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The Truth Is Out There

Bill Pullman, Hollywood’s favorite everyman, talks about his new multimedia docudrama at the Magic Theatre.

by Robin Rinaldi
posted on August 23, 2007

Actor/director Bill Pullman is in town, directing Expedition 6—which deals with the aftermath of the 2003 Columbia space-shuttle disaster—at Fort Mason's Magic Theatre.

What made you focus on the Columbia disaster?
The shuttle exploded on a Saturday. I’m the only one in my family who reads the papers, and then I keep my wife and kids up to date on the news. But when Columbia exploded, I realized I didn’t know what to say to my kids. On Monday they heard about it themselves and came home and asked me why I hadn’t told them. It was because I had no words, and that deeply troubled me. I was thinking things like: Who are we? What country are we in? I was struck by the loss of Columbia, by thousands of people in the Middle East celebrating the disaster as a sign from Allah, by [Osama] Bin Laden’s speech. Then I saw three astronauts were stuck on the space station and I wondered, what do those astronauts see from way out there?

What do you think it was about this particular moment in history that spurred you?
I was deeply anxious, in the way that signs and omens can trouble you. I was deeply anxious about where the world was headed with the situation in the Middle East and us poised to invade Iraq. It felt like a bottleneck in history unlike any we’d seen in the 10 years prior to that. We’ll be reacting to those first few months of 2003 for a long time.

What made you decide to turn it into a play?
Theater is a place to make meaning with images and text, almost like a film editor would. Theater is the process of finding a truth within a difficult text. The year after Columbia I was in Denver [at the National Theatre Conservatory] working with students, and I had this story that had haunted me plus actors who were willing to explore the craft. The actors actually helped develop the text. Now I’ve got four of the original actors I’ve been working with for the past several years, plus four from here in San Francisco.

You’ve said we’re living in “authenticity-starved times.” What do you mean by that?
We’ve never been so seduced into accepting the commercialized version of who we are. It’s hard to form an identity and maintain it. Uniqueness so quickly gets diluted these days. What does “authentic” mean when anything can be bought and what is bought is what is worshipped? Some people don’t even recognize authentic things anymore. Once the heat meter is off some politician or musician, he’s discarded. We’re told to value it, then we’re told to move on. Astronauts aren’t popular heroes like they used to be. The heat meter is off them but I find those words and their story to be valued.

What was it like working with so many genres in this piece? You use dance, song, video, spoken text and even trapeze work.
This is not your normal script. It has a lot of components and can feel daunting to people. I’m asking us to go to that place where we can collectively arrive at our version of truth about these issues. There’s an incredible risk that all this doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t sure that the play could build emotionally and make sense about issues beyond the crisis with the astronauts until I began showing it to audiences last year. It felt like we were walking a tightrope. This piece also made me realize how strapped theaters are. Many theater administrators are unwilling to look at anything outside the box. It’s a rare theater person who will take those risks; there’s so much economics involved.

Who’s your role model as a director?
Stein Winge, a Norwegian who directed me in Barabbas in Los Angeles in the ’80s. He’s my role model as an actor, director, person and risk taker. I played the lead and it was the most challenging thing I’d ever done. Stein invited me to go to this mental place that’s pronounced flik in Norwegian, I’m not sure what the direct translation would be, it may mean “fuck you.” Seriously! It’s about how a performer exists inside space with an audience—standing with awareness and all freedom from fear. To me it’s what it’s all about and why an actor at his best skill level is a rare phenomenon. It’s like the holy grail, the thing I seek to achieve.

Expedition 6 (Sept. 8-Oct. 7) at the Magic Theatre, Fort Mason, 415-441-8822.

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Credits: Stefanie Michejda