Theatrical firecracker Monique Midgette stages a modern 'Noises Off' at Zach Theatre

The mood shifts when Monique Midgette enters a room.

The new associate artistic director at Zach Theatre ushers in a lightness, an openness, an effervescence.

Right away, you think: A good fit for Austin.

Not long ago, Midgette played a similar managerial role at Houston’s Theatre Under the Stars, but she also comes with decades of experience as a performer on Broadway, on tour, in regional theaters, and around the Washington, D.C. area, where she grew up.

In the past few years, she has shifted from performing to casting and directing, recently in Orlando, Oklahoma City and the D.C. area.

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Her modern take on the durable backstage farce, “Noises Off,” which includes more recognizable, three-dimensional characters, opens at Zach on June 14.

Already, Midgette likes the collective willingness to take thoughtful risks at Zach.

“So often theater feels commercial,” Midgette says. “Here in Austin, you can say, ‘I have an idea,’ and we can just talk about it.”

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She is particularly keen on developing new musicals, a slow process, but one fitted to a city overflowing with music and a theater company with multiple venues suited for the sequence of trial and error.

“Monique's outlook is positive and vivacious,” says Dave Steakley, longtime artistic director at Zach. “Our personal connection is joyfully synergistic.

“Her invaluable skills, coupled with her vast network of contacts, makes her the perfect partner for me to create the next exciting chapter of creative exploration at Zach,” Steakley continues. “I'm excited to see what we can dream up together for Austin audiences.”

Who is Monique Midgette?

Midgette, 51, grew up a “theater kid” in the D.C. area.

“Really, honestly it’s how I found my voice,” she says. “Theater kind of saved my life.”

Music, in particular, led the way.

"I fell in love with theater because of music," she says. "At home, we had a copy of Stevie Wonder's 'Songs In the Key of Life,' which led to telling stories through music — musicals."

The Washington metro is one of the few remaining American markets with a dinner theater circuit. Midgette cut her teeth at these venues, which she admits are "outdated," then she headed out on bus-and-truck tours.

Eventually she was prized for parts, like Nell in "Ain't Misbehavin'," in frequently produced, top-shelf shows. She became more interested in casting and directing in her forties and learned the managerial side of an artistic director's job through several highly placed gigs.

So why Zach?

"Honestly, it was Dave," Midgette says about Zach's artistic director. "Something about him says that he loves theater.

Interestingly, one of Midgette's recent directorial projects was a staging of "Beehive," the 1960s girl-group revue. The same frisky and fun show turned into Steakley's first mega-hit during the 1990s. The original "Beehive" and Steakley-made follow-ups account for one of the longest-running theatrical phenomenons in Austin history.

"Austin is such a musical town," she continues. "I love the idea of turning that music into narrative. It's a place where my ideas could actually become real. Zach has the space to make those things happen."

To that point, TUTS in Houston operates out of the 2,600-seat Hobby Theatre, and half the shows that they present are tours, not locally staged. Zach's biggest theater, the Topfer, seats closer to 400 and it operates the smaller Kleberg and Whisenhunt stages.

Midgette: "Ideas don't start at 2,600 seats."

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What’s this new take on ‘Noises Off’?

Midgette is not just about new material. She likes interpreting older scripts such as "Noises Off" in a modern way.

“Here, I feel like I can walk into a room and find parts of things I’ve encountered before,” Midgette says. “I can do things here. I want to make things here.”

Zach hired Midgette in January and she started in March. "Noises Off" was already booked for the summer slot. Midgette took up the challenge while she's also preparing to direct "Ain't Misbehavin'" at the Lyric Theatre in Oklahoma City later this summer.

"I love farce, but didn't see myself in this play," Midgette says of "Noises Off." "It felt distant. It's very British, all-white and speaking in a language that you had to jump up on the train to understand."

She also felt that the usual stagings of "Noises Off" rushed through the backstage relationships, racing to get to the physical humor in the play within a play.

"For me, I think you need to understand the people and connect with the people before they start falling down stairs," she says. "My way in was through 'Frasier.' I watched all eight seasons to prepare. It's a farce but one deeply rooted in the people. You see real people in heightened, unreal situations."

"We're at an interesting time in our theater," Midgette says. "There's the old material we can't do and the new material that is not yet written."

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How can I see the show?

“Noises Off” plays 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays, June 14-July 9 with 2:30 p.m. matinees on July 1 and July 8 at the Topfer Theatre. Tickets are $25-$95, zachtheatre.org.