Interview: Ira David Wood IV Walks The Edge As Director, Performer And Puppeteer in Theatre In The Park's HAND TO GOD

Robert Askins' Tony Award nominated play Hand to God is about a puppet ministry in Texas that goes awry when a sock puppet wreaks havoc on the church, the pastor, and the other kids.

Billed for mature audiences only, Ira David Wood IV says the irreverent Hand to God is one of those plays that walks the edge but never really crosses the line.

"Theater is not all the time about being comfortable," he says. "There is really nothing in the show that you wouldn't see on television if you were flipping through cable late at night. But that is the difference. When you are laying there, and something makes you uncomfortable, you just change the channel."

"But when you come in and see a play, you're actually there engaged with the flesh and blood on the stage, and it almost makes those feelings and emotions and discomfort intensify," he adds.

Hand to God explores the relationship between Margery, who is reeling from the death of her husband, and her anxietous teenage son, Jason, who deals with his emotions by wrestling (literally and figuratively) with his alter ego, a sock puppet named Tyrone.

Wood not only directs this production, but also steps into the dual role of the troubled teen Jason and his demonic puppet. This is his second time taking on the role of both director and performer, the first of which was Theatre in the Park's 2009 production of Romeo and Juliet, starring his sister, Evan Rachel Wood.

"It's kind of like a little déjà vu," he says. "Luckily, I've grown up in the theatre, so that gave me a head start from going to rehearsals and watching my father essentially do the same thing, where he would a lot of times direct a show and also star in it."

Wood says this production has proved a little more challenging than his first go around in that he is not only directing, but also playing two roles.

"When you play any character, you focus and you do your homework, and you study that individual person and what makes them tick," he says. "Then to add a second personality to that mix, I kind of had to relearn what I've learned."

And then of course there is the challenge of making a sock puppet seem real, which Wood says is kind of the idea and magic of the show.

"It became a thing where my opinion became that I was playing Tyrone and Jason was the puppet," he says. "Most of my attention and focus has to be on Tyrone because it's my hand, it's my arm, it's not a human being where the instincts of things come more natural or your reactions are more natural."

Wood says eventually Tyrone took on a personality all his own, which became a a running joke during rehearsals.

"We could be there running scenes and I'd drop a line and Tyrone would look at me in front of everyone and go, 'well I know my lines mother f-----.'" says Wood. "We almost gave him his own dressing table in the dressing room."

At the end of the day, Wood says he's been pleased with the audience reaction to Hand to God, which has been both positive and introspective.

"I love it when people say the play is making think," he says. "People getting different things out of it is what I love so much."

And Wood says the audience's laughter is what makes him smile the most.

"It's been a long time since I've done a comedy when you have to ride that laughter so much, which is so rewarding to hear," he says.

"It's almost a guilty pleasure to laugh at things that you're not necessarily supposed to."

Hand to God runs through May 6th. For more information visit:

Theatre in the Park

Photo Credit: Kenny Hertling as Timmy and Ira David Wood IV as Jason/Tyrone.

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