Director’s Note

Grief is a powerful force, one which inevitably changes the way we see the world, both dramatically and also in our day to day life. In our work on A Number, we have striven to examine how endless cycles of grief, avoiding our own pain, and building our life around an ideal that cannot exist can corrupt ourselves and those we love beyond repair.

The great tragedy of Salter and his family is that the very act of avoiding their pain becomes the source of their greatest losses. Salter wants nothing more than to move on and forget the past, but his sons cannot move on until they know the past. Too many families today refuse to reckon with their shared history, preferring to maintain the image of a picture perfect household. A Number shows us how this is not only isolating and suffocating, but lethal. It is my hope that the audience will see both the great hope and love that exists in Salter's efforts along with the pain and fear that prevents him from reckoning with the past, and find the inspiration to do what Salter could not: face their own darkness with courage, compassion, and grace--without forgetting to offer the same consideration toward themselves. – Nick Swensen