(Above is a photo from Technically Talking when we had the designers join us onstage along with the actors who are seated on the right.)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Talk backs for Oleanna
(Above is a photo from Technically Talking when we had the designers join us onstage along with the actors who are seated on the right.)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Questions answered--from the actors.
Ginny Lee
DB: Because it was first performed in 1992 and mislabeled an “issue play,” why do think Oleanna is still relevant for audiences today?
GL: Well, at the forefront recently we have the Sotormayor confirmation hearings, which are completely relevant. Not only that she is a woman, but a Latina who has openly expressed her opinion that with her experiences as a Latina woman she might be able to reach better conclusions than a white man.
I think this play will always be relevant, not only within the political realm or issues of sex, but because it speaks to the everyday trials we go through as human beings as far as power and miscommunication go (within the workplace, relationships, etc). It's inescapable.
DB: What do you remember from your first play ever?
GL: My first play - I was in Annie with the Ashe County Little Theatre when I was 4 yrs. old. My mom played Miss Hannigan and I was third nameless orphan from the left. I remember loving every thing about being there, and being a little jealous that I couldn't be in all the numbers. During rehearsal I would crawl onto a table during "It's a Hard Knock Life" and act like I was scrubbing the table, I think in hopes that someone would see how dedicated (and good) I was and put me in the number. Oh man, I had put that out of my memory, until just now. :)
DB: What was your favorite book in college?
I was reading tons of plays in college and I was blown away by Titus Andronicus. The audacity of the action, the images, and the language amazed me.
DB: Who was your favorite teacher and why?
The one that had the earliest impact on me was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Francis. I think why I loved her so, was because she engaged our imagination--there was a tree house in her room, I still remember the stories I wrote for her, she taught us about Egypt and the pyramids which was so magical to me, AND she came to class dressed as a witch on Halloween and even though we suspected it was her she wouldn't let on and played the role all day, even going as far to write in squiggly letters on the blackboard.
~
Lee Spencer
DB: Because it was first performed in 1992 and mislabeled an “issue play,” but why do think Oleanna is still relevant for audiences today?
LS: Good writing stands the test of time. The play is well crafted and the conflict is so emotionally charged on both sides that it continues to make for an intriguing, albiet uncomfortable for some, evening of theater. People fighting desperately for what they want, what they need, is at the heart of all great pieces and that is why all the great works continue to be performed. I would put David Mamet material in that category of great playwrights.
DB: What do you remember from your first play ever?
LS: My first play ever was Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House in high school. To be honest my only vivid memory is of walking onstage, saying these lines I had memorized, and hearing the audience laugh in response. The feeling is hard to describe but for better or worse I got the acting bug and have been unable to shake it for 30 years.
DB: What was your favorite book in college?
LS: My favorite book in college that was required reading was Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting --a sort of the Bible for all acting students at that time. My favorite non-required work I read at that time was and continues to be Of Human Bondage by Sommerset Maugham.
DB: Who was your favorite teacher and why?
LS: My favorite high school teacher was Dan Seaman because of his encouragement and his infectious love of the theater. My favorite college teacher was Thelma Carter at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, because of her tremedous support and encouragement in my abilities. My favorite acting coach from the L.A. years was Bob Morrissey, himself a full-time working character actor who instilled in me the thought that ultimately I have to be my own judge of my work, and to guide my own career because no one else will for me.
~
To find out more about this production of Oleanna click here.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Oleanna in Rehearsal and Tech
Kaylyn Lowe runs the sound board.
Ginny Lee talks to Preston Lane as Lee Spencer looks on.
Lee Spencer as John wrangles with a telephone call. (The sound designer, David Smith, called the telephone a veritable 3rd character.)
A shot from the control booth.
"What do you want of me?"
There are many things in this play that raise tensions...
~
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, An Epilogue
Drew Rush center, Business Manager of Triad Stage, and Jeff West right (a sometimes actor of ours) read from the Laramie script.
(All photos by Kevin Davie.)
Our own Preston Lane also read that night as well.
At the end of the reading Molly McGinn played a wonderfully evocative song dedicated to Matthew Shepherd entitled "Scarecrow." Though the song was orginally written by Melissa Etheridge, Molly gave it her natural grit & passion and made it sound even better.
The whole night was affirmation of how telling American stories about can affect communites and the nation. Myths were debunked and voices were heard both with heartening and disheartening clarity concerning how hate crimes tear people apart and bring them together.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Oleanna Preview
To link to our Triad Stage YouTube channel click here.
OLEANNA runs October 18th through November 8th. For more info click here.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Board of Trustees meets @ the Shop
Christy Wright (production manager), Steven Box (director of sales & marketing), and Kathy Manning (vice-chair board member) look on as matters are discussed.
We had an invited artists panel to come talk to the board about being an artist at Triad Stage. Donna Bradby gestures as Krista Hoeppner and Beth Ritson look on.
Board members Hayes Clement, Ron Johnson, & Willie Taylor listen to the artists panel as Rich looks on.
Sherry Barr (director of audience services), Beth Ritson (actor), Donna Bradby (director & choreographer) and David Smith (sound designer).
The shop's main floor where sets are built in large pieces and then taken apart for transport and then loaded into the theater and put together onstage.