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Sara Tanner, Summer Cassel, Ruby Fisher-Smith (Citizen photo by Linda Petersen) |
“After we had
read the play together and I got an OK [from the actors] to do this show,” says
Dance Palace Summer Stock director Sam Fisher, “we started to cast it.”
“We immediately got into trouble,” says Fisher, “There were
not enough guys. What girls would play guys this year, I asked? The play calls
for nine men and five women. At the time, we had ten female and four male
actors on the crew.”
“It occurred to me that we could flip the sexes of all the
roles. With that in mind, I read it again,” says Fisher. “It worked without
having to change much, maybe rewriting a scene or two.”
“I ran the idea by a couple of cast members. They were keen
on the idea.”
“A friend and I sat down to rewrite; we ended up changing
very little. It is a farce –a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and
horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously
improbable situations–afterall. Does it need to be water tight?” he asks.
“This is my largest group yet,” says Fisher.
Catch the Summer Stock production, A Flea in Her Ear, at the Dance Palace Friday, Saturday and Sunday
August 6, 7 & 8 or Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 13, 14 &15 at
7:30 p.m..
Summer Stock Cast and Crew 2010:
Terra Hagen
Raini Kellog
Alyssa Tanner
Laurel Ann Riley
Amelia Riley
Ruby Fisher-Smith
Claire Marshal
Nathaniel Buteux
Sara Tanner
Summer Cassel
Evan McGiffers
Bronomir Alder-Ivanbrook
Aaron Boyes
Silas Blunk
Avery Stray
Citizen: Why is this particular piece suited to this group
of players?
Sam: I tell them all when we meet earlier in the year, I
look for plays that I would be happy to take any role. Georges Feydeau's farces are written so
that everyone has a moment to shine, even if you only have a few lines.
This is not your traditional audition a bunch of people and
pick the actors you want. I need
to get everyone involved. The
first three years I found my cast and then auditioned plays to fit them.
This play is full of fun and colorful characters. The sky is the limit as to how big you
want to make these people.
Citizen: When did you first decide on this piece?
Sam: When I first got the job as the director of Summer
Stock I put a call out to friends that are into theater, asking them to tell me
about plays they like–plays I may not be familiar with.
My friend Johnny suggested the new version of Georges
Feydeau's farce by David Ives.
After reading it, I could see it was a lot of fun and has good parts for
all the players. I wanted to do this play that first year–and the two years
that followed, but we only had six actors that first year.
Last year twelve people came out for the production,
granting me the confidence that we could do this.
Citizen: What has been the greatest challenge?
Sam: The biggest challenge comes in motivating the crew to
get their lines down early. Once all the lines are learned, developing the
choreography or the physical aspect of the comedy is another thing all
together.
In “A Flea in Her Ear”, there is the last bit of the second
act where everyone is involved and people are running in and out from all
over. It has been dubbed 'the
chaos'. I told them a long time ago to memorize this section first because we
will be working on it almost daily. With under two weeks to go are still
working on it. Oy!
Citizen: What makes this group of players unique?
Sam: It is fun to see them all bond. Not everyone knew each
other in the beginning. This group has already had a movie night and a line run
through that they set up on their own. There is also talk about a weekend get
together–to run lines and have fun. We even kicked around the idea of a weekend
camp out.
Citizen: Any old players or new players?
Sam: I have nine people in this cast who I have worked with
before. It is Ruby's third year
and Claire's fourth.
Citizen: Any teens new to theater who seem to have found
their calling?
Sam: For some it seems to be an easy transition. Mostly, I work on getting them to
focus: Mind the audience with voice–projection, speaking clear and loud–and
with body–always stay open to the audience, don't turn your back to them.
Finally, react to what is happening on stage and be in the moment–be your
character.
For an actor, it is difficult to leave yourself out of the
equation, I see people struggle with this, worried about how they will be
perceived. It is always a
challenge to break players out of this pattern. Where as others bust out all
over the place.
Citizen: Any supportive community members who have returned
to the scene to lend a hand of support year after year?
Sam: There would be too many to list. I almost never can use all the help
that is out there and ready to serve.
I don’t know other communities, but this one sure is
supportive of the arts and the youth.
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