“The American pilot was the most beautiful human being I had ever seen. His skin was the color of sand flecked through with gold. He was tall and he was strong and his eyes were as blue as the sky he fell from.”

An interview by Dan Weiss with Scot Whitney, artistic director of the upcoming Harlequin Productions staging of The American Pilot by David Greig

The American Pilot initially conjured up for me those stereotypical prisoner of war movies. I wanted to know more about this play and why it is important. My interview with Scot begins with:

So what attracted you to this play?

I happened to read about the premiere of The American Pilot while visiting the Royal Shakespeare Company website in 2005. I was able to get the script through a friend who was living there and fell in love with the story. It took a while to get the rights to produce the show, but now we’ve got them and we’re excited about presenting it to our audience.

And the plot line is?

An American military pilot crashes into a mountain while flying over a third world country torn by civil war. He’s badly injured, but a farmer finds and helps him. Pretty soon everybody knows he’s there, and the village has to figure out what to do with him.

So what were your expectations about the play?

When I read about it, I assumed it would be an aggressive political play about how the third world views the U.S. and its foreign policy, especially its use of the military.

And the play is different?

Well, that aspect is certainly present, but the play is not a rabid rant against the U.S. In fact, everyone involved is in awe of the pilot. They love him, pity him, fear him, envy him… their feelings for him are very complex, and each character finds something different in him. This tension produces moments of great tenderness and humor along with the turmoil, frustration and… everything else!

So we watch the characters trying to determine if this American pilot is a threat or an opportunity?

Exactly. The villagers know the American military will be looking for their lost pilot. Should they hold him for ransom? Should they give him back as a gesture of goodwill, or in hopes of receiving some kind of reward? Is he more valuable to them dead or alive? They find lots of options, but no clear answers. Everyone keeps talking about “doing the right thing,” but nobody can agree on what that is.

The playwright, David Greig, is interested in far more than the political negotiations, however. He also raises some fascinating questions about ethics in a modern world, how money is perceived differently by “non-capitalists,” and the bizarre ways that western culture has already affected even the farthest corners of the earth.

Is the location in a specific country?

The location is in an unnamed mountainous region that could be Pakistan, the Balkans or you decide where it is. An important aspect of the play is that everyone speaks perfect English but the villagers don’t understand the pilot and vice versa. A lot of effort is spent on communications, and it gets pretty amusing.

Any last words?

This is a gorgeous and stimulating play. It plays like a realistic drama, but offers a sense of poetic allegory at the same time. The language, imagery and ideas are thrilling and surprising, and it feels a little like a modern fairy tale.

Harlequin’s production of The American Pilot opens on April 30 and runs through May 23 at the State Theatre in downtown Olympia.

Dan Weiss is a continuing student of live theatre having served on several boards of local live performance groups and attended over 100 live theatre productions from Olympia to Broadway with Ashland in between. Dan also is founding member and current president of the Arts Alliance of Downtown Olympia which promotes the downtown Olympia theatre district. In this process Dan has learned not to be intimidated by Shakespeare and marvels at the genius of it all.