*The following text is edited for length and clarity and is not directly quoted.

On Feb. 28, The School of Theatre and Dance begins its production of “Middletown” by Will Eno, a play based on the inhabitants of a quiet slice of suburban life. Director Kay Martinovich spoke about the philosophy of the play and how audiences can connect to it.

Q. How does “Middletown” fit in with the other productions this season like “Blue Stockings” and “The Glass Menagerie?” Why was it chosen?

A: We always want to have a mix of contemporary plays and more classic plays.

Q: Can you talk a bit about what it’s like being a director?

A: Well for me, a director is part coach, part adviser, part therapist, part counselor and part friend. There’s so many aspects because there are all these personalities in the room. One of the things I want to do from the beginning is build ensemble. I want everybody to respect and appreciate everyone else, and I want everybody to have a voice in the room. That’s important to me so that everybody is on the same page.

Q: Can you explain “Middletown” to people who’ve never heard of it? What’s your elevator speech for the play?

A: It delves into the wonder and awe of everyday living, of what it means to be alive, what it means to be lonely, to be sad and to be an addict. It also deals with the quirky things in life. There’s the idea of Middletown being this place where people live between the big moments of birth and death. It’s taken this really cool concept and exploding it, making it relatable.

Q: Being a play about a small town, do you think it’s pertinent to residents of DeKalb? DeKalb being such a textbook example of Midwest real-estate, do you think living in an environment similar to the setting of the play impacts the way people relate to it?

A: I think the idea of Middletown is exactly that, a small town. There’s not a lot of people there; there’s local residents, that kind of thing. So I think on that level yes, absolutely. The cast and I even took a little field trip to Sycamore, walked up and down the street trying to get that small town feel. In Sycamore, there’s a monument, there’s the library and the downtown area. But on another level, it works as a huge place. It’s a little town, but a huge place.

Q: Every play this season has done interesting things with stage design. For example, there was the time-traveling mechanic in “The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence” and the memory box in “The Glass Menagerie.” Will the stage design in “Middletown” be similarly inventive?

A: We actually have our first rehearsal on stage tomorrow. There are so many scene changes. One of the ideas is that instead of just having a desk and someone walk up to it, people are actually getting rolled on and rolled off. Their part of the world is getting switched and moved. The set doesn’t move, but there are pieces that actively move into place.

Q: As a director, do you ever feel like you’re in competition with the other production crews? Do you push yourself to match the other plays?

A: Well, I just thought that “Glass” was absolutely astonishing. I’ve thought that every production this year has been really strong. “Glass” took me in another direction. That was a take on it that was like none other and so I kind of go, ‘Oh, I got my show coming up.’ [laughs] But this show is so different from “Glass” I have to just let it be its own thing.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

A: We’ve got a lot of characters. There’s 22 roles in the play and only 12 actors. There’s a lot of people playing multiple roles. Because there are so many characters, I think somebody will be able to find a lot to attach to. I think this play will speak to a lot of people in a lot of different ways. It’s got humor, drama, quirkiness and real wonder.