By Steve Peterson
[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Meet Director Doug Engalla, a long-time member and director at The Group Rep, one of the longest-running theatres in the NoHo Arts District.
The NoHo motto really should be, “NoHo is only as great as its people.” Without theatres, actors, dancers, singers, musicians, visual artists and creative folks, we wouldn’t be an arts district.
Doug Engalla joined The Group Rep in 1997. Morning’s at Seven is his 11th production as director. Other directorial projects included Love…Or Best Offer, Neil Simon’s Rumors and London Suite, 2016’s A Nice Family Gathering, and four world premieres of Phil Olson’s Don’t Hug Me musical comedies.
You’ve directed numerous plays for The Group Rep and elsewhere over the years. When did you transition from actor to director? How did that opportunity come about?
I had been active as a director years before joining The Group Rep, for the Burbank United Methodist Players. In fact, I kept the disciplines separate, directing for the Players and acting at The Group Rep. Some of the members from the Group Rep saw that I’d been directing, and by request I began to direct short projects, then one-acts, then my first full production in 2007, Arsenic and Old Lace. By then, I was no longer with the Players, and the feeling of being entrusted with directing professional actors for a mainstage production in a company like The Group Rep was amazing. And a bit terrifying. In Arsenic, I felt like I had been moved to a big kids’ playground.
Why did you want to direct Morning’s at Seven? What drew you to the piece?
After directing a number of productions there for over a decade, I wanted to make a contribution to The Group Rep’s Theatre Company’s 50th Anniversary Season. For me, my approach to directing Morning’s at Seven was similar to my approach to directing “Diana and Sidney,” one of the four segments in Neil Simon’s London Suite, which we presented in the Fall of 2021. I think “Diana and Sidney” and Morning’s at Seven are both what I call “gentle comedies.” There are more punchlines in “Diana and Sidney” – it is, after all, Neil Simon – but the heart of that and Morning’s at Seven are the deep emotional connections between all of the characters.
Tell us a bit about the play.
In this production of Morning’s at Seven, we’re taken into a memory of 1928. In our memories, we see things generally, rather than in detail, though we can pick out a few of those details, here and there. Our backyard set, designed by Mareli Mitchel-Shields, reflects that sense of memory; some of it in detail, much of it seemingly abstract. In this memory, we are introduced to the four Gibbs sisters; three of them married, and all of them living so close together all one has to do to get to one of them is to step outside. Their delicate balance faces a wobble when Homer, the son of one of the sisters, brings home his longtime fiancé.
What does this play have to say at this moment in time?
I have to say that I found much of what was happening in this play could happen today as well. That, in some 95 years from the time this story was set, times and trends may have changed, but people are still people; with hopes, dreams, desires, and the complications that spring from them.
What do you want the audience ‘take away’ to be, having seen the play?
First, to be entertained by the sisters and their extended families. The bond of sisterhood, and of family, may at times be shakable, and nearly breakable, but there is nothing like it. I hope that the audience recognizes that bond within their own families, and that they seek to cultivate a deeper appreciation for them.
What’s up next for you?
I am involved with some of the plans for the upcoming Gala to celebrate the Group Rep’s 50th Anniversary, of which I am pleased to be a part.
Is there anything you’d like to say about your current production something about you, that you would like readers to know?
I am the eldest of seven siblings. They, and in particular my three sisters, serve as an inspiration and foundation in my direction of Morning’s at Seven. To them, I dedicate this production.
What:
The Group Rep is proud to present Morning’s at Seven written by Paul Osborn, directed by Doug Engalla, produced by Alyson York for the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre.
When:
Performances of Morning’s at Seven are June 9 through July 16. Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm, Sunday at 2:00 pm. (No shows June 16, 17 & 18).
Tickets:
For information and to purchase tickets, http://www.thegrouprep.com or call (818) 763-5990.