About My Friend, or the Parking Lot Play (2024)

“I wonder if the answer can lie in the word DEDICATIONS?” -Hal Holbrook, 1956

This was the question Denison alum and actor Hal Holbrook asked in a letter written for the opening of Denison’s first Theatre Arts Building (1956-2019). The studio theatre inside was named after his friend Leroy “Ace” Morgan, who, after a year of studying theatre in Granville, was killed in action while serving in the military during World War II. Just over 13 years after losing his friend, how can one hold on to someone no longer around?

As a junior, I stumbled across this letter in the Denison Archives while researching for a Digital Humanities class. Despite the generation gap, Hal’s honesty cuts through the decades that separate us. In his dedication, Hal puts words to the timeless experience of finding your people in college, growing artistically side by side. I saw my soon-to-be-graduating friends Ben Frey and Emily Harris in his musings about his friend. I found myself asking the same questions. Looking over the Eisner Center parking lot, where that very Theatre Arts Building once stood, I knew I had a unique opportunity to explore them. Thus began a creative journey that would last over a year.

It was my first attempt at writing a full-length play, and I had much to learn. My first draft was far more ambitious, covering decades of theatre students and collecting stories from mentor and ‘94 Denison alum Dr. Mark Evans Bryan. The 20-page mockup had heart, but very little through line. It took not touching the draft for the semester when I was abroad in Vienna for me to come back with a fresh perspective and a newfound appreciation for the location that inspired me in the first place.

With Ben and Emily having graduated, I had a stronger incentive to put memories to paper while I still had them. For a semester, I chipped away, with an inside joke turning into a scene, or a line in the archives turning into a plot point. I cross-referenced with Ben and Emily, visiting Milwaukee where they had both moved, consulting them on their characters and how the story was shaping together. I spent time in the parking lot, looking for inspiration for how timelines could weave in and out. Slowly but surely, the story came into focus. With the patient mentorship and guidance of Dr. Bryan, I had honed a script that was ready for others to dig their teeth into. A refreshing, but daunting idea.

By spring, my job had become that of a director and producer. With the Denison theatre culture being very much that of buying in, it was a challenge to carve out a month when I knew people would have time to participate. I set early audition dates, annoyed everyone I could think of on campus, and hoped for the best. The day of auditions was a testament to the show’s message- I saw people I hadn’t connected with since freshman and sophomore year show up, many of whom hadn’t ever acted before. Hearing my words for the first time was staggering. I was grateful for everyone’s excitement, time, and effort, and challenged myself to be worthy of it.

When Emmy was at a rehearsal, I knew that we were going to benefit from her perspective. Many moments we became proud of were first noticed and then nurtured by her. She didn’t want a traditional title, so we eventually landed on Aide de Camp

Emily taking Ben and I on a tour of her hometown during Thanksgiving break, my junior year.

A cast secured and a rehearsal schedule finally set, it was time to hand the story over to new perspectives. One of my goals from the jump was to make explicit how much free rein the ensemble had in creating their characters. All of them were playing real people, one actor even had to play me, but impressions were antithetical to the piece. With active tablework by incorporating Viewpoints and Moment Work, the ensemble quickly made their characters their own. With blocking rehearsals underway, I was constantly renegotiating what would best serve the team. While meant to be a found-space piece, using an active parking lot as our rehearsal space was less than ideal. Collaborating with Eisner Center staff, we split our time inside and outside, stealing moments when the lot was vacant to try certain moments out in the space. However, with the stage management team in flux, I was finding it difficult to manage all the creative and logistical tasks alone.

My roommate, the writer and wardrobe costume extraordinaire Emmy Ayad, was the key to this show. From filling in for actors, loaning her record player for important sound design, to designing and sourcing costumes out of both of our closets, Emmy was on it. We bounced ideas around after rehearsals over extra-late dinners, rethought blocking over prop runs to Columbus record stores, and celebrated breakthroughs over coffee the next day. She’s a creative force and a brilliant human, someone I was lucky enough to collaborate with and the reminder that this is ultimately a team sport.

After two years of this idea being in my head, we had a show. Yes, there was last-minute rain that forced us to get creative (a mixture of tents, waterproof speakers, and moving a whole show indoors an hour before open), but we got to share Ace, Hal, Carol, Ben, Emily, and Nora’s stories to our Denison community. We had alumni and staff over the age of 90, who knew Hal Holbrook in attendance, an honor that none of us took lightly. While not the most applicable show for a wider audience, the power of everyone’s work shone when post-show conversations quickly turned into audience members’ college theatre memories. As a theatrical endeavor, it was a first for many of us, but definitely not the last.