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Exclusive Interview: Kez Settle of Detroit Mercy Theatre Company's 'Poor Clare' · The BSB Podcast

• 0:00
  Detroit Mercy Theater Company is continuing their inaugural season in the new Black Box Theater with the production of Poor Clare And today we're talking to the director, Kez
• 0:07
  Settle, about the production.
• 0:08
  Thank you so much for being here.
• 0:10
  Hi, thank you for having me.
• 0:12
  So your opening night is quickly approaching, how are you currently feeling about the show almost arriving?
• 0:18
  Very excited, actually.
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  I'm very proud of the work that the students have been doing and telling this amazing story.
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  And we're ready for an audience.
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  And I'm very excited for opening night, which is just a few days away.
• 0:31
  Is that always the hardest part right about now is like kind of waiting for the audience now to get the show in front of them and kind of see what happens?
• 0:37
  Yes, yes.
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  I mean, it's a good place to be in.
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  We're in a really great spot.
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  You get to a point where you just really need an audience and um to just round out the production because they're very much a part of the storytelling as well.
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  the students have been working very hard.
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  We have a guest artist as well as a part of our cast.
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  And everybody has just been doing tremendous work and digging into the story, bringing it to life.
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  And this is the final stretch where we're layering in the rest of the elements, uh like costumes actually, and wrapping up some of the final touches of the set.
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  And we'll be ready to go Friday night.
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  kind of finally seeing all the pieces come together.
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  Yes, it's very exciting.
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  Mary Liz is our costume designer and she's just done a fantastic job with the costumes and I'm really looking forward to seeing.
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  um It really just brings everything to life and grounds them and this is a it's a period piece in the sense that it noted it is uh St.
• 1:41
  Clare of Assisi story and how.
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  um
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  you know, how she came from her life as a very well-to-do, came from nobility and just basically walked away, gave up all of that to follow uh in St.
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  Francis' footsteps after having met him, felt that call to follow in that journey and just kind of gave everything up.
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  But it's a very timeless story because it is very much shows the difference between people who have everything and people who have nothing and wanting to really kind of level set
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  that, not just level set the wealth disparity, but eradicate it.
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  to where there isn't a need for it, where we just really just live very simple lives and help each other.
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  But it's a timeless tale.
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  So one of the things that I wanted to really kind of emphasize in this story is the fact that it is ageless.
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  It may have started with Clare it actually even preceded hers in terms of situational circumstances.
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  But as far as Clare's journey, it started 800 years ago, but it's still very relevant today.
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  take any one of these characters and their journey in the telling of the story and put them in any century.
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  and it's relevant.
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  And so a lot of the themes are kind of blending in contemporary with the medieval times from the sound, the set, the costuming, and even the script itself.
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  mean, it's very, it's told with very much uh humor, elements of humor and just humanity.
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  So we're not putting these people up on a pedestal.
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  We're actually really kind of seeing them at their most fundamental.
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  human side of them, even the fears that they faced and overcame in order to follow the calling that they had to pursue this life and have other people go on that journey with
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  them.
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  Yeah.
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  I wasn't, I mean, I've heard of St.
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  Clare of Assisi, I've heard of St.
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  Francis of Assisi, but I really didn't know their stories until this play.
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  And I actually didn't really know a whole lot about St.
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  Francis of Assisi and just how, I mean not St.
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  Francis, but St.
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  Clare of Assisi and just how she became to be who she was.
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  even like 800 years later, we know who she is.
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  I'm also, I am a history person, so it really, this play really.
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  resonated with the history nerd in me and spent a lot of time doing research and putting a research packet together was actually one of the first things that
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  um I did and worked with the actors as well as just kind of going through and just understanding who these people were in that time, like what was going on around them in
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  the world around them.
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  I mean, they were right in the midst, in between wars um with the Crusades and also just the infighting that was happening in the other, other.
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  cities just outside of Assisi, they were at war with each other as well.
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  just really understanding what that meant for the life that they were facing, what kind of life that they had and the conflicts around them, what really mattered to them in that
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  period in time and who Francis was in his history, because he was a war veteran.
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  He fought
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  in the wars against the other towns and was actually uh captured and released.
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  So he himself was a war veteran.
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  He was also from nobility.
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  He was a son of a silk merchant and he made the choice to walk away from that lifestyle.
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  And he had heard oh God's calling in a church because when he came back from fighting in the war, he was a war veteran, but really
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  didn't have any other means.
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  And so he was just kind of like living a vagabond lifestyle and he was in the church and heard God called to restore the church and he did.
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  so San Damiano, which is actually where he puts um Clare.
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  to when she follows him so that she has a place that is her own apart from where he was, because he continued to restore other churches.
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  And um there she ended up having other women join her in her mission, and they became the poor ladies.
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  And then after...
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  after she passed, a couple years after she passed, she was canonized by the Pope and then what we now know as the Poor Clares Order was officially recognized by the Pope and became
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  an official order.
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  So it's...
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  It's an amazing journey.
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  It's a lot to mine.
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  And that's why I think if it resonates with other people who see this from a history standpoint, they're going to be Googling probably quite a bit after just like, wow, I
• 6:56
  didn't know that and really wanting to dig deeper.
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  But like I said, this is also a very funny story, after I've seen this many times and I've read the script many times and I still laugh when I'm watching the cast and when they're
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  working because there are some very humorous elements in the story.
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  Like I said, it's very human.
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  um I think it's going to connect with people on multiple levels.
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  And another resounding theme in the play isn't just about like
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  eradicating wealth, ah that disparity and like living a more simplistic lifestyle.
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  think one of the big takeaways is really, it's okay to be afraid, but do it anyway, like, like working past your fears, because you see that that the human side of both Clare and
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  Francis in the play, it comes out and
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  they still do it.
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  They still follow their mission.
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  They follow their calling, but they're not completely fearless.
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  They are fearful, but they still do it.
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  And you hear in the Bible a lot, be not afraid.
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  But I don't know what that means to not be afraid, because you're going to be.
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  It's a human emotion.
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  But it's don't let that stop you.
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  you know, do it anyway.
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  And I think that's a really good message for someone that sees this show to take away um and just see how does that, you know, how can they apply that in their own lives?
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  Like what are things that there are, what are things that you're afraid of that are, that are stopping you from your purpose in life, you know, and what would happen if you just
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  did it anyway and just trusted that that is the direction that you need to go and, really just took that for that first step forward, not knowing, you know, trusting that
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  there's going to be something that's going to catch you and help you take that next step and the next step.
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  So I think that's also very important.
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  I was gonna say like, and also when you think about what, you you're at a university and there's, you know, that's the perfect message to be having for the students there.
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  Like it's scary.
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  Absolutely, absolutely, it is, it's very scary.
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  And the students are working hard and the cast is actually made up of members of the company, so the Detroit Mercy Theater Company uh members.
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  There's also some that are not theater majors but are part of the production, they're very interested in theater.
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  And um it's nice to see that blend or they are interested in, they have some form of theater.
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  courses that they're taking, then they're also pursuing other things.
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  So there's a good combination within just the crew as well as in the the cast.
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  And it's a good takeaway because they're being prepared for what's come what comes at you in life and and what their goals might be beyond uh the now.
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  And
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  being able to persist and they're all, I mean, they're actors.
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  So they're very brave souls as it is.
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  It's very much a part of their fiber.
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  Going through auditions is nerve wracking, know?
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  And then the performance.
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  And so you're definitely like getting outside of your comfort zone already.
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  I mean, it's good training for that.
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  It's good life skills, whether you want to be an actor as a profession or you're doing it as a creative outlet.
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  It is good life skill training.
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  because it does teach you to work beyond, know, to use that fear and work beyond it.
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  So yeah, that's a really great point.
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  And it is a good training for the students that are part of the production and also the students that come see it.
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  Hopefully, you know, they see that and are able to kind of reflect that back on themselves.
• 10:51
  When you're approaching a story, to direct a story that is centered on a female spiritual authority and a historically male dominated structure, what is your approach to that?
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  How do you go about storytelling that story?
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  I really focus in on who the people are.
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  I don't look at it like that ah because I think it's, I really try to get to the heart of that person's journey.
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  And those are elements of the journey, definitely, in terms of the conflicts and the restrictions, the expectations for Clare expecting to get married.
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  She had someone that she was betrothed to.
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  She walked away.
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  basically right before her wedding to follow this life.
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  And she just gave up everything and not, like to your point, I guess not doing what was expected of her as a woman in that timeframe.
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  um But I think that if you focus in on like what the elements are of her journey and...
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  who she was, were the things that drove her, the things that she was looking at, is seeing, I have all this stuff, I have all of this, we have banquets and we have all of
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  this food, and I see people now, I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact that there's people who don't even have that, they don't even know where their next meal's coming from.
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  They're begging for food, they're begging for money, and I have these things.
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  um And so, really zeroing in on her motive,
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  and what fuels her to get beyond those obstacles.
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  And so I look at it from that perspective, like what is her makeup that's gonna get her beyond those obstacles to where they, she's either going around them or through them,
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  depending on the kind of person that she is.
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  Like who is this person?
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  what are her, and like getting into the like.
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  you know, culturally, like how she was raised, what are the other external influences, but then also what are her internal motivators?
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  And then also the people around her too, because she did reach those conflicts, but she also had people like her mother was also very, she's a very spiritual, she went on a lot
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  of um pilgrimages to Israel.
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  And so she kind of talks about that in the play.
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  And she was a very devout person and actually in real life her mother after her father passes away or her husband her mother her husband and passes away Clare's father ah Her
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  mother comes and joins her in the order she joins the order of the poor ladies and so do it She actually has two sisters, but only one is featured in the play the And that so her
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  the third sister that's not in the play actually became a saint in her own right st.
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  Agnes of Assisi
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  Okay.
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  they all ended up joining Clare at the convent.
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  yeah, so they're very much a spiritually driven family.
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  And I think that that's also a motivator that Clare's faith was so strong in her belief in this calling that that's what pulled her and she listened.
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  She listened to that calling.
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  So that's the other thing is like we...
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  all I think are called, we feel some of those tugs in life of things that like, oh, I really like to go in this direction and something's pulling me.
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  I don't know what it is.
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  Should I do it?
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  Should I not?
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  Clare did it.
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  I mean, she was curious about it.
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  She was uncertain, but she just kept going in that direction.
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  And she wasn't 100 % sure.
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  I she had her own fears in her.
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  And like I said, like the fears that instead of holding her back, she just still persisted.
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  And
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  that was rooted deeply, think, in this case, in Clare's faith as being that internal, that motivator and that driver.
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  Like she just, she was, she felt that that was her calling and listened to it and took action.
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  I know some of us will do that, we'll listen, but we don't take action.
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  And some, you know, it might not even be fear.
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  It's like, we just have doubts.
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  It's like, ah, you know, I don't even, that's crazy.
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  Why would anyone do that?
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  And then just kind of keep going with something else.
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  And in this case,
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  she didn't she just she didn't even question she didn't she didn't question it she just dug deeper and kept digging deeper and then she'll she finally committed to this is this
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  is my path and there were those were high stakes for her I mean she walked away from a very comfortable life to be able to establish this this mission and and then other ladies
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  join you know the poor form the poor ladies and and live this life of service
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  completely devoted service to other people and other people joined her to where, you 800 years later, we still I mean, the poor Clare's exist.
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  And it you know, they're the order of the poor Clare's and it's just it's amazing to think that someone 800 years ago had such an impact on on people's lives and the people coming
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  to see the show there.
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  She's still she's she's affecting the people that come see the show.
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  So it's
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  I think that that's something that I always marvel at when I think about stories, especially when they're based on a real person, is how far of a stretch their impact is.
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  outside of perhaps their vocation in that case, but here's a play that is telling her story and people are going to be impacted.
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  They're going to walk away and their lives will be transformed, maybe in some small micro level or maybe not on a conscious level for some people.
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  But for others, it might have an even bigger impact and it may be on a conscious level.
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  That's something they were struggling with.
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  They'll reach that clarity and be able to move forward.
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  And so it's those are the things that I think is amazing in this story in particular.
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  um has the capacity to do that.
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  It sounds like those are all things too that have even impacted you as the director as you're going through the show.
• 17:05
  yes it has.
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  It really makes you think about it um a lot about uh how we live our lives um and the things that we become desensitized to.
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  It pulls that focus back.
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  It's like, wow, I really, I need to be a better steward.
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  I need to make sure that I don't lose sight of the things that are the most important in life and being able to help other people that.
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  might not have the privileges that I do.
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  I want to someone be able to move forward in their life and be successful and be able to know where their next meal is coming from and they have a roof over their head and all the
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  things that we can do to make an impact or help someone be able to get to that next place in their journey.
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  And there's so often we just.
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  kind of walk around, think with blinders on, we're so internally focused on our own drama that we don't always look about at the world around us and think about what are the other
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  ways that we could really make a significant impact.
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  And it doesn't really take a lot of effort to do that, and we need to do more.
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  Sure, absolutely.
• 18:23
  So as you were working through this show, were there discoveries that emerged from a rehearsal that maybe changed from your original vision for the show?
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  that yes.
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  Discovery is like in the in the well, there there were some elements of the show that I thought would be would be be able to like enhance the story.
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  But but I have an awesome crew.
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  They're all incredibly talented.
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  And they basically talk some sense into me and help me realize that sometimes a simpler approach makes
• 18:55
  You know, like the story stands on its own and sometimes underscoring it with a more some, you know, something a little bit more simplistic is also a way to you have strength in a
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  simplicity versus like the direction that I that I had thought about going with it.
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  And.
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  um
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  And I was like, I took that into consideration and went with those changes.
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  And I'm very happy with the outcome.
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  I think that there was the right direction to go.
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  And I love it, because I say in the early part of rehearsal, if I'm the one that has the best ideas in the room, we're all in trouble.
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  want to hear, I do want other people's input.
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  ah I have a vision, but this is very much uh a collaborative.
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  production, this is a collaborative storytelling.
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  Everyone kind of has a say.
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  so, the costume designer, the set designer, the actors, like everybody has input and, know, as we work together, actors have come up with some really great.
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  I was like, hey, what if I did this?
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  I'm like, let's try it.
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  um And then sometimes it doesn't work.
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  So I was like, let's try it.
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  I was like, no, OK, maybe not.
• 20:12
  Maybe that wasn't quite the right thing to do.
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  But you got to give it a shot and see how it works.
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  And then.
• 20:23
  Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, you know?
• 20:27
  For sure.
• 20:28
  I have had some ideas that didn't make it to the final production and I'm okay with that.
• 20:34
  I am 100 % okay with that.
• 20:35
  think it was wonderful that...
• 20:39
  to have had that input and to have gone in that direction.
• 20:41
  it's sort of like, I'm for whatever is going to serve the story at the, in the best possible way that we can serve the story for this production.
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  And so I'm really grateful that I have a team that felt like they could step up and offer up those.
• 20:57
  those suggestions that were a little different, still serve the overall, the overall vision for the production.
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  Like it didn't compromise and it further served the production, the vision of the production.
• 21:08
  So that's, I'm excited about that.
• 21:12
  Has directing Poor Clare influenced the way you think about theater or storytelling overall?
• 21:17
  Um, it's a great question.
• 21:20
  I can't say that it did.
• 21:23
  I think it maybe further affirmed my point of view in that I, the set is an example, like for this show is very minimalistic.
• 21:37
  It's very open concept.
• 21:41
  but gives like a sense of location versus like having a full set.
• 21:46
  um Because I wanted that more ethereal could be any place in time, but gives a hint of kind of...
• 21:53
  um
• 21:55
  Kind of.
• 21:56
  approach to the set design, which served the story because the theme of it kind of having that contemporary pull, but being set in medieval times.
• 22:06
  um it served for me that it's okay to have, know, taking that simpler approach, even though, like I said, I did have some ideas that didn't quite fully make it.
• 22:21
  They were probably a little bit bigger than...
• 22:24
  what I was thinking would kind of serve a more simpler storytelling approach.
• 22:31
  So reining me back into that and reaffirming that yes, it is okay to have a more minimalistic approach.
• 22:38
  It doesn't detract from the story.
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  In some cases, it makes it stronger.
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  And in some cases, if the connections between
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  the actors or the characters, in this case, the actors and the characters, like on stage, it's really about the connection that they have and they're telling the story and if they
• 22:58
  have those connections, you don't really need.
• 23:00
  all of the other things.
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  Like they're going to forget that they don't see an actual castle behind them because it's about these two people or six people or however many are in that scene that are
• 23:13
  connecting, making those human connections with one another and telling that story and living and breathing that story.
• 23:21
  And so I think it really affirms for me that that is the most, it's the most
• 23:30
  compelling part of theater is when you see everyone connecting and having those relationships on stage.
• 23:37
  Everything else serves, needs to serve the story and not ah take away from that.
• 23:44
  sure.
• 23:45
  The more final question for you is just what are you hoping audiences take away from this production of Poor Clare?
• 23:51
  I hope they walk away feeling inspired.
• 23:54
  This is a very inspiring story.
• 23:58
  whatever that means to them, because I think everyone, like I said, they're gonna connect to it on different levels, they may become, especially in today's world, I think people
• 24:09
  feel.
• 24:11
  like they're carrying a heavy weight around for whatever that might be.
• 24:14
  It could be career-wise or social economic situations or relationship situations, but you're just carrying around a huge burden and it's nice to be able to come into the
• 24:27
  theater and out of the cold, this freezing cold here in Michigan, and really watch this inspiring story and hopefully, you
• 24:37
  spark something in them to take away and give them a sense of hope and how they can, how they can manifest their lives and making a difference in this world and things that they
• 24:50
  can do that will make them forget about whatever it is, whatever those burdens are that they've been carrying around and really maybe have a different perspective on that or what
• 25:01
  they can do about that or, you know, any, and just
• 25:06
  I don't know, feel inspired to take action on whatever it is that they're struggling with to be able to move forward because I think we need that sometimes.
• 25:16
  We need to be able to get away from all of this extraneous stuff and the freezing cold weather.
• 25:26
  um But to really see someone else's journey and the things that they struggled with.
• 25:34
  and really understand how there are parallels in our own lives that, like I said, everyone, think on some level, can connect to the story, whether it is through faith, um
• 25:45
  whether it is through the human struggle.
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  um
• 25:49
  the connection that Francis and Clare have in her following him on this mission.
• 25:56
  they stayed connected.
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  They were friends.
• 25:59
  And they stayed connected.
• 25:59
  There was about a 15-year age difference between the two of them when she was around 17 years old, I believe, like her late teens, at the time that she met him.
• 26:09
  And he was in his 30s.
• 26:11
  And they stayed very close up through to his death.
• 26:15
  um
• 26:17
  you know, so for the rest of his life and just the impact that they had on each other and the impact that they've had on the world.
• 26:24
  It makes you realize that.
• 26:26
  I think maybe if not, maybe not to that extent, but we all have the ability to make an impact.
• 26:33
  And we all make a difference.
• 26:36
  We can all make a difference.
• 26:38
  We all make a difference.
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  It's our existence.
• 26:40
  You know, we're here for a purpose.
• 26:41
  And and I want people to see this show and feel inspired and be able to go out into the world and and take.
• 26:52
  you know, take the action that they feel is their next best step in manifesting that purpose.
• 26:57
  oh
• 26:59
  sure.
• 27:00
  Well, thank you so much for being here today and talking with me, Kez.
• 27:02
  It's been such a pleasure talking with you.
• 27:04
  likewise.
• 27:05
  Thank you for having me.
• 27:07
  So Poor Clare runs the Detroit Mercy Theater Company from February 13th through the 22nd, so get your tickets now we'll see you at the show.