Island living may seem far off, if you don’t count Manhattan, but in Greenpoint local Drew Pierson’s new play, audiences can experience a unique kind of this lifestyle. There are no daiquiris, but there sure is drama — and a reverential sense of duty.
Inspired by the story of Hiroo Onoda, isolated on a Southeast Asian island through World War II and refusing to surrender until 1974, The Hourglass looks at compromise, adaptability, and what it means, personally and professionally, as Pierson says, to finally “take the L.” Using a historical event as a springboard to explore more personal themes of sacrifice, Pierson also hopes people have a good time at his show, staged in DUMBO, where $5 gets you a ticket and drinks at the bar. This really might be a period piece — deals like that are impossible to come by today.
Greenpointers caught up with the writer to hear about the play, starting next month at The Rat.
Greenpointers: Hello! Your play is inspired by a story you remember learning about. Can you talk about that genesis?
Drew Pierson: The only experience I had with theater growing up were musicals like Cats and I hated that shit. But I moved to New York, met my wife, and we started going to dramatic plays, and I was blown away. I love the sudoku-like challenge of playwriting that, if your characters talk themselves into a jam, they need to be able to talk themselves out of it.
Meanwhile, my mom grew up on Guam; a Japanese soldier there also refused to surrender after WWII, which led me down the rabbit hole to discovering the true-life story that inspired this play.
You live in Greenpoint but the show is in Dumbo; how did you learn about the venue, The Rat?
I saw one positive review of the theater on a message board and just pulled the trigger instantly, ha. I have a full-time job, plus a growing family, so to be totally frank I couldn’t afford to spend much time researching. (Greenpoint: send me your recommendations for theaters in the area for my next play.)
I will say though that my luck was incredible, and that the theater and its owners have been tremendously supportive every step of the way.
Talk to us about the casting and developmental process for this piece.
It was insane, both for good and bad. One good challenge is that I completely underestimated how many responses I’d get from the initial casting call – sorting through those on my own was a huge undertaking.
I’ve never produced a play; this is my first play script. When I saw the lighting board in the theater it looked like hieroglyphics to me. But luckily I was able to find an incredible cast and crew who’ve been instrumental in turning this into a production we will all be proud of. And at the end of the day, you only live once, right?
The play touches on the challenges seen in some veterans’ lives. What are you hoping audiences walk away with?
It does touch on the challenges for veterans, but the crux of the story is that those same challenges exist in our daily lives – maybe not as extreme and visible – but duty, sacrifice – we all experience that to some degree just by living on this earth.
What the play is really about, to put it simply, is knowing when to take the L. I think it’s the defining challenge for a person – when you face a problem, do you double-down and try even harder, or is it better to walk away? It can be hard to see in the moment.
Let’s bring it back to the nabe: how long have you been in Greenpoint, and what does it mean to be an artist here?
I’ve lived in Greenpoint for three years now with my wife, son, and dog, and we’ve been in North Brooklyn in total for almost six years.
Greenpoint is an inspiration. There are bleak days as an artist – the reaction when you tell people that’s your goal is often like when a kid tells grownups they want to be an astronaut — “sure, that’s adorable.”
But here I see the filming studios and trucks, see my neighbors through the window painting in their studios as I walk by — it is a daily reminder that it is possible. Not easy, but possible.
What are you most excited about for the show as it takes shape ahead of a November opening?
First of all, for a $5 dollar ticket, you also get an open bar at the show. So, although I hope the audience will be energized by my artistic vision, at the very least I’m confident they’ll have a great time.
More seriously, I’m as excited for the actors and crew as I am for anything myself. They’ve put in a ton of work, and honestly, I didn’t expect things to look as great as they do headed into the show. If this leads to something even bigger for them down the road, then that’s a win for me too.
Anything else to share?
I also wrote a book if you’re interested, see here.