Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) presents Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” as the theatrical finale to its 2013-14 season. Opening on Friday, June 6, the play will run three weekends through June 21 on WICA’s Michael Nutt Mainstage.
This timeless, three-act drama explores daily life at the turn of the 20th century in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire and, in particular, the blossoming relationship between two young neighbors, George Gibbs and Emily Webb.
Wilder’s Pulitzer prize-winning play portrays the circle of life—growing up, adulthood and death—and the spare set and lack of props challenges the audience to see universal truths and the meaning of life pared down to its essence.
Directed by Tim Rarick, the 25-member cast of “Our Town” features Jim Scullin as Stage Manager, Christine Chittim as Emily Webb and Gabe Harshman as George Gibbs.
Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees start at 2 p.m.
Tickets are available at wicaonline.org, at the box office at 565 Camano Ave. in Langley (open Wednesdays through Saturdays, 1-6 p.m.) or by phone: 800-638-7631 or 360-221-8268.
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization serving the community of South Whidbey Island and beyond. Founded in 1996 by Island Arts Council, WICA’s mission is to inspire, nourish, and enhance the artistic, social, and economic well-being of the community.
The Kickstarter fundraising campaign is 66% funded and—with only nine days to go—Dana Linn has been pushed from the driver’s seat and ‘Golene’ has taken over…
“I, darlin,’ am a figment of someone’s imagination. I live in her head, and she has written a script around me. She has made me a parody of a Southern woman who is stuck in the 60s. I have a towering blonde beehive, of which I am immensely proud, and I use a can of hairspray on it daily to keep it soaring to great heights. You know what we say in the south, ‘The higher the hair, the closer to God.’
“Well, it’s true. My black cat-eye glasses come around a corner before the rest of this here ol’ body does. And said body is swanked out in clingy animal prints in every possible color polyester comes in. I am looking through those cat-eye glasses at the near side of 60. And, I am a Professional Beautician, with my own shop, my own gaggle of customers and two employees. Two! We live in her mind now, but we hope to live in the world of pretend on a real stage someday. (That’s about as clear as mud, ain’t it?)
“Living in someone’s mind means I am privy to her thoughts. She may have made me up, but residing where I do shows me more information than—frankly—I need. Many of those thoughts bouncing around her mind are about as useful as a pocket on a cow. Right now, she’s trying to raise some lettuce to pay a composer and to produce the show she imagined us all into existence with.
“Sometimes her mind is on hyperdrive, with thoughts of how to promote it all. Then her head swirls with exhilaration every time someone donates. When the rare day passes that no one contributes, her gray matter actually makes a grimace. How ’bout that! I tell ya, I’ve seen it all. Instead of pouting, though, she does this thing where she sits quietly, and fills her heart with an attitude of gratitude for all those folks who have helped her during this roller coast of a month. Then, she’s calm again, bless her little fidgety heart.
“Yes, I am just someone’s imagination. But you can help me live. It’s kinda like clapping your hands when you were a kid so Tinkerbell could come alive again. Instead of clapping your hands, though, tease your hair up to its highest heights, sashay on over to your computer and go to this link. You have my word of honor that you will giggle. And that’s something—coming from a figment of someone’s imagination, you gotta admit!
Young ticket-holders at this Sunday’s 2 p.m. matinee performance of “Little Mermaid” at Whidbey Children’s Theater will be treated to an intermission Easter Egg Hunt!
Eggs will be hidden on the grounds around Whidbey Children’s Theater and kids from the audience ages 10 and under will be able to find them, revealing treats and even free tickets for our upcoming show of “Puss in Boots!”
Island Shakespeare Fest prepares for its next summer season and Whidbey Island housing is needed.
The company is looking for housing for a guest director and her two children for three and a half weeks from July 4 to 31. Housing is also need for seven guest artists and crew (five men and two women) for 10 weeks from July 1 to Sept. 7.
Stipends are available to those who host the artists. Please contact Peggy Juve at pjuve@whidbeyisland.com if you are interested in hosting any of these artists for Island Shakespeare Festival.
OutCast Productions is holding auditions for remaining roles in our 2014 season between 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. Auditions are held at our rehearsal studio at 5481 Deer Run Rd, Langley; email ocp@whidbey.com for directions. These will be cold readings from the season’s scripts so no preparation is necessary.
Roles are available for the following:
“Why Torture is Wrong and the People Who Love Them” by Christoper Durang, directed by Ned Farley
• Three males, ages mid-20’s through 50’s; one female, age 40’s-50’s
“The Fantasticks ” by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, directed by K. Sandy O’Brien
• One male, age late teens-mid 20’s—singing role
“Black Holes and Big Words” by David Mayer, director TBA
• Several roles for males and females, age mid-20’s-mid 30’s
Whidbey Island Dance Theatre’s “The Snow Queen” returns to Langley in a co-production with Whidbey Island Center for the Arts; the two entities originally staged the ballet 18 years ago to sold-out houses. Created by WIDT in 1996 and 1998, “The Snow Queen” was the first full-length production designed for and presented on the new WICA stage.
Creator and choreographer Asharaine Machala has been hard at work to re-stage her 1998 production, which is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s coming-of-age fantasy—a story that celebrates the strength of love.
Opening on Friday, April 4, “The Snow Queen” plays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays through April 13.
As the story goes, the Snow Queen is queen of the snowflakes or “snow bees,”and she maintains her palace and gardens in the Scandinavian lands of permafrost. “There are strong archetypes at play here,” Machala said.
The enigmatic Snow Queen (played by Amy Lehman) is a complex character. “She is not a villain, but an elemental force,” Machala said, “And the reindeer (played by Madyson Hunter) is the beat; the reindeer controls the heartbeat of the Earth,” she added.
The Snow Queen is successful in using her cold beauty to abduct a boy named Kai (played by Zane Vanderwood) after he falls victim to the troll-mirror, a magical mirror that splinters glass fragments of ugliness and evil on all those who come under its spell. The Snow Queen promises to free Kai if he can spell “eternity” with the pieces of ice in her palace.
When Kai’s disappearance is discovered, the people of the city believe that Kai drowned in the nearby river. But Kai’s best friend Gerda (played by Faith O’Brochta) is heartbroken and goes out to look for him. This is her quest. Gerda and the reindeer embark on a perilous journey to the north to the Snow Queen’s palace. A woman tells the reindeer that the secret of Gerda’s unique power to save Kai is in her sweet and innocent child’s heart.
Much of the production design for this Whidbey Island production is inspired by the story’s Scandinavian setting; it is transformed into an epic quest with the use of that region’s classical composers, including Dag Wirén, Jean Sibelius, Edvard Grieg and Carl Nielsen. Scandinavian folk art inspired the production’s visually stunning costumes and its painted backdrops. Setting the mood with beautiful music and sets, Machala makes magical use of WIDT’s best dancers and Whidbey Island community actors to create a heart-warming theatrical journey the whole family can enjoy.
The cast also includes Brittany Falso, Chelsea Matthews-Jensen, Kiana Henny, Kelsey Lampe, Holley Johnson, Skylynn Lippo, Bronte Patty-Caldwell, Emma Patty-Caldwell, Tessa Sherman, Alexa Varga, Caity Zarifis, Ari Abrahams, Christine Monaghan, Tessa Sherman, Marta Mulholland, Susan Vanderwood, Kathryn Lynn and other community members who make up the ensemble.
Tickets are $24 for adults, $20 for seniors and $17 for youth. They are available at tickets.wicaonline.com or by calling the box office at 360-221-8268. Visit www.wicaonline.com for more about Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. Visit http://www.widtonline.org/ for more about Whidbey Island Dance Theatre.
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts is located at 565 Camano Ave. in Langley.
When I was studying theatre at university, I thought I was getting the best education an actor could hope for. I was fortunate to receive a full-year acting scholarship to a small private University in southern California and I loved it. I had the chance to work on main stage productions for all four years that I was in college, something unheard of in most university theater programs.
During that time, I learned a great deal about the craft of acting. But the learning came mostly by doing. There was little discussion about technique. True, an actor’s best work happens when they are working continuously, but when a student actor graduates and moves into the “real world” of acting, he/she begins to see the cracks in their craft, when strong technique is not present.
Since my graduation oh so many years ago, I have worked as an actor; some years more steadily than others. In the past year or so, I have re-committed myself to the pursuit of a full-time acting career. It’s not an easy career choice. There are many ups and downs and plenty of rejection, but when you love your craft, you put up with the challenges,and even learn to love them.
Eric Mulholland as Betty, Danielle Daggerty as Joshua and Devin Rodger as Maud in “Cloud 9” by Caryl Churchill at the Seattle Theatre Group. / Photo courtesy of Eric Mulholland
The best thing an actor can do when they are not working, is prepare to work. Constantin Stanislavski, who we can consider to be the father of modern acting technique, began writing his masterpiece “An Actor Prepares” in the early part of the 20th century. In his book, he noted what he saw actors doing at the Moscow Art Theatre and from that created a system for actors known as the “Stanislavski System.” This system encouraged actors to build real characters on stage from the inside out, a very different approach from the acting style of the time. Late 19th and early 20th century acting styles relied on the “appearance” of truth and used melodrama to evoke emotion.
So, though I am currently working as an actor and acting teacher, I decided it was time to get back into class myself. Monday nights for the past several weeks, I have been taking a great (and challenging) acting class in Seattle. As I pick apart each role that I am preparing for, I am reminded how important it is to build a foundation of strong technique. Technique is what supports an actor to do the work of creating a believable performance, one that can be repeated eight performances a week.
This class has highlighted for me how weak my acting technique has been. I feel a bit vulnerable admitting that, especially since I have been acting for so long. But the only way to grow is to work hard and so as an actor, I am preparing… again.
Over the years I have been exposed to great teachers, many of them have given me good tools to do good work. The difference now is that I am seeing the big picture, the “system” Stanislavski articulated. Any craft relies on a combination of understanding and doing. Acting, after all, is not strictly a cerebral exercise. You have to build your understanding of the character as he relates to others and the world of the play. And once you have a glimmer of what that understanding is, you have to get up and put it into practice. We learn by applying what we know to what is available to us: Our voice, our movement, our connection to other characters and subtext — what we are really saying underneath the speeches we speak.
I have a renewed love for my craft, and a deep respect for all the teachers who teach this amazing art form. So whatever happens from here on out, I will continue to be an actor who prepares over and over again.
Cheers to growth!
Eric Mulholland is an actor, teacher and writer living on Whidbey Island.
Upcoming theater events on and off the island:
“Les Miserables” by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg – Village Theatre; Nov. 7, to Jan. 5 in Issaquah; Jan. 10 to Feb. 2 in Everett.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, adapted by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright – Seattle Repertory Theatre; Nov. 15 to Dec. 15.
“You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown”based on the Comic Strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz Book, Music and Lyrics by Clark Gesner – Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley; Dec. 6 to 21.
“The Language Archive” by Julia Cho; Feb. 28 to March 15 – Outcast Productions at the Black Box Theater, Whidbey Island Fairgrounds, Langley.
As someone who fell in love with acting more than 25 years ago, I was happy to accomodate when actor Kathryn Lynn asked if she could be a guest at Duff ‘n Stuff and peel back the curtain on her process of tackling the character of Elvira in Whidbey Island Center for the Arts’ production of Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit.”
Besides coming down wth a nasty cold, which is never fun when you have to perform, Lynn talks about the formidble challenge of playing Elvira in this classic comedy and the sometimes treacherous road an actor must go down to finally arrive at that place that lures one to the stage in the first place.
Please enjoy this guest blog by a local thespian.
“Being Blithe” by Kathryn Lynn
I can’t ever remember being sick in the middle of a run.
I can’t ever remember being afraid for my physical capability to perform a show, but hey ho! There I was, last Thursday night, at pick-up rehearsal headed into the second weekend of “Blithe Spirit”… in my pajamas and slippers. Cup ‘o tea… loads ‘o honey… coming off an anxiety dream about having to cancel the Friday night show halfway through and tell everyone to come back for an exclusive matinee finish all because Elvira had lost her voice.
Kathryn Lynn at the dressing room table before piling on the face that helps transform the actor into “Elvira.” / All photos courtesy of Kathryn Lynn
I had told the director, Phil Jordan, I’d be low energy… I imagined myself running through the rehearsal as little more than a robot reciting lines in a British accent and moving along a preordained track.
The moment I stepped on stage, slippers or no, I felt it in my bones. I felt it in the way I made facial expressions as my character. I felt it in all my being that I can’t possibly describe as my body. I felt it so poignantly that I was aware of the effort it took to firmly move Elvira aside —this character does not like to be told “No”— and step to the front as Kathryn-who-is-sick-and-needs-to-save-her-energy.
Why do we do it? Why do I do it?
I have to tell you that the first time I was cast in a lead role (high school, junior year, Mary Hatch, “It’s a Wonderful Life”) my director told me she “needed real tears” in a scene when George Bailey (played by Seth, a senior, who is still very gay and who I very much thought I was in love with) and I were professing our love for each other over the phone. Yeah! Right… actual, physical, sopping-wet tears… sure! So I turned my back — so taboo! — to the audience and faked it.
I also have to tell you that about a year ago, after hearing a fellow actor say that he had never reached tears on stage, I determined that neither would I, and I was cool with that, because here’s this actor that I respect and is a damn fine actor and he’s never reached tears, so I can be as respectable as that without reaching tears, too. Fine. Great. Done deal. It’s settled.
All right, back to Elvira.
One of the most manipulative personalities I have ever encountered. I was afraid of her for a long time. She’s stubborn, she’s wicked intelligent and, as Charles so eloquently puts it in the first scene, she has an extreme acidity when she doesn’t get her way over something. There’s no other way around it; she can be a huge bitch — and here I am thinking to myself, “This is going to be so much fun!” And then I’m thinking, “I have to dig up this awfulness from somewhere and live it for three weekends in October… what am I going to become? How can I do this to my loved ones!?”
All right, a little dramatic perhaps, but what else can you expect from an actress, honestly?
Phil Jordan, director, Bob Atkinson and Kathryn Lynn gather around a table for the first reading of “Blithe Spirit” in Langley.
Two days before opening night, I turned my back on her. In complete seriousness, I wouldn’t have known it had I not had Phil Jordan as a director, who picked it out right away and told me spot on that he watched it happen. I was crushed at first. I had stopped feeling with her. I had chosen to let her do her mean little thing, while I turned away and she lost her heart. The truth is there is more to Elvira than malevolence, and this was the most beautiful and most difficult thing to discover, despite how obvious it can seem.
Elvira has very high and specific expectations of those around her and she has a strong talent for predicting the behavior of others because she isn’t afraid of trial and error.
She is also still very much a child.
Why do I do it?
I had been convinced I never actually would shed true tears on stage, that I would spend the rest of my acting career faking it. On Saturday night, something changed. Something changed for me and something changed for Elvira. I became her match, I became her partner. I allowed myself to trust her to take the helm and we sailed. She let me in. I felt her anger, I played her games, and I cried her tears. It was all true. And it was more powerful than I ever could have imagined.
Lynn becomes “Elvira” for Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts in Langley.
I do it to learn. I do it to look at my reflection through the mirror of another. I do it to grow. I do it to create. I do it to tell a story and form relationships with my cast, crew, the audience, my character and myself. I do it to refine my worldview over and over and over. I do it to discover the things I want to take with me on my journey, and those I want to leave behind.
Come sail with us.
Noël Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” runs at 7:30 p.m. Friday Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26 at Whidbey Island Center for the Arts. For more information, call or visit the box office: 360-221-8268, 565 Camano Ave., Langley or visit WICA’s website.
