A Lot Happens In Hyperion Players’ ‘Waiting for Godot’

By: Betsy Reason

I remember a year ago when Hyperion Players was kicking off its first season.

“For the 10 members who founded Hyperion, a lot of the evolution has been figuring out our individual strengths and weaknesses and how to apply them to Hyperion’s needs,” Noblesville’s Ian Hauer told me. He started the theater with his childhood friend, Adam Fite. “We’ve done a good job of that, but we still have work to do,” he had said.

Now, Hyperion Players is getting ready to kick off its second season.

“Waiting for Godot” Samuel Beckett’s classic, opens tonight and continues through Sunday at The Switch Theatre in Fishers.

“There is never a wrong time to produce this play because the nature of it is such that it can be perceived or interpreted hundreds of ways,” said director Molly Bellner. “It really is apropos of whatever is happening in the world or community.”

The synopsis? In “Waiting for Godot,” two wandering tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, wait by a lonely tree to meet up with Mr. Godot, an enigmatic figure in a world where time, place and memory are blurred and meaning is where you find it. The tramps hope that Godot will change their lives for the better. Instead, two eccentric travelers arrive, one on the end of the other’s rope. The results are both funny and dangerous in this Dragicomic masterpiece.

“There was, quite famously, a production in 1957 performed in the San Quentin State Prison, to rave reviews and a standing ovation,” Bellner said. Another remarkable United States production was in New Orleans soon after Hurricane Katrina, she said.

“Waiting for Godot ‘is colloquially known as “the play where nothing happens; twice.’ But that’s not actually true,” Bellner said. “A lot happens throughout the play, though the action unfolds in a nontraditional way. Many people have heard of ‘Waiting for Godot’ yet hardly anyone has seen it performed. We’re looking forward to getting it in front of audiences so they can see how timely this piece of theater really is.”

“‘Waiting for Godot’ is a play many folks have read, perhaps studied, or at least heard of, yet very few have seen it on the stage,” she said. “My hope is the audience will show up with an open mind about what this play can be and what it can mean. It is a Roschach (psychological inkblot) test, of sorts. Whatever you want it to mean, it can mean. Depending on your background, your past experiences, your general mood that day, that will change the takeaway and meaning you lend to ‘Waiting for Godot.’”

In terms of Hyperion Players’ specific production, the show’s stripped down an already fairly minimalist show with little crew. Hope Oetjen of Noblesville is stage manager.

“We’ve approached it, as I like to say, as entertainment,” Bellner said. “It is five actors on a stage angling to entertain the audience. It’s honestly theater in its purest form, no prententiousness, no grand theatrics, no sleight of hand. Just theater, pure and simple. It’s truly an experience like no other you’ll have in the theater.”

“Waiting for Godot” is the first play of Hyperion Players’ season, Sept. 28-Oct. 1 and will be followed by John Patrick Stanley’s “Doubt: A Parable,” directed by Daniel Maloy, Jan. 26-28, at The Switch; “Grand Horizons,” directed by Nicole Amsler, March 15-24, at Arts for Lawrence’s Theater at the Fort; and “I Love My Zombie,” directed by Angela Staggs, June 6-9, 2024, at Theater at the Fort.

“I’m very excited to work with all four directors this season and help them bring their respective visions to life,” Hauer said this week.

“We’ve got a good balance of shows this season, with each bringing something a little different to the table,” Hauer said.

Hyperion is already taking director applications for the third season, and doubled the number of applications received for Season 2.

“We want to keep trying new things, keep expanding our artist and audience base and keep establishing partnerships. Venues are always tricky, but the new arts space in Fishers has promise,” Hauer said.

He was nominated this year for Nickel Plate Arts’ Artist Advocate of the Year. “I wasn’t expecting to be nominated, especially so early in Hyperion’s run,” he said. “But I was honored to be included among the nominees, and grateful that people appreciate the work we’re doing in Hamilton County.”

MEET THE CAST

Vladimir, David Johnson, Plainfield; Estragon, Matt Hartzburg, Indianapolis; Pozzo, Adam Phillips, Westfield; Lucky, Aaron Budde, Noblesville; and Boy, Mason Yeater, Cicero.

Want TO GO?

What: Hyperion Players, a Hamilton County-based theatrical nonprofit organization kicks off its second season with Samuel Beckett’s classic, “Waiting for Godot,” directed by Molly Bellner.

When: 7:30 p.m. today through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Switch Theatre at Ji-Eun Lee Music Academy, 10029 E. 126th St., Fishers.

How much: $12.

Good to know: The show contains mild language, brief violence and discussions about suicide. Run time is just more than two hours with a 10-minute intermission. Tickets: Online at https://hyperionplayers.com/, also cash or check only at the door.

-Betsy Reason writes about people, places and things in Hamilton County. Contact The Times Editor Betsy Reason at [email protected].