Actor, dancer, banjo player, philosophy professor creates play on ‘the meaning of life’ | Arts & Culture

Dr. David M. Nixon, Ph.D. (Capitol Hill resident, philosophy professor, actor, musician, dancer, animator, painter, and member of local absurdist art pop theater band Awesome) has thought a lot about ‘the meaning of life.’

What makes the difference between a pointless, wasted life and a meaningful, worthwhile, well-lived life? What is it in virtue of which one life is more or less meaningful? He talks a lot about it in his philosophy classes at the University of Washington-Bothell Campus. “The freshmen come in and ask me if the answer will be part of the test,” he grins.

He likes thinking about it so much that he’s developed a ninety minute performance piece that is world premiering at the Annex Theatre. It will run November 2nd through 17th on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

David titles the show Center Cut Ham Dinner Night Slide Show. Ok…that definitely doesn’t sound like a show about ‘the meaning of life’… why would he name it that?

“The original concept of the show involved a guy who works at a nursing home, entertaining the old folks while they ate.  He might show them a slide show during Center-Cut Ham Dinner Night. He might do a puppet show on Sloppy Joe Night. Occasionally they fall over dead while they’re eating.  It’s a boring job.  

“One day (on Center Cut Ham Dinner Night), he decides to write a book to try and figure out the meaning of life. This all would have been clear in the introduction of the show.  (But) Later I realized the show wasn't about him. The title became a way that I thought about the sorts of things that spur you on to look for more.”

David uses cartoons he drew himself, and animation and live-action video and music, all to tell the stories. He runs commercials from Acme for various items that might make your life better, like a feeding tube that helps cut out the drudgery of eating and a vacuum system that makes it so you don’t have to think about going to the bathroom, and a synthetic happiness drug.

Would that make life meaningful and better?

Some of the presentation draws on the abstraction of a dancer, so there’s no literal translation. David likes that part, explaining, “I don't want this to be a show where it's perfectly clear what the moral of the story is -- then I'd be doing (the audience’s) thinking for them.  

“Different ideas about what a meaningful life might require are touched on in the show – sometimes obliquely or absurdly – and the hope would be that people think about them in their own way. Figuring out the meaning of life isn't like finding your keys.

Since David teaches about the subject, why would he want to put an event like this on? It’s two different kinds of expression, he describes. “When I'm in class and I've got my Philosopher's Hat on, an analytical part of my brain takes over that demands rigor, justification, and above all clarity. Ideas are presented in a systematic way, theses are put forward,  evidence (for and against) is examined, implications are explored, etc.  

“But when I have my Artist's Hat on, a whole different set of standards and guiding principles come to light. Systems can be explored for their beauty instead of their truth. Rules of logic and reasoning can be bent, distorted.”

David hopes that lots of people will come out to see the show, but understands it might be a challenge. “Much of the show is like a puzzle, you might be able to piece some of it together. I imagine for many people the open endedness of the show could leave them feeling uncomfortable, unsatisfied, or even groping to put it all together. But isn't that exactly what a show about the Meaning of Life should do?”

For more information, go to Annex Theatre or Brown Paper Tickets.