Meet James McHale (Craig)
Tell us about your invisible friend, or your “friend’s” invisible friend.
I don’t know what this says about me, but I never had an invisible friend. I had 4 siblings that I was great friends with so there wasn’t any room for an invisible one. I used to imagine myself flying with silver armor, sword, and a red cape a lot…?
Have you traveled overseas? Any interesting stories or experiences?
I’ve traveled to Europe twice and fallen in love with places like Italy and Turkey. I’ve had wonderful new cultural and foodie experiences, while getting to see and learn about amazing pieces of art, architecture, and history. My wife and I have stayed in a house that was built by a poet-friend of Dante’s, explored catacombs and burial chambers underground, and a monk mausoleum decorated entirely with the bones, skulls, and skeletons of dead monks. One embarrassing “American” story stands out. While visiting Cannes, France we were in a group of other tourists that included some Americans from the deep south who were trying to figure out how to pronounce “Cannes” and in her extreme southern drawl, one woman was telling the others “it’s ‘CAN,’ like a beer can” (then to our local French tour guide), “that’s how you say the name of your city right? CAN, like a beer can?!” I wanted to say “Sorry, we’re not all like that.”
If you could speak to your unborn child, what piece of advice would you give?
1) Wake up. Be awesome. Go back to sleep. 2) Time is precious. Waste it wisely. 3) If you say “LOL” or “OMG” out loud, you should probably get out more. 4) Enjoy your hair while you have it. 5) Mom may not always be right, but she’s never wrong. 6) WARNING: the consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not. 7) If at first you don’t succeed, then maybe you should do it the way I told you the first time. 8) Never trust a man in a wheelchair with dirty shoes. 9) Therapy is expensive but bubble wrap is cheap, you choose. 10) If anyone breaks your heart, just remember they are only human and you can break their body.
What’s your favorite baby picture? Can you share it with us?
(left)
If you met any of the characters on the street, who would you share a pint with and who would make you turn and walk away? And why?
I would share a pint with Amit because the combination of his incredible intelligence, dry wit, and childlike naiveté would make for a hilarious and refreshing companion to share a drink with. I would turn and run away from the Frenchman because he is certifiably cray-cray and has a habit of speaking very uncomfortable truths to you, which would make the drink turn quite sour.
Do you have a favorite moment in the play?
What day is it? Because I love this play so much that my favorite moment changes daily. If I have to choose, I will pick two moments: the first is a scene between Craig and Suraiya where Craig speaks very honestly with her, its one of the most simple and honest moments Craig has in the play. The second moment is a dream scene where I get to speak German and use Sign Language to communicate to a baby that looks like an adult and speaks Gujarati and who’s actual mother shows up and is a man – all of which makes complete sense to everyone involved except for Katie (in true dream logic).
What do you connect to in this story?
I connect to a lot of what Craig fears in facing the awesome gravity of the life changing event that is having a child. I do not have a child myself, but as someone who is married, who fully enjoys life as it currently exists, who is planning on having children, who has thought a lot about the incredible responsibility of raising a human being and how it will be a life altering event, I empathize with a lot of what Craig faces. And while there are distinct differences between myself and Craig, he loves his wife and his life as it currently exists and is at times thrilled and terrified of how his life will change, and that is something we have in common even if Craig is facing this more immediately than I am.
What excites you about this story and why should people come see it?
The play is magical realism, it is very theatrical, and has an absolutely wonderful rhythm and musicality in the writing. It is both hilarious and heartbreaking. And it tells a story that deals with imperialism on one level, but is incredibly human on another. The characters are tasked with facing their greatest fears, fears that most of us either share, or can relate or empathize with. It poses questions about what it means to be born, to live, and to die, about choosing what to do with our life. And it is a story about relationships, how people connect or don’t connect with each other; how we are often moving in different directions, but at times, have wonderful moments when we are truly moving in the same direction together.
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