"HELLO OUT THERE...

You can see us, but will you listen to us?

2006-02-01T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hello Out There is a play. One of six plays that was a part of the ‘New Directions’ Festival hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Drama Department.

Echoing voices that transcended through time to haunt the stage during this readapted version of William Saroyan's Hello Out There.

The play begins with a man in jail for an alleged rape. While waiting helplessly as a lynch mob gathers outside, the ensuing events between the prisoner and a lonely cook not only reveal whether he is innocent or guilty, but also demonstrates how love can be more powerful than a key to truly set someone's spirit free in the blunt face of an oppressive society.

For the specific performance times of Hello Out There, click on the link to the right.

a love letter

2006-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hello you,

I saw you again last night. You were walking. Gliding. Your angelic hands floated over and through the tops of the tall grass swaying in the Prairie wind.

You saw me watching you from the hill. I saw you smile that smile that always breaks me.

You came toward me. I swear I could smell your hair a hundred meters off.

You stopped right in front of me. You started to raise your sweet hand to my face…

…but then the alarm went off, and you were gone. Gone. Gone!

And here I am. In a place where I’m no good to anyone. I want to scream. I want to shout. But these walls don’t echo.

There was a song on the radio…

“When you're lovers in a dangerous time,
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love’s a crime.

Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.
You gotta kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight.”

I’m going to marry you. I’m going away with you. I’m going to take you to San Francisco or some place like that. If you go along with me, I’ll be the finest guy anybody ever saw.

And you will always, always, always! be the most beautiful person there.

Love,

Me

unofficial soundtrack

2006-02-01T06:05:00.000-08:00

...The Doors - people are strange
........Johnny Cash – hurt
...White Stripes - we are going to be friends
........Eagle Eye Cherry - save tonight
...Beatles - blackbird
........Tom Petty – american girl
...Trisha Yearwood – she’s in love with the boy
........Madonna – beautiful stranger
...Weezer – island in the sun
........Aimee Mann – one (is the loneliest number)
...Urge Overkill – girl, you’ll be a woman soon
........Kinks – waterloo sunset
...Kansas - dust in the wind
........War – why can’t we be friends?
...Tom Petty – stand my ground
........Oasis - stop crying your heart out
...Radiohead - karma police
........Tom Petty – time to move on
...Pink Floyd - wish you were here
........Metallica – fade to black

Who is William Saroyan?

2006-02-01T05:41:00.000-08:00

He's the author of Hello Out There.

Raised in Fresno, California, of Armenian descent, William Saroyan became an accomplished writer of short stories and plays.

His optimistic stories during the Great Depression and World War II were very successful. These stories often include simple people who are rejected by society but are still able to find happiness in life's mysteries and beauties.

In 1941, Saroyan departed from his usual optimism in Hello Out There. The play has none of his usual humor and fanciful twists.

The setting, a small jail in Matador, Texas, is realistic and grim. The developing relationship between the two lead roles portray loneliness, fear, and suffering instead of passion. It is a story of man's betrayal of man, of his cruelty, of his desperate and futile isolation from his fellows.

With the rise of cynicism after World War II, his popularity radically declined after 1945, and he never regained the success he had once had.

In 1955, Saroyan actually disowned Hello Out There, saying the play was "worthless, if not in fact a mistake." He also said, "As a dramatist, I simply do not believe I have the right to identify human beings as the enemy of human beings. Is there any enemy at all? Is time an enemy? Nature? Change? Loss? Failure? Pain? Death? Not in my thinking. All things, including pain and death, are friends for no other reason than that they exist, and the friendship of them must be discovered, measured, understood, and cherished."

So why stage this play?

Sometimes, many times, a piece of art goes beyond what its creator originally intended, to serve others in alternate, beneficial ways.

This story of idealistic social misfits takes on new meaning with every new generation that it is performed.

So, while William Saroyan has been largely omitted from modern public consciences, Hello Out There has continued to echo throughout the years, providing a provoking message in whatever context it is set in.

And its subtle power attracts many talented actors, such as Al Pacino in a New York city production in 1963.

Perhaps the message that Saroyan accidently and regrettably stumbled into is worth listening to again.

Starting on February 3rd, 2006, Hello Out There has been heard yet again, in a performance that serves homage to the many past echoes of the show, while being as pertinent as ever in the presence of events taking place in the world today.

Performance Information

2006-02-01T01:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Out There is scheduled for...

Friday, February 3rd at 7 pm ($10)
Saturday, February 4th at 2 pm ($20-25)

Friday, February 10th at 7 pm ($10)
Saturday, February 11th at 7 pm ($20-25)

...and it will be performed in Studio 180, a sixty seat, black-box theatre in Hagey Hall.

Tickets are available at the UW Theatre Box Office in Hagey Hall: 888.4908.

More festival information can be attained from Robin Atchison at 888 4567 ext. 5808, or by email at ratchiso@uwaterloo.ca.

Key Individuals

2006-01-31T20:49:00.000-08:00

The Cast:

"Hello out there?" ~ Derek Lindman

* * *

"Hello out there." ~ Calla Churchward

* * *

"Hellooo out there." ~ Karim Rizkallah

* * *

"Hello out there." ~ Courtney Wilson

* * *

"Hello out there..." ~ Bridget Myers

* * *

"There!" ~ David Couture

* * *

The Director:

"Hello there!" ~ Michelle Logan

* * *

The Stage Manager:

"Hey." ~ Michelle Horel

* * *

The Dramaturg:

"Out there." ~ Michael Kolodziej

* * *

The Super Duper Helper Dude:

"Hello." ~ Narsimham Chelluri

* * *

The Super Duper Helper Girl:

"Hi!" ~ Jacqui Kaiser

* * *

The Technical Support:

"Hello, hello." ~ Wesley Moir

* * *

Photos

2006-01-30T02:10:00.000-08:00

Say "Hello"

2006-01-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

If you would like to say 'hello'...

...michelle.logan@gmail.com