Cody Goulder's SPACE JUNK to Take Brelby Audiences on Incredible Ride

Originally from Cave Creek Arizona, Cody Goulder's work has previously been seen on the Brelby stage with production of his short plays, Cold Breakfast and Crash Landing.

Previous productions of Goulder's work include: Sorry, We're Closed (Fresh Baked Theatre Company- Hollywood, CA), The Half-Way House (ASU), No Ink in Hell (Pittsburgh New Works Festival), and Cold Breakfast (MadLab Theatre - Columbus, Ohio).

Goulder has also been a participant of the Last Frontier Theatre Conference's Play Lab series, held in Valdez Alaska, with such plays as: No Ink in Hell, Scavengers, Fahrenheit Rising, Check, Mate, and Iron Justice. Goulder has a MFA in Dramatic Writing from Arizona State University and, during the day, teaches Middle School Humanities classes at Metropolitan Arts Institute.

Goulder's next major project will be directing the Melissa Gibson play, [sic], for Mesa Encore Theatre's Black Box Series. Previous Brelby credits include: Fools (Dr. Zubritsky), Poseidon's Regret (Captain JabipiTy Jones), Macbeth (Macbeth), and Beyond Musketeers: Utopia Lost (Athos).

"The origin of Space Junk goes way back in my life," Goulder said. "I was in the middle of my undergraduate work at Whittier College and I met this girl. She was very cool and spunky and, even more exciting, she really thought I was cool. We started dating but, ultimately, it didn't work out. It should have ended there but it didn't. She kept coming back to me, saying she missed me and wanted me back, even when she was dating other guys. And that was the hardest thing, trying to balance what my heart and my head were telling me. Eventually, we went our separate ways, as much as I wanted to stay friends, there was no real good way to do it. I wasn't mature enough to handle it and we were never really good at communicating. This girl is the one who haunted my life for years. Because of how we handled things in our lives, I allowed myself to get into a funk, to doubt myself, and really lose myself. It wasn't until other opportunities came out of nowhere to help me get out of my funk. That thing, as it turns out, was going to a playwriting conference in Alaska. By turning into my writing, I've been able to start working on some key issues. The story of Space Junk has been in my head for almost 10 years and it's been a great relief to see it come to life. Because, if there was one constant, it's been an incredible support system and being around some amazing people who, even when I was my most stubborn, helped me get back on the right track. Space Junk, for me, is a play about relationships of all kinds, when they are good, when they are bad, and when we get to be our own worst enemies."

Goulder says he works in a linear way, as a playwright. He said, "The execution can be stubborn. Think of watching an elephant pushing down a tree - the initial push gives a bit and then there is a moment of pause. I love characters and it's when I'm building these characters that I tend to pause. How do I create interesting, relevant characters in my play? And how might that inspire more conflict? In these conversations with myself, I tend to get stuck or pause a bit. However, this is also why I think writing comedy is a little bit easier for me. The comedy of Space Junk has allowed me to play to my quirky sense of humor and create spontaneous situations. Once that spontaneity happens, once I break through, the script just rolls and something new is created. It's blunt and not the most economic, but neither is an elephant pushing down a tree to get at a few leaves. And yet, it changes all the shapes and turns the world upside down. In that moment, the process becomes a satisfying one.

According to Goulder, watching the show take shape in rehearsals has been incredible. "This cast is hilarious and I love to watch them play. In the past, the best times to be a rehearsals have been when an actor stops looking at the words I've written and makes it their own. It's through the performer that I tend to think about my rewrites. It's when the performers start to play that I really begin locking into my work. This rehearsal process has allowed for very rich rewrites that I think are only adding more life to the play, for which I'm so grateful."

Goulder thinks audiences will appreciate Space Junk, because it a play about people in unusual circumstances that they are desperately trying to control.

"I don't know that I can think of anything more laugh-inducing than people thinking they can handle things," he laughed. "Second, it's not a play you should take too seriously because it's an incredible ride and, hopefully, one that keeps people coming back from more. But mostly, this is a play you should see with friends. Space Junk is a play about all kinds of relationships - friends, couples, neighbors, colleagues, exes, et cetera. The play is at its best when those who want to share an experience with you surround you. And isn't that what life is about? Sharing experiences with people you love and want to spend time with? Space Junk is a play born of laughs but built on a lot of heart. It's not like anything you've seen playing this season anywhere else."

Brelby partners with local downtown Glendale businesses to offer more options for audience members. By showing their digital ticket, audiences can receive 10% off of their bill at the Hop Stop Diner, 10% off of any entrée at Haus Murphy's Restaurant, and 10% off of a customer's bill at the Olde Towne Glendale (OTG) Beer & Wine Bar or the Gaslight Inn.

Space Junk plays April 7-8, 14-15, 21-22 at 7:30pm and April 9, 15 at 2pm. Tickets are available by visiting the official web sit e at brelby.com/tickets. General admission is $15 per performance. Admission to Space Junk is included in the benefits of Brelby's ShowGO subscription: brelby.com/showgo. The Brelby Playhouse is located at 7154 N 58th Dr, Glendale, AZ 85301.

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