From light to dark, Kansas City playwright Forrest Attaway follows his unique muse

Forrest Attaway used to be something of a nomad.

He developed his skills as both actor and playwright by traveling a circuit of far-flung theater conferences where he got to study his craft with the likes of Edward Albee, Terrence McNally and the late visionary Joe Chaikin.

Even in his wandering days, the native Texan began appearing in productions for Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre. He made his Kansas City debut in 2007 as Teach in David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” at the MET’s old downtown venue near 19th and Walnut streets. He kept coming back and after a series of memorable performances quickly established himself as one of the best actors in Kansas City.

Attaway, who is now based in Kansas City, was also writing. In 2011, KC Fringe audiences saw a one-hour version of Attaway’s gritty full-length drama “Worth.” The piece depicted the intersection of a middle-class family with organized crime. Many who saw it, including yours truly, were impressed.

But Attaway the writer also has a frivolous side. His farce, “Outta Beer and Outta Space: A Redneck Galactic Adventure,” became a hit of the 2013 Fringe. He also has a musical based on “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” that we have yet to see.

Now theatergoers have another chance to see Attaway’s dramatic side. His “Columbus Day,” a dark story that involves abuse and school violence, among other things, is receiving its world premiere at the Living Room.

How does a writer reconcile an instinct for uncompromising drama with an anything-for-laughs impulse?

Not a problem.

“I believe in using the proper vehicle to tell the story,” Attaway said. “Take a play like ‘Outta Beer and Outta Space.’ It’s actually got a poignant little message about the human condition. Whatever message I want to communicate to the audience is the vehicle I use as a writer.”

In other words, he grants himself the freedom to “play around with ways to tell a story.”

“Columbus Day” began life as a one-act play. After a reading at the Living Room earlier this year, artistic director Rusty Sneary and Bryan Moses, the associate artistic director, quickly decided to produce it. Moses is directing this production.

The play intertwines two stories, according to Attaway. One focuses on a young woman who has to make hard choices after an unwanted pregnancy. She comes from a history of physical and sexual abuse, and is pressured by everyone she knows not to have the baby. Eventually she ends up in a sort of halfway house. Meanwhile, in a seemingly unrelated plot, a man carrying a shotgun walks into a schoolroom and begins teaching history on Columbus Day.

“It’s two stories side by side,” he said. “It’s a very different piece of theater, and I can’t think of anything like it. It’s actually inspired by true events. The girl in the story is inspired by a girl I knew growing up.”

The cast includes Christiana Coffey, Meredith Wolfe, Jeff Smith, Coleman Crenshaw and Ben Auxier. Attaway is also employing in essence a Greek chorus: eight actors who sometimes play small roles but who also comment on the action. They are Daria LeGrand, Sean Moise, Alice Pollack, Spencer Steer, Matthew Rich, Deanna Mazdra, Landis Merrill and Nickels Nickelsen.

Attaway said Moses was instrumental in shaping the play as the director and playwright met repeatedly through the summer. Whether he keeps working on it moving forward is unclear, but he said likes the play as it currently exists.

“Right now I really love what Bryan Moses has done,” Attaway said. “For this story to stay alive, you might want to (revisit it). But am I happy with where the play is right now, today? Yeah, I’m very happy with what we’ve done and what we’ve discovered. … I’m always happy with what the Living Room is doing. When I first came to town, I was always impressed with the work they did, even though they didn’t have these big budgets some theaters have. You don’t need all the pomp and circumstance.”

And what about Attaway’s long-range goals as a dramatist?

“Like any playwright, I’m just trying to become immortal,” he said.

This story was originally published October 8, 2014 at 7:00 AM with the headline "From light to dark, Kansas City playwright Forrest Attaway follows his unique muse."