumultuous change. People across the world had to pivot and devise new, creative means of producing work. This was integral to keeping businesses going and, for some, staying alive.  

I felt like our world was shifting: I went from living a normal day-to-day life to living through a global pandemic, and now I live in a world affected by it.

To me, RED encapsulated that shift.

It is a story of two individuals with vastly different upbringings working together: Rothko, trying his damnedest to stay relevant and remain true to tradition; and Ken, learning and fighting so desperately to exonerate Rothko of his fallacies. These two share unexpected and significant experiences over the course of several years, and just like us, must move on with newfound knowledge, appreciation of their experiences, and the uncertainty of an inevitable future.  

I originally pitched RED as a student show back in Spring 2022 and got approved for ACC Drama’s 2023-24 Season, and to say I was bursting at the seams with excitement would be an understatement.

I had the privilege of working with two incredibly talented and professional actors, Merrick Milburn [Rothko] and Julia Bennett [Ken]. They brought these characters to life with their natural mysticism and instincts, as well as making rehearsals a hoot-and-a-half; it was an honor directing them. I hope to see them continue their craft and perhaps work with them in the near future.

This team of designers - four ACC alumni and several current students from Drama and Fashion - brought this show to life from conception to design, construction to atmosphere. They are all such wonderfully talented and hard-working professionals whom I hope continue developing their skills and knowledge because I firmly believe their work must be experienced. They put in so much love and hard work in creating the world that is RED, and without them there would be no show.

I would also like to thank Marcus McQuirter for giving me the opportunity to direct this show - originally intended to be staged in a studio room - in the beautiful Black Box Theatre and for always believing in his students; as well as the other faculty members of the Drama Department. Their dedication to theatre and support for the students has been essential in the development of this show, and for that I am eternally grateful. 

If there’s one thing this show has taught me it’s that we humans are conflicted, contradicting beasts beholden to personal truths and beliefs moving in a finite world of finite truths, and sometimes we are…wrong. 

This is what red means to me… What does it mean to you?

Ryan Williams

Director