A few months ago, it came to my attention that a friend of mine, Sam Card, is attempting the remarkable task of directing a play that is relatively new to the world of drama. This play is titled God's Ear, written by Jenny Schwartz, and published in 2008. God's Ear follows the lives of a mother and a father after the traumatic loss of their son. In Card's words, "It is a profound exploration of the cycle of grief."

Card first read the play for a class several years ago. For the past year and a half, it has sat in the back of his head. Eventually, he made the pivotal decision to make God's Ear his own production.

1. It is absolutely nothing like anything you have ever read, seen, or heard. God's Ear explores a balance between surrealism and realism. The emotions in the play are nearly palpable, but the way those emotions are depicted is pleasantly unnatural. At the same time, God's Ear is imaginative and inventive. The entire play seems to be a colossal, well-written contradiction of itself. While the emotions—the grief, the confusion, the hopelessness—remain prominent and real, the presence of characters such as G.I. Joe and the Tooth Fairy add a surreal aspect to it. In many ways, the lines are poetry. Thoughts are very fragmented, the writing is rhythmic, and many ideas are repeated. "It is innovative, and it is theater unlike any other theater that they [the audience] have seen," Card remarked.

2. It explores a balance between sobriety, sadness, despair, and humor. The entire play is an emotional thrill ride. Schwartz found a way to make the audience feel just as lost as the two main characters. Just as the audience finds itself in tears, it also finds itself laughing at the crude humor, then laughing harder at the procession of bantering jokes. Tears and laughter intermingle throughout the entire play, leaving audiences breathless, unable to evaluate their own feelings until the last line has been finished.

3. The script leaves the entire play up to interpretation. There's not a whole lot of structure to the play, which leaves it largely up to interpretation. One of the best parts about the play is that it hasn't been around long enough to have seen the stage too many times. There aren't many existing recordings of previous performances to influence the cast's interpretation of the script. This means that the performance of this piece will truly be the cast's own, not just a replica of someone else's interpretation. To Card and the cast, "it has never been about selling tickets." This experience has been about growing as actors and gaining experience from simply doing.

4. The passion the actors display is more important than the words themselves. Card said that his cast comes from many backgrounds and levels of experience, which brought diversity to the project. In the early days of constructing the production, the cast participated in ensemble-building to get to know each other, which strengthened the bond they formed during the experience. One important philosophy that Card believes in is his faith in his actors and the way they will present their own visions of what God's Ear should be rather than driving them to adhere to his own vision.

5. The time and work spent on this project has amounted to a whole lot of effort. When asked how much time and effort has been expended, Card laughed and said, "It's been three full-time jobs." Card began "real work" on the project back in April. In the past few months, the cast has become familiarized with each other, endured struggles with scheduling, and built the production from the ground up. Now, just a week before the show is scheduled to go up, the cast and crew are manically putting the finishing touches on what is sure to be a great show.

The production will be shown at the RJ McElroy Theatre from Thursday, August 11th, to Sunday, the 14th, with showtimes at 7:30 each of the four days and a matinee at 3:00 on Saturday, August 13th. Tickets will be available at the door and will cost $10. Director Sam Card, the cast, and the crew look forward to seeing you there.