Scarlet Masque Theatre Journal New Beginnings and Fond Farewells Vol. 1 | Page 129

To map the details of the change from the very beginning to the hopeful end is quite an
undertaking. There are certainly benchmarks, sign posts, along the way that map time, but as I
look down the road at the next phase, I actually think of it as another opportunity to remake
myself, a bit. Or reinforce some of the things that I’ve enjoyed doing so much in the past that
haven't perhaps dedicated enough time to. So that’s all hopeful and that's all positive.
I think it's a creative question to ask to put that in context of “R.U.R.” That's the one that stopped
me initially itself. To see my career as somehow or another, somewhere between robotic and
human. And, you know, the truth is as you reach a certain phase in your career you begin to think
that there are aspects of what you do that come off as robotic. Or you feel like “You’ve been
there before. You’ve done that.” Perhaps too many times. And so that question of repetition does
begin to weigh on a person. I think, in a way that incites some of us to move on and do other
things. And again I think that’s sort of the hopefulness of it. I’m just rambling. So you’ll have to
tell me when to stop. I could ramble on about that one for a while. You know, I will.
When I think about my first play selections it wasn't Capek’s “R.U.R” and Shakespeare’s “The
Tempest.” We did “ R.U.R.” in the fall and the followed it up with “ The Tempest” in the spring.
During that time at the college there were two directors. I being one of those, we each directed
two productions a year. So, our season was four main stage productions. I had known early on
that I had wanted to tackle a Shakespeare when I came to the campus, and I’d always had an
affection for “The Tempest.” So, I thought I’d start with that. You know, usually that’s the swan
song. That’s the play that you sort’ve do at the end of your career. But I decided to butcher it
early on.
Muha: So you could at least blame inexperience for any misgiving? [Both Laughing]
Watson​ : Absolutely, so the “R.U.R’ was a different story. I had received a phone call from our
event division chair and was living in L.A before I moved to Crawfordsville and was informed
by the department chair and the division chair that the fall semester or the academic year would
be dedicated to a cluster around eastern European Ideas art, literature, theatre. And they
challenged me to suggest a play title that would compliment that cluster of academic and
intellectual ideas. So, Eastern European, you know, at least for me at the time, I was racking my
brain to try to figure out what would be a good play for Wabash, all men, eastern European. And
the one that came to mind almost immediately was “R.U.R”. In fact, it was one of the few that I
actually knew that had a beginning was Eastern European history. So, I think that was part of the
driving force in the selection of the play, but in a way when I think about my interest in dramatic
literature I’ve always had a fascination that dealt with or highlighted science in some fashion or
another. So, it was consistent with some of the things that I would teach through the seminars I
would lead and some of the other plays that I would direct at the college.