The Friday 5: GOOD MONSTERS' Nate Eppler

Nate Eppler is, arguably, the best playwright now pursuing his art in Nashville - and with his latest work, Good Monsters, opening tomorrow night at TPAC's Andrew Johnson Theatre, he finds himself squarely back in the spotlight. It is, after all, the world premiere production of his newest, perhaps most controversial and provocative, play.

Already, Nate Eppler is a double First Night Award winner for outstanding original play (he shared the award with writing partner Dietz Osborne for Rear Widow, a film noirish comedy about a proverbially mysterious "black widow," and won the award himself with Long Way Down, a compelling and chilling take on abortion in the heartland) and although he's now retired from acting, for all intents and purposes, he also has an impressive acting resume.

Today, to herald the opening of Good Monsters - developed through Nashville Repertory Theatre's Ingram's New Works Program - he answers our favorite Friday Five questions to give us some insight into what makes him tick, theatrically speaking.

What was your first taste of "live, onstage" theater? I was in the fifth grade. A very tall teacher encouraged me to audition for a play at Flint Youth Theatre. I got the part and that was that. Even though I'm rarely onstage anymore, everything that made me fall in love with it then is the stuff that I still love about it now.

What's your favorite pre-show ritual? Standing in the lobby. I love to hear what the audience is talking about before the show.

What's your favorite, most memorable, example of "the show must go on"? David Compton was directing a production of Boeing Boeing at Chaffin's Barn. Due to an illness in the family, the actress playing Bertha the maid had to drop out of the play - On the day before we opened. Because virtually nothing can get in the way of a Dinner Theatre opening, David found a maid's costume that fit him and went on as Bertha. Immediately, naturally, and unsurprisingly, he was the best thing in the whole damn show. His performance was a masterclass in farce.

What's your dream role? I'm very retired from acting. But I always sort of wanted to play Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's your theatrical crush? Isn't everybody's answer Megan Murphy Chambers? I have a for-real-no-joke crush on the whole cast of Good Monsters. The level of sheer badassery in that room is off the damn charts.

EXTRA-SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION: Why should people come see Good Monsters? Honestly, it's not like anything else I've seen downstairs at TPAC. It's turbulent and complicated and messy and rough. It grabs you and takes off like a train. You should go see it if you think HBO isn't the only place we should get to see complex, adult stories. It's not confectionary theatre. It packs a wallop. And I promise you'll see moments on stage you've never seen on stage before, and moments you won't see anywhere else.

About Nate Eppler's Good Monsters: Nashville Repertory Theatre is proud to produce the world premiere of Good Monsters, a psychological drama centering on an off-duty police officer involved in the shooting of an unarmed teen. Good Monsters will run February 13-27 in Johnson Theater at Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Preview performances are February 11 and 12.

"The catalyst for this story," says Good Monsters playwright Nate Eppler, "is a shocking act of violence: an off-duty officer shoots and kills an unarmed teenage girl. But the play starts after that. The play isn't about the shooting; the play is about the ripples that spread out in all directions from this one violent act. The play is about living in the rubble."

Frank is a Gulf War veteran and police officer who moonlights as a security guard to make ends meet. Safira was a shoplifter. It was dark. Frank thought she had a gun. She didn't. Now Frank's the guy who shot an unarmed teenager, with ramifications for his wife, his best friend, Safira's father, and a media spin doctor looking for a story. While he waits for the grand jury, Safira haunts Frank every night and soon she begins to make terrifying demands of him.

This stunning psychological drama explores how human beings maneuver through earth-shattering tragedy, with intense focus on the human side of a situation gone horribly wrong. While challenging you to question your own preconceptions of good and bad, whatever they may be, this stirring and emotional play transcends predictable notions on both sides of the political divide, drawing humanity to the forefront. NOTE: This play contains intense adult language and sexual situations.

Eppler created Good Monsters during Nashville Rep's 2013-14 Ingram New Works Project, and in 2015 the script was workshopped further with input from relevant community members. Participants included a police officer, sociology professor, suicide prevention counselor, lawyer, PTSD counselor, journalist, and current and former armed services veterans with the goal of maintaining authenticity and to gage what impact the play was accomplishing. Prodding a strong empathy response over blame was a high priority.

"The workshop experience on this play was like nothing else I've experienced," explains Eppler. "Inviting so many unique points of view into the room and really letting them talk to each other was both incredibly illuminating and genuinely fulfilling. Without a doubt their voices made the play better."

Nashville Rep's cast for Good Monsters includes Megan Murphy Chambers (Josie), Alexandra Huff (Zero), Nathaniel McIntyre (Frank), R. Alex Murray (Dumptruck), Carey Van Driest (Darlene), and Garris Wimmer (Zell).

Tickets: Preview performances of Good Monsters are February 11 and 12, 2016, opening night is Saturday, February 13, and the show runs throughFebruary 27. Specific performance dates and times are listed below. Tickets start at $25 for previews and start at $45 for regular run, and can be purchased online at www.nashvillerep.org or by calling the Box Office at (615) 782-4040.

Good Monsters is written by Nate Eppler and directed by René D. Copeland, Nashville Rep's Producing Artistic Director. Designers are Gary Hoff (Scenic Designer), Trish Clark (Costume Designer), Darren Levin (Lighting Designer), Ricky Lighthall (Sound Designer), and Colin Peterson (Projections Designer). Technical Director is Tyler Axt, and Fight Coordinator is Eric D. Pasto-Crosby.

About The Ingram New Works Project: The Ingram New Works Project was created by Nashville Rep with the support of co-founder Martha R. Ingram to provide an opportunity for theatre artists to develop new theatre works while in residency at Nashville Rep.Each season, Nashville Rep welcomes four emerging playwrights and one established playwright into its Ingram New Works Project. The emerging playwrights make up the Ingram New Works Lab, directed by Nashville Rep's Playwright-in-Residence Nate Eppler. The established, award-winning playwright serves as Nashville Rep's Fellow for the season. The Fellow joins the Lab playwrights for a Symposium Week in January, helping critique and shape their work, and serving as a mentor for the emerging playwrights. Then, all the playwrights, including the Fellow, present their newly written work at Nashville Rep's Ingram New Works Festival in May. The Fellow for 2015-16 is Rebecca Gilman.

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