On what drew him to the play…
I was drawn to this work on a number of levels. It’s always exciting to work on a well-crafted play, even more so when it is a new work. The language in Oversight is tightly coiled, snappy dialogue that invokes fear and dread, even as it works through humor, to tell the story. The characters are recognizable yet dynamic, allowing myself as reader and audience member to connect with them without feeling as though I’ve been fed flat types. The characters have agency, opinions, motive, and passion. You know, like real people.
On theatrical frameworks…
Another aspect that drew me to this piece is its very theatrical framework. All too often contemporary dramatic literature consciously or unconsciously, stylistically and structurally, apes writing found in television and film. So many new theater plays look like teleplays, leaning heavily on spectacle and rapidly shifting scenes to generate narrative momentum. Oversight is a neoclassical gem in the way it frames the action in a single location over the course of an hour or so, and does this without finding itself mired in place. In fact, it allows the action of the play to boil in the crucible and propel itself forward. It places control of the dramatic action in the quick, energetic dialogue, and in the hands of the actors. All too often we forget that theater is an aural medium. It is the purview of well-crafted words, and I was excited when reading Oversight to find that aspect in abundance.
On genre…
I am also a huge fan of science fiction, or to be a bit more broad, speculative fiction. I’ve always found that the intersection of theater and speculative fiction is fruitful. Perhaps it’s the fact that each relies on the willing suspension of disbelief, and an unspoken pact with the audience/reader/viewer to carry the story's precepts to their final logical conclusion. Good speculative fiction is also rooted in the world outside of the narrative, hinging on that one magical “What if.”
In the case of Oversight, that magical what if is not terribly far-fetched. In fact, it is barely “fetched” at all. We are all confounded by this question of high tech and what it means to our lives, both immediately and over the long term. Fiction has told us that there are boons and dangers when it comes to new technology; that tale is not a new one by any means. Prometheus was bound for a reason, after all.*
On technology…
Oversight offers yet another realistic imagining of the impact of new technology, and as any good piece of art should, asks us to consider the state of our collective wisdom, and that of our institutions, as we embrace or reject what will inevitably change our lives. As a piece of storytelling, it is an exciting playground for exploring the ever-present themes of fear, trust, hope, and dread. The apocalypse is ever looming, and how we respond to that is, in part, what defines us as heroes, villains, victims, and accomplices.”
About the Director
Marcus McQuirter currently serves as chair of the Drama Department at Austin Community College where he teaches voice, acting, and theater appreciation. He holds a BFA in Directing from Howard University, an MA in Theater from the University of North Texas, and earned his PhD in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin. He sits on the advisory board for ACC’s Interdisciplinary Studies Department, the ACCTV Network, and New Manifest Theatre Company. Professionally active as a stage and audio drama director in Central Texas, recent credits include Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven (Vortex Theater Company), She Kills Monsters (Southwestern University), Not This White Woman (Hyde Park Theater), Hearts Like Fists (Austin Community College), and Jarrett King’s A War of the Worlds (Penfold Theater Company), Nightbird (Austin Playhouse), The Burden of Legacy Podcast, and Macbeth (MMNT), and The Importance of Being Earnest (Austin Community College).
OVERSIGHT IS A THRILLER THAT TRAPS ITS AUDIENCE INSIDE A CLOSED COMMITTEE HEARING AS LAWMAKERS CONFRONT A CONSEQUENTIAL THREAT.
