Full Circle

Well before anyone else arrived on Tuesday morning, David and Shane, Stage Manager and Assistant were already at work- moving chairs and unfolding tables. I’m sure the smell of brewed coffee would have filled the air, had a coffeemaker been around- I watched as they sharpened pencils and set up binders in a race to the ten-o-clock hour when the second or third production meeting would begin.

I found myself a seat on a couch in the far corner of the room, in order to draw as little attention to myself as possible. As my invitation was for the reading and not the production meeting I thought it would be wise to lie low. I looked over what notes I had and thought back to last spring when I sat next to Kenny Leon and played the real life part of the stage manager. A cast not unlike the one I would see later in the day read Our Town for the very first time. The 1938 Pulitzer Prize winning drama caught us in an updraft of unspoken admiration. I think it was humanity we felt.

It was never said but I think before we got to the part about clocks ticking, sunflowers, and new ironed dresses- Kenny had decided we were going to do this play. It may have been before that, sometime during Act II or perhaps it went unnoticed in the beginning when Carolyn Cook was a paragraph deep into her narration. Whatever the case may be- Kenny knew then that this would be a shared experience.

About this time actors began arriving- the conversation at the meeting became interesting- it turns out some surprises were revealed. Up until this point I was under the impression one person would be cast in each role, some would double up roles, and the play would take place in a 1930’s theater. You could say- my expectations were distorted. The play takes place in a theater. That is all I had- as it turns out, two actors will play the part of the Stage Manager. A sought after role for many, but is usually played by a white male and almost never a woman or black actor.

The set will resemble 1930’s but will have a more timeless appeal. Kat Conley has majestically reimagined Our Town with a tall brick wall, a full kitchen unit, and floating chairs. The design is simplistic and smart- the playwright, Thornton Wilder, was not keen on having scenery for this play- he even jokes in the first scene “There’s some scenery for those of you who think they have to have scenery.” As if Wilder broke down and accepted he would have to woo us with a bit of spectacle in order to draw us into his world.

I stopped listening to the meeting as more actors were arriving. The room soon filled with greetings and conversation. Last minute paperwork was filled out and people gathered around the cake slices that Bill Murphey had brought to share- they were so well received that no one seemed to care that napkins were not provided. Twenty minutes later we were seated, our real life stage manager had our attention, our director said- lets begin, and Daniel May began to read- I lost track of time after that.

I think this may be my favorite part of theatre- theatre stripped down to its most basic element, the text. In truth it is the playwright’s medium. I realized when the reading ended- Wilder wanted us to use our imaginations- he wanted us to listen more than watch; most people would say its a play about a time gone by, Kenny says its a play about how we manage our time, how we waste it, how we relish it. I think it’s a play about change and humanity. I will tell you what its not, its not your parent’s Our Town- this will be a town all of our own.