BWW Interviews: Q&A with James Venhaus, Playwright of THE HAPPY COUPLE

Austin's Last Act Theater Company continues their 2012-2013 Season with THE HAPPY COUPLE by Texan playwright James Venhaus.

James Venhaus recently answered some of BroadwayWorld's questions about his daring play. You can also see a video interview with James by clicking here.

Here's what James had to say about THE HAPPY COUPLE....

BWW: Tell us about THE HAPPY COUPLE.

JV: I appreciate you asking because I'm really excited about this play. I wrote an early draft of the first scene back in 2002, so I've been working on it for a long time. It tells the story of a couple who on their ten year anniversary decides to visit the house they rented when they were poor, struggling college students. When they get to the house, it's occupied by squatters who won't let them leave. By the time the morning comes, no one's life is the same. Throughout the night they discover secrets about everyone in the group and how everyone interacts.

BWW: It sounds like you can't really say more without giving stuff away.

JV: I'm trying to think of some non-spoilers to tell you, and it's tough. I think sometimes when people try to go back to their past, sometimes that's a bit of a red flag about the status of your relationship. Even before they're confronted by actual physical threats, the happy couple is going through threats of their own in their own relationship. One of the themes that I also work with in the play is that everyone's perception of reality is a little bit different and perception is reality. For example, the husband walks into the house and says, "I don't remember it looking like this at all!" The wife thinks that taking him back to where they were 10 years ago will bring their relationship back to where it was 10 years ago, but he doesn't even remember it as being a particularly happy time in their lives. And then the three sometimes violent squatters get thrown into the mix, and it gets pretty sticky pretty quickly. Alliances get formed, and by the end of the play, things haven't worked out the way any of them thought it would work out in the beginning.

BWW: What inspired you to write THE HAPPY COUPLE?

JV: A couple of things. There was a radio interview that I heard where a DJ who was saying to his co-host that he was planning on taking his wife back to the apartment they first rented 10 years ago as an anniversary present. His co-host strongly urged him not to do that and said, "You can not go back. It will not be the same. You're going to be disappointed." I thought that was a great source for drama, this idea of trying to go back and recreate things that have happened. You really can't go home again.

BWW: You mentioned you started work on THE HAPPY COUPLE about ten years ago. Tell us about the development process for the play.

JV: The first scene which was initially designed to be a short play was given a staged reading in Dallas and the feedback I got from that was that everyone wanted to know what was going to happen next. So I thought, "Maybe this isn't a short play. Maybe this is the first scene in a full-length play." So I had a full-length version written when I moved to San Antonio in 2006 and I started working with a local theater company called the Overtime Theater which does nothing but new works. When I met with them they asked, "What scripts have you got?" and I said, "Well, I've been working on this one for a few years and I'd love to see it staged," and they immediately added it to their season. From the time I gave them the script to the opening night was about six months. We went through a couple more readings and a few more developmental things beforehand, but that's what I opened with in San Antonio. It won the Alamo Theatre Arts Council Globe Award for Best Original Script of 2010, and I've been shopping it to theater's ever since. Last Act Theater Company in Austin loved it, and we've been working on tweaking the ending a bit, which I've never been happy with. We're also doing a few things to flesh out some of the characters, but this would be the second full production of the show in its almost ten year life span.

BWW: So what we'll see in Austin will be slightly different than what was seen in San Antonio?

JV: Yes. The ending is completely different, and most of the other changes are refinements. I'm amazed as I go through the development process of a play. The changes between your first draft and second draft are huge. Scenes get added. Scenes get cut. Characters may go away or get added. I think this is draft 12 or 13, so now it's minor changes like a line here or line there to add clarity to a moment that isn't quite working. It might be something that adds rhythm to a punchline so it gets a bigger laugh or something that answers a question that the audience is asking. It's just little things that keep the story going and keeps the audience engaged. Mainly the changes at this point are things that have just been added or tweaked just to offer clarity for the characters.

BWW: How would you describe your writing style?

JV: I've been described as a satirical realist. I think the things that happen in my shows are things that conceivably could actually really happen. I tend to have a real satirical bite to things. I have a low patience for injustice and hypocrisy, and I find that a lot of my plays explore romantic situations that are not entirely functional. A running thread to my work that I don't notice when I'm writing it but other people notice when they're seeing or reading it is a hard satiric edge that hopefully shines some light on things that just aren't right in the world. When you laugh at them, you realize just how ridiculous they are.

BWW: Which writers have inspired you?

JV: I think if Thornton Wilder and Steve Martin had a child, I would be that child. I love Thornton Wilder and Arthur Miller's commitment to American storytelling and to giving a slice of life of America and what it means to be an American at a particular time. And I love that Steve Martin, as a novelist and a playwright and a comedian, can have you think about how your reality and someone else's reality might not actually be on the same page.

BWW: Is there anything else you want to share about THE HAPPY COUPLE?

JV: I've been surprised at its emotional impact. I write stories, and this is a story I wanted to write. I don't really think about genre, and one of the things I found most interesting was that the Globe Awards in San Antonio didn't know if they should categorize it as a comedy or a drama. There was much debate as to which category it should be placed in, and I love that debate. I love hearing people say, "But I laughed so much here," and someone else says, "Yeah, but a guy breaks a bottle over someone's head and he might bleed to death. That's not comedic." I love to play that tennis match between comedy and drama. When you think it's okay to laugh, something horrible will happen or when you think something horrible will happen, you get that comedic relief. I think that keeps the audience on their toes, and if you have a hard time determining if this is a comedy or a drama, then I've done my job.

THE HAPPY COUPLE, directed by Karen Alvarado, stars Austin favorites Suzanne Balling and Scot Friedman as the titular Happy Couple, and Rob Novak, Derek Vandi, and Lindsay McKenna as the squatters. This stellar cast and James Venhaus' award-winning script are sure to take you on an emotional roller coaster ride.

THE HAPPY COUPLE plays The White House Ranch at 3410 E. Pennsylvania Ave, Austin TX May 8th thru May 25th. Performances are Wednesdays thru Saturdays at 8pm. Tickets are $12.

Please note that this is a site specific show, so seating is limited. It is suggested to order tickets in advance at www.lastacttheater.com.

This show includes strong language and simulated smoking. Not recommended for children.