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Published on Wednesday, 20 July 2011 15:00

Written by Frank Honts

A Sneak Peek for The Farnsworth Invention

Posted 7-20-11

Here at Forward Theater, we are busy preparing for our upcoming season. Casting for The Farnsworth Invention is nearly complete, and in the past week, we have begun to discuss concepts for the show with set, lighting, and sound designers. As Jennifer Uphoff Gray (FTC’s artistic director and Farnsworth director) commented just the other day, preliminary design conversations are often the most exciting part of the entire production process. They allow us to be completely unrestrained in our creativity, even as we begin identify the challenges of staging a show. (And with a cast of 16 actors playing 70 roles in an intimate space like Overture Center’s Playhouse, we will have plenty of problem-solving to do!)

I realize that the idea of producing The Farnsworth Invention on a relatively small stage might seem backwards. The play is about one of the biggest inventions of the twentieth century, and the characters themselves are larger than life. Why not put this play in a big space? I would argue that while the play grapples with grand themes and introduces us to powerful people, the genius of Aaron Sorkin’s script is in the way his dialogue highlights the interpersonal relationships between these superhuman figures. With an enormous playing space, these interactions would get lost. In a small space like the Playhouse however, we get to see these short, snappy exchanges up close, elevating the dramatic tension throughout the evening. The fact that virtually every actor plays multiple roles makes this even more exciting, since we get to see them transforming into a host of new characters in a matter of seconds.

As the assistant director, part of my job is to gather research materials to share with the actors, designers, and director. With a story like this one, based on real-life people and events, it helps to know some of the basic historical background, as we head into the design and rehearsal process. Right now I am trying to find a broad variety of sources ‑ both factual and fun ‑ to share with everyone.

The invention of television is a story that has been written about extensively, so there’s certainly no shortage of material. Fifteen books about “the Farnsworth invention” sit in my study at home, including several written by people who appear as characters in the play. I’ve found photographs of the Green Street Lab in San Francisco, where Farnsworth broadcast the first televised image ever (this may influence the scenic design), an episode of Sports Night (season 2, episode 3) with references to “Cliff Gardner” (Philo’s brother-in-law), and a half-hour interview conducted with Pem Farnsworth (Philo’s wife) in 1996.

Last week I learned that an infamous photo of a young David Sarnoff may have been fabricated in order to re-write the history of this powerful executive’s early years. That finding has certainly raised some questions for us, and this discovery may ultimately affect how we approach a pivotal scene in the play. 

As rehearsals draw nearer, our research efforts will become more focused. We’ll comb through the text and determine how much we need to know about each line of the play in order to tell the story in the most compelling, interesting way. It’s sure to be an amazing journey!

~Frank Honts is FTC's artistic associate and assistant director for The Farnsworth Invention