Rough Magic, Playhouse collaborate on unique 'sound' play

How does a slow-moving earthworm sound? Mike Legate doesn’t know either, but he’s going to simulate one during the performance of “Kid-Simple: a radio play in the flesh,” playwright Jordan Harrison’s comedy that opens tonight at the Lincoln Community Playhouse.

“I’m sure the audience will wonder: ‘What the heck is that supposed to be?’” laughed Legate, who is charged with creating the many unusual sounds for this uniquely different play, a collaboration between the Playhouse and Rough Magic Productions.

Harrison’s adult fairy tale is the story of Moll (Jesse Glasgow), a girl genius who wins her high school science fair with a machine for hearing sounds that can’t be heard.

Yes, you read that right. Her machine — called the “Third Ear” — can “hear” such things as a spider’s footsteps, faraway shipwrecks, the telling of a lie … even a heart breaking.

The plot thickens when a shapeshifting mercenary (Sean McGill) romances Moll and steals her invention, not to mention her heart.

Moll then embarks on a quest, accompanied by the last boy-virgin in the 11th grade (Andy Dillehay) to save noise, and, ultimately the universe.

“I like a play that makes rules for the world we live in, and then breaks all the rules,” said “Kid-Simple” director Jack Carpenter, a Rough Magic company member.

The comedy definitely is a rule-breaker.

Playwright Harrison, a Seattle native, is a graduate of the Brown University Master of Fine Arts playwriting program. “Kid-Simple” premiered at the 2004 Humana Festival at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.

The work is just starting to get some legs. The Lincoln performance will be its 11th production. It’s also been done in San Diego, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

“Kid-Simple” is a cross between a typical stage production and a radio play — hence the title — which makes performing it a unique challenge.

Just ask Rough Magic artistic director Gregory Peters, whose first thought after reading the script was, “Thank God, I’m not directing it.”

Glasgow had a similar impression after going through it for the first time.

“I definitely wanted to be a part of it, but I was curious how the heck it was going to be staged?” she said. “The script is so complicated.”

Staging Harrison’s play wouldn’t be difficult if “Kid-Simple” was simply a radio play, which has few, if any, limitations in presentation.

Need a car to go over cliff? Just add sound effects of skidding tires and an explosion to trigger an audience’s imagination.

“Radio plays are a lot like cartoons,” Peters said. “They can go anywhere and do anything.”

That’s not necessarily the case with live theater.

Carpenter, however, welcomed the challenge of directing Harrison’s difficult script, slow-moving earthworms and all.

A recent graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s theater program, Carpenter has been on a roll of late, making an indelible mark on the local theater scene.

He directed the controversial Terence McNally play “Corpus Christi” in November for the student-run Theatrix. The play sold out every performance.

His other Theatrix credits include “The Shadow Box,” “Burn This,” “The Illusion” and “Pterodactyls.”

“I like ensemble pieces that are not based in realism,” he said. “I have nothing against realism, but I prefer those (plays) that are a bit abstract.”

Like “Kid-Simple.”

The key to making Harrison’s play sing was recruiting an A-list tech team to complement a talented cast, Carpenter said. His design team is comprised of Jeff Weber (set), Brooke Stevens (lights) and Legate. Weber and Legate are UNL graduate students; Stevens is an undergrad.

Still, Legate, who has worked on dozens of shows, admitted Harrison’s script was a tad daunting.

“I highlighted all the sound cues,” he said. “When I went back over everything, I did a double take — there were 400 of them. I was pretty impressed by the sheer size of it.”

And excited by it.

Legate will be on stage for the first time since high school. He’ll be there with his laptop and table full of soundmakers, as if he was doing it for radio.

“I’m used to being stuck in a booth, wearing black clothes and being quiet … being invisible,” he said. “But in this case, I’ll be right there, front and center.”

His job will be to provide those noises that can’t be heard by human ears. And he’ll have a great deal of latitude.

After all, how does a slow-moving earthworm really sound?

Legate also will provide sound effects for the actors, such as the application of hair gel. He uses his voice for that one, making a kind of slurpy noise.

“It’s really been interesting to see the actor and the (sound designer) in sync with each other,” Glasgow said.

The best part is, the audience gets to hop on for the ride.

And with “Kid-Simple,” hearing is believing.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.

If you go

What: “Kid-Simple,” Rough Magic Productions/Lincoln Community Playhouse

Where: Studio Theatre, Lincoln Community Playhouse, 2500 S. 56th St.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday and Thursday through March 18

Tickets: $15, $12 for students and senior citizens; 489-7529