A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Exit Interview

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w, 3m

“The laughs keep coming – even as audience members might think with a twinge, ‘Ouch, that might be me.’ Some will no doubt be offended by one non-politically correct moment or another. But with luck, all will be forced to think.” – Orlando Sentinel

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 3m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Farce
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Details

Summary

Bertolt Brecht scholar Dick Fig has been terminated by his university and is having an excruciating exit interview with Eunice – a decidedly droll administrator. Downs' witty play ricochets through Brechtian interludes, a pair of politically-radicalized cheerleaders, a pompous newsman, communiques from God, and debates on religion, science and politics before reaching its surprising conclusion.

History

The Exit Interview received the lead Rolling World Premiere Production as part of the National New Play Network’s Continued Life for New Plays Fund at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater in Partnership with UCF on September 29, 2012. It was directed by Patrick Flick.

DICK FIG – A young college professor with his leg in a cast; his PhD was on Bertolt Brecht
EUNICE – A pawn in the human resources department
ACTRESS #1 – CHEERLEADER #1, with pompoms; MARY, an oboe player and Dick’s ex-girlfriend; SAMANTHA, a mother with a baby carriage; BUSINESSWOMAN #2, an expert on underwear; and DR. DOBSON, PhD in religious studies from Yale
ACTRESS #2 – CHEERLEADER #2, with pompoms; MRS. MEREDITH, Mary’s mother; CHLOE, Eunice’s young assistant; A MAKEUP LADY, can make you look good; BETH, a mother with a baby carriage; BUSINESSWOMAN IN A BRA, an expert on bras; LADY NEWSCASTER, Foxy Fox Newscaster; ACTRESS #1, Bertolt Brecht announcer; and DR. KATTS, a distinguished scientist
ACTOR #1 – MASKED GUNMAN, who has killed ten people; ACTOR #1, Bertolt Brecht announcer; A PRIEST, a celibate; BUSINESSMAN #1, an expert on underwear; DR. HUBERT, president of the LDS Church; and HANK STARLING, a professional baseball player
ACTOR #2 – WALTER, Foxy Fox Newscaster; BUSINESSMAN #2, an expert on underwear; DR. JAEGER, a distinguished scientist; and ACTOR #2, Bertolt Brecht announcer

Note: This play can be produced with a much larger cast.

This play can be produced with a much larger cast.

  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    A theatre.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Gun Shots
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“A rip-roaring send-up of Americanized Brechtian angst that had the audience howling.” – Stage Magazine

“The laughs keep coming – even as audience members might think with a twinge, ‘Ouch, that might be me.’ Some will no doubt be offended by one non-politically correct moment or another. But with luck, all will be forced to think.” – Orlando Sentinel

“A gleefully boundary-flouting riff on religion, piety and the limits of belief... William Missouri Downs’ bonkers theatrical carnival is to conventional plays what Burning Man is to a weenie roast. It’s like an elaborate, lovingly constructed spitball aimed at the idea of divinity... Downs’ vision for it is nothing if not ambitious; he shoehorns comedy and commentary about religion into a broader construct of questioning and messing with pat perceptions of reality, taking his cues from the work of the German theater icon Bertolt Brecht.” – San Diego Union Tribune

Downs’ rip-roaring send-up ricochets with Brechtian interludes and a cast including a pair of deranged cheerleaders, a pretentious newscaster, soccer moms and German doctors – each addressing universal questions regarding facts, faith and fate in this timely, dark comedy that breaks down all the walls of logic and realism.” – LA Theatre Beat

Who knew school shootings could be so much gosh darn fun? If you want to get your Brecht on, and have a rip-roaring time…”  – Ed Rampell, Counterpunch.org

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)
  • Vocal DemandsN/A (Not a musical)
  • Chorus Size N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Add-Ons

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Authors

William Missouri Downs

William Missouri Downs has written everything from NBC sitcoms to Kabuki tragedies. He's had well over 300 productions of his plays and musicals from the Kennedy Center to the San Diego Rep. He's been produced in Spain, Canada, South Africa, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Switz ...

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