Wisconsin Playwright’s 'Being Seen' Journeys Across the Pond

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Photo courtesy of RG Productions

Kelly Anne Clark in 'Being Seen'

Kelly Anne Clark in 'Being Seen'

Thanks to a successful Chicago run in 2023 and a $6,000 grant from an anonymous donor, Richard Gustin’s play Being Seen will play in London at the OSO Arts Centre from March 5 to March 9.

Being Seen is a meta case study of the audition process. For Gustin, it pulls much from his own experience. A professional actor for 50+ years, Gustin also ran the theater program at UW-Fond du Lac, overseeing 55 stage productions during a 25-year career. The production is a love letter to the theater that explores themes of power and desperation. Gustin says, “In the theater world, there's just such a need to make it, to be validated, to be seen.” Actors are willing to do anything in the pursuit of validation for their craft. It is a lonely calling, but noble in its unwillingness to give up on one’s dreams.

This iteration of the play follows the relationship between a male director portrayed by Will Clinger and an actress played by Kelly Anne Clark. The same duo starred in the production’s Chicago run 2023, and both critics and the director alike have hailed their performances. Kelly Anne Clark received a Joseph Jefferson award for her role in the play, and Gustin says that she “gives a tour de force performance… you’re breathless wondering how she does it.”

Road to London

As an undergraduate student at UW-Steven’s Point, Gustin studied theater in London and calls the return to the UK a “full-circle” moment. While there, he noted key distinctions between theater in the UK and in the States. In the UK, actors are “enculturated with the theater … to literature,” which is credit to Britain’s history of famed playwrights and authors. This enculturation leads to a more intrinsic grasp of voice and diction; there is less focus on the internal. Richard elaborates, saying “Americans want to know what my character ate for breakfast, whereas the Brits just want to get on with it.” That urge to get down to business has motored Gustin forward throughout his career.

The road to London has been no straight path. An early draft of the Being Seen was read at Marquette University in 2015. That same year, the play was performed at FringeNYC, an international theater festival in New York, where it received a fan favorite award. It then saw a brief residency at the University of California, Davis, before it, like many other stage productions, was put on pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The play found an eventual second wind in 2023 when it played at the Den Theatre in Chicago to rave reviews.

Richard Gustin calls Being Seen a “knockdown, drag-out laugh riot.” Folks in the UK should see it “for the athleticism of it, the sheer entertainment value, and because the show bites you in the ass.” For more information on the play and to explore more of Richard Gustin’s work, visit rg-productions.org.