Family relationships—and all their intricacies—have long been fodder for novels, movies and plays. Anna Ouyang Moench’s idiosyncratic play about a father and daughter straining for a meaningful relationship and bonding over birding, Birds of North America is now having its L.A. premiere at the Odyssey Theatre. Helmed by Peter Richards, the production runs through Sunday, Nov. 19 (for details see below).
In Ouyang Moench’s moving two-hander, John (Arye Gross), a scientist and rabid environmentalist and his daughter Caitlyn (Jacqueline Misaye), trying to find her way in the world, meet in their Baltimore County backyard for birdwatching or birding, as the doctrinaire John refers to his obsessive hobby. Over the course of 10 scenes spanning nearly a decade, the pair navigate their complex bond and dissimilar views of the world.
The Big Question
“The playwright asks when is better to live and let live and when is it better to intervene to shape the life of someone you love,” says Richards. John and Caitlyn are at odds about everything — jobs, family, politics and more. Like many parents he laments her lack of direction as she approaches 30 and wonders ‘what are you are going to do with your life?’ “There’s the human dynamic of wanting to help, yet not hold the person down.”
A Parent’s Role
“It can be difficult to bridge the gap between generations and between people who think differently about the world,” says Richards. When the play begins, John, who has spent 20 years of work, is on the third stage of clinical trials to find a cure for dengue fever. He wants to help the world. He disapproves of the right-leaning website Caitlyn works for and her succession of relationships.
“Caitlyn is faced with a different set of issues,” says Richards. She’s found a good-paying job as a copy editor for a right-wing news outlet. This leads to more gigs with the NRA and big oil companies John despises. “She has to approach life and finances from a practical point of view. So John is faced with the conundrum, ‘what is a parent’s role in passing down values and the idea of what makes a good life?’”
The Back And Forth
But it’s the relationship—“the back and forth, what we learn and come to understand over the years”—that really attracts Richards.
There is genuine concern and caring and like most families, the two know how to push each other’s buttons. John has a difficult time refraining from trying to shape Caitlyn’s choices and not judge. He insults Caitlyn for working for companies he says threaten the environment. “It’s just a job,” she says. She reminds him she didn’t have the luxury of a well-paid wife to cover her bills.
“They personify the notion that family has the freedom to go places other people wouldn’t,” says Richards. “And it can be hurtful.”
Ouyang Moench also gives the characters “cutting and moving speeches with a lot of layers,” says Richards. John has a touching tale of installing a solar-powered heating system, so his wife “doesn’t get her feet cold.” He also explains his theory of how to fix sports, how owls fly silently, how to make garlic bread, cats and even indie films.
The Climate Crisis
A big part of Ouyang Moench’s play is climate change. John rails against global warming and worries that it’s getting so hot birds will miss the signals and not know when to migrate. He doesn’t want to take his wife on a vacation because of flying’s negative impact on the environment. He hates it when Caitlyn takes a marketing job with a firm that promotes fracking. She reminds him of all the things he uses made from petroleum.
“Climate change is one of a number of things the characters have to engage with,” says Richards. “The play asks, ‘what is an individual’s responsibility to live in the world and not hurt it when whatever you do you’re causing harm,” says Richards. “Their perspectives illuminate their relationship and have consequences.”
After the Friday, Oct. 20 performance, Ouyang Moench and a representative from the Natural History Museum will take part in a discussion of the environment, birds and human connections.
A Fascinating Structure
Richards is also drawn to the play’s “fascinating structure.” As the play unfolds over the annual birding sessions, audiences (and the characters) learn about major life changes from the intervening years, as the conversation continues. “It been a fun excavation process,” says Richards, “to discover new things as each scene progresses.“ It also condenses the stage time, adds Richards, “allowing for a long arc of a relationship in 90 minutes.”
Tips From The Playwright
Richards sought advice from Ouyang Moench on “how the characters process emotion. There are a lot of big feelings that come up in the play (effects of miscarriages, coping with terminal illness) and their impulse is to hold them in. She helped me understand the pair’s internal dynamic.”
Bringing The Birds
Since birding is the constant for John and Caitlyn, for research, Richards and the cast used a field guide to look up the birds mentioned in the play, and there are many: Tufted titmouse, nuthatch, hawk, woodpecker, bluebird, indigo bunting, blue grosbeak, red winged blackbird, cardinal, mourning dove, chickadee, chipping sparrow and more. In one scene, John refers to some as LBJs, “Little Brown Jobs,” not significant enough to record in the life list notebook he keeps of his sightings.
Before rehearsals, Richards himself took up birdwatching. “I enjoyed it, but I didn’t become proficient.”
Sound designer Costandina Daros has sourced the specific calls of the birds and “Anna has scored some of the calls in the text,” says Richards. “And we’ve added additional ones to fill out the soundscape. One of the pleasures is the sound of the American Redstarts migrating with a sound cue from stage right and fading off into the distance.”
Directing Challenges
“Yes, the cast had to learn how to handle binoculars and realize when they are actually used for birding or as an emotional shield or wall,” says Richards.
“I like to work on plays where you don’t know how it’s going to work,” adds Richards. There’s not a lot of action, except for an incident with a baby bird. “What that means is a specificity of the action. All the movements when they put the binoculars up and down and look out, at or away from each other, feel a little bigger than they otherwise would.”
On top of the minimalism in the movement is the bare stage architecture. “It’s tempting to put a picnic table in that backyard, but we a made the choice to actually have the characters stand and bird for the entire play and bring on a folding chair as the only piece of dressing.”
It’s Personal
Director Richards was drawn to the play for a couple of reasons. “First and foremost,” he’s an admirer of Ouyang Moench’s work. He attended the New York City premiere of her play Mothers at The Playwrights Realm in 2019 and her Man of God at the Geffen last year. “Anna’s a wonderful writer and her work has been on my radar. This play has great honesty. And as a great play, it helps you understand your life.” On a personal level, the play is about a father-daughter relationship, and Richards has a daughter turning 2 in November and another one expected in February. “So there’s double the reason to be interested how fathers and daughters relate.”
He directed a visiting production of Lucas Hnath’s A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney for the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble last year. Asked to direct a production this year, “the play was at the top of my list,” Richards says. “They read it and loved it and here we are.”
The Odyssey Theatre is at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. Performances through Nov. 19 are Mondays Oct. 16 and 30, Fridays (complimentary wine and snacks following Friday night performances) and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$40. To purchase and for information, call 310-477-2044, ext. 2 or visit www.OdysseyTheatre.com.
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at The Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
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