It's been a busy summer for independent theater in Beijing. First, there was the LGBT festival "It Comes Naturally," then last week we were treated to The Great Bruce Lee Romance, and this week we've got the dark comedy The Monster Below showing at Penghao Theater. The show, which was written and directed by David Jacobi and enjoyed sold-out runs in New York and South Carolina, follows the jerk of a landlord Bobby Newmark as he falls in love and grapples with the darkness of his own soul – not to mention a nasty monster in his basement. This will be the play's premiere in Beijing.

The story comes at a time when the world is obsessed with using creepy monsters to explore our own humanity (see The Walking Dead and this engagement photo shoot). Jacobi's also partnered with theater professional Anna Chovanec to establish a new theater company, Monster Down! We recently asked them about the upcoming play and their new company. We've also got a free pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader, so read on!

the Beijinger: How did you come up with the story for The Monster Below?
DJ: As with all comedies, it comes from a very dark and horrible place. I had read a news story from Germany about the recent discovery of a missing person from the 1950s who committed suicide without his friends or family ever knowing. I tried writing the story as closely to the material as possible, but really funny things kept creeping into the script. By the end, I stopped fighting it. This was meant to be a comedy.



the Beijinger: Just how messed up is this Bobby Newmark, your protagonist? How did he get this way? And where'd he get the money to own property (something everyone in NY and Beijing wants to know)?
DJ: Bobby Newmark is a passive-aggressive, lazy man-baby. He’s the person that we hope we really aren’t. He inherits the rent-controlled property from his mother. In order to keep the house, he rents out all the rooms, which is one of the main sources of his problems. As far as buying property goes, I’m not good with that sort of thing. Before buying anything, though, I suggest you ask yourself, “Do I want to DIE here?” I love NYC and I love Beijing, but I’d rather die in Iowa or Yangshuo. 



the Beijinger: What kind of personality does this monster in the basement have? Is he more an Oscar the Grouch or the Balrog from LOTR?
DJ: I’d say neither. We play around with the term “monster” in this play. I will admit: What resides in the basement is something a bit scary. But the other things we explore – like the deeper nature of man, and how we all have something awful inside us that can make us an absolute pain to be around – these are common things, and way more realistic than a growling monster in a basement.



the Beijinger: Where is The Monster Below set, and how much does that affect the tone, narrative or soul of the play?
DJ: The Monster Below takes place in a haunted brownstone apartment in Brooklyn, NY. Geographically, it doesn’t have any impact. The tone, soul, and narrative are in the house, and the characters that live in it. Beijing or NY, Moscow or Queensland or a farm in the middle of nowhere, everyone eventually says, “I want to go home.” Home is a universal concept. So is the fear of your home being invaded. The characters (played wonderfully by the expat cast) are unique, but are people that most of us can easily identify with. These are the people who live in our space …whether we like it or not.



the Beijinger: Your set design looks very cool (see photo, top of page). Who did you work with on that?
DJ: In 2008, The Monster Below was accepted by a theater workshop, WordBRIDGE. They helped me to develop this play, and got Dan Nemteanu, a pretty amazing career stage designer, to draw up what the ideal production will look like. We’re going to use the stellar design painting in the Beijing production.
AC: We're experimenting with a very minimal set, and focusing more on the light and sound design to encase this world and bring the audience to the edge of their seats.



the Beijinger: How did you get your start in theater? Any tips for budding theater hopefuls? From the writing to directing to production and beyond?

AC: Both of us studied theater in school, so it was a natural move for us to put together our own production company. For most people (and this may step on some toes out there), we get our start on stage somehow – or perhaps with the desire to be on stage; eventually, some of us come to recognize that, though our passion may be great, we're just not cut out for life as an actor. That's when you really begin to see theater as a community event, noticing all the people whose labor and talents (and patience) goes into creating the audience's experience, and begin to see yourself in it in different ways. That's the real beginning.
DJ: My tips to anyone who wants to write: Shut up and write. Stop talking about the idea, and just make it real. Read everything you can. Listen to everyone, from strangers on the subway to the drunk BLCU student in Sanlitun trying out his pickup lines on local girls. Make friends with artists, and create a supportive atmosphere for yourself and others.

the Beijinger: You've cut your teeth in theater both in NY and Beijing. Why these two cities? How has working in both cities influenced the way you look at theater?


DJ: Theater is really expensive in NY, but everyone is willing to sacrifice to be a part of it. Theater is relatively cheap in Beijing, but a lot of local professionals (directors, tech, etc) follow the money trail, and can quit on you if they get a better offer halfway through. Then there’s the governmental red-tape, and a bit of the censorship. I don’t really care. I like working with limitations; it forces you to make solid, bold decisions.

the Beijinger: Along those lines, are you focused mainly on Beijing now? Or straddling both cities? Is one place looking forward and the other looking back?
DJ: We are planning to do some more work in the States, but right now we’re putting most of our energy into Beijing.



the Beijinger: Your company, Monster Down!, is based in Beijing but it seems you've had successful productions elsewhere. Can you tell us more about the company, particularly its multicultural character?
AC: While it is true that we've worked on many shows together in the past, this is actually the inaugural production for Monster Down! as a formal, name-bearing entity.  We plan on producing plays on a regular basis (3-5 plays a year, one being a full Chinese-language production). In terms of being a multicultural theater company, that's not necessarily how we think of ourselves.  Of course, the goal here is to entertain, but we are equally committed to inviting our audience to become an equal, essential part of the conversation.
DJ: We’re not worried too much about being multicultural. I feel just being here and collaborating with international artists brings it out organically. You can’t tell a multiracial family to be multiracial, just like you can’t tell my mildly racist grandmother not to say something mildly racist at Thanksgiving. We just want to make art. Putting on titles like “multicultural” or “focused on social issues” or “comments on the expat experience” isn’t the way we want to work.

the Beijinger: You seem to have a lot of passion for changing the way people view theater, so your play has a lot of filmic elements. How does this work?
DJ: The Monster Below begins with an opening credit sequence, which isn’t just an aesthetic choice; it plays into the ending. It’s a horror/comedy film all the way through, with a musical score and special effects, but the ending is something that film can never do.

the Beijinger: Imagine Beijing's theater scene developing in the most ideal way possible. What would it look like in five years?
DJ: In 2016, Beijing artists are translating their works into English. Locals and expats get an increased awareness in the more experimental and avant-garde aspects of the theater world. New, internationally successful plays have month-long runs in local theaters. 798 Art District bulldozes half of their cafes and puts art spaces back.

the Beijinger: Do that whole imagining thing with the theater world at large, all around the world. What do you get there?

DJ: Less readings, and more productions. Regional theaters taking more risks. A worldwide realization into how little you actually need to make a play happen.

the Beijinger: Tell us what's next for you and your team at Monster Down!.
AC: The next thing we've got in the works is actually an original rock opera starring popular Beijing rock band Red Pirates. This one is particularly exciting because it is an extremely collaborative piece that's being written around and often for our cast. It should be a lot of fun.
DJ: We’re also planning a “TV on Stage” series, where we make a night of half-hour plays that are in the vein of popular television genres, like a cheesy family sitcom or a gritty crime drama. I’m writing a play about FoxConn, the Apple factory in Shenzhen, but I’ll see if that is a play I can actually do here.

The Monster Below
August 25-28.
RMB 80, RMB 60 (advance), RMB 50 (students).
7.30pm.
Penghao Theater (6400 6452)

For more about the play, click here. To learn more about their theater company, Monster Down!, click here.  

To win tickets to a showing of The Monster Below, email win@thebeijinger.com and tell us what monster is living in your basement. Scariest answer takes the tix. Also please tell us which nights you're free to attend the show. Good luck!

Photos courtesy of the organizers