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QuickTake:
Paul Dunckel plays a murdered cat returned from the dead — who is at the nexus of an unhappy husband, wife and psychiatrist trio — in the Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s production of Jen Silverman’s “Wink.”
Paul Dunckel has been watching the feral cats hanging around his house a little closer.
It’s a cat act fact-finding mission. He’s performing as one in the Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s production of “Wink,” which opens Saturday, Nov. 15, in Eugene.
But “Wink” is no cuddly feline fancy. Written by the playwright and author Jen Silverman and published in 2019, it drops audiences into the middle of its absurd premise: A husband skinned his wife’s beloved cat, Wink, and their psychiatrist hears both sides of the story.
But Wink rises from the dead, seeking revenge. (A disclaimer from director Tara Wibrew: While its central character is a murdered cat, the skinning is metaphorical. There is no graphic violence.)
When Dunckel first read the script, the idea of playing Wink was intriguing. The metaphysical, undead and “carelessly sexy” character is unlike any he had played before, more sinister and rooted in physical presence than previous roles. But it also requires being a house cat, not the most obvious role for a financial planner and father of two.
“It isn’t natural for me to be a cat,” he said. “I have to remind myself of the movement and the attitude all the time.”
Putting on the ‘sexy, dead cat play’
Wibrew said “Wink” was on her list of plays for OCT when she had previously worked at the theater, but it didn’t fit into those seasons. Earlier this year, after OCT’s producing artistic director Craig Willis started asking over email about her directing availability, he mentioned “Wink.”
Wibrew recalled it as the “sexy, dead cat play.” Plans progressed from there. She said that Silverman’s focus on the characters’ journeys — within the stylistic mix of realism, absurdism and surrealism — drew her to the play.
She brought it to Dunckel, who was interested in the cat’s murderous response to being wronged.
“You certainly can feel for his position,” Dunckel said. “Even if the notion of revenge is not your thing, at least you understand from a cat’s point of view.”
Dunckel passed the script to his wife, the actress Vanessa Greenway. She plays Sofie, the unhappy housewife. The actors Chauncey Mauney and Josh Simpson respectively round out the cast as Wink-killer Gregor and profoundly lonely psychiatrist Dr. Franz, who sparks a charged dynamic with the undead cat.
“Wink” isn’t simply a cat comedy. Wink’s presence forces the trio to confront the contrast between how they live and the animal’s primal way of being. But that means the character straddles the line between otherworldly presence and house pet.
“We all had a lot of fun playing with allowing ourselves to remember and forget and remember again in turns that this wasn’t just a person or a personality,” Wibrew said. “They are, in fact, a cat.”
More than one way to embody a cat
Cats explore the world nose-first, Dunckel noticed. So as Wink, he leads with his nose. “Kitty-isms,” as he called them, like kneading the bed, scampering atop furniture, focusing at birds out the window and knocking things off the table are sprinkled throughout the play.
Scenic designer Julianne Bodner’s set design makes for a scamperable apartment, with reinforced furniture strong enough to withstand a grown man’s zoomies. (Dunckel’s behavior might be cat-like, but the weight of an adult man is not.)
Outside of the classic cat behaviors, Wink’s sinister presence is also informed by some of Dunckel’s cat research. Myths of cats being revered as gods in some cultures, scorned as pariahs in others, and having one foot in this world and one in the afterlife helped sketch in some of his approach.
It’s also something he’s been able to think through at home with Greenway, his wife and co-star. They met as actors in Chicago on a 2009 production of the play “The Night Season,” but hadn’t acted at the same time for a while. Instead, they’ve taken turns on stage and at home with their children. But with “Wink,” the couple has been accompanied at rehearsals by their two boys, ages 8 and 12.
Dunckel said he’s grateful for being able to talk through the play with Greenway at home, and for the kids’ resilience in sitting “through long hours of Daddy trying to figure out how to be a kitty.” The cat act has another fan in the household: the family’s recently adopted 6-month-old Labrador-pit mix, Harley.
“Sometimes I get on the floor, and I pretend to be the kitty with the puppy,” he said. “The puppy really likes that. She starts to chase me around. Apparently I’ve got the right bearing.”
How to see ‘Wink’
Tickets are available for purchase online, or by calling 541-465-1506. Ticket pricing varies by section, but starts at $25; student tickets cost $20, except for on opening night.
The play runs around 75 minutes, with no intermission. The play opens on Saturday, Nov. 15, and runs through Nov. 30. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday performances start at 2 p.m. A talk with the actors after the Sunday matinee performances starts around 4 p.m.
