Call Me Mara

                  Beware of pity for it can be a very dangerous commodity.                                              Olivia Hawksworth Act 2 Scene 5What is the collateral damage that occurs when a brother helps out his sister by agreeing to still go to a formal dinner party that she has arranged for one of her girlfriends after his date for the event develops a last-minute headache?Call Me Mara is set in early 1942 just after the US entered World War II.  It explores the dynamics resulting from a blind date that connects two families who are doing their part in fighting the war by building bombers engines for the government.Is anything or anyone off limits when trying to have a little bit of fun or in closing a business deal? 

                                        Beware of pity for it can be a very dangerous commodity.                                                          Olivia Hawksworth Act 2 Scene 5What is the collateral damage that occurs when a brother helps out his sister by agreeing to still go to a formal dinner party that she has arranged for one of her girlfriends after his date for the event develops a last-minute headache?Call Me Mara is set in early 1942 just after the US entered World War II.  It explores the dynamics resulting from a blind date that connects two families who are doing their part in fighting the war by building bombers engines for the government.Is anything or anyone off limits when trying to have a little bit of fun or in closing a business deal? 

Join Donna Singleton, the director of Call Me Mara, as she sits down with Phillip for a discussion on the challenges  he faced when moving from a writing career that focused on novels to playwriting and the motivation behind this move.  Hear Phillip share what is behind the common thread of war found in both his novels and play and what it is like to hear the live voices of his fifth play to be produced.

James Norris, who plays Max McCarey, talks with the director of Call Me Mara about the collaborative experience of working closely with the Phillip on fine tuning the script and what was behind the decision to make the "live" table read a 6 week process.   Join him as they discuss the challenges of remote rehearsals, of making the move from actor to director and the impetus behind the interim step of make a digital version of the stage play.

Join Phillip H. McMath in his special interview with Dr. Jane Dahlenburg,  Associate Professor of Music History, University of Central Arkansas, Department of Music about the role of music in the 40’s and in our play.