Go! Feature

In his 13 years as the chair of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Richard Hess has seen a lot of talent pass his way.

Sometimes, it even comes in through the back door.

Take the case of Mark Halpin, a scenic designer who has designed some 20 sets for CCM productions, who approached Hess a few years ago and announced that he’d written some music he’d like Hess to hear.

“It was the biggest shock of my life that a guy who draws and engineers sets could also write music,” Hess said. “So I agreed to listen to him.”

Halpin didn’t even play an instrument, but sang in a shy and quivering voice the “brilliant lyrics” and tunes that he had in his head.

“They were wonderful, so I told him he needed to find someone who could help him flesh them out,” Hess said.

Two years later, with the help of composer Andrew Smithson, Halpin delivered to Hess “a little pile of songs, not in a linear, plot driven story but with a through-line of people facing obstacles in their lives,” Hess said.

“The lyrics are true, clever, really funny and the next moment so heartbreaking that they really seemed like life to me,” he said.

So Hess agreed to direct a production of “The Kid in the Dark,” as they named it, for the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, where it was one of the most popular shows presented. So popular, in fact, that Know Theatre Company is hosting a revival this weekend, a slightly sharper, re-ordered version with the same cast.

The title comes from one of the songs, what Hess described as “Mark’s love song to the theater, as a little kid, sitting in the dark in the magic of the stage.”

how to go
WHAT: “The Kid in the Dark” by Mark Halpin and Andrew Smithson
WHERE: Know Theatre Company, 1120 Jackson St., Cincinnati
WHEN: 8 p.m. today and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
COST: $18-$22 adults; $15 seniors; $12 students
MORE INFO: (513) 621-2787; www.knowtheatre.com