‘I Thought I Knew You’ went through festival, selection committee and workshop before coming to life at Stage Left Theater

On Christmas morning in 2020, Anthony Quinn Warner detonated a bomb in his RV in Nashville, killing himself and injuring eight. It is believed that Warner’s thoughts on a variety of conspiracy theories, including those related to Sept. 11, 2001, the moon landing and lizard people, contributed to his motives for the bombing.

Shortly after the incident, playwright Philip J. Kaplan, at home in New York, read an article about the bombing and began thinking about Warner’s family.

“What was his family like? What was the impact on that?,” Kaplan said. “And that got me down a different rabbit hole than the one he went through.”

While Kaplan’s play, “I Thought I Knew You,” was lightly inspired by Warner and the Nashville bombing, the events of the play are completely made up and not an attempt to get into Warner’s head.

“I Thought I Knew You” was one of six plays selected to be produced as part of the American Association of Community Theatres (AACT) NewPlayFest. The play will have its world premiere at Stage Left Theater. The show opens on Friday, March 22, and runs through April 7.

Dramaturg and AACT education director David VanCleave played a part in selecting this year’s plays, albeit without knowing who wrote what, thanks to the festival’s blind submission process. Once the selection committee selected its top 12 to 15 plays, they sent those plays to the six producing theaters, which ranked their top choices.

“I remember thinking our society is dealing with conspiracy theories right now in a way that’s different and more prevalent and how we interact and respond to people we love who believe in that,” VanCleave said about reading Kaplan’s play. “That was what struck me at first.”

Director Susan Hardie echoed VanCleave’s interest in exploring the “residual damage” a belief in conspiracy theories and acts like the Nashville bombing can take on family members of believers. She was also drawn to how Kaplan writes dialogue.

“There’s such deep emotional content in the show,” she said. “And that’s my wheelhouse. I love plays where you can just chew and chew and chew and get good stuff.”

Stage Left was one of just six theaters chosen to host a new play. Hardie believes Stage Left was selected, in part, because of its progressive nature and the shows it produces with social or political impact.

“One of the notes the interviewer had for Stage Left was the passion that came through,” VanCleave said. “That goes a long way when you are passionate about your organization and your community.”

“I Thought I Knew You” stars Abby Burlingame as Jen, Barin Saxton as Cody, Rebecca Craven as Amanda and Tom Sanderson as Leo.

In the play, Jen returns home to try to comfort her parents after her brother Cody sets off a bomb in a van in Louisville, killing himself and five others. Over the course of the play, Jen encounters and speaks to Cody – or is it his ghost?

Jen isn’t sure what she’s seeing, and Cody can’t quite explain it either. Throughout the play, Jen tries to convince her parents that she is talking to Cody, and Cody tries to convince Jen to agree with his conspiracy theories, all to varying degrees of success.

All the while, Jen, Amanda and Leo work to move past the tragedy, reconciling the Cody they knew and loved with the Cody the whole world now knows.

“Part of the play is can you convince someone that they’re wrong? How do you knock someone out of this belief that is clearly wrong?” Kaplan said. “The play has got two tracks. How the family is dealing with the trauma of this and then can you untangle these distorted beliefs?”

Hardie directs the play, and Holland Jones is the stage manager. It features scenic and sound design by Jeremy Whittington, lighting design by Isabella Hurrell, costume design by Joy Wood and Neva White, and assistant scenic design and prop design by James Landsiedel.

The cast and crew received a boost in their rehearsal process during a three-day workshop with Kaplan and VanCleave in early March. During the workshop, the cast performed a full run-through of the show, with Kaplan and VanCleave in the audience.

“It’s an opportunity for the playwright to see the show on its feet,” VanCleave said. “See these actors breathe life into these characters.”

After the run-through, the cast and crew chatted with Kaplan and VanCleave. They addressed blocking and mulled over minor changes to the script, like whether one character should ask another “Did you burn yourself?” or “Did you scald yourself?” The second night of the workshop would focus on Act 1, and the final night would focus on Act 2.

While it might seem intimidating to perform a play in front of the playwright, Hardie said it was the kind of experience actors love. The workshop was also special because it was the start of the permanent connection Stage Left will have to “I Thought I Knew You.”

“All of these NewPlayFest winners are published by Dramatic Publishing Company, who will then handle the licensing for future production,” VanCleave said. “The coolest thing about that is anytime you open a script, you’ll see in that first page ‘This show premiered on this date at this theater. This was the cast.’ These actors and directors and designers will have their name in front of the script.”

“Being part of the birth of a brand new show, that’s huge for all of us,” Hardie said. “That’s a real privilege.”