Theater group finds lots of local talent in "Our Town"

The Cary News - October 17, 2002

Theater group finds lots of local talent in "Our Town"
Cary Players - The Audition

by Lisa Coston

One by one, the puzzle pieces began to click into place for Herman LeVern Jones.

Here, perhaps, was his Mrs. Gibbs. This young woman, just maybe this could be Emily Webb. And with a little polish, that man might become the Stage Manager.

For two evenings, Monday and Tuesday, Jones sat behind a table in a classroom of the Cary Senior Center auditioning people for Thornton Wilder’s "Our Town," which will be the first production for the new adult community theater group Cary Players.

Jones, the co-founder of the group along with Dan Martschenko and a theater veteran of more than 200 productions as an actor, director and teacher, will direct the show.

By the time nearly 40 people had put in their bids to join the population of his Grover’s Corners - on Tuesday, they ranged in age from 11 to 74 - Jones sat back in his folding metal chair and declared that he had found a cast.

"I think this is a play that this community can do well," Jones said. "I really believe the talent that has shown up tonight can do it. I don’t see anyone here who can’t do the work without some coaching. And that’s my job."

A couple of weeks ago, with gaping holes on the audition appointment schedule, Jones wasn’t so sure.

But one by one folks stepped into the auditioning room for about 10 minutes apiece, shutting the door and setting down their umbrellas. Jones, looking through applications, resumes and photographs - tugging occasionally on his ball cap, sipping coffee and stealing bites of a pastry - asked them to talk about themselves, sing a song and perform a short monologue.

"Relax, you’re among friends," he told them. "Excellent, excellent. Very nice. ...Can you wait a few minutes and read with someone else? ... I really liked what you did. It was very clear and clarity is very important in this play - the emotionality of the characters and where they go with that emotion has to come through."

The auditionees told about past experiences with high school and college theater, putting aside performance dreams for careers in computers, entertaining their friends and singing in church. They fretted over how many lines they could memorize and rehearsal schedules.

One brought props in a shoebox, a couple brought a cassette player and microphone. Quite a few belted out "Amazing Grace" a cappella. A couple of walk-ups performed improve comedy sketches under Jones’ direction. Some sat, some stood and some gestured, as Jones watched intently.

"The whole idea here is to get a feel for how they read and how comfortable they are," he said. "You’re trying to match people with parts."

With callbacks Wednesday evening - and some auditionees assigned specific parts to study Monday and Tuesday night - Jones planned to have that matching done, the cast list of about 30 people posted by this weekend.

Now there’s no turning back.

Jones and Martschenko incorporated the Cary Players last October, with recruitment starting in earnest in February.

Through several information meetings, efforts such as booths at Spring Daze and Lazy Daze, and publicity provided through the Town of Cary, more than 300 people have expressed interest as a potential patron, performer, volunteer or donor. About 65 of them have made donations totaling more than $3,500.

The production has room for all 300 to contribute, Martschenko said; realistically, 30-50 people likely will actually step forward to help. Right now, they’re going through the process of deciding who is really "in" for the long haul.

"The bottom line is if someone comes to us and says they want to be involved in producing a show, we will find a place for them," Martschenko said. "That’s true community theater - something everyone in the community can be a part of."

To produce "Our Town," Cary Players officials have set an estimated budget of $25,000 - "It can be done for less, it could also be done for more," Martschenko said - to be funded through advance ticket sales, corporate sponsorships, public grants, fundraising activities and membership fees.

Tickets will be $15, with discounts for students, senior citizens and groups. Cary Players members will approach businesses as well as individual donors for support in exchange for goodwill promotions, advertising and other benefits.

The Town of Cary has provided $6,000 in two separate grants, including through the Lazy Daze program, to get the group rolling. The town also has loaned the use of several facilities and helped with publicity through outlets ranging from press releases to water bills.

Cary Players officials picked "Our Town" because it’s a classic, Pulitzer Prize winner that can help pull in an initial audience and it requires a minimal set.

"Third, and most importantly, we hope to play off the message that Cary is ‘Our Town’ and we have an opportunity to work together to create something wonderful and enduring," Martschenko said.

Key members of the technical crew are in place, including stage manager Nadette Welterlin-Hugg and marketing director Catherine Campbell.

"I’ve grown up in Cary, all my life, and I thought this was something really historical and exciting," said Campbell, who first learned of Cary Players through a Cary News article. She’s busy with things like business cards and fliers, designing a "look" with a Cary slant to present the group.

Jones will have three months to whip his cast into shape, with rehearsals starting next week for three hours or more. The last couple of weeks, the pace will ratchet up.

"The challenge for me isn’t casting," Jones said. "It’s interpreting, making sure everyone’s on the same page. My strength probably is working with people who don’t have a lot of experience, shaping them to the beats of the play."

He’s treating this as a touring show, he said, because Cary Players has no home. Most rehearsals, as well as set building, will be held at his Herman LeVern Jones Theatre Consultant Agency studio in western Raleigh.

The cast will spend most of the first couple of weeks sitting around a table interpreting their characters, Jones said, building them and fleshing out their histories beyond what’s in the script. Rest assured, they’ll work on full-body acting in front of mirrors.

Written between the Great Depression and World War II, "Our Town" retains a poignant message, combining pathos and comedy, and elders and youth, Jones said.

"The people in ‘Our Town’ are very much like we are now," he said. "Thornton Wilder has a real gift for the musicality of the lines, the rhythm of like and of death, the importance of here and now."

The leaders of Cary Players said they’re grateful for the support and encouragement.

"You would be hard-pressed to find a new community theater who could boast a membership of 65, a mailing list of 300, and a bank account approaching $10,000 before the first curtain went up," Martschenko said. "We are convinced we’ve uncovered a great need in Cary. So many talented people have come to us and said, "I haven’t done anything like this since high school and I’m so excited to have a second chance.’

"I told my wife the other night that Cary Players is the ‘Outlet of Forgotten Dreams.’ Talented people who had put theater aside to start careers and raise families are finding they can now return to the stage far better equipped to create challenging characters, because they are far more experienced in life itself. It’s a wonderful thing to provide that opportunity."