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“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!”
—Jack Kerouac |
Humble Boy
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Excited to return to Contra Costa Civic Theatre after his 2015 smash hit The Foreigner, Ken directs Charlotte Jones' Humble Boy. Winner of the 2001 Critics' Circle Best New Play Award and The People's Choice Best New Play Award, Jones has crafted a touching, funny, and ultimately mesmerizing depiction of contemporary family life.
Feb. 15 - March 10, 2019
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All is not well in the Humble Hive. Thirty-five year old Felix Humble is a Cambridge astro-physicist in search of a unified string theory. Following the sudden death of his father, Felix returns to his middle England home and his difficult and demanding mother, where he soon realizes that his search for unity must include his own chaotic home life. With loose ties to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Humble Boy is a meditation on our closest relationships in the 21st century.
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Meet the Cast
Top Row: Steve Rhyne, Scarlett Hepworth, Ron Talbot
Bottom Row: Li-Leng Au, Caroline Schneider, Russ Whismore
Bottom Row: Li-Leng Au, Caroline Schneider, Russ Whismore
HUMBLE BOY by Charlotte Jones
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TIME Over the summer. Present day.
PLACE A country garden in the Cotswolds. Gloucestershire, England. CAST in order of appearance Steve Rhyne..............Felix Humble Caroline Schneider......Mercy Lott Scarlett Hepworth.......Flora Humble Russ Whismore...........Jim, the gardener Ron Talbot................George Pye Li-Leng Au.................Rosie Pye |
PRODUCTION TEAM
Ken Sonkin.............Director Sarah Medley..........Assistant Director Mackenzie Orvis.......Stage Manager Kristin Smith...........Production Manager Benicia Martinez......Set Designer Will Campbell.........Lighting Designer Mackenzie Orvis.......Costume Designer Michael Kelly..........Sound Designer Devon LaBelle.........Props Designer Kristen Augustyn......Scenic Artist Blake Hansen..........Scenic Carpenter |
Director’s Notes
Chaos theory: The study of unpredictable and complex dynamic systems that nonetheless have an underlying order and are highly sensitive to small changes in external conditions. This sensitivity is often referred to as “the butterfly effect;” the idea that the flicker of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil might, months later, cause a tornado in Texas. Systems governed by chaos theory include the atmosphere, the solar system, plate tectonics, economies, and population growth.
..........“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family …in another city.” —George Burns
Chaos theory might also be said to apply to family; the ripple effect that exists in all of our households when something changes. Family systems are highly sensitive. The loss of a loved one creates a void that is experienced differently by family members and may, in fact, forever alter a family dynamic—for better or worse. Rarely has a play affected me as much as Charlotte Jones’ tragicomic take on contemporary family life and death. Each of her characters possess a latent goodness and each needs just a little nudge to re-awaken their potential. With loose ties to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Humble Boy is a meditation on our closest relationships in the 21st century.
..........“'Tis better to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of.” —Hamlet, Act III, 1
In 1998, Charlotte Jones made a name for herself with her play Airswimming. She won the Critics Circle Award for most promising playwright in 2000 for In Flame and Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis which also won the Manchester Evening News Best Play Award and the Pearson Television Best Play Award. Humble Boy, “a poem about people, bees and the galaxy—a feast for the imagination," (London Times) was awarded the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, 2001, the Critics’ Circle Best New play Award, 2002 and the People’s Choice Best New Play Award, 2002.
Humble Boy is also about acceptance. It’s ironic, but nevertheless true, that sometimes it’s hardest to understand those we’re closest to. And it’s all too easy to judge what we don’t understand. Jones’ play asks us to consider what it means to be compassionate and to accept, even when we don’t understand. It’s a story about searching for our place in the “bigger picture” as well as in the smaller pictures that make up our family photo albums.
..........“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” —Deepak Chopra
I’m absolutely delighted to work with the team here at CCCT to bring you this story. We’ve assembled “the perfect swarm" for what I think is a moving and terribly funny evening of theatre. I hope you feel the same.
Buzzzz, buzzzz.
Ken Sonkin
Director, Humble Boy
February 2019
Special Thanks
Lynne Soffer, Sarah Medley, Blake Hansen, SFSU Theater Department, Josh McDermott, USF Performing Arts Department, Acme Prop House, Artificial Turf Express, and Mary Beth Smith. For Renee and Barb.
..........“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family …in another city.” —George Burns
Chaos theory might also be said to apply to family; the ripple effect that exists in all of our households when something changes. Family systems are highly sensitive. The loss of a loved one creates a void that is experienced differently by family members and may, in fact, forever alter a family dynamic—for better or worse. Rarely has a play affected me as much as Charlotte Jones’ tragicomic take on contemporary family life and death. Each of her characters possess a latent goodness and each needs just a little nudge to re-awaken their potential. With loose ties to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Humble Boy is a meditation on our closest relationships in the 21st century.
..........“'Tis better to bear the ills we have than fly to others that we know not of.” —Hamlet, Act III, 1
In 1998, Charlotte Jones made a name for herself with her play Airswimming. She won the Critics Circle Award for most promising playwright in 2000 for In Flame and Martha, Josie and the Chinese Elvis which also won the Manchester Evening News Best Play Award and the Pearson Television Best Play Award. Humble Boy, “a poem about people, bees and the galaxy—a feast for the imagination," (London Times) was awarded the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, 2001, the Critics’ Circle Best New play Award, 2002 and the People’s Choice Best New Play Award, 2002.
Humble Boy is also about acceptance. It’s ironic, but nevertheless true, that sometimes it’s hardest to understand those we’re closest to. And it’s all too easy to judge what we don’t understand. Jones’ play asks us to consider what it means to be compassionate and to accept, even when we don’t understand. It’s a story about searching for our place in the “bigger picture” as well as in the smaller pictures that make up our family photo albums.
..........“In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.” —Deepak Chopra
I’m absolutely delighted to work with the team here at CCCT to bring you this story. We’ve assembled “the perfect swarm" for what I think is a moving and terribly funny evening of theatre. I hope you feel the same.
Buzzzz, buzzzz.
Ken Sonkin
Director, Humble Boy
February 2019
Special Thanks
Lynne Soffer, Sarah Medley, Blake Hansen, SFSU Theater Department, Josh McDermott, USF Performing Arts Department, Acme Prop House, Artificial Turf Express, and Mary Beth Smith. For Renee and Barb.
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