The Metropolitan Opera recently announced they had scheduled a work from a female composer into their season for the first time since 1903. That’s ridiculous. For companies that do a lot of classics, be they little like us or gigantic like the Met, it can be hard to look beyond the canonical male writers. But there is incredible work, both modern and classic, out there from women writers and tonight is our first step in making sure those brilliant authors are seen on our stage.

In a 1925 interview with the Virginia Quarterly Review Pirandello took some time to talk about his inspiration. If you’re interested, I highly suggest taking the time to read the article online as it goes far more in depth than my limited space allows. For clarity, the author the characters regularly refer to as leaving them unfinished is in fact Pirandello himself. This play, in all its strange and intriguing complexity, is an illustration of not only the process of theatrical creation, but also of Pirandello’s understanding of his own imagination. The struggle between creation and stagnation, reality and fiction, and character and creator is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever picked up a pen or sat down at a computer to write.
 
I would like to extend my thanks to everyone who has visited the Dukesbay Theater to see one of our productions this season. Independent theater is a difficult business, but just like Pirandello, there are stories we need to tell; and because you support theater in the best way, by showing up, you make that possible. Thank you, I can’t wait to see you in the audience again next time.