The last show of the season was Lend Me A Tenor. It is a farce, lots of slamming doors and mistaken identity. It is one of the great contemporary farces written by Ken Ludwig. I had done this farce at the Lyric Theater years ago while still in school and played the part of Maggie. This time around I played Diana, the ambitious lead soprano of the opera company. This play was a hoot and such a joy to work on. Director Vosco Call, who is brilliant at directing farces, was at the helm. (he directed the previous production I was in as well. It was wonderful to work with him again) His grandson, Richie Call played the leading role of Max and it was one of my favorite things to see their dynamic. So much love, respect and understanding. What a great relationship they have!
Above is a picture of the cast (from L to R) Myself, Tom Worthen as Saunders, Gordon and Liz were our ASMs there peeking out the window in back, Amanda Mahoney as Maggie, Wendi Hassan as Julia, Richie Call as Max, Lego Lewis as Tito Merelli, Arika Schockmel as Maria and draped over the poof, Stefan Espinosa as the Bell Hop (we called him "Frank"). This cast was a lot of fun and so very talented.
Lego and I had worked together back in the early 90's and it was a joy to have one of my biggest scenes with him. I remember in rehearsals going through our scene and I was trying so hard for laughs. The scene just wasn't working and I couldn't quite figure out why. A couple days later I was going over my lines before rehearsal and it dawned on me that I was the straight man in the scene. If I just played it as honest as possible and let Lego be the funny one maybe it would work better. I tried it and sure enough, we got so many more laughs and once we got it in front of an audience it was magical. Seriously, I looked forward to that scene every night because of the audience's reaction. They were DYING! It was such a blast!
I love farce and although it takes a lot of concentration the response from the audience is instant and it is fun to have them laughing and making verbal reactions through out the show. Timing is so crucial in a farce. Door slams have a rhythm, dialogue has rhythm, the over all show has a rhythm. If you mess up the tempo you lose the audience. So, it is important to be on top of your game and exude the energy needed to keep the comedy fresh and the timing concise.
So, this was my summer. I did three wonderful plays while juggling family life. I could not have done this without Roger and our extended family and neighbors who helped us out. I had so much support, and from this experience I realized how truly blessed I am. It would be so amazing to do something like this again. My confidence was strengthened along with my skill as an actress. I met some wonderful people and rekindled past friendships. And I love how theater is such an act of service to a community. I loved our audiences and the feedback we would get from them through talk backs, news paper articles and seeing them in the lobby as we would come out to go home. It was one of my best summers ever!
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