A life-size cut out of a man in an all black suit, sporting a wry smile waits at the end of a dark corridor. With one hand extended, he ushers in guests of The Garage Theatre to face their own existentialism. He is Thom Pain.
Thom Pain (based on nothing) is a Pulitzer Prize finalist written by Will Eno and will be showing at the Garage Theatre in Long Beach through Oct. 7. The one man show is directed by Matthew Anderson and features Paul Knox as Thom Pain.
“We hope this play will invoke a very human response, as is the goal with all art, really. In a lot of ways, it relies on audience participation, to a degree,” Anderson said.
The show marks Knox’s return to The Garage Theatre after a five year hiatus.
“I’ve always loved Will Eno’s writing”, said Knox. “Thom Pain touches on the beauty of the pain of life and I think that’s something everyone has experienced at some point or another.”
His draw to Thom Pain was in the similarities he saw between the character and himself.
“Words. Working on so many words,” he said with a laugh reflecting on how he prepared for his role.
Growing up with a musical background, Knox rehearsed his lines by drilling them over and over again in the same way that he would rehearse for learning a piece of music.
“This project has been about a year in the making, all told,” said Knox.
For Anderson, the pursuit of breathing new life into Thom Pain was an endeavor that started well over ten years ago, after he first read the piece.
“I’d always seen myself as playing Thom Pain and that idea stayed with me for years. That is, until I brought it up to Paul and realized, I’m not Thom Pain; he is,” said Anderson.
Anderson is a founding member of The Garage Theatre which has been on 7th Street in Long Beach for 23 years and has seen many LBCC affiliates and alumni grace its stage.
As an actor first and foremost, what appeals to Anderson about directing is, as he puts it, creating moments where people can feel.
Thom Pain is a play that is unexpectedly harrowing, offering brief instances of comedic respite in between moments of deep reflection during which audience members are steered toward facing their own fears and left to ruminate on the heaviness of their life’s regrets through the lens of the man in the suit.
The Garage Theatre is a space that is conducive to such an introspective piece being that they are a theater company known for pushing boundaries. In fact, the theater quite literally changes with every performance.
Regular attendees will very rarely see two sets that look the same as every aspect of the black box theater, from the chairs to the walls, are malleable; always changing to accommodate what is showing.
“This is a space geared toward the open-minded. People seek us out because they know they’re going to get a unique experience. They trust us and we don’t take that lightly”, said Cat Elrod, costume designer and longtime member of The Garage Theatre.
Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) runs through Oct. 7th at The Garage Theatre in Long Beach.
