SPOTLIGHT: Cindy Williams Gutiérrez

 This month we shine our Merc spotlight on Cindy Williams Guttiérrez, the much-lauded local playwright and poet who created The House. In addition to authoring the play, Cindy is directing its world-premiere production at The Merc, opening October 3, 2024. The Merc had the opportunity to chat with Cindy between rehearsals so we could bring you this sneak peek into this creator’s inspiration and backstory.   
 
Cindy, what inspired the story behind The House?
I once heard playwright Craig Wright talk about beginning his plays with a seemingly unanswerable question that is resolved as the play unfolds. The question that was the catalyst for my play was, “What if we could relive our childhood memories in the home where they took place and that home could serve as the objective observer and keeper of familial memory, interrupting us every time we misremember?”
 
Did you face any moments in the writing process where the characters or plot took an unexpected turn?
Yes, the ending surprised me.
 
We don’t want to publish any spoilers! What stands out to you about the character development process?
I love character development. The characters in the play are complex. We dedicated significant time in the rehearsal process to exploring the different facets of these characters, to humanizing them and to deepening the actors’ embodiment of their contradictions.
 
What was the most challenging aspect of creating this script?
I play with time in the first half of the play. Act I is not linear – because memories are not linear. I don’t recall that the writing process was challenging, but it does pose quite a challenge to direct a nonlinear series of scenes in a way that conveys a semblance of chronology to the audience.
 
What led you to choose The Merc to stage the world-premiere performance of your creation?
I love the Merc! I am so honored to see this work come to life in this community that means so much to me.
 
In addition to being the playwright, you’re also the director. How has this influenced the production?
Since this is a new work, we have been workshopping and producing the play simultaneously. That means that I have been making changes to the script along the way. It has been a gift to have the cast and stage manager co-create with me. I am deeply grateful to the actors: Nathan Sundt, Micah Lee, Kira Wood-Cramer, Megan Schmidt, Tim d’Auteuil, Emily Doran; and Stage Manager Ronda McHugh.
 
What excites you the most about directing a script no one has seen performed yet? What challenges has it introduced?
What’s exciting is that it’s a blank canvas. We get to be the first ones to interpret the script and bring the show to life. The challenge is that the script has evolved through the rehearsal process, so it requires tremendous patience and flexibility on the part of the actors and stage manager.
 
Are there particular moments you're especially eager to see come to life?
Yes, but I won’t give them away! Well, I will say that a scene takes place in a part of the Merc where a scene has never been blocked before. Hmm…
 
That’s hard to imagine and intriguing! One of the great things about theatre is there’s always something new to try. How have your actors contributed to shaping characters, given they have no previous interpretations to draw on?
This is a very smart and talented cast. I have been blown away by their instincts and their questions. Their intelligence and dedication have contributed enormously to this production. I have learned a lot from them.
 
Can you share any surprising discoveries you and/or the cast have made during rehearsals?
What I love are the discussions of the backstory, the stories the actors imagine that have brought their characters to each moment in the play. One thing I appreciate is that Emily Doran, who plays The Other Woman, gave her character a name as a way to humanize her. Through character work, we discovered that when Mama sees The Other Woman as a figment of her imagination, she looks more provocative than when she appears in real life. For me, this is true to how our minds work – how we fixate on people and things and make them bigger than they are.
 
How did you decide on technical elements like set design, lighting, and sound for a first-time production? In what ways did the fact that it’s a new script make it easier and/or more challenging?
Well, it’s a complex set – it’s a house! Trying to fit four rooms and the exterior of a house on the Merc stage was quite the challenge. It took a village to settle on the set: my friend and designer Ann Wilson from Portland, Karter Layfield (the Merc’s Technical Director), Rose Weagant, my husband Michael, Kira and me. You can’t just furnish a house on the stage – you have to leave room for the actors to move! And it has to make sense to me as both playwright and director.
 
You’ve been involved in productions at the Merc before. Which productions have you been a part of & what has been your role? Any favorite memories or anecdotes?
I co-produced my play Words That Burn at the Merc in 2017, the same year it won the Oregon Book Award for Drama. I brought the cast and director from Portland for public performances and a matinee for Liberty Bell High School students. I had a fabulous time performing a part in Love, Loss and What I Wore in a 17-woman cast directed by Rose Weagant. And last January, I was thrilled to play Hertha Ayrton in The Half-Life of Marie Curie.
 
A fun anecdote is that I had never met Gwen Vernon (who played Marie Curie) until we auditioned together. We ran into each other later that evening at Mistletoe Madness. We looked at each other and one of us said, “Hey, I know you. I felt chemistry auditioning with you this morning.” The other of us said, “Me, too!” Two days later, we found out we had been cast.
 
In your opinion, what role does a community theater like The Merc play in a small, rural area such as the Methow Valley?
The Merc is essential to the creative vitality of the Methow Valley. It is a place to co-create, to collaborate in bringing something to life. There is room for everyone, whether you want to be onstage or backstage. It takes so many open hands and hearts to raise a play onto its feet.

As a playwright, my vision is community-focused: my commitment is to bring the themes raised in the play from the stage into community dialogue. I am thrilled to involve Methow Valley leaders in two community engagement events following the Sunday matinee performances on October 6 and 13. One panel will explore “Opening the Door to Healing: The Role of Memory”; the other will discuss “Reimagining Home: The Role of Community.” I invite folks to stay tuned for details.
 
On top of all things related to The House, you’re also a poet … how do your experiences as a poet influence your work as a playwright?
Funny you should ask… Poetry is a character in the play. It’s one of the narrators. The other thing that comes to mind is that the actors have noted that there are multiple interpretations to many of the lines in the play – they are often open or have a double-entendre. This definitely comes from my life as a poet – everything is a metaphor, everything has layers of meaning. I am also rooted in rhythm. In playwriting, this sometimes shows up as “braided” and "echoed" dialogue. And I’m a fan of juxtaposition: holding two seemingly opposite things in proximity to reveal something interesting.
 
How is the writing process for poetry and playwriting similar? How is it different?
Over the years, I have written many dramatic monologues, also called persona poems. So I have written poems in voices other than my own. This is similar to writing monologues for a play. One of the main differences is that a play normally moves through time. But a poem transcends time – you can make enormous leaps of thought and you can expand the moment through meditative reflection. Perhaps this is why I play with time in Act I!
 
How do you think being part of a smaller creative community (Methow Valley as opposed to New York City, for example) influences your work?
It’s personal. Theatre is an intimate experience. The rehearsal space is sacred. It is a place to take risks, to experiment, to be vulnerable. It is a very special experience to share this with people in my own community.
 
Would you encourage other established creatives to get involved in community theater? How does the theater inform your other work?
Absolutely! I would encourage everyone to get involved. There is so much problem-solving involved in theatre-making, a constant stream of choices to be made – it’s a lot like life. This experience of bringing The House to life will certainly inform how I think about developing my new play, How to Measure a Life.
 
What one piece of advice would you give to other aspiring playwrights? Particularly folks who have written for other genres.
 A long time ago a theatre-maker told me, “Plays are about relationships.” Try writing a scene between two interesting people. Before you do, write each person’s obituary."

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