From Dancer to Artistic Director to Playwright of the Musical 'October Sky'

×

Expand

http://www.marriotttheatre.com/show/october-sky

The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Ill., is a popular venue for launching Broadway shows and a leading force in developing and producing original and reimagined musicals. For its 40th season, The Marriott presents the world premiere of Greendale-native Aaron Thielen’s musical October Sky (through Oct. 18), based on the namesake book by Homer Hickam and the Universal Pictures movie. Thielen began as a dancer/actor at The Marriott and has humbly climbed the ranks to his current position as artistic director and playwright. Off the Cuff sat down with the talented Thielen to talk about his transition from performer to writer.

How did you get started with The Marriott Theatre?

I acted for them. The first show I auditioned for was Hello, Dolly! in 1995. I got it and never left. I did about 30 shows and became very comfortable with the theater and how they do things. I was an actor for a very long time and then made the decision to see what else I could do. I didn’t want to perform for the rest of my life; I didn’t think my body would be able to dance forever. So I moved to the other side of the table and started doing odd jobs and learning the ropes at The Marriott. The staff was very open and allowed me to work back stage, to choreograph and to work in the costume shop. Doing all these jobs built my knowledge of how theater is created. When I made the decision to get out of performing, I created a position at the theater—warehouse and properties manager—so we could develop the warehouse where we keep all our costumes. I started renting out our props and costumes across the country and began generating tons of money for the theater in this new position. That led me to artistic associate and then to artistic director.

How did you transition into writing and what inspired you to create October Sky?

When I took over as artistic director, we already produced a new work as part of every season, so I was working with the authors. As an actor I’ve done new works, but I hadn’t been on the other side to develop them and I felt under-prepared to deal with authors and to cultivate a new work from scratch. So I felt it was my obligation, if I was going to continue working on new works, to start writing; to know what it feels like to write and then be constructively criticized, as well as to have a language to work with authors. So I started writing the show called Hero. That was really a pet project to try to teach myself how to do it and it turned into something I thought could actually be okay. I brought Hero to Mike Mahler, my musical collaborator. He liked what was on the page, so he started writing songs and then we were off. We did a couple readings and The Marriott decided to produce it. It was kind of a dreamy experience.

Universal Studios heard about Hero and loved it, so I met up with them and they said they wanted to develop some of their movies into musicals. Universal gave me a list of every movie they ever made and I picked October Sky. They loved the idea, so I brought Mahler on and started writing and two years later, October Sky is at The Marriott.

Highlights you’d like to share about October Sky?

I think it’s exciting to see October Sky because everybody can understand what it feels like to live in a moment where you are trapped in a place where there’s an expectation of what you’re supposed to do with your life but your dreams don’t match up with that. I also think the story is so relatable and truly American. What makes it feel like such an American story is that we live in a country where opportunities are there for anybody that works hard. That can’t be said for a lot of places on this globe, but here, truly, anybody can figure it out. It’s this rich soil that anything can grow in if you work hard at it. That’s what Homer does in the play and that’s why I think the show, the book and the movie are so strong.

Have any of your shows been performed in Milwaukee?

Hopefully one of my shows will play here. I really want Hero to play here because all the characters are based in Milwaukee and the set is an antique shop in the city I used to go to all the time. Universal is in charge of October Sky, so once it closes, I’ll get together with Mahler and the heads of Universal and they will let me know what’s happening. I know they’re either going to put millions of dollars into it or they’re not. But all signs seem to lean toward it having another production next year. I’m optimistic about that. Universal has been very supportive. I also know that this business is crazy and anything can happen. So I’m not getting my hopes up. You can’t. It’s so unpredictable and you don’t know what’s going to resonate outside of Chicago. I’m hopeful, I think it’s a good story, I think we’ve done a good job with it, but it’s kind of out of my hands.

I love Milwaukee. I love living here and doing theater here in the state of Wisconsin. All my training is here. It is an artful community that allows you to fail and get back up and learn from mistakes and grow as an artist. That’s an amazing thing. And while most of our audiences at The Marriott come from Buffalo Grove and the surrounding 10 mile radius, we have about 5,000 subscribers from Milwaukee. We do certainly draw from Chicago, but we probably have more people in Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin coming to our shows than we do from downtown Chicago.

What’s in store in the future?

If you would have asked me eight years ago what I was going to be doing, I certainly wouldn’t have said I was writing, and now that’s kind of a main thing that I’m doing. So I don’t know what’s going to happen in eight years. I’m directing Spring Awakening at The Marriott this winter and I think that is going to enlighten me about whether that is a direction I want to go in. I’ve directed smaller things, but I’ve never directed anything this big at the Marriott. You can direct anywhere and I think that could be kind of fun. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I get out of the business and just do something else. I’m mean, as long as it’s artistic and in the world of art, I think I would be happy. This is just where I’ve landed right now and I’m open to the next adventure, whatever that is.

For more information about The Marriott Theatre and to purchase tickets for October Sky, call 847-634-0200 or visit marriotttheatre.com.