Photo credit: Dave Zylstra
Stephen Hudson-Mairet is a professional designer and a 20-year veteran of Marquette University’s performing arts faculty.
Scenic artist Stephen Hudson-Mairet is a 20-year veteran of Marquette University’s performing arts faculty. In 2007, he became the department’s chair, and since 2011, he’s chaired its successor, the hybrid Digital Media and Performing Arts Department, which offers courses in film and video production as well as theater and dance. He’s also a professional designer. This fall, First Stage’s On The Wings of a Mariposa and Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Jeeves at Sea will feature his work.
Would you talk about the coming season?
The theme is “Dream Come True.” The plays are Peter and the Starcatcher; then Crumbs from the Table of Joy and our children’s show Arnie the Doughnut; then The Theory of Relativity, our musical; and we’re closing with Julius Caesar. On some level, it’s all looking at big ideas—the dreams and individuals pursuing their dreams. Peter and the Starcatcher is a prequel of sorts to Peter Pan. It’s really the story of Wendy. It’s not about children, it’s about dreams. What I like about the way we’re doing it is that there’s a lot of discovery happening within rehearsal.
Who’s directing?
Maggie Spanuello. She was a directing intern at the Milwaukee Rep. She’s worked at Chicago Shakespeare. She spends time in China. She’s bookended this with professional work. She’s on that level of amazing up-and-coming directors; in three or four years, I won’t be able to get her back because she’ll be too busy. We worked together in June at Hope Summer Rep in Holland, Mich. I designed; she directed. As we left, I said, “you should direct for us at Marquette.” I don’t always say that. I want to have great people work with our students. Because of circumstances, I needed a director this fall, and she was just able to fit it in.
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A woman is playing Captain Hook?
We’re doing a lot of cross-gender casting that I think is really interesting. And with Maggie, all of our directors this year are women. That wasn’t a conscious we-need-to-do-this mission statement, but I’m really glad we’re able to do it. Probably 75% of our students are women. I don’t think we’re unusual. I think that’s the case all over the place and I don’t know if I can come up with a rationale.
Yet, men are still mostly in charge.
And if you pull a play off the shelf, there’s always two men to one woman in the cast. So, that’s part of my excitement about the Lauren Gundersons and Annie Bakers of the world, and the fact that their plays are getting traction across the theater universe; because it’s important to have stories in your own voice, right? Whether it’s a gender issue, whether it’s a race issue, it’s really important to see yourself represented on stage; which brings me to Crumbs from the Table of Joy, by (African American) playwright Lynn Nottage. We proposed this play in response to, and dovetailing off of, our work with White Privilege last season.
White Privilege was by a Marquette student playwright of color, Malaina Moore.
Yes. We have relatively few students of color, but that doesn’t mean they are not our students. When we’re casting a season, it’s important that there’s at least one opportunity for all of them to hear their voice onstage. It’s not about checking a box; it’s about providing a voice. Many theater programs say they’re racially blind when they cast, and that’s fine. I can’t think of a time when we’ve said someone can’t play a role because of who they are. But that’s still not enough. You can open that up to speaking not only to your students, but also to your audience base. So, we looked at a lot of great African American playwrights, and now, there’s a whole library we can pull from as we move forward. This is a journey for all of us, we just need to continue.
What about your professional work?
For me, that’s part of my educational mission here. I always bring a student or an alum assistant with me. We have this rich resource of the Milwaukee theater community—I think people don’t understand how vibrant and valid it is compared to other cities our size. To partner with them allows our students to get professional experience that is meaningful, to meet directors, artistic directors and other artists in a way that’s more than an audition. That’s how people get work.
Peter and the Starcatcher runs Sept. 26-Oct. 6 at Marquette’s Helfaer Theatre, 1304 W. Clybourn St. For more information and tickets, call 414-288-7504 or visit marquette.edu/communication/theatre-arts.php.
