Laura: This is the ShowBizRadio.net podcast. Mike and I shadowed To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. We are going to kind of do a wrap up and talk about our thoughts and impressions of the whole experience.

Mike: To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday was Port City Playhouse‘s Fall production and they graciously allowed us to shadow the process from the auditions all the way through closing night. We went to the auditions. We interviewed the cast as well and some of the crew. I learned a lot about the theatre and a lot about that show. It was really cool watching that whole thing evolve.

Laura: Mike and I attended the opening night performance. They did a good job. You could still see some hesitancy. They still had not quite meshed together yet. We then saw the closing night performance on Saturday evening. The growth of the actors and the rapport, it was so much fun. They were much more comfortable with each other. The jokes flowed and it was like a whole different performance.

Mike: What I kept saying on Saturday night after the show as I was talking to the different performers was that there were lots of subtleties that were not there on opening night. The audience laughed at totally different spots, including one spot where as they told us, no one had ever laughed before. That’s really kind of funny and I think they did a great job with the show. It was a lot of fun and I’m very thankful that they let us tag along and and be the fly on the wall while they were working on it.

Laura: Throughout this process we did interview all of the cast, the director and the stage manager. We also interviewed the president of Port City Playhouse, Ron Fields. This is Port City’s 30th anniversary and therefore this is kind of a special season for them.

Mike: He did tell us at the cast party on Saturday night after closing that their next show, Wonder of The World, is a hilarious show and we are looking forward to that. It will be opening sometime in 2008.

Laura: And now, on with the show.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio. I am talking with Ron Field, the president of Port City Playhouse. Thanks for talking with me, Ron.

Ron: You’re welcome. Nice to be on your program.

Mike: So tell me a little bit about the Port City Playhouse.

Ron: Port City Playhouse is a prominent community theater in Alexandria that does it’s perfomances at the Nannie Lee Performing Arts Center in the Old Town area. We are now celebrating our 30th anniversary in business.

Mike: Well, congratulations. Thirty years is a significant run for a community theater.

Ron: Yes it is. Of course you know there are a number of prominent community theaters in the Washington area. We are very fortunate to have as much live theater here as we do. Port City is pleased to be part of that whole offering of theater, ever since it was founded 30 years ago by Jean Geutier and Tom Miller. We strive to provide the the community with a diverse range of shows that are somewhat different, a little bit distinctive than the usual fare that community theater’s are known to put on.

Early on we did offer musicals and indeed I was in some of the early musicals that Port City Playhouse produced. Namely Gypsy. We did The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. And a number of shows that got good notices and very good audiences.

But as our performance site changed, we decided to stick with plays rather than musicals. We do four plays a year. Plays that are thoughtful, may have a history in the American theater literature. Such as the show we’re going to do this year, The Dresser. It is well known as a piece of live theater and it’s also been a movie. But we also are a theater that will reach out into the theater literature to do things that are even more thoughtful and, I don’t know if edgy is the correct word, but we will push the envelope, how’s that. In a way that brings theater audiences more than the common fare.

Mike: How are the shows chosen?

Ron: Like most theater organizations we appoint a play reading committee every year, early in the calendar year. The play reading committee meets beginning in the early Spring and they read a great number of scripts. They have instructions from the Board of Directors as to the kinds of shows they should be considering so that it fits with the tradition of Port City Playhouse. Then in September they present to the Board all that they’ve read: eight plays within the the four categories that they have been instructed to look at. Then it is the Board’s job by the end of October to have read those eight plays and of those eight to choose four for the next season. We are right on the doorstep of doing that. As a matter of fact this coming Sunday is our special board meeting to choose the plays for our 31st season.

Mike: Is it usually contentious or is it usually pretty easy to get to an agreement for those four shows?

Ron: I think generally there tends to be a fairly good consensus. There may be a play among the bunch of the eight that are given to us by the play reading committee that some feel more strongly about than others so we’ll have a lively discussion about that, but generally it’s fairly easy to come to a consensus on at least two or three of them.

Mike: How are the staff or the crew of these show chosen? Is that from the Board or is that part of the process?

Ron: After we’ve chosen a season then we will put the word out what that season is going to be and ask for potential directors to apply to do one of the shows during that season. We will then have a process (it’s like hiring somebody) to interview directors, to get a sense of their particular vision for the particular show that they are applying to direct. Of those that apply the Board will then choose those directors. Following that we will then look at who the producers will be. Some directors come with their own teams of producers and sound and light people. Others depend on us to fill those roles.

Mike: Switching the subject a little bit, you’re now at the Nannie Lee Performing Arts Center. Where else have you performed?

Ron: We’ve been at the Minnie Howard School Auditorium on Braddock Road. We were there for quite a long time. As I recall they closed that facility to renovate it and convert it back to a school. Then we moved over to a theater facility at T. C. Williams High School. We’re always trying to stay within the city limits of Alexandria. That is our charter. We are a theater company that was formed to provide theater for the people of the city of Alexandria. We do that, but people come from all over the metropolitan area to see our shows. After T.C. William we moved over to the Nannie Lee Performing Arts Center. That has been our home for a while now and for the foreseeable future.

Mike: Is there any dream of building your own facility?

Ron: There are always dreams, but that takes an enormous amount of money and not very many organizations have that kind of backing. The Little Theatre of Alexandria for instance back in the 30’s and 40’s when they were able to build their theatre. Most community theater companies do not have their own theater.

Mike: I’ve heard some theaters start with it and then end up selling it because it’s a lot of extra headaches that they’re not ready to deal with.

Ron: It is an enormously expensive operation. When you talk about building a theater you’re talking about millions of dollars. Not just for the show, but for all the special and electrical and technical stuff that that has to go into it. So it’s not an inexpensive endeavor. Then of course as you’ve said it takes a lot to keep it up.

Mike: Are there any challenges with having so many theater groups in the region?

Ron: That’s a very interesting question. Of course there are. You’re always competing for people’s attention and their theater dollars to stay in business. We have to be very careful about the kind of shows that we put on that are both challenging for actors, but also have a lo of audience appeal. We try to do both. We don’t want to just cater to shows that are popular to the public just to sell a lot of tickets. Because we don’t do musicals that makes it even tougher. Musicals are the most popular type of theater. At the same time we want to present for performers and directors an opportunity to be part of a show that is challenging for them and that they really would like to do. It’s kind of a fine line we walk. We’ve been in business for 30 years so I would say we’ve been fairly successful at it.

Mike: The next show that is coming up is To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Have you seen any of the rehearsals?

Ron: Oh, yes. And I must say I’m really really pleased with the caliber of the cast and the direction. I think the public would enjoy it a great deal. It was a movie in the 1990’s and so it is somewhat known. It is a very touching story, not without humor. My best way of explaining it is that it is a very human story. It touches a lot of aspects of human life. I think the public will find it very enjoyable and will find things in it that almost anyone can identify with.

Mike: Ok, well how can people get tickets? Can they get them from your website?

Ron: We have a website: www.PortCityPlayhouse.com We’re really proud of the many shows that we’ve done over the years and I should say the many awards that we’ve won reflect the quality of our plays. Two seasons ago now I guess, our 2005 season, we closed the season with a very challenging show called Hauptmann which was the true story of the man who was convicted of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder. Only in recent years to have been vindicated. Although he was executed in his innocence. They did find who it was, but this man who for a variety of reasons was thought to be the culprit and was tried, convicted, and executed. Of course I suppose that is another story that could be written about this. That he was an innocent man who was put to death for a crime he didn’t commit. We won the Ruby Griffith Award for that which is a very coveted award for that in the broader metropolitan area of Washington. It is an endowed award given by the British Player, formerly the British Embassy Players for Over all Excellence in Production. There are probably about 70 community theater companies that compete every year or more.

Then just this last year we were first runner up in Excellence of A Play for our production of All My Sons. So we continue to give the public first rate theater at a very affordable price. Our telephone number is -snipped-. You can call for tickets that way.

Mike: And if someone wanted to get involved with the group, either backstage or on stage, how can they do that? Same phone number?

Ron: Same phone number or they can email us at -snipped-.

Mike: Ok. Well, hopefully some people will come out and see some of the shows and get involved with you.

Ron: Very good. We always welcome new people. It’s a wonderful way to make new friends and stay in touch with old ones.

Mike: Ok, well thank you very much.

Ron: Thank you, Mike. I really enjoy talking with you and thank you for the opportunity to talk about Port City Playhouse.

Mike: Absolutely. Glad to learn more about it.

Ron: Ok.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio and I am backstage with Carl Nubile, who plays Paul in Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Thanks for talking with me, Carl.

Carl: Thank you for having me.

Mike: So, tell us a little bit about the character you’re playing in this show.

Carl: I play Paul. I’m the friend of the main character. The main character is the husband of Gillian, who has died two years before the play begins. I’m his best friend of many many years and his brother-in-law as well. I’m more or less the comic relief in this and I also am participating in fixing him up with someone new.

Mike: So how like Paul are you? Is it a stretch or is it just part of you?

Carl: No, it’s not a stretch. I mean I’ve been known to be amusing so that’s helpful. The trick with finding a character even if it’s close to you is in finding the parts that are maybe not so close to you, so you can bring those out as well. I don’t want to go up on stage and just be myself. I guess he’s a fairly intelligent character. He’s schooled. But he has this penchant for wanting to tell really bad jokes and I have that penchant sometimes, too. It’s hard to resist.

Mike: This show, is it more a comedy or is it a drama?

Carl: I would say it’s about 60/40, 65/35 drama. I guess the new category these days it probably “dramadey.” It’s got a good dose of both. The strongest element of the show is that it’s character driven. You really get to know all of the characters really well. Everybody down to the smallest part has a scene that really kind of exposes what they are all about and I think everybody in the audience will find somebody to identify with.

Mike: Who do you most identify with?

Carl: It’s hard to say. I like the main character, David a lot because he goes through the process of losing somebody and then going through a rebirth. I guess he’s in the process of it and we get to see that. That’s something you don’t always get to see in real life with your friends or family or whatever. You don’t always get to see the progression of how somebody goes from a very very low point to to a point where they are back to normal. Sometimes you do if you have really close friends, but I’d like to say that his character is not the most human, but he exhibits the most human elements.

Again the only reason I identify with my character is because he is kind of a sidekick. He is married to Esther, who is the main character David’s sister-in-law. He was married to his dead wife. They have a good marriage. It is childless. But you can tell he is very very good with kids. I can identify with that as well. I don’t have any kids and I’m very good with kids too. There are portions of characters you can find, but overall I think I’m a combination of David and Paul.

Mike: Is this the character you tried out for?

Carl: I tried out for both actually. There are only two male parts in the show and usually when I audition I like to go for the material. If it’s a good show, if it’s well written, if it gives you the basics of the potential of a good play, then I like to try out for it. Having done theater all my life, I’ll be 50 this year, you do a lot of the standard stock stuff over the years and you need to do that in order to get your feet wet. Now I think it’s time to pick and choose a little bit more based on the material, who you’re working with. Where you’re doing it. I’ve been fortunate to find parts that are actually a little bit closer to my personality so I get to exhibit 70% 80% of myself on stage and then I color in the rest.

Mike: How did you get started doing theater?

Carl: Well, I got started in high school. I was very, I know you wouldn’t realize this now, but I was very shy up until about 13 years old. I heard about an acting program in school and I checked it out. It was a Saturday morning class that did everything from regular acting classes to musical comedy and all that stuff. I guess I was always a bit of a ham at home, but not necessarily in public. So I joined the class and it was fantastic and I just never really stopped.

I take breaks every now and then, but I’ve been doing it for what, 35 years? It’s been a long time. Also through that you do other things. It’s not just theatre. I’ve done film work. I grew up with people who wrote films and directed films, went to film school. I’ve done radio because that’s a natural for my voice and I did a bit of training in that and a little television. I like to be anywhere around the arts I can be.

Theater to me is purest only because, unlike film or TV, they don’t edit it on you. Those are director’s pure mediums and in theater the actor does contribute quite a bit. I like to work on the character. I like to work on the stuff you don’t see on stage. All the behind the scenes work that we’ve done, the character development, I like working on that stuff. It’s interesting to me to really get into the nitty gritty of what these people are all about.

Mike: What would your ideal role be or your dream role be?

Carl: I don’t think I have a dream role. I’m a bit of an acting snob when it comes to being a fan because I’ve always loved movies and loved theater. I always distinguish between actors and movie stars. Movie stars are beautiful people you can put up on a screen and everybody loves them, but if you put them on the stage they can’t act their way out of a per bag. Actors, whether they’re in movies or stage have had a bit of theater training and they really bring a character there. It doesn’t matter to me the role that I do as long as I can bring something to it. I’m not one of these people who has to do Hamlet. That doesn’t appeal to me. If I do a two line part, I do a soliloquy, as long as I bring something to it and contribute to the rest of the production then I’m very satisfied.

Mike: How about a preference for a pure dramadey show versus a pure comedy show?

Carl: Well, like life, I like my drama with a little bit of comedy. I can do straight comedy that’s not a problem. Somebody once said that drama is tough, but comedy is really hard. I don’t find it that hard. It’s just a matter of timing and the people you work with. Drama, I think anybody who’s somewhat comic can do drama because I think there are tears behind every clown, but again that’s just an element of life. It’s just a matter of how much you want to bring to that out. Whether it’s a drama or a comedy as long as it’s good material, if it’s a good collaborative effort. It doesn’t matter to me. It’s fine by me. Like I say, I just want to contribute my part and I want the production over all to be really really successful.

Mike: So how is it working with Sara Joy since you’ve been in a show with her in the past. Is it any different with her now that she’s behind the director’s chair?

Carl: Yes, absolutely. The director’s job is a very difficult job, but I like her process. She’s one of the better directors I’ve worked with in the area because doing a straight play; she’s not a musical fan. She definitely an actor’s director. Her style is to let you play with the part first. We’ve been rehearsing a little over a month now I guess with about a month to go. It’s almost like the whole philosophy of give someone enough rope and they’ll hang themselves.

It also works in a positive way because she lets us play with the characters and in doing that you find the touchstone of the character and also the chemistry between the other characters. I like that freedom. I’m from New York originally and that’s a theater actors mecca basically. The way I was trained is exactly the way she is directing. It’s free style, but eventually the closer you get to performance it starts getting more honed and narrowed down to what you want to bring on stage night after night.

I don’t know if you can tell, I’m not generally that disciplined a person, but when I’m acting I like more of the options to fall away so that I can get to more of what the director’s vision is and what they want to see. And I’ll fight for certain points. If I see certain points in a character that I absolutely have to have to hold on to to bring that character alive then I’ll fight for that. Sara Joy is good in that respect that she entertains any wacky idea that I might come up with.

Mike: Is there anything we need to ask you that we’ve missed? Or anything you just want to share or talk about?

Carl: I like wearing colorful underwear and and if anyone invites me, I’m willing to hang out on the street corner from time to time. Other than that I like cream soda and ham sandwiches (laughs). I’m pretty normal in that way. But it is a great cast. They are a lot of fun to work with and they are all willing to do the work, which is the key I’m sure. Anybody who is listening to this has probably been in some productions and there has always been the weakest link. There is no weak link in this show. Everybody is very dedicated and that makes it a pleasure to do as well.

Mike: Well, thank you very much for talking with us. We appreciate your time.

Carl: Thank you for having me.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio and I am talking wih Morgaine Jovan who is playing Rachel in Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Thanks for talking with me.

Morgaine: Thanks for talking to me.

Mike: So you’re playing Rachel. How does she fit in to the show with the title character of Gillian?

Morgaine: Rachel is Gillian’s daughter. I think she’s a pretty important part in the show because I think she is sort of the main reason that David realizes that he has to get over the death of his wife, that his daughter is standing there needing him the whole time and he doesn’t really realize it.

Mike: Is Rachel at all like you?

Morgaine: Actually no, not really. Not at all. Rachel is a very reserved character. She’s very quiet and I think a lot of that has to do with the death of her mom and the setting that she’s in now. She lives on an island where there’s not that much to do. There are not many places where you can go and develop yourself socially except for go to school. So no, I guess she’s not really like me. I’m the party animal. I definitely like to get out and talk to people and have a really great time. Rachel seems like the girl who would rather like to sit at home and chart the stars. We’re very different in that sense.

Mike: Your friend in the show, Cindy, has been at home spending time with your dad. Is she your closest fiend or how does she fit into things?

Morgaine: Well, yeah. We did a character workshop where we talked about everything. Me and Megan who plays Cindy came up with two really different ideas about how our relationship was. I figured she was my best friend. The girl I went to for everything and the girl with her light always on. Sort of the way that I’ve ben thinking about it is that, yeah, she’s my best friend and I’m a little shocked and iffy about our relationship now that I feel that I’m being used because she has been hanging out with my Dad and that’s kind of weird. It’s nothing that I’m used to. That’s also how Rachel is so different from me.

My relationship with my father is so different from hers. I guess me and Cindy, I figured the two of us are best friends. The way that we interact with each other. Just the fact that there’s a point in the show where she finds out who my crush is. She finds out his name. She takes time out of her busy schedule to go running with my father to find out the name of my crush and I think that’s something a best friend would do. It’s something that I would do for one of my best friends. So I think we have a really good close relationship that’s being interfered with by girly emotions and those raging hormones.

Mike: Have you learned a lot since you’re the youngest person in the cast?

Morgaine: Yes I am. I’ve definitely learned a ton. Not so much book learning. Learning terms that I’ve learned or things to do, like facing the audience or learning to project. This is the most amazing experience that I’ve had in my acting so far because I’ve just been in high school shows and I’ve done things at camp and stuff where you learn a lot about acting, but you don’t do a lot of acting. Sara Joy has been really great on giving a lot of leeway with what you want to do with your character, but she also kind of forces you to do certain things that help you out a lot. That make you see a lot of different things.

I’ve never really done the any of the things that we’ve done as a cast that we have done with other casts. We’ve never really sat down and done a workshop where we sit down and all talk about what we think our characters are. Who they are. So many different things that I am realizing you can do in acting that I love of course.

I’ve had no issues with this show at all, which is kind of weird. It’s kind of weird being home and my parents asking me how was rehearsal and I tell them it was good and them sit down to do my homework. Then they ask me if that’s all I have to say. They want to know who’s horrible, who’s messing up the entire show. What did your director scream at you today for? And I would say, “Oh, no, we just rehearsed. That’s all we did.” It’s been really great to learn that there are people out there who take acting seriously and aren’t out there just to put something on their resume or get some extra credit hours in school.

Mike: Is part of that because it’s a smaller cast than what you’re used to?

Morgaine: I think it’s great. I think that if I had just been thrown into this tiny cast atmosphere with out having been . . I was in a show this Summer where my cast was 12 people. I’ve sort of had experience with a smaller cast before and that was good. It kind of prepared me because before that it had been all the shows with 20-30 kids. I don’t know. I would like to say that it has something to do with it being a smaller cast, but I don’t think it does.

This summer I had just as many issues with certain people who were in the show. Not me having issues with them not as like people, but you just sort of stress out about how somebody’s going to do on opening night. I’m sure everybody was doing the same thing with me. I’m the youngest so I’m looking up to these people and saying, wow. If they don’t know what they’re doing they really look like it. They’re really good at faking it. I think the fact that they all seem so professional and experienced in what they have been doing and how everybody is. I just love my cast.

Mike: You look like you know what you’re doing. You’re definitely doing well.

Morgaine: I hope so. I hope I look like I know what I’m doing because half the time I feel like I don’t. Then there’s the other rehearsals where you come home and you’re just so happy with how you did and how everything worked out at rehearsal. Those are the best. It’s good that I can have those because there have been other shows that I’ve been in literally been none of those. If this is what the rehearsals are like I can’t imagine how great the show is going to be. I really can’t wait to see how that’s going to pan out.

Mike: Well once you get a set that will help, right?

Morgaine: Oh yeah. I’m so excited for the set. Sara keeps talking about it and how it’s going to look. She showed us a picture of it a few days ago. It is so exciting. The lighthouse is huge. It’s giant and the house is bigger than a real person. That’s really weird. I’m so excited to see that. The set really makes it feel real. It doesn’t feel real now. It just seem like I’m going somewhere after school to read lines to just do something fun. It doesn’t seem like work yet. It’s not hard yet so it doesn’t seem like I’m doing something outside of my normal everyday routine because it has kind of become that. I just kind of go and do my lines and talk on stage and have a good time. I don’t realize I’m going to be up in front of tons of people in a matter of weeks. I try to not think about that.

Mike: So, do you want to do acting as a profession?

Morgaine: Oh yeah. I would love to. Before, I thought about it last year and said that I’ve got to make money. Then I realized that I have to do what makes me happy. It’s pointless wasting my life doing something that I don’t enjoy and as of right now I can be good at other things, but this is something I really excel in and enjoy at the same time as much as acting. If I don’t become a professional actress. I’ve already learned that it’s not Broadway, Hollywood or nothing. I finally got that lesson which was really good. But if I don’t even get to act on stage for the rest of my life no matter what stage that may be, hopefully I’ll have something else going on in the acting profession. That’s what I’m really interested in. I’m doing the whole IB acting and I’m in the classes and it’s fun; it’s cool. But you actually have to go out there and do it to learn it.

Mike: How do you learn your lines?

Morgaine: It’s a much less painful process than people would think. This is the most rehearsal time than for any show I’ve ever done. We rehearse the scenes so much that they started to get in my head. After the second week I was reading the script and I just put it down and my friend picked it up and started reading it out loud and I found myself responding to the lines in the right places. I was saying what’s going on? How do I know these? I sort of caught on from rehearsal and then I knew that our lines were due on this one Sunday. I knew that the lines were going to be due on Tuesday and so I had my friend come over and I sat down and reading the script just just went through the whole show about three times.

I know that there’s nothing interesting about that at all, but I don’t know, just doing it I realized how much I had them down. There actually wasn’t that much work to be done on that Sunday with my friend, I knew pretty much all of it just from rehearsing it so that was really great. Then some nights every once in a while just to keep it in my head I’ll lay down before I go to sleep and read through the ones I really need to know and then the next morning I’ll wake up and it will have sunk into my head. I put my script under my pillow so I’m reading it in my sleep. That’s pretty much all I’ve done.

Mike: Everybody has a different way of doing it so that’s great.

Morgaine: I think it isn’t that hard for anybody in the show because the script is written so well. The lines flow really naturally and it’s not like you’re speaking in old English or something. The lines make sense. The last show I was in Australia 100 years ago so the language is totally different. Before that I was in Grease which was a 1950’s, but you wouldn’t believe how different the words are. They were crazy and it was hard to remember your lines because they don’t make any sense to you. These lines, even tough they say razors once (don’t go razors on me) that’s the only thing I didn’t understand in the entire script. The rest of it seemed like something that could definitely happen. It was spoken really well and it flowed really well. That’s what I love about the show.

Mike: Well, it opens up in about three and a half weeks or so.

Morgaine: I know. I try not to think about it. When I think about it I’ll grab the nearest person and be like, “I’m going on stage in two weeks. Oh my gosh.” And then they look at me with that get away from me you freak and walk away and I’m left there all by myself. There’s nobody to share my excitement with because there is nobody at school who is in the show with me so I can’t be all excited about it and talk to them about it and how I can’t wait for it to happen and everything that we’re going to do and how we’re going to go out and party after the first show. It’s just me kind of sitting at home by myself being all excited in solitude.

Mike: Ok, well thanks very much for talking with me today. I appreciate it.

Morgaine: No problem.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio. I am backstage with Megan Graves, who has the role of Cindy in Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Thanks for talking with me, Megan.

Megan: Thanks. I’m excited. This is my first interview. It’s a big moment.

Mike: Well, you have to start somewhere.

Megan: Exactly.

Mike: So tell me, how does Cindy fit into Gillian?

Megan: Cindy is a friend of the main character David and his daughter Rachel. Rachel and David have been vacationing on Nantucket for several years. Before the play begins they had met Cindy. Now they live there year round Cindy is sort of a family member as David says in the beginning. She’s as good as family. As the play progresses Cindy becomes more and more alienated from David and Rachel as David attempts to cope with the loss of his wife and sort of moves out of this fantasy world that he has created which does include his sort of child like relationship with Cindy. As he moves towards a more real adult existence he sort of has to in a way leave her behind. As the play progresses Cindy goes from a place of being kind of like family to sort of a place of alienation. She’s a very interesting character and it was really interesting to develop how she fits into this little jigsaw puzzle of a story.

Mike: The first few readings was kind of a creepy relationship that never evolved.

Megan: There is more than a bit of a creepy sort of undertone to David and Cindy’s relationship. It was a question that Dan and I, Dan who plays David, how does he view their relationship? How does Cindy view their relationship? Then try to interpret the script in kind of our own separate ways. I think Cindy is really searching for a father figure, but she doesn’t quite realize that. I think it’s sort of a psychological thing for her. She’s looking for maybe this love that is missing. We never meet Cindy’s parents or her brother. We never meet the rest of her family in the script. She sort of speaks of them as kind of a absent point of reference in her life. She doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with them and so and I think she’s trying to find a place to fit in and she’s trying so hard that it develops unhealthy aspects in her relationships.

Mike: Does she know it’s unhealthy?

Megan: I think she has an inkling. I think she realizes when Rachel comes back from spending the Summer on the mainland with her aunt and uncle how awkward it is to have a crush on her best friend’s father and I think as the summer has gone on she has developed this relationship with David and it’s only when Rachel comes back and the events that you see in the staging of the play that Cindy realizes that this is a little strange and it’s not quite working and she doesn’t quite fit in to this little act.

Mike: Some of the scenes I guess later on with the drinking, is that Cindy being Cindy or is that Cindy trying to be an older person for David?

Megan: I think the drinking isn’t necessarily Cindy trying to be an older person for David. She certainly does that. Especially when the character of Kevin come a long. Kevin is a woman who David’s sister and brother-in-law try to set him up with. Cindy definitely sees her as a rival and tries to kind of up her “womanly appeal” you might say and tries to distract attention from Kevin and keep David’s attention on herself. The drinking, I think, the final scene Cindy does crack open a bottle of wine and I would say get a little tipsy. I don’t think it’s so much a reaction of trying to get David to notice her as sort of a reaction to David’s not noticing her. I think Cindy’s a girl who is always kind of on the edge. I wouldn’t say that she has never drunk before, but I wouldn’t say it’s a reaction to David necessarily. I think it’s just sort of a way to have fun, but it doesn’t really work out that way.

Mike: Is Cindy at all like you or has this been a role to stretch you some?

Megan: It has definitely stretched me. Originally when I first auditioned I thought I had nothing in common with her. Then reading the script and kind of delving into her character I do find a lot of similarities. I mean she does kind of have a lot of universal qualities. Everyone wants to be loved and I think everyone has gone through a portion of their life where they wonder do they really fit in and they have struggled to find themselves. I think in this respect I do identify with her and I identify with all the conflicts that go on. I mean she’s sort of a typical adolescent taken to the extreme and so I do identify with some aspects and some I don’t. A lot of her personality and the things she does, I wouldn’t do. But it doesn’t mean I don’t identify with her and a lot of the things she does, that do go on in her mind.

Mike: What other roles have you done?

Megan: I’ve played a lot of more character costume kind of roles. My first main role I played Jo in Little Women, which was a lot of fun. That was another kind of performance that kind of stretched me because I sort of always viewed Jo as kind of a tomboy. That wasn’t me, but it was a lot of fun to play. I played Mrs. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. It was probably my favorite role, a lot of fun. Definitely a lot of big loud character role. I did a couple of things with the Little Theatre of Alexandria. I performed with them in their educational program for a couple different schools in the area. We did a show on poetry to it was a lot of fun to kind of explore the educational side of theater. I’ve really enjoyed by experiences thus far.

Mike: Do you have a role you would just kill to do?

Megan: No specific role. I’m really into Shakespeare right now. I’m a real “Bardolator” as they say. I just finished reading Hamlet for the second time, which I know isn’t a lot, but I’ve really been struck with he character of Ophelia. So I really enjoy just a lot of Shakespeare’s female characters. I think there is a wide array of them. It sound corny to say, but I would love to play Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. I think she’s sort of a misunderstood heroine and a lot of people don’t like her because she seems so niave, but I think there is a lot more there and I would love to be able to develop that. I would probably accept any Shakespearean role.

Mike: I’ve asked everybody else about the charcter workshop. Have you done anything like that in your past experience?

Megan: Nothing in that same format. Most of the shows I’ve done we’ve talked about our characters and kind of what’s going on in their minds. I think this is probably the most in depth I’ve ever gone at least with the rest of the cast. I usually create a back story for each of my characters if it’s not really explained in the script. But it was really really great to sit down with everyone and see what everyone thought about certain issues and sort of fit everyone togther and how they all work as a cohesive unit. It was really nice to explore sort of the psychological issues and dig deep into our character’s minds and see what’s really going on and what they’re really saying when they do certain things. I really enjoyed that and I would love to be able to do more of that in shows that I do.

Mike: Something else I’ve asked everybody else is how do you learn your lines?

Megan: Usually I memorize my lines by pacing up and down. I don’t know why this is. I think a lot of people do use movement, but for some reason it translates for me just pacing up and down in my room. We had a lot of rehearsal time for this show so I didn’t really feel the need to do that as much. Usually when I’m down to crunch time and I need to memorize my lines I’ll take a half an hour or an hour and just walk up and down and memorize. It was nice becaus we had so much rehearsal time that I was really able to get the lines just by rehearsing them so much and then I would flip through them in my free time. I would be on the metro going over my lines and people would look at me like I was crazy because I tend to mouth them and put expression on my face even when I’m trying to memorize them. I think I scared a lot of people in the DC metro area, but I have most of my lines memorized so it was worth it.

Mike: Who would Cindy like other than Rachel and David since everybody else is just kind of an acquaintance?

Megan: I think beside David and Rachel, Cindy’s probably best friends with Paul, who is David’s brother-in-law. I think the two of them share a lot of similarities and this is something we explored in the character workshop is how did they view each other. I think while Cindy and David have kind of an unhealthy strange relationship, Paul and Cindy have sort of developed an almost brother-sister type relationship even though he is also a father figure to her. He sort of comes down to her level in a way, it sounds strange. But they have kind of a bantering relationship and they get along very well as friends. I think Cindy probably works more cohesively with Paul than maybe with anyone else in the play because she doesn’t have the same issues with him that she does with David and because of her issues with David she also has these issues with Rachel. I think her relationship with Paul is probably the most healthy of any of her relationships.

Mike: What do you see yourself doing in five years. Sticking with acting? Do you want it to be a career or is it just a hobby?

Megan: I would like to go into acting as a career. I realize it is very difficult. Anything in the creative performing arts world is a very difficult wolrd to break in to. I would like to get a degree in theater. I’m also really passionate about literature and English so I’m keeping that as a backup. I would love to be a children’s book editor or something like that in the future. I’m sort of pursuing both at the moment, but my true love is acting so I’m hoping to find some way to make that work. I don’t think it necesarily has to be Broadway or Hollywood, but there’s a lot of great theater and I’m really excited to see what the future has for me.

Mike: Do you have any immediate plans after this?

Megan: I have been cast in Little Theatre of Alexandria’s Christmas Carol. I am starting to work on that now and that will be staging in the beginning of Decmber so I am planning on doing that. After that I am sort of just waiting to see what comes along.

Mike: OK, well thank you very much for talking with me. I appreciate it.

Megan: Thank you.

Mike: This is Mike with ShowBizRadio and I am backstage at a rehearsal of Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. I’m talking with the Stage Manager, Alexis Rose. Thanks for talking with me.

Alexis: Thank you for having me.

Mike: Ok. So the big question is: what is a stage manager?

Alexis: The Stage Manager is the person who is in charge of implementing everything in a production, putting it all together. Taking the director’s vision, making sure the actors are following through with it and then calling the cues during the show and making sure that everything runs smoothly.

Mike: I’ve seen you at a bunch of the rehearsals. You’ve got to know the whole show inside and out?

Alexis: Exactly. I have to know everything. I have to be at every single rehearsal. I run every technical rehearsal. I know if anything is messed up and then what to do if something happens that is either not expected or is an emergency situation.

Mike: Are you backstage or are you somewhere else during the show?

Alexis: I am in the booth during the show with the light run and the sound run.

Mike: Are you doing either of those or is someone else actually doing those?

Alexis: Luckily we have someone doing both of those so I just have to call the show.

Mike: So what do you mean “call the show?” What does that mean?

Alexis: When you call the show, that’s basically I say when the lights are supposed to go and when the sound is supposed to go. I have to listen to the show, make sure all that happens and then the light run or the sound run can take a nap or read a book or whatever and then I call stand by and then tell them when to go.

Mike: Have you done stage managing before or is this your first time?

Alexis: This is the first show I’ve done outside of school. I have stage managed for about six years or so. I’ve stage managed all through school. It’s what I studied when I was in college, so I’m excited to do a production outside of school.

Mike: So you can get a degree in Stage Management?

Alexis: You can get one. Mine, I had a Liberal Arts Degree in Dramatic Arts. My focus was primarily on Stage Managing. That’s what I did all four years.

Mike: Wow, I didn’t know you could do that. That’s neat. Where did you go to school?

Alexis: I went to school at St. Mary’s College in Southern Maryland.

Mike: Has this experience been what you were expecting from all your training?

Alexis: This experience has been very similar to one that I’ve trained for. It’s been really easy because the actors have been carrying themselves very professionally. They’ve been really easy to work with. Sara Joy has been a delight to work for and because we do have a sound and lights run.

Mike: So if something happens would that be something like a light burns out or someone forgets their lines or what type of things do you have to be on the watch for?

Alexis: Primarily the actors are going to have to cover themselves if they have any problems with their lines. If a light burns out, either the light designer will have to fix that (the person running the lights) either with other lights, that’s not something we can really fix in the middle of the show. So the things I will be looking out for will be just making sure that the lights go up when they’re supposed to go up. The sound will go up when it needs to. Then if we needed to cover anything, then that’s what we would take care of. I can think of emergency situations I’ve had in the past.

Mike: What types of things?

Alexis: I’ve had crises where I’ve had a sound designer stick a spoon in an amplifier and didn’t inform me ahead of time because clearly she knew I would be upset. So she fixed it and then she left, I don’t know where she went. So I had to call someone else to bring a whole new sound system. That’s kind of the stuff I primarily deal with. Then getting someone backstage who can fix it; the table if a leg falls off or bandaging up an actor and try to figure out a way to cover them if they are bleeding and need someone else to go on stage for them.

Mike: Wow. So what are your thoughts of the show that you have been watching for the last couple months?

Alexis: I think it’s a great show. I hope everybody comes out to see it. See how hard this group of actors has worked, to come and check out the way that it look all together, the lights and the sound and just the way it goes between David’s real life and what’s happening with his life and then Gillian and how that’s represented through the different lights and sounds and character changes.

Mike: Do you have any characters that you really like? Since you’re not one of them you can kind of share some thoughts that nobody else can share.

Alexis: That’s a really hard question because I like them all for different reasons. I love the family: Dan, Gillian, and Rachel. I think they have just a sweet life and you just wish their life was happily ever after like it could have been.

Mike: Ok. Anything else we should talk about?

Alexis: No, I think that about covers it. I hope everybody comes out to see the show.

Mike: Ok, well thanks very much for talking with me. I appreciate it.

Alexis: Thank you for talking to me.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio and I am backstage at a rehearsal of Port City Playhouse‘s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. I am talking with Katie Gentic, who plays the role of Kevin. Thanks for talking with me.

Katie: No problem. My pleasure.

Mike: How does Kevin fit into the title character of Gillian? How is she affiliated with her?

Katie: First of all she knows David better than she ever knew Gillian because she took David’s English courses in college and actually had something of a friendship with him. My interpretation is she knew Gillian, probably not too well, but she probably had met her on a couple of occasions. So she’s not as familiar with her as the family members are obviously. She is more of an observer of the family dynamic that is taking place right now. She doesn’t see a lot of the the heated arguments that arise among the family members. She is kind of having that third party perspective of what is going on, I think.

She kind of helps David and Rachel in particular since she relates to them, step outside of themselves, step outside of the family and become more self aware of their situation and to think outside the box so to speak to maybe move forward instead of getting stuck in this self absorption that he has been in for the last two years. All these personalities clashing and trying to get what they want rather than stepping outside and looking at how the entire family can benefit.

Mike: Has it been hard trying to get into the mindset of this person?

Katie: Actually I find her to be very natural. It’s more of a natural part for me than others I’ve played. I’m used to doing comedies and kind of over the top characters and Kevin is very, very grounded. It’s kind of a nice change for me just to be very real and it’s really what she is. She’s very real and very direct. She knows what she wants so it’s been a different experience; challenging in a different way.

Mike: So what type of challenges have been present? Is Kevin like you or is she unlike you?

Katie: I find that she and I have similar experiences. Not exactly the same, I don’t have a child, but relationship experiences definitely have been similar so that is something that I have been able to tap into going into this part. That part has come rather naturally. The character history has been a little more challenging. That’s something that we’ve done a lot of discussion on and trying to delve more into her background and see how she came to where she is today has been where the challenge lies.

Mike: We’ve seen you in several shows that have all been comedies or funny musicals. Do you prefer musicals and comedies over dramas? I think this is the first drama drama we’ve seen you in.

Katie: This is the first drama I’ve been in since college actually so it’s a change and I like it in a different way. Like I said it comes more naturally. I enjoy the comedies very much and I find them to be most challenging because of the timing. It’s all in the timing as they say. And making sure there is a lot more focus I find that goes into comedic characters. You really can’t second guess your choices when you’re playing a funny part on stage. If you do, the audience reads that and they get uncomfortable. With this, like I said it’s very natural so it’s more a straight forward tapping into personal experiences and drawing on those.

Whereas with comedic characters, it’s hard to find experiences that necessarily match the experiences and the nuances of the funnier parts that I’ve played, but I do. I enjoy both. Musicals are always a challenge; working with the music and trying to do comedy and music at the same time can be a lot to focus on at one time.

Katie: This is the first drama I’ve been in since college actually so it’s a change and I like it in a different way. Like I said it comes more naturally. I enjoy the comedies very much and I find them to be most challenging because of the timing. It’s all in the timing as they say. And making sure there is a lot more focus I find that goes into comedic characters. You really can’t second guess your choices when you’re playing a funny part on stage. If you do, the audience reads that and they get uncomfortable. With this, like I said it’s very natural so it’s more a straight forward tapping into personal experiences and drawing on those.

Whereas with comedic characters, it’s hard to find experiences that necessarily match the experiences and the nuances of the funnier parts that I’ve played, but I do. I enjoy both. Musicals are always a challenge; working with the music and trying to do comedy and music at the same time can be a lot to focus on at one time.

Mike: A few weeks ago there was a character workshop with the director. All of the people in the show talked about their characters and their motives and things like that. Have you done anything like that before?

Katie: A little bit. When I did Anton in Show Business here at Port City we did some discussions of that. It was a different experience. It was almost like being put on the spot a little more here as the previous time I did that with Anton was more talking about the character where as this was more in character so it was like improv. Thinking on the spot. We didn’t know what questions we were going to be thrown at us we kind of had to make something up and some of the characters were asked the same questions had different answers so that was something we all needed to be in agreement on. How long have these people known each other and such. So it definitely was a new experience doing that and I found it very beneficial actually to give that much thought to the character’s history and their motives and what they think about the other characters and their feeling are with the scenes that they’re in. It was definitely a new and beneficial experience for the part.

Mike: Switching the subject, I don’t think I’ve asked anybody else this in the show: Have you seen the movie version of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday?

Katie: I have not seen the movie version, but I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard it’s very different from the play. Part of the reason I have not watched it is a lot of times when you already have a certain way of presenting a character in mind from previous performances you’ve seen either whether on screen or on stage, that can limit you to developing a character. For that reason I haven’t been too eager to see it, it would be good to see it at this point now that I have kind of figured out how I want Kevin to be (her quirks and what have you) it would be interesting to go back and see how the actress playing her in the movie portrayed the part.

Mike: Something I have asked most of the other people is, how do you learn your lines? Most everybody has a different style.

Katie: Honestly, whenever I sit down to learn lines it’s usually pretty well into the run of the rehearsal and by then I realize that I already know them. I just didn’t quite realize I did because when you have the book in hand it’s like a crutch. You don’t want to let it go, but finally you do and you realize that you don’t need it after all. Usually when I sit down to learn lines it’s more like a refresher almost because I’ve gone through them so many times.

It also depends on the script. Some scripts are easier to learn because the responses you have to what other characters are saying is very natural. This play is more along those lines. I had a harder time with Anton in Show Business because I had a lot of off the wall non sequitur monologues that really had nothing to do with what was going on. They were kind of stream of consciousness so those were kind of a little harder to grasp, but thus is Kevin being the way she is. One thought follows another and it makes sense.

Mike: In the show you have a relationship with David’s daughter Rachel. How is that in real life in getting to know Morgaine better?

Katie: I actually find in person when I’m with Morgaine I feel a lot younger than I am. I feel like I’m a cool kid again (laughs). Whereas Kevin is more motherly. She has a daughter of her own so I think she’s more protective of Rachel. It’s been a good experience to relate to teenagers. I’m kind of amazed at how mature both Morgaine and Megan are for their ages, because when I was that age I was much more timid and introverted, but they don’t seem to be fearful of adults at all where as I was. So it has been very cool to see that they are not afraid to speak their minds.

Mike: Is there anything else you want to share with us? What are your plans after this show?

Katie: I do have auditions coming up for a couple shows that I’m interested in so hopefully in the January time frame I will be somewhere performing. I also recently became a board member of Dominion Stage. Oh, shameless plug, their show A Beautiful Thing is currently running at Gunston Middle School over on Lang Street in Arlington. It is directed by Scott Olsen. That runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM. So go see it.

Mike: Ok, well thanks very much for talking with me today.

Katie: Thank you.

Mike: Hi, this is Mike with ShowBizRadio and I am talking with Elizabeth Repogle about her role as Esther in Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Thanks for talking with me, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth: Oh, you’re welcome.

Mike: Tell me who Esther is in relation to the title role of Gillian.

Elizabeth: Esther is Gillian’s older sister. They were two years a part. Gillian would have been 37 at the time of the play. Esther is 39.

Mike: Is this a part that you tried for or were just trying to get anything in the show?

Elizabeth: I just went to the audition. I saw the audition notice and saw that there were several female roles from 28 to 39. I’m 35 so I thought I fell right in the middle of all of those and it would be a good possibility to try for all of them.

Mike: Is Esther anything like you?

Elizabeth: That’s an interesting question because I think there are ways that we are very different and I think there are ways that we are very similar. Family is obviously very important to Esther and my family is very important to me. I grew up in a very close knit family and we are still very close knit today. I think that is part of the ways in which we are the same. I think we both have a tendency to want to make sure that everybody around us is happy and OK and content and that things are under control. Those parts of her I definitely identify with.

Mike: Esther is a therapist. Is that anything like your day to day job?

Elizabeth: Not at all. I am a lawyer. I guess it’s only the same in the idea that we both would have had to go to school for a long time. But otherwise, not really.

Mike: So you’re a lawyer. Are you a practicing lawyer, such as going in front of a judge with cases?

Elizabeth: No. I work for a private firm downtown doing corporate work. I don’t see the inside of a courtroom ever, which is fine with me.

Mike: It’s interesting. I don’t know if I’ve ever met any actors in the area who were lawyers. Usually actors or people in theater are very creative left brain people. Lawyers tend to be right brained by the book, rigid.

Elizabeth: That’s funny that you say that because I think of myself much more as a creative person. There is a lot of room for creativity in being a lawyer, but that’s one thing I actually really like about being involved in community theater is because the people that I meet on a day to day basis pretty much are lawyers or in the legal profession and it’s so much fun for me to get out and really bond with people who have such varying (fields). For example our director is a teacher and teaches drama and geometry. I think that’s fantastic. It’s really nice for me to be able to meet people who do other things that have nothing to do with what I do.

Mike: So how did you get started with acting?

Elizabeth: I actually did quite a bit of theater when I was in high school. Both in school, like school plays and then also in outside school acting groups for young people where I grew up in Kansas City. I didn’t do it again really until just a few years ago. I was in LA for a little bit after college. There really is no community theater in LA because everybody wants to be an actor so there is far too much competition for those who just want to do it for fun. It wasn’t until I moved to DC in 2002 that I noticed what a really vibrant community theater area this was. There were so many different theater groups and things going on, it drew me back in.

Mike: Was it hard getting back in? Did you do classes or anything?

Elizabeth: I got a part for the first thing I tried out for which was just crazy. I was getting ready to go home from work one day and I had been getting audition notices from various groups. Some thing was auditioning that night. It was The Hound of The Baskervilles out in Great Falls Players, which I guess is now The McLean Community Players. It was a total whim and I went out and I read for the part and ended up getting it. It was perfect for me because it was very small. It was the maid. She would go on and say a couple things and come right back off. It was not anything big or serious and it was a really nice way for me to kind of get back into it with out having to have too much pressure.

I took a break from it a little while because I did some teaching, but I had been going on some auditions and I was getting called back, but then not getting the part so I did end up taking some classes at the Little Theatre of Alexandria with Michael Baker, who was fantastic. I took that this Spring and then auditioned for this part and got it. This was the first audition I had been on since the class was over so obviously it did some good.

Mike: What would your part be that you would do if you could have your choice of any part in the world?

Elizabeth: I think everybody probably wants to do Shakespeare. I would love to do Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing. I think that’s such fun role and every time I’ve seen it performed either on stage or in the movies or anything it always look like the actress who does it just has a blast. I think that would probably be it if I had any opportunity I would love to give that a shot. Before I’m too old for it.

Mike: We talked with Carl Nubile at rehearsal a couple nights ago.

Elizabeth: Ohhh great.

Mike: So what is it like having an on stage husband?

Elizabeth: That is also a first for me. I do not have a husband off stage so having one one on stage is definitely interesting. He is such a fantastic actor and fantastic person that he makes it very easy. The whole cast is great. I don’t think I could have asked for a better six people to work with or a better director. I’m just having so much fun. I can’t believe we’ve only known each other a month. It seems crazy to me. We really bonded, I think, very well and we’re having a really good time.

Mike: So do you think you’ll be ready? It’s less than a month away ’til opening.

Elizabeth: I know. We really are. We’re right about at the half way point. I do think we’re going to be ready. I think it will be a lot easier once we have the set and we can see sort of where we are with that because of the house and the deck. We have to stand up on a deck for part of the stage will be up higher and so that part’s been interesting to try to imagine. But I think we are.

Mike: Well, thank you very much for talking with us.

Elizabeth: Thank you very much.

Mike: This is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio. Today I am backstage at the Port City Playhouse’s rehearsal of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Tonight I am talking with Amanda Lenhart, who plays the title role of Gillian. Thanks for talking with me.

Amanda: Thanks for talking with me.

Mike: So, you are the title role in the show. Who is Gillian?

Amanda: Gillian is the wife of David, and Gillian actually appears in the play as a ghost because she’s dead.

Mike: Is she really a ghost or is she just in his imagination? We don’t want to give too much of the show away.

Amanda: That’s actually a really good question. It’s something that we’ve been thinking about as we’ve been working through the character and how to play the character on stage. Is she really a ghost? Is she there or is she not there? Is she a figment of his imagination or is she a creation of everybody’s minds? Or is she an independent entity? I think we’ve kind of hit on that she’s a little of all those things. She comes out of people’s minds and that she still is also independent.

Mike: Has it been hard getting into the mindset of a ghost or inside someone that’s inside David’s mind? Has it been tricky?

Amanda: I think certainly every character has it’s challenges. I think what’s interesting for me is not so much that Gillian is a ghost, though that does provide some challenges because acting a lot of it is about reacting to other people’s words. Giving you something back on stage by making eye contact. Because 3/4 of the cast can’t see me, I don’t get that kind of eye contact on stage. That certainly provides a challenge. In term of embodying a ghost character, I’ve been focusing more on sort of who was Gillian? Who is Gillian as an independent individual? How do you act that on stage and all of her good and bad qualities.

Mike: So is she like you or unlike you in real life?

Amanda: I think it’s a little bit of both. I think every character is like you on some level. That’s how you act that character is by finding the parts that that person has inside yourself and pulling them out and displaying them on stage. Sometimes that’s having to go down and find parts of yourself that you like and sometimes it’s having to go down and find parts of yourself that you don’t like. I think in cases where you feel very different from the character I draw upon people that I know who remind me of her. Friends in my life or non friends or enemies or people I’ve met. Thinking about them and how they act and I pull from that to embody the character.

Mike: You have only one person in the show that you directly can talk with. Has that been challenging?

Amanda: The person who plays the character David, Dan is great. So on one level my attractions with him are with any scene partner. Of course not being able to make any eye contact during other major scenes I’m in is challenging. But certainly Dan has made it easy to work with him so I wouldn’t say it’s been too hard.

Mike: What about that relationship with him? Are you married? Do you have things like that that helps you with your relationship on stage?

Amanda: Am I personally married, so that I think about things like that? I am not personally married, but I have had long term relationships. Sure you draw upon them and when you think about what it’s like to be in a long term relationship. What it’s like to lose someone that you love? Certainly my character, even though she’s stopped in time that doesn’t mean she’s stopped feeling and doesn’t realize her situation. Of course she does.

I’m somebody who’s experienced loss as well. Thinking about what it would be like to lose somebody. What it would be like it if you suddenly couldn’t talk to your daughter or touch your daughter or kiss your husband goodnight. Thinking about what that means and you draw upon your other experiences of loss whether that’s the death of somebody that you love or the break up of a relationship or any number of things.

Mike: What is the theme of the show? Is it loss? Is it getting over loss?

Amanda: I think the theme of the show is about overcoming grief. It’s about moving forward. It’s about the celebration of the good in life and life as an affirmative experience. At least from my perspective. The goal of my character is for my husband to be happy. I love him and I want him to be happy so therefore my goal is to push him back into life instead of having him be in this limbo of grief.

Mike: Switching gears a little bit. How do you learn you lines? Everybody I’ve talked to has had a very different way of doing that.

Amanda: I learn my lines by repetition. I either speak them aloud or read them over and over. I actually have a tendency to do it at the gym. I find that physical movement in combination with learning the lines somehow sort of solidifies them in my mind better. I learned that trick in the last show that I did. I have put it to use in this one as well.

Mike: Are you wanting to continue doing acting as a career? As a hobby? Where does it fit into your life?

Amanda: I think it’s certainly a hobby at this point. It’s something I enjoy very much and I feel very strongly and passionate about, but it’s something that I have kind of come back to. I did a lot of theater in high school and even as a child. Then I stopped and returned to it as an adult in the past few years.

Mike: What would the role you would just kill to do? What would that part be?

Amanda: It’s really tough. I love Shakespeare. I love a lot of the Shakespearean heroines and the challenges they provide. I guess that the role that I would love to have are the roles that challenge me, that push me, that make me get out of my comfort zone and force me to be people that I’m not. I really enjoy playing villains because I think the challenge in those roles are is to understand that person and where they come from and find the humanity inside somebody who is evil or mean. That’s really kind of fun.

Mike: Do you interact with Rachel (Gillian’s daughter) in the show?

Amanda: We don’t speak. I look at her, but she doesn’t look at me and I hug her.

Mike: I don’t like your character. I like it at the beginning, but at the end I really don’t like Gillian. I think she’s pretty selfish.

Amanda: I think that’s absolutely right. I think my character is not… That’s the beauty of the experience of this character, of her being in his show. She is set up as this icon. As sort of this paragon of love and womanly devotion. She has a career. She has a child, then it’s sort of unraveled. The picture frays and you realize that she is a human being. She’s definitely not perfect. I think she is selfish to a certain extent. I think that she’s ambitious and flawed and imperfect and sort of a reluctant mother. But I think that ultimately she is trying to be true to herself. She never tries to be anybody that she’s not. I actually admire that about the character even if I don’t necessarily like her.

Mike: One thing I have asked other people is the character workshop that you all did a few weeks ago. Have you done anything like that before?

Amanda: Not quite that format. In the previous show that I did some character work where we were asked to go home and write documents about the character, about the person and what we thought. Sort of underpinning some of their decisions and the choices that they made in the show. We also had to do research on the character historically. So I have done a little bit of that and I find it very helpful. I’m the kind of person who likes that kind of thing anyway so I find that part fun.

Mike: Well, thank you very much for talking with me. I appreciate you taking the time.

Amanda: Thanks for chatting with me. It was great.

Mike: Hi, this is Mike Clark with ShowBizRadio and I am backstage with Dan Eddy, who plays the role of David in Port City Playhouse’s production of To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday. Thanks for talking with me, Dan.

Dan: Sure. Happy to do it.

Mike: So how is David affiliated with the title character of Gillian?

Dan: They were married. In David’s mind they’re still married and will always be married even though she has passed on.

Mike: Has this been a good part for you? Is it similar to how you are in real life?

Dan: I think it is. I think it is a fairly easy fit. There’s a lot of simpatico I feel with David. I haven’t had the tragedies that he’s had, but we’ve all had certain things happen in our lives that we can fall on for that type of feeling. There is a lot of similarity, I think. It’s not a real stretch.

Mike: Do you think as an actor that it’s easier to portray someone who is very close to you or someone who is very different from you?

Dan: I think that’s an interesting question. It may seem easier when you get into it, but then when the character doesn’t say exactly what you might say and doesn’t behave as you might behave you can’t think of yourself as someone very very different I suppose. At least not at the outset. That’s what you do as you get into the characters. You realize this character is not as similar to you as you thought in the beginning. Then you try to get into more of his mindset rather than your own.

Mike: Are a lot of the scenes close to how you would be acting or is it lots of small subtle differences?

Dan: I think probably the latter. The way that he banters with Gillian is a little unusual. I certainly don’t do that with my own wife. We all play certain word games and that kind of thing. I think that’s what you need to do. You take how you would behave perhaps and then somehow try to understand how if the words were a little different the feeling were the same. So there are a lot of differences.

I certainly never was a professor. I’m trying to think a little bit more in those terms of how a professor would approach talking to someone a little bit. There is a little bit of that in David’s character as written.

But, you know, I spent a lot of time on Nantucket as it happens and I’ve run on those beaches. A lot of it is kind of fun for me because when the script says he runs in on the beach, I’ve done that there. I’ve seen beach houses there. I just have the advantage of being up in that area for some time. That’s kind of fun. When they talk about the lighthouse, I know the lighthouse. That kind of thing.

Mike: So what about your daughter Rachel in the show? Has that been a good ongoing relationship?

Dan: Oh, yeah. Morgaine who plays Rachel. She is just fabulous. One of the fun things. One of the very nice things is establishing that relationship, that father/daughter relationship on stage. She has been very helpful. I mean she knows what it’s like to have a dad and relate to him. She has shared little bits and pieces here. She would say that she would not say it quite like this or whatever. I listen very carefully to Morgaine because I think she’s really terrific.

Mike: What about your relationship with Gillian? How has that been?

Dan: That’s an interesting one of course. It’s not quite written in the play as you might think. I would tend to be perhaps wanting to be closer to someone than the stage directions may allow us at some points. I think that’s interesting. That my be one of the harder ones. I think they’re all interesting. David relates to everybody on the stage and everybody’s different. It’s a real cast of characters and he’s got to explain them in different ways. I think Amanda playing Gillian. She’s gorgeous, she’s talented. It’s going to be really interested working with her.

Mike: Let’s go back to how you got started in stage work.

Dan: Long ago it seemed like a really interesting thing to do. I saw movies and plays and I thought, “You know, that would be a neat thing to do.” There was a time quite some time ago where it was really my passion and it was really what I thought about doing as a career, but eventually determined that that really wasn’t going to be in the cards. But it’s always remained a passion. I enjoy going to the theater, seeing other performers. I think I’m a fairly critical viewer in terms of wanting to see something good. So I think my goal in this is to try to be as good as I can and make it a really good show for those who come.

Mike: How do you learn your lines? Everybody I’ve talked to so far has had slightly different ways of doing it. So what’s your secret to learning your lines?

Dan: I don’t know how anybody else does it, I know how I do it. It kind of changes over time. At first you try to learn little bits and pieces and you may pick a scene. I’m in eight of the nine scenes. So I picked one. It was the one with Gillian because I thought it might be a fairly easy learn. So I got that one done and felt like I knew it pretty well. You go over by yourself. My wife has been very helpful. We’ve been shooting lines. I’ve been driving her a little bit nuts because I’m starting to say these lines in random conversations unrelated to the times she’s helping me shoot the lines and learn them. But she’s been helpful.

I went to a nearby park. I went to Fort Hunt Park and found a very private place and shouted out my lines to myself and tried to learn them. It’s just a matter of going over and over them.

You’re wondering with every show if you can really get them all. Then you get them and it’s a matter of trying to put back the emotion that you lose as you’re focusing on what’s the next thing I’m supposed to say. Then you get back to looking at someone in their eyes and listening to to what they’re saying and trying to react. Then your line feels more natural when you say it. It’s not easy, but once you get past that little hump and that’s about where we are in the process about three or four weeks away. Then we are really starting to build a good show I think.

Mike: Last night Laura saw I guess the first time you ran all of Act one straight through.

Dan: Yes, that’s right. I guess we’re all amazed that we got it through all the way. We really didn’t have that many breaks in lines. So we ran it through one time and we kind of got through it and then the next time we sort of ramped it up and did a much better job. So I’m glad your wife saw both.

Mike:

Mike: She said it was really good. Now that she’s seeing it in order, the emotions are starting to appear.

Dan: It’s helpful for us, too. I think you do have to break the scenes down. Sara’s done a really good job of focusing us on scene by scene pulling us together. She has been really good and easy to work with. She’s given us a certain amount of freedom to feel our way to these characters and given us guidance along the way. I think she really has a good sense of when and how to do that. If you do a certain amount at the beginning and then as you get better at interpreting the character she can do more refinement and I think that’s what we’re seeing so I really enjoy working with her.

Mike: Great. So is there anything else we need to chat about or mention?

Dan: No. I guess I would just like to encourage people to come. I think it’s been really fabulous working with his group. Seeing it all last night when we really did run through it for the first time and seeing how each of these folks is really inhabiting that character. Each person is very different. I think Sara did a great job in casting this show. It hard to imagine anyone else in these roles. I think they’re all going to do great. I’m just hoping I can hold up my end of it. That’s all I’m hoping for.

Mike: Well, I think you’re doing fine so far from what I’ve seen.

Dan: Well thank you, Mike.

Mike: Sure. Thanks for talking with me today. I appreciate it.

Dan: Sure. Happy to do it.