(Editor’s note: This is the third installment in a series prepared by Tyrone Community Players member Cindy Bennett to highlight parts of the production of the theater group’s upcoming play ‘Pippin’. The production is scheduled to be presented in the historic theater of the Tyrone YMCA on May 7-8. Ticket information can be obtained by phoning 684-ART2.)
A cupful of directorial input.
A sprinkling of design.
A bountiful dose of casting.
What would a production be without a cast? That talented group of people who are willing to stand on a stage in front of hundreds of strangers and pretend to be someone or something else.
One of, if not the, biggest challenge to the directorial staff of a theater show is choosing the right cast. It doesn’t always have to do with who sings the best, dances with the most agility, or has the most experience. What it does have a lot to do with is a gut-feeling by the director, musical director and choreographer as a unit, about who can bring a character to life the way they, collectively, see that character in the show.
It is one of the first decisions made in the life of a production, and can make or break the outcome of the show from the inception!
What is important to remember in the scheme of community theater is that we are all amateurs, each of us having a real life we go home to after an audition, a rehearsal, a production.
We don’t live theater, we live a life just like each of you out there. We have to try and stay within the bounds of what we can give, both in time and talent, to a production. As Fastrada, Prince Pippin’s stepmother and Queen of the Holy Roman Empire in this particular production says, “I am just an ordinary housewife and mother. Just like all you housewives and mothers out there!”
That being said, sometimes it isn’t the obvious beautiful voice, or “look” that will get the part, but the ability to adapt and fit in with the rest of the performers available for that particular show.
Blending is very important!
When casting TCP’s upcoming show, Pippin, the staff looked for Prince Pippin and the Lead Player first. They are the characters that drive the show. That doesn’t mean that all the other characters are not equally important, just reactive to the plight and motives of these two principal characters. Once Jordan Yarwood was chosen to play Prince Pippin and Terri Dennis the Lead Player, the rest of the cast was built around them as the mast of the presentation.
Charlemagne, the strong, larger than life ruler of the Holy Roman Empire will be played by Gary Johnson. His scheming wife, Fastrada, by Molly Riva, the pliable Catherine by Lynne Dirkse, her daughter Thea by Emily Dennis – A pyramid of performers all built on a base of which character or characters the directors believe to be the centerpiece of the production.
Once the cast has been chosen, an arduous task to say the least, the work really begins.
Rehearsals!
Every company and every show will have a different way of getting ready for the performances. In the case of, Pippin, the cast began in February to learn the complicated vocal score required to bring this show to life. At the same time they began to have choreography lessons every Wednesday night so they could add the dances to the music when it was ready.
Mix in with this the director’s job of blocking all the stage movement that takes place, motivation for that movement, character development and performance skills and it is amazing that there is enough time in a year to get this monstrous task accomplished. (If you ask any cast member, of any show ever performed anywhere they will always tell you that, “If we just had another week we would be perfect.”) But, as miracles go, a grand musical in eight to ten weeks is pretty amazing.
TCP has rehearsed Pippin, music and acting, three nights a week with a fourth night for dancing for six weeks. Every actor didn’t have to be at every rehearsal during the learning process, but now, when all the little bits and pieces, the individual songs and dances, snippets of dialogue, scenes, are being put together to make a cohesive unit, we are all there every night.
You can recognize a cast by their show shirts, their enthusiasm, the energy they carry into everyday life and, at this time in a production, by the universal dark circles under their eyes, worn by each Pippin participant like a badge of honor.
As the director of Pippin, I would like to indulge myself for just a moment to faun over this cast. They are fabulous. The energy and spirit of cooperation they have brought to each and every rehearsal is remarkable. That is as important to me as their talent, which is also in plentiful supply. The ensemble in Pippin is as hard-a-working chorus as I have ever seen in any production. They participate in every scene, dance, sing, change sets, help with wardrobe, do their lines, and go that extra mile to make sure that this will be a memorable theater experience for you.
They are a truly fine cast, and without this ingredient in our recipe for theater success our meal would have no \”meat,\” our cake would not rise, our fudge would not set-up. They are essential, they are the show!
