‘Human Resources’ Embeds Us in a Surreal Corporate Landscape

Thank you to Douglas Corzine for the thoughtful and insightful write up in the Nashville Scene

The show is the most ambitious production in Nashville Story Garden’s 10-year history, thanks to a producing partnership with OZ Arts. It’s also fully homegrown, having germinated from ideas that Story Garden’s co-artistic director Lauren Berst began exploring with director Lauren Shouse during a movement workshop.

When they recruited Eppler to join the project as a writer, Berst and Shouse used the image of a two-way mirror to anchor their pitch. Together, they have crafted a rollicking satire that places its audience in the morally ambiguous world of a fictional pharmaceutical giant called Liminal.

“Part of being a producer is sitting there trying to figure out how to fund a show and make it happen,” says Berst. “Now we have an opportunity to let that rest for a minute because we have funding for the artists involved in the show. It’s hard to describe the relief and the freedom that provides. We are always going to be budget-minded, but now we have this wonderful cushion under us. I am so grateful for that, and that as producers, OZ sat back and believed in us — they just have said yes, in a way that is so incredible.”

Human Resources is a perfect example of what happens when artists get the support they need to push boundaries. This show is a testament to the power of collaboration and the unexpected places Nashville’s arts scene can go when the right people come together.