This month, Austin Collaborative Theatre is presenting the play Ordinary People. For the director and two of the lead actors, it’s a new production but also a chance to revisit some work they did years ago. “I think it was my it was my idea to redo it,� says actor and Austin Collaborative managing director Tim Blackwood. “Years and years ago� I'd been in a production that Rod directed of this, it was with Austin Theater for Youth� and we did that show with McCallum students and some professional adult actors in the show and it was a great experience. And as my son has gotten to be, you know, he's gonna be a senior next year, he's in the acting program. I had this wonderful idea of, gosh, I'd like to do that show again and possibly do it with my son if possible. And I contacted Rod and Rod was very excited to get to do the show again.�
“Yeah, that first production was actually in 1998,� director Rod Caspers adds, “which is gonna age us big time. It's always been one of my favorite productions that I've gotten to work on and I seldom get to do things twice or revisit something. So when Tim called me, I thought that would be really interesting to look at it again.�
Ordinary People, based on the 1976 novel by Judith Guest (which was also adapted into a 1980 film version directed by Robert Redford), centers on the Jarrett family as they deal with the aftermath of the accidental death of their son Buck and the subsequent attempted suicide of their surviving son Conrad. The 1998 Austin production featured Blackwood and Rebecca Robinson as parents Cal and Beth, and both actors are returning to those roles this summer. Conrad is played this time by Tim’s real life son, Joseph Blackwood.
Joseph says he had a bit of familiarity with the role before being cast. “It's interesting because my dad had the script and I [sometimes] needed monologues for auditions and stuff,� he says, “so I'd actually been doing one of the monologues from this show, from Conrad with the therapist talking about this dream he had. So it's interesting seeing more of the context of that and actually being able to portray the whole role.�
Tim says he has a better understanding of the character Cal this time around. “[Rebecca and I] were probably too young to have actual high school students as children [the first time]. Now we're kind of at that age. The most relevant thing that's happened in my life that is different from when I did this [27] years ago [is that] I've raised two sons. I actually have children. I had no children back then. I wasn't even married. So yeah, that experience is probably what's gonna drive my character the most, is the fact that I have actual sons.�
Joseph and the other actors playing the teen characters in this production are students at McCallum Fine Arts Academy. “They have a both an acting major program and also a tech major program,� Tm says, “and so we're also bringing in some tech students as assistants to� the professional creative staff we have working in the event. We're trying to make this an experience for the high school.�
“I think [the play is] very life-affirming,� Caspers says. “And even though it's about a young man who's attempted to commit suicide, it's really about his figuring out how to honor what's happened in his life, struggle with how to kind of incorporate that in his life, and then move forward. And I think he basically learns how to love himself and then he can love his mother and understand where she's coming from and love his father and celebrate his friends.�
The original novel was written in a time when seeking therapy was sometimes frowned upon, and while things have changed for the better in the nearly 50 years since its publication, it can still be challenging for some to admit to needing � and then seeking � that help. “This was written in like the '70s,� Joseph says, “so there was still a lot of stigma around mental health care. And I think, with school programs and stuff, there's a lot more knowledge about mental health [now] and there's a lot more help outlets. But still, I think this is widely important.�
Caspers agrees. “I often tell people that the strongest thing I ever did in my life was learn how to ask for help. And I didn't understand that till I got to a point in time where I had to reach out and just say I really need some help. And I think that's what this play is about too. It's like that's not a bad thing at all. That may be the most important thing any of us could come to. So that's what I hope people take away.�
