DIRECTOR Matthew Toronto

JOEY DAY HARGROVE interviews MATTHEW TORONTO about his role as the DIRECTOR at Casino Theatre.

Joey Day Hargrove: What is the biggest challenge for you as a director when you work with the writers on creating a short scene for the Casino Theatre? 

Matthew Toronto: I think the biggest challenge is finding a way to encapsulate the entire project in a short scene. Not everything that’s been conceived for the screen is necessarily tailored for the stage. We either have to make some adjustments to make it theatrically viable or sometimes the writers write an entirely new scene that pitches the script in a way that feels true to the original idea but also engages with the audience in a live setting. 

JDH: What is the process like, interpreting the script and finding the appropriate scene? 

MT: First we have to find the right script. I look for scripts that have strong scene work. I look for smaller, more intimate scenes because we are not able to do big action sequences or anything like that. It has to be character-driven. We did put an action-comedy on stage this time, but we had to find the right scene that hinted at the action and allowed us to feel the sense that this movie would be an action movie but without being able to depict all of the action. Then we had to find theatrical ways to capture that. I look for strong scenes that encapsulate the central conflict in the script that really develop the key characters and are also going to be compelling for the audience to watch live.

JDH: What are you looking for in the scripts when choosing which writers to showcase?

MT: First and foremost, we are looking for great scripts. Period. It has to be something that we believe in, that we believe is going to be compelling and ultimately become a compelling project when it gets produced someday, hopefully, sooner than later. For that reason, we turned to Coverfly and their Red List for getting a group of scripts that are strong, that have done well in contests, that have been vetted by a fair number of readers in contests and other coverage. From there we have to really like them and feel like they can be well represented in a live theatrical presentation. 

JDH: You have directed more than 20 pieces for the Casino Theatre - which project stands out the most for you, and why? I didn’t write this particular question so no pressure to choose my script. (I’m secretly thinking: pick me, pick me, pick me.)

MT:  All of the pieces have been really great. They’re like my children. I love all of them equally. But I had a chance in an earlier incarnation, to direct a piece that I had written with my wife and brother called Face to Face. It’s based on a film I directed a few years ago. The piece pitches an anthology series that is meant to take place on the screen of the characters, through video chat conversations. We wanted to capture the feeling of that convention while doing a live presentation. And to complicate it further, one of the actors, Caspar Phillipson, was in Denmark when we presented. We filmed his portion ahead of time. We had the other two actors act the scene opposite him while he was holding his own cell phone and recording. We edited that together. Then, during the presentation, we projected it onto a screen behind the actors. We also live-streamed the main character’s phone onto another screen behind them. This allowed the audience to see both the live actors in the space – and on the screen – as well as the fabulous performance by Casper and then stitch it together in their own minds. It turned out to be this really great multimedia piece. 

JDH:  When directing TV/film scripts for theatre do you have any golden rules you'd like to pass along? 

MT: The most important things on the stage are the people. If the audience doesn’t care about the people, then no matter how cool your concept is or how witty your dialogue is, it won’t work. So I really focus on getting to the core of what the characters need, their point of view, and their emotional journey through the scene. It comes through in the writing, so it’s something we look for on the writing side but something we also have to carefully construct on the acting side. 

JDH:  What is the most fun and exciting thing about directing? 

MT: It is exhilarating to take a project from the page and give it life. You must envision the entire thing. Then you begin this collaboration with writers, actors designers, technicians… and you get these other voices, these other ideas, these other visions, and they kind of merge and they become more than the sum of their parts. You start to see your vision but amplified and lifted beyond what you could have conceived in your own mind. 

JDH: In the last showcase there was a wide range of genres, from animated fantastical sitcoms to really intense historical dramas. Is it challenging to direct such short scenes with such a variation in tone all at the same time? 

MT: I treat each of the pieces as their own individual moment. I worry less about trying to keep a unified sense of tone throughout the night. Instead, I try to take the audience on a bit of a journey. Sometimes we like to go right from comedy into an intense drama because it’s like a roller coaster and the audience gets some hills and twists and turns. I like to present a really varied buffet of choices. That’s one of the great things about the Casino Theatre. The audience can experience so many different voices and so many different styles all at once. 

JDH: Which do you think is easier to transfer to stage – comedy or drama?  

MT: Every project presents its own challenges. They are all in my mind sort of equally difficult. However, I’m a little more trepidatious about comedy. Only because when you are mounting a comedy, you know immediately whether the audience likes it or not, if they’re not laughing, then you know they’re not with you. While it’s no more difficult, it’s a little scarier. 

JDH:  These scenes are brought to the stage very quickly. I think it was less than a week from casting to dress rehearsal. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working with that sort of urgency?

MT: The advantages are exactly that – the urgency. There’s sort of a drop-everything-and-make-it-work mentality that kind of sweeps you up and gets everybody to harness their own excitement in the process. It’s very fast and furious. It’s like a sprint. There’s a great deal of creative energy that comes out of that. That being said, next time I‘m hoping to give us a little more time to work with. 

JDH: I was able to sit in on your first rehearsal with the actors on my scene and hear your pep talk, is there any of that philosophy you want to share?

MT: We love the audience to love the show. We want to pique their interest and we want to get industry folks interested in these projects, but I try not to measure our success based on how the audience responds. That puts success in someone else’s hands. When you do that as an artist, I think you’re in for a world of hurt because then you’re only happy when other people like your stuff or when other people like you. What I like to do is put the measure of success in the hands of the cast and me and the other collaborators. What I encourage them all to do is to make this their best work. If at the end of the process everyone on stage, backstage, and everyone who has participated can say, “yes, this is the best work I have ever done, this is better than my last best…” If everyone can say that, then it’s an unqualified success whether the audience likes it or not.

JDH: Have you been part of Casino Theatre since the beginning? How did that relationship begin? 

MT: Yes. I was the Artistic Director of the very first Casino Theatre. That began with my relationship with Anders Lykke. Anders is also my literary manager. Anders had this phenomenal idea to create this theatre where we could present pieces and get past some of the gatekeepers in Hollywood. It allows the industry to experience these projects in a way that surpasses any pitch that you could possibly give because it unfolds in front of you. 

It was the perfect match for me because while I direct film and TV, I spent years of my life in theatre as an actor and director. It is sort of a merging of my particular talents. When Anders came up with the idea, I was thrilled with it and I immediately volunteered my services. To me, it was a match made in heaven to be able to work in both the film world and theatre world at the same time. It’s been really rewarding, combining these two disciplines in a way that’s really compelling but also serves the artists and helps get their voices out there.