As Cal State San Marcos’ “Motherf**ker With the Hat” production approached its debut, Director and Professor Shaun Heard shared his thoughts on bringing Stephen Adly Guirgis’ bold play to life. As a professional actor, theatre professor, and former CSUSM student, Heard reflected on the challenges and triumphs of the production. 

“In this moment,” Heard said, “I’m feeling so much more relief but if you asked me two weeks ago, I would’ve said completely stressed out.” 

Heard attributes the main obstacle to a lack of resources. 

“We pulled off this play with the lowest budget I think I’ve ever directed with in my life,” Heard said, “And we get a certain amount of money [but it] is not a lot…and it had to go to costumes for all five actors…all the things you see on the set…I spent a lot of my own money because we couldn’t afford it.” 

But Heard says that didn’t stop the cast and crew from putting their best effort into the play.  

“That’s honestly what I love about theatre,” Heard explains, “you make things happen no matter what. I look at theatre like a single mother, like ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do it but you’re gonna have a Christmas tree full of gifts this year, kid!’” 

The play, as the title might suggest, is incredibly dynamic and unconventional, which Heard says makes it terrifying to present.  

“I think I counted over 95 curse words,” Heard laughed, which he corrected on the following Thursday night performance of November 21, rounding up to 110.  

Heard believes using this kind of language is a necessary part of an actor’s training. In fact, language is one of the many factors the theatre department considers when deciding what plays to put on for the season.  

How is this play relevant to CSUSM?  

Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “Motherf**ker With the Hat” is about Puerto Ricans living in New York City in the 90s, yet somehow it found a home at CSUSM.  

“The beauty about Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans is that they look like you and they look like me,” Heard explains, “As a department, we always try to do diverse work. I always try to do African-American or Latino-based plays because I know the struggle of a minority actor who feels like they’re underrepresented in theater departments.” 

Why is theatre important? How do we stay hopeful? 

“I started theatre because I grew up in an abusive family so I started off as a little 2 or 3-year-old,” Heard shared “I would pretend I was a Power Ranger or a Pokémon and then I got older I felt safest when I was not myself, and theatre is the exact same way. I encourage students when they’re having bad days to show up. We will do the work anyway.” 

For Heard, theatre is not just an escape, it can also be a vehicle for social change.  

“I’m actually going back to school in the fall to become a social worker,” Heard said, “My new life goal is to merge mental health and therapy with theatre and television. I think that the two go hand in hand.”  

Heard points to the role of intimacy coordinators as one example of how theatre and television are already integrating mental health into their work. 

“But why isn’t there a therapist for the people who are [playing] murderers?” Heard asked, “Why is it only for fake sex scenes? I thought that was strange. I decided that I would like to be that person on those sets to help people through difficult scenes.” 

For more from Shaun Heard, he is currently acting in “Station 19”, a “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off, and teaches at CSUSM, Sacramento State, and Duke University.