“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.” ~
It was an emotional closing for 'Always...Patsy Cline' at the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy. I was not ready for it to end. I would miss my theater family. I would miss playing Louise. And I would miss Patsy and hearing/singing her songs on a regular basis. This one hit me hard. There was however this little spark of light at the end of the tunnel and that was the opportunity to take the show to Grover, UT and perform it at the Dietlein Ranch. I wasn't sure what to expect. I pictured it like those old Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney movies, where the young people get all jazzed about saving their town by putting on a variety show in the local barn and Mickey usually gives the pep talk with the definitive phrase, "Let's put on a show!" I wasn't far off...
Tim Dietlein is the brother of Mark Dietlein who runs the Hale Centre Theatre in Sandy with his wife Sally. Cori had done 'Always...Patsy Cline' with a theatre that Tim was affiliated with in Arizona and he thought it would be perfect for their theater in Grover, UT. He had planned to bring the band and cast to Grover after Cori was done with her run in Sandy. Well, the actress playing Louise and their fiddle player were unavailable so Cori arranged to have me and Aaron step in so the production could move forward. 
The theater is literally in the middle of a field. The air conditioning consists of opening shutters over open windows on either side of the building to let the air flow through. The lighting, set, sound, and dressing room situation are all very basic and paired down to the simplest form possible. Like the show in Arizona, this was theater-in-the-round. Cori was familiar with the previous blocking but I had to be brought up to speed because our show was done on a proscenium stage. The band was allocated to a small corner of the space and we had one crew member to help with basic set changes. Another crew member helped Cori with all her costume changes and I just did mine on my own. 
Backstage they allow the casts of previous productions sign the wall so Cori and I left our mark.
This was the incredible view from the stage door. There was a 365 degree view like this one from the theater. The audience heard about the show through local advertisements and word of mouth. This was the first musical they had done in the space. Usually it is just comedies. So, the gentleman that ran sound was a genius! He had very little to work with and somehow managed to balance the band with Cori's vocals. I was impressed!
The fabulous band with Cori and me.
We did three performances and every night it was the same incredible phenomenon straight out of the movie "Field of Dreams": about an hour before curtain a line of cars started coming down the road towards the theater. They would park in the field, check in at the door and fill all the seats until they were at capacity. These were salt of the earth folks who LOVED Patsy's music and got a kick out of my character, Louise. This was their kind of show. They weren't afraid to clap along and show their appreciation.
Our friends Amy and Ben, who had been part of our stage management team and crew in Sandy, came to see us on closing night. They were so curious to see the play done in such a different and simple setting. I feel like the show worked just as well in a high budget production as it did here in a low budget one. Sure, it was a simplistic setting, but we still infused the performance with truth. We didn't have to work very hard in telling this story. They were right there with us and we simply looked in their eyes and took them on the journey.
We had some fun bloopers that occurred, and great interactions with audience members. I felt like we made a huge impact on these folks. They sure did on us. During these "pandemic days" as theater is coming back and we are figuring out all the logistics in this new setting, one thing stands out above it all...the artist needs an audience and the audience needs the artist. There is such beauty in the oscillating 'give and take'. It gives me tremendous joy to be a part of that setting whether I am an actor on the stage or an audience member. And this show in particular brought me joy and lasting memories that I will hold dear for the rest of my life.
And these people right here, Adrien, Kelly and Cori, will always hold a joyous place in my heart. This photo was snapped at Adrien's wedding. Matt, her husband, proposed to her during one of our performances! It felt like we had come full circle as we attended their wedding reception.
Goodbye, 'Always...Patsy Cline'! The effort was well worth it. Early on in rehearsals I read this passage written by Loretta Lynn, a dear friend of Patsy's. These were some of the last words Patsy said to her just weeks before she died and when things got tough during this whole experience I liked to pretend that she was saying them to me, "Little gal, it's gonna be you and me, all the way..."
Well, I made it Patsy! I hope I honored you and your memory and made you proud.
Comments
Post a Comment