By Cassandra Santiago
Cue Mimi Ford, a 40-year-old actor on the verge of a role that could determine the future of her career.
Cue Reena, the 29-year-old upstairs neighbor, also an actor — a more successful one.
Finally, cue Dylan, a 17-year-old blast from Mimi’s past.
What happens when so much success, failure, and love are stuffed into a small apartment in New York City?
KNOWN, which will début at 8 p.m. today in Theater Building Theater B, explores the concept of what it means to be known and its positive and negative consequences.
“It’s really about the struggle that most people who go into the arts face and the toll that that takes on their person and their mental health and physical health,” said Michael Tisdale, KNOWN playwright and director. “It’s investigating what it is to be a successful person and playing with all the different aspects of what it is to be known, to know yourself, to have others know you as a celebrity.”
Tisdale lived in New York for more than 22 years. The play, he said, is largely influenced by his and others’ experience working as actors there.
To create realistic vibes reflecting the New York acting lifestyle, Tisdale chose a minimalistic set. No set changes, no extravagant penthouse with fancy furniture. The 90-minute show takes place in the studio apartment of main character Mimi Ford.
“It really just gives you a sense of how claustrophobic lives are in New York, where you just have these little cubicles that you live in, and you’re waiting for the next job, and you’re trying to save money so you just stay in, cook, and do your things as much as you can,” Tisdale said. “There’s almost like a prison sentence aspect to it, so I wanted to explore that as well.”
Actor Natalie Lurowist, like Tisdale, is no stranger to this lifestyle; Lurowist lived and acted in New York for around five years, unknowingly prepping herself to play the role of Mimi Ford.
“I felt like I could relate to [Mimi],” she said. “Just the writing was very realistic. They say it’s easy to be a waiter if the food is good. It’s the same with this play. The writing is good, so it makes our jobs a lot easier.”
The production includes adult language, smoking, and adult content — a drama with comic relief, probably the most dangerous of all.
“I think it’s funny, in the way that life can be funny,” Tisdale said. “It’s not a comedy where it’s going for laughs. Its laughs come from the circumstances and from how people behave.”
In addition to tonight, this behavior will be carried out by the three-person cast at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Nov. 8.
Sophomore theater-lover and cast member Morgan Jones plays the quirky, upstairs neighbor Reena.
“We’ve spent so much time forming these characters and forming their relationships and forming what it is that this is about,” she said. “To have the chance to share that with four separate audiences this weekend is both terrifying and exciting.”
THEATER
KNOWN
When: 8 p.m. today-Saturday, 2 p.m. Nov. 8
Where: Theater Building Theater B
Admission: Free with UI ID, $5 for general public