written by David Greig
directed by Amy Rummenie
May 2 – 24, 2008
Minneapolis Theatre Garage
An American plane crash-lands in a rural valley in a war-torn country. Will the villagers help the wounded pilot, ransom him, or execute him? Written in advance of the Iraq War, this staggeringly poetic script by Scottish playwright David Greig now receives its regional premiere.
Cast
Production Team
| pilot | Joseph Bombard | director | Amy Rummenie |
| farmer | Peter Ooley | set & costumes | Erinn Huntley |
| trader | Sam Landman | lighting | Logan Jambik |
| sarah | Amanda Rafuse | sound | Sean Healey |
| evie | Liana Simonds | technical director | David Pisa |
| captain | Robert Gardner | stage manager | Sarah Holmberg |
| translator | Matthew Vire | dramaturg | Ashley Schweitzer |
| soldier | Brian Hesser | fight choreographer | Matt Franta |
| soldier | Mark Benzel | dialect coach | Joseph Papke |
| soldier | J.F. Dauer | firearms adviser | Richard Eue |
| tactical adviser | Paul von Stoetzel | ||
| sound board operator | Katie Oliver | ||
| photography | Dan Norman |
Reviews
Publicity for this production advertizes the dramatic tension as a question of action: What will happen to the pilot? The play presents many possibilities. Will he be ransomed? Shot? Married to the feisty young farm girl? In the end, though Walking Shadow succeeds not in creating suspense—no good, we see, can come of this situation—but in exploring the small intimacies of a situation where politics is everything.
– Juliette Cherbuliez and Michael Opperman, TC Daily Planet
I don’t want to give it away, but the convulsive closing scene of David Greig’s “The American Pilot” elicits twinges of shock and awe. The surprise comes from the jolting cacophony and the pendulous imagery of a play marinated in the threat of violence. The admiration arises from the moxie of Walking Shadow Theatre Company, which has presented this play ripped from headlines. “Pilot,” which opened over the weekend in Minneapolis, navigates dramaturgical turbulence with simplicity and finesse… director Amy Rummenie and her cast bring the story to life with fair potency. They remind us that big issues can be made into engaging theater, even when the script feels like a hovering storm front that does not move on.
– Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
Walking Shadow was formed in 2004 by three young theatermakers—John Heimbuch, David Pisa, and Amy Rummenie—and has since become one of the most promising companies in town. The troupe specializes in doing new plays and regional premieres by such tricky playwrights as Naomi Iizuka (February’s 36 Views), the acerbic Neil LaBute, and the cocky, Chris Durang–influenced Noah Haidle (Mr. Marmalade)…
“We chose The American Pilot because it hits you somewhere between hard and emotional,” explains Rummenie. “It’s about people having trouble communicating—it’s timely, but not ‘in your face’ political theater. ‘How do people relate? What is morally wrong? How do people represent their own countries?’ The playwright writes about lonely, isolated people who are somehow different from anyone else and are misunderstood or purposely manipulated by language. It’s a reversal of ‘The Other’ [mentality]”…
It’s a tense play, but Rummenie believes it’s ultimately about giving people the benefit of the doubt. “It’s not just about people being mean to each other,” says Rummenie. “It’s about how people’s actions have led them to their own undoing.”
– Jaime Kleiman, Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine
