Four weeks to produce, direct and assemble. A minimal $250 budget. A production crew of six. Challenge accepted.
For his senior thesis, directing major Britt Hennemuth produced and directed the play “The Clean House,” an absurdist comedy written by Sarah Ruhl. The play was entirely student-run, and played in Pepperdine’s Mini Theatre (PLC 112) Feb. 9 through 11.
Despite the challenges listed above, Hennemuth claimed the production actually went very smoothly in the four-week time crunch. With the average directing major having about three months to produce his or her thesis, the short production time was actually a luxury instead of a hindrance.
“I was guaranteed the students, professors and time slots that I needed, so we were never working odd hours or conflicting with other people’s schedules,” Hennemuth said.
The play is about the story of a Brazilian woman who comes to America after her parents have died in order to make a life for herself, and with the dream of becoming a famous comedian. For the time being however, the woman, Matilde, is cleaning a family’s house to earn money. While working for them, she discovers that the husband, Charles, is cheating on his wife, Lane, with an Argentinian woman, Ana. Drama ensues with the four, including Lane’s sister, Virginia. and by the end, the characters have come full circle, through a period of acceptance and discovery.
The cast was comprised of Isabela Comerford (Matilde), Katharine McDonough (Lane), Charlotte Ubben (Virginia), Joshua Alexander (Charles) and Lauren Rideau (Ana).
“The cast was really great,” Hennemuth said. “They were always prepared ahead of schedule and gave me a whole new perspective on the play. It was a great collaborative process.”
The cast was confirmed the week before finals last semester with a single read-through before the holidays, and then when classes resumed this January, the cast and crew had four weeks to bring everything together by opening night last Friday.
Hennemuth was guided by Pepperdine Associate Professor of Theatre Brad Griffin and the technical director for the production was Assistant Professor of Theatre JD Sargent. Hennemuth also had five students assisting him with the set, sound and lighting, but the visions and creativity behind the production came entirely from Hennemuth himself.
“I read through 40 odd some plays last fall and I kept coming back to ‘The Clean House,’” said Hennemuth. “By November it was the obvious choice.”
Working in Pepperdine’s Mini Theatre posed another challenge to the crew. In the original Broadway production, the set includes a huge apartment structure and a balcony that essentially comes out of nowhere. Working in the tiny blackbox theatre of PLC 112, this obviously wouldn’t be possible. So, Hennemuth had to get creative, substituting a platform for the balcony and using projections to tell some of the story.
“Some of the best feedback that I received was that the play made great use of the space, which was something that we as a team were aiming for,” said Hennemuth.
The play was a great success, with Thursday and Saturday night’s shows completely sold out and being standing room only.
“It was great to get people’s reactions, because although the play is very conversational, it’s ideas are naturally profound,” Hennemuth added. 
Despite the challenges of producing and organizing a play almost single-handedly, Hennemuth was pleased with the results.
“It was a really smooth process, and I was really lucky with the cast that I got, everyone was perfect for their roles and it moved quickly and worked well,” Hennemuth said.
