‘Figure Drawing for Dummies’ @ Annex Theatre

Making art isn’t a solo endeavor. You may conjure classic images of such: the lonely writer behind their typewriter; the harried composer jotting down notes between bouts of banging on their piano; the revered sculptor locked in their studio, remnants of chiseled marble scattered around their feet. But ideas, subjects, et al., they have to come from somewhere. The truth of the matter is, it’s not always clear who deserves “credit” for artistic success.

That’s what playwright Daisy Schreiber has on her mind with “Figure Drawing for Dummies,” which makes its world premiere at Seattle’s famed fringe-focused Annex Theatre on Capitol Hill.  “The crux of the story involves credit for work done,” Schreiber told The Ticket, “and how everything we do is so interconnected, how as humans we need each other to succeed in just about any arena.”

The faux documentary, “a love story and a coming-of-age story” intends to entertain and provoke in equal measure, is about an artist who finds fame for a painting a nude of her girlfriend… except it’s not clear if the girlfriend ever consented. Fast-forward to present day, add “an almost definitely trustworthy museum curator” to the mix, and Annex has its latest forward-thinking three-hander.

Though it’s easy to pick favorites in any story, the play isn’t interested in cut-and-dried heroes and villains. “[It] asks us to have compassion for multiple players within the same event without writing anyone off. It also invites audiences to really examine the onstage events, like how you might turn over a prism to see how the light plays from different angles.”

Annex is known for its wild swings and political brashness from up-and-coming artists experimenting with form. “It has a minimalism and a clarity that I’m really excited to see,” Schreiber continued. “This script asks the audience to do a lot of imagining with us and really take ownership of your interpretation of the story and, since there are only three characters, the things we get to see onstage have a glass-like intimacy.”

But it all comes back to how masterpieces turn out that way. “In a lot of ways, this is my first love letter to people who work behind the scenes — both in art and in all other places — because the world wouldn’t function otherwise. So many things have to be taken care of to allow artists to really play and create and that is such important work (really!!!! I mean this completely — art is crucial!!!!)AND I think the person who sweeps the floor to allow the artists to roll around on the clean splinter-free rehearsal floor is also absolutely integral to the art we all get to experience.”

“The way we treat one another matters,” Screiber concluded. “Great things (or anything!!) is never the work of a single genius.”