Quarantine Q/A: Ron May

Ron May
photo by Reg Madison Photography

by Gil Benbrook

Our series of interviews with individuals involved in the Phoenix theatre community continues today with a conversation with Ron May, the artistic director of Stray Cat Theatre.

COVID-19 has affected us all in many ways. The theatre community has been harshly impacted with show closures and postponements. We hope this series of daily interviews will be a way to provide some personal insight to what people are doing during this period of time while highlighting familiar individuals from the theatre community in town.

Was there a show you were in or involved with or preparing for when the stay at home order started?

May: "Yeah - we were just about to audition DANCE NATION for Stray Cat. It initially looked like there might not be a conflict but as quickly as everything snowballed it became pretty clear pretty quickly that this was going to hit harder and linger longer than anyone was initially expecting. Up side is it hit before we got started. Down side is it clipped us at the knees before we even got started."

How have you been personally impacted by our current situation?

"Outside of the obvious, I know a handful of people who have come down with the thing. Most have made a full recovery. I have one friend who is unfortunately having a very rough time bouncing back but he's making progress. I know of some casualties from it but none really from my immediate circle. All in all thus far it hasn't packed a huge personal wallop."

How has your daily routine changed?

"Hugely. For the past several weeks I'm supposed to have been in rehearsal. And work is now all remote from home. I have never in my life felt like my rent has been so well USED. Like...I am IN! THIS! APARTMENT! Usually my place - while certainly somewhere to sleep and to recharge on weekends - has always kind of served as a glorified storage facility during the week. NOT THIS MONTH!"

Ron May in Stray Cat Theatre's The Year of the Rooster
photo by John Groseclose

What do you feel will be different when theater restarts?

"Fuck. That's the million dollar question, isn't it? It's so hard to know really. The variables involved seem endless. My spider sense tells me programming may shift a bit to the more comfortable for a while. Not necessarily for Stray Cat but - the sort of paradigm as a whole? There will likely be an anxiety for a bit re-entering those physical theatre spaces - similar-ish to what being in an airport felt like when flying after 9/11. I imagine new rules on how seating is arranged. The whole question of how we physically share space with one another - something I don't know we ever gave a whole lot of thought to previously - may undergo some upheaval until we can recalibrate a new normal. I keep thinking how we've all our entire lives put up with those people coughing in the house during shows like they had consumption - and while annoying, they were still there ALL the time. I have a feeling those days are numbered. Like - that person won't last past the first cough. Which, while long overdue - is also mildly unsettling knowing that just coughing in a theatre for a while is going to for some have the impact of someone yelling "Fire!" Like. How can it not? There may be more reliance on virtual or streaming production? I think that's certainly something that is still wide open for discovery and exploration that mitigates a lot of these immediate issues - even though it technically flies in the face of the 'event' of theatre. Of COURSE we would rather be there - live - just as a lot of people would rather see a sports game live from the stands - but there's a whole new set of problems that need a new set of solutions. And honestly, a whole OLD set of problems that streaming performances can actually work to SOLVE. I also wonder if theatres will start re-thinking understudies now. In the past it's been kind of hit or shit. MOST theatres, if someone gets sick, oh well. You make of it what you can. Something tells me that's not a laurel we'll be resting on as much anymore. I wonder, too, if 'cattle call' auditions will go the way of horse and buggy. There's really just so much. BUT. I really do think for as much re-negotiating of what this is all going to look like moving forward and how difficult that may be? There's also tremendous opportunity to really look at some of the untended cracks in the foundation we've collectively ignored for so long."

When do you think that’ll happen?

"Well - I can only really think kind of selfishly. Stray Cat theoretically opens our next season in August. Which means we need to be cast and start rehearsing by late June. So of COURSE I hope by then. But no one can predict this shit. I've seen studies that say we shouldn't even consider beginning to relax social distancing until July 6. Which would safely - possibly - have us up and ready to open a show by August. But then the question also becomes do we want to be the guinea pigs for this and rush head first into production RIGHT on the verge of "we have no idea what the next chapter in this thing looks like." I know theatres that have cancelled or re-thought their summer seasons. I have to believe we'll all be back in some shape or form in the fall? Which means for Stray Cat we may not be back until our second slated show? But a lot of theatres I would think may be back in time to start the upcoming season on time. Obviously that's little more than a hope at this point. Whenever it is, I just hope we don't do it until we've made sure our houses are good and clean and safe before we invite people back in. No matter how long that takes."

What have you been doing to stay creative during this time?

"The fun creative side, I've been reliably devouring obscene amounts of pointless online content and reading lots of plays. I have a love-hate relationship with tik tok. I'll never use it but it scratches my itch for vine which I miss terribly. But honestly I feel like just getting through a day has become the new creative. The constant re-negotiation of how you do your job and where you are all day and who you can or can't see and what you can or can't do and how you negotiate that in the face of not knowing how long it's going to be and then planning for the unforseeable future and how much toilet paper do I have left and is it worth standing in that line of people right now - it's all kind of - filling that wheelhouse in a sense?"

Ron May and Joseph Kremer in  The Phoenix Theatre Company's One Man, Two Guvnors
photo by Erin Evangeline Photography

Any binge tv shows you’ve watched?

"I think like everyone on the planet I watched TIGER KING. Which I just thought was kind of gross. Though I do appreciate the memes it spawned. And was also very proud that the world seemed to know when to put it to bed. Like - it's pretty much old news now. So it's not like that fucking real housewives chick yelling at the cat meme that just would NOT die. "

Any new hobbies you’ve taken on?

"Raising a kitten. I got a kitten. I swore I would not get a kitten when I got a new kitty friend but this guy corrected me the day I met him. So now I have a new kitten and he is certainly more than a hobby but it's not like he leaves a whole hell of a lot of time for me to do, like - sudoku or jigsaw puzzles or knitting or anything. "

How has this experience changed you?

"Hmm. Can't really tell yet. The only "Wow YOU HAVE CHANGED!!!" thing I can really think of is I wash my hands a WHOLE hell of a lot more than I ever have. Ever. Other than that I'll just have to wait and see what fun things my anxiety has in store once we all try and get back to normal. Ha."

What is the one thing you’re most looking forward to when the stay at home order is lifted?

"I'm a hugger. Like - I hug my friends. And I haven't even SEEN most of them. And it's killing me. So. I'm going to hug the living shit out of people when this is over. And I'm holding on. And I'm probably crying into your shoulder. And I'm a grown ass man who won't be apologizing for it."