Robert Bills wears many hats. Having graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in economics, he started a career in bond trading and began a job as a lecturer in finance at the University of Illinois at Chicago. After 17 years in finance and economic-oriented careers, he decided to pursue his passion for the arts. Now he has moved on to not only encompass the role of a director, but a producer as well, directing and producing the upcoming performance of Neil Simon’s 1985 adaptation of his Tony Award-winning Broadway comedy, “The Odd Couple (Female Version).”

This “female version” of the famously male-led play revolves around the lives of two outrageously mismatched roommates, Florence and Olive, who live in a New York City apartment after their own marriages fail. The story line follows them as they realize their contrasting personalities and lifestyles make living together more difficult than they originally thought.

The “Odd Couple (Female Version)” will have performances Oct. 17 through Nov. 10 at the Greenhouse Theater in Chicago. The Daily Illini interviewed Bills about his thoughts on the play, his experiences in theater and his time at the University of Illinois.

The Daily Illini: Can you tell us a little about “The Odd Couple,” the play you’re directing now?

Robert Bills: This is the “Odd Couple (Female Version).” A lot of people think I’m taking his original male version from the ’60s and doing a gender swap, but that’s not true. It was actually written for women, and it was actually written by Neil Simon. It has the same basic themes: divorce, neat vs. messy, sophisticated vs. less sophisticated and earthy.

DI: How does this female version of the play differ from the original Neil Simon production?

RB: Well, there are a number of parts that are very, very similar, but whereas the male version is six men and two females … some of the stuff is very similar. … But it’s sort of the spine of the story that Florence can choose to be miserable and helpless, or she can stand on her own two feet and become independent. And she works haltingly but steadily toward becoming independent, and, in the end, she sort of achieves her goal.

DI: How does your experience directing this play differ from the experience you had directing Harold Pinter’s Play, “Betrayal”?

RB: The interesting thing is that I really love comedy, and I found a lot of laughs in “Betrayal,” not so much because they were written as comedy but because Pinter uses pauses and silences to say an awful lot, even though there are no words to say a lot. It’s what’s happening between the actors, and I’ve always coached Pinter and say that, ‘I don’t want you to say anything until people get uncomfortable in their seats.’ Sometimes being on the edge of your seat as an audience member can turn into laughs, so there are some parallels there. But (“Betrayal”) was small, only three people in that show. This show is eight people. This show is written to have laughs. It’s somewhere between comedy and farce and breaks into farce quite a bit, and so we are layering a lot of little physical bits and timing bits on top of all the written comedy to help bring it alive.

DI: What are you most looking forward to in this production?

RB: Well, certainly opening night just because we’ve had a very long rehearsal process, extra long … (and) we really have some talented people. That has been such a delight.

DI: You’re a graduate of University of Illinois. How has your experience with the University helped you with your career?

RB: I actually did take a couple of theater classes when I was at U of I … I had a degree in Liberal Arts economics … so I had certain criteria I had to meet about the arts. I took a theater class and I also took an acting class, and I was a bond trader for 15 years, and when I started to think about what I wanted to do next, I thought back to U of I and my experiences there, so I started to take improv classes and acting classes, and now 20-odd years later, things are starting to pop.

DI: How would you describe your transition into theater and comedy?

RB: It was very start and stop … wondering if you could eventually make a living at this thing, whether you’re able to put in the sacrifices that this entails.

DI: When did you decide to become a director, as you had previous experience in finance and being a lecturer at the University of Illinois at Chicago?

RB: I did a substantial amount of training at private acting schools, and it didn’t take too long before I started to realize that I was probably most comfortable not being on stage, but with seeing what was going on stage and giving people directions or being behind the camera and directing people.

DI: Do you feel that there are overlapping qualities between your experiences in economics and your experiences in theater?

RB: I think that everything ties together. Certainly as a producer, I use my business background. I also have an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago, so I taught finance for 17 years as basically a day job. Probably understanding economics can lead you to whether, in some cases, interactions between people are honest or not. I have pursued a number of different things in the arts; I have a certificate of drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and I had a gallery for three years, and I’m also a dancer, and those things definitely overlap with particularly the stage.

DI: Did you ever think you would be doing what you are now?

RB: No, I don’t think so. I was interested in financial markets when I was pretty young, so I thought I’d be doing that.

DI: What advice do you have for students who are still trying to find their career paths in college or who want to pursue a career in theater?

RB: I’d say find something that you like to do that can make you money right away because it’s probably going to be a long haul, no matter how good your training is or how good of an actor you think you are. You’re probably going to have some difficulty financially. It’s going to take a substantial while to get going. … So, that would be my real advice: Find something that can make you money that isn’t in acting.

“The Odd Couple (Female Version)” will run Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. at the Greenhouse Theater Center in Chicago. Ticket prices range from $20 for students, seniors and groups to $28 for general admission. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.greenhousetheater.org.

Elizabeth can be reached at [email protected].