Fargo-Moorhead playwright debuts 'Time Out!' after 30-year stage career

A new play by a longtime Fargo-Moorhead theater veteran opens Friday night at the Hjemkomst Center.

Bill Lucas, who has spent three decades acting, directing, and coaching in the region, is premiering his first full-length comedy, 'Time Out!,' at the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre. The production marks a shift in Lucas's role, as he allows director Jim Hagel to lead the process without Lucas's direct involvement in casting or rehearsals.

Lucas said he wanted to avoid hovering over the director. "I didn't want to seem like I was looking over someone's shoulder. I don't tell the director what to do," he said while drinking coffee at Black Cat Bakery in Moorhead. His first visit to the stage for this production will be from the audience seats on opening night.

The script features a high school principal who pressures a reluctant football coach to stage a production of 'Romeo and Juliet.' Once the curtain rises, the coach frequently calls for timeouts because he cannot follow the language. The teen characters spend much of the play explaining the plot and characters to him. In one line, the coach instructs the actors playing the lovers, "No kisses on my stage. You can shake hands."

Lucas wrote the play to explore the collision between sports and theater. He noted that the coach is not trying to be funny but simply does not understand what is happening on stage. "I wanted to see those two worlds collide," Lucas said. "I'm going for humor. Hopefully, there is humor."

Lucas has deep roots in local theater. He directed and coached football at Ben Franklin Middle School and Discovery Middle School in Fargo. He also played the character "Ole," a Norwegian farmer, at Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks baseball games from 1996 until 2021. Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney declared September 2, 2021, "Ole: aka Bill Lucas Day," as Lucas retired from the role.

After moving to Arkansas to care for a grandson, Lucas returned to the Fargo area this spring. He began working on the script with FMCT Executive Director Judy Lewis. Lewis said the company supports local playwrights and wanted to premiere the work. "I love Bill Lucas," Lewis said. "He has so much theatrical experience. The play is so well built. It’s funny, it’s creative, it’s clever."

FMCT is producing fewer works this year as it prepares to move to a new downtown Fargo space early next year. 'Time Out!' is the only full-length non-murder mystery dinner theatre or non-children's show on the schedule for this season.

Lucas has a history of unexpected stage moments. In 2017, he stepped into the role in Neil Simon's 'Plaza Suite' with a script in hand after a cast member fell ill. In another production, he improvised an entrance through a garden window after a set door jammed. In 2012, he completed a performance on his 54th birthday before being diagnosed with a stroke. He has had three strokes in total since then.

Lucas now focuses on writing and directing rather than acting. He said he has about 20 lines in his memory limit. "It's nice to get to an age where I don't have to impress anyone," he said. "I don't need to be the star. I prefer not to be."