Art, Sacrifice and Legacy

Samantha Martinson on Directing a U.S. Premiere Play

Director Samantha Martinson is making her Next Act debut as the director of DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS. She has taken a long journey to see this play produced on our stage – including a trip to Canada to meet playwright Nick Green and watch a production of the play! We sat down with Samantha to learn more about what drew her to this compelling drama.

What brought you to this play?

I directed a staged reading of CASEY AND DIANA at American Players Theatre, which is by Nick Green as well. After that reading, I became really intrigued by his writing. I followed him on social media, and then I went and found all the theatres that were producing his work, and I started following them as well. I think that one of the best ways to see what new playwrights are up to is to follow them online.

He had shared a theatre’s season announcement with DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS. And I was like, “what is that play? That sounds really intriguing.” I started searching online to see if I could buy it, and I couldn’t find it. I had Nick’s email from the reading because we were in conversation about CASEY AND DIANA, and I sent him a note and I said, “hey, I saw that this is being premiered. I’m really interested, and I can’t find it anywhere.” And he was like, “actually, it’s not published. Here, take a look at it and let me know what you think – I’m not sold on the ending yet.”

He sent it over to me; I read it and sent back thoughts, and I was like, “you know, I really think that there’s a theatre company that would be really great for this. I think I have the perfect person I would want to have a conversation with to see if this is a play they would want to do – Laura Gordon.” I dropped Laura a line and had her read it, and she said, “I really like it,” and it went from there.

Then, the second draft came in, and the ending was different. It was really cool to see the conversation and feedback, and how the ending changed.

What made you think of Laura for this play?

When you read the play, her voice comes to mind. She is one of the top-tier actors in the area and, I would say, a master of her craft. [She’s] someone who can handle the nuance and understands the depth of the character.

One of the things that I’ve been mulling over with this play is that it’s simplistic in its construction, and it’s complex in its language. The conceit is a dinner [with] three people. The language and the dialogue around it, and the complexity of conversation that is interwoven, that changes every other sentence, the way they are masterminding this conversation is incredible.

Is it reminiscent of Edward Albee’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? in that way?

When I was talking about it one time, I referred to it as “VIRGINIA WOOLF without the men.” laughs

I do think that, actually, [Margaret’s] husband is a really significant part of it, and he’s present, but his presence isn’t the key feature of this story. I think the relationship is really complex and has a lot of unanswered questions, and what I love is that Nick Green doesn’t give you the answers, even in the ending. That’s not what is most important; what’s most important is the conversation around the decisions that are being made, and what decisions you would make, and what is happening in the moment. It leaves you wondering what happens.

What was it like going to Canada to see the play?

I feel really lucky that Next Act was able to offset some of the cost for going to see the play in Toronto. One of the things that was really cool about it is that it hasn’t been done anywhere else outside of Canada. The opportunity to see the play and hear it was even more powerful.

You can only gather so much from reading a piece; it’s meant to be lived. To see it lived, in action, gives you different insight. I think that’s why at the first read[through], you always have this moment where you’re like, “whoosh.” All of a sudden, there become seven million new layers that you’d never heard before because you hadn’t had this team in the room together until now.

[Nick and I] met for dinner before the show. We had a chance to talk about art, we had a chance to talk about casting and about things that he saw in the script that he felt were really significant. We really focused our time on Helen, actually, and understanding her character and the nuance of her. It’s a really challenging role for someone in their early career to step into, to be toe-to-toe with such a caliber of talent and skillset that just comes with age. I say that as a younger director, too; things come with age. But something that comes with youth, which you see in Helen, is this elasticity to bend and shape. She’s not stuck in one way of viewing the world; she is morphing between these conversations.

What is your approach to directing?

I think with directing, you’re creating space in the room to have conversation: regardless of your experience, your opinions and understanding of your character are validated and explored, and I stay open to the discovery that maybe we are missing something. I try to approach the work by asking: how can I show up and have conversations with Laura, Andrew and Mai, and then take all of those three thoughts, meld them together and extrapolate what’s significant?

Honestly, I am constantly learning and being surprised. I never claim to be the expert in the room ever, because I think that can be our greatest downfall. I should know the most at the start, and by the end, I should know the least.

What is your relationship to Milwaukee?

I didn’t grow up as a child [in Milwaukee], but I went to school at Marquette, and I left and lived on the east coast for a minute, and I came back for a gig at First Stage, and then I stuck around. Things just fell into place for me. I have been in the arts world for the past 15 years in Milwaukee, though I’ve recently relocated to Minneapolis with my partner.

Coming back to Milwaukee in this capacity feels special. It also feels really special to be working with Laura on this project at Next Act. Next Act is a beautiful theatre company that takes risks, but also brings audiences along the journey of feeling safe enough to take on those risks with them. And also making theatre incredibly accessible – you can afford to go and see a production at Next Act no matter where you are [in life].

There are some really hard conversations that happen within DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS, but they happen so softly that all of a sudden, you didn’t realize that’s what was happening. Next Act is the perfect incubator for this type of theatre. I feel really grateful that this is the piece that I get to work on for the first time at Next Act.

What do you hope the audience takes away from this play?

[Samantha shared part of the email she wrote to Nick Green after first reading the script:]

“It’s taken me a minute to get back to you about DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS, mostly because it landed so deeply with me. I’ve been sitting with the idea of legacy and how it gets created, but even more, I’ve been thinking about, as a woman, how we reconcile the need to create art with the sacrifices required of us to do so. I’m really interested in the two women: Helen, being on the precipice of stepping into the industry, all to be pushed to the question, “is the truth worth exploiting? What truth do you have the power to shape, and what is our responsibility as women to one another?” This all pulls me back to the question about being compelled to create and our deep connection to passion and identity.”

Those things have never left me. What I would love for the audience to walk away with or to think about: again, this play gives us more questions than answers. I hope they can engage in a conversation about truth and power and responsibility; the way that women show up in the arts industry and what obligations we feel are required of us. I think all of those things are circling around the idea of legacy and how we leave the world. What is our responsibility to other humans? Those questions can’t be answered in 90 minutes, so I hope that people can continue that conversation.

I think a good piece of theatre comes back to you months later. I hope that audiences don’t have the answers when they walk away, but they continue to explore and understand, and think about the world a little differently.

DINNER WITH THE DUCHESS runs April 22 through May 17, 2026 at Next Act Theatre. Get tickets now at nextact.org or call (414) 278-0765.