In a director's worst nightmare, the producer drops out due to an ulcer, so the director designs the poster, but when the poster is taken to Staples to be copied the building catches fire, and a month before the show the performance date is moved up a week.
In reality, director Taylor Shann believes that despite all these disruptions, the 3Ps' all-freshman production of Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette and Boo "will be a success." Aside from these unforeseeable obstacles, the Freshman Show presents a considerable challenge to its director because the entire cast and crew consists of first-year students. "It's tough," Shann said. "You're dealing with people who are learning their jobs."
The cast has had about two months to prepare for this weekend's performances. Despite the large cast, problems with a myriad of schedules, and first-year anxieties - not to mention all the other calamities - the show has still evolved. Shann asserts that, in his experience, once the actors walk on stage with the lights and the technical cues, everything "magically" comes together.
This mystery of the theater will have to work wonders, because the play had yet to undergo a dress rehearsal until two nights before its opening. From beginning to end, the show has suffered from the lack of a consistent rehearsal space. Three nights before the production, the actors performed a haphazard run-through in the Remis Sculpture Court, an alternate space, and more importantly, not the real stage. The cast, however, has united in the face of adversity. According to actor Andy Churella, they have even met on their own for extra rehearsals outside of the scheduled times.
Clearly, the production has had some chaotic moments. And fittingly, Christopher Durang's script speaks to the chaos inherent not only in the acting world but in the real world as well. His autobiographical story revolves around the history of Bette and Boo from the viewpoint of their son Matt. Essentially, Matt is trying to make sense of the senselessness that defined his family and his childhood - perhaps an impossible task, as his relatives never attain sanity even as they grow older.
Shann, who has also taken on the roles of sound designer and producer in previous productions, chose the play because of its sincerity - even though it becomes surreal at times. "When depicting family troubles, most stories are either funny like National Lampoon's [films] or dramatic like Death of a Salesman," Shann said. "This play included both comedy and tragedy, making it more honest."
In the words of actor Armen Nercessian, "It's a fun show to be in, and hopefully it will be funny." The play purposely utilizes this duality of comedy and tragedy to get a varied reaction from the audience, although the two sometimes overlap. Everyone who sees this show will laugh and take offense at different times, but this will abide by Durang's intention in writing the piece.
Knowing this, the actors have delved into their roles with great enthusiasm. They were aided by the author's notes provided in the end of the script, which expound how the root of each character. Additionally, Shann required his actors to meet with him for a pre-rehearsal chat to discuss their respective characters. He adopted this straight-forward directorial approach from his past theatrical experiences.
Churella, playing the part of Matt's father Boo, appreciated Shann's direct style of directing. "I tell people when I want something different and when they are doing fine," Shann explained. According to Churella, he was able to find the role with ease even though his character "is kind of a weak person and an alcoholic."
Playing opposite him, Emily Rufo plays Boo's wife Bette. "I was a little overwhelmed at first," she admitted. "In high school, people only came to cheer for their friends, but in college, people actually care about the quality of the production." As for her character: "She's an idealist - everything you're not supposed to be when you have problems." Bette cannot have children but insists on getting pregnant and then goes through several still-births. Rufo managed to find her character through rehearsal and with the director's help.
Matt Nathanson, keeping his own name in the role of Matt, had some difficulty finding his character because it was his first serious role. Matt serves as the play's only sane character. "I think his struggle in some way is our own - to [try to] make sense of our seemingly random lives and to, ultimately, fail to do so," Nathanson said. Here, he has captured the essence of his character and of the play itself.
Many other peculiar characters make up Matt's very odd family, but one of the most distinctive would be Father Donnally (Nercessian). "My character cared about religion once," Nercessian explained, "but now sees it as an arbitrary set of laws and doesn't want to be bothered by other people's problems." His absolutely apathetic attitudes towards both religion and people's attempts to find their faith through him provide some of the funniest moments of the play, and the actor plays it up perfectly.
While the actors obviously perform when the lights go on, Shann has put forward more than the normal effort in creating the final product. Becoming more of the show's overall coordinator than simply director, he has undertaken more than most in his directorial debut. As a member of last year's freshman show, he wanted to get more people involved in the show and, through it, in the drama department.
Part of the difficulty in working with first-year students has been variance in student's workloads. "Some overdo it and some underdo it," Shann said. "Scheduling [rehearsals] has been a trip."
As for his directorial style, he draws upon his "first love" - film. When looking at a scene, he asks, "How can light and sound affect this?" This production is supported by loads of supplanted music, carefully picked by Shann himself.
Shann has poured more than the usual amount of energy into the show, and the freshman cast has put forth its all. Through a combination of skilled acting, inspired directing, and a little bit of that old theater magic, the performance will shine without the audience ever suspecting the smallest turbulence in the rehearsal process.
The 3Ps' production of The Marriage of Bette and Boo will run in the Balch Arena Theater at 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1. Admission is free.
