Salt
Lake Acting Company has already had an incredible season so far, bringing in an array of talent both on and off the stage and producing both dramatic and comedic plays, plus a children's musical on the side. And they still got two plays left to go.
--- The next production to hit the stage is
Charm. Opening up this Friday the play takes a look at the life of scarcely-known writer and women's rights activist Margaret Fuller. Exploring her life and influence while also analyzing 19th Century culture in America, with a bit of humor attached to it all. And if making its world premiere here in SLC wasn't enough, the play is soon to make its way across the nation for further productions. For this interview we get to chat with the
entire cast, as well as playwright Kathleen Cahill and director Meg
Gibson about the play and bringing it to life.
Brik
Berkes, Cheryl Gaysunas, Jayne Luke, Jay Perry, Robert Scott Smith,
Nicholas Wuehrmann, Carianne H. Jones, Max Robinson, Kathleen Cahill and Meg
Gibson
http://www.saltlakeactingcompany.org/
Gavin: Hey everyone, first off, tell us a little bit
about yourselves.
Cheryl:
I had been a professional actor in NYC for (mumbled large number)
years, but since moving to SLC in 2006 I have only done shows that
didn't require too much time away from my daughter. She is now five
and even though she claims she is suffering from separation anxiety,
I think everyone was really ready for me to get out of the
house.
Jay:
I'm a Leo, I enjoy afternoon perambulations in the woods, tinkering
with old cars and sitting down for a skosh of tea and a pleasant book
after a long day of perilous jungle tiger stalking.
Robert:
I'm a grateful actor, who happens to love working at SLAC.
Unfortunately, the commute is a killer from NYC so I only get an
opportunity to come here once every one or two years. I'll keep
coming as long as they'll have me.
Nicholas:
I grew up in New Jersey and lived in NYC for sixteen years, currently
residing in Orlando. I perform in drama, comedy, Shakespeare,
operetta, musical theater, cabarets...
Carianne:
I am Carianne H. Jones, I am playing Anna Barker and Sparkler in
Charm. I grew up in Utah. I have my BA in Musical Theatre from Weber
State University. Like almost all Utah actors I work during the day
and then go to rehearsals at night. It is a busy schedule but worth
it. I have aspirations of moving to New York to pursue acting in the
near future.
Max: I'm
a working actor. That's all I've done for over 35 years. I've done
nothing else. And it's what I wanted to do! I have three older
brothers; our father was a doctor. One day he sat us down and said,
"if one of you wants to become a doctor, I will pay for college, I
will pay for med school, I will pay to help you set up a practice,
but it has to be in your heart. I only want you to become a doctor
if it's truly in your heart and in your bones." None of us became a
doctor. My father never pressured us.
Gavin: What inspired all you to
take an interest in theater?
Robert:
I co-hosted my junior-high talent show with a friend of mine,
where we had to do caricatures of teachers and some of the "popular
kids". Afterwards several people suggested I consider taking
theatre classes in high school. Let's just say that I did and here I
am. That friend of mine, whom I haven't seen in at least fifteen years,
is coming to see the show.
Max: I
was a terribly shy, withdrawn kid, and I was on my way - purposely -
to the back of the class so I wouldn't be noticed. Then part of you
craves, you know, "I want somebody to listen to me." In
high school I tried out for the school play, Sabrina Fair, and I got
in. I went onstage, and for the first time in my life, people were
listening to me. Well, they had to. I could effect them. I came
to the punchline of a joke, and they laughed. And the playwright did
it for me! All I had to do was say it loud enough. My first
theatrical experience - I think it was fifth grade - we did The Pied Piper Of Hamelin Town, so everyone was involved, and I got a great
role. The kind of roles I usually play. The evil mayor of Hamelin
Town. "The Pied Piper, we're going to cheat him out of his
money. Heh, heh, heh..." So, about a week before we go on -
again, a kid, ten years old in the 1950s - we found out we're doing
it in period, and we were going to have to do it in tights. I didn't
want to do it, but we all had to be in the show, so I was demoted to
one of the town's people. My job was to pull some of the papier
mache rats across the stage with fishing line. Of course now I would
have said, yeah, give me that great role!
Cheryl:
I became interested in the theatre because I am a middle child and
clearly didn't get enough attention.
Carianne:
I can't say what actually inspired me to take an interest in
theatre. For as long as I can remember it has been the only thing
that seemed worth doing. My parents, especially my Mom, started
taking me to theatre at a young age. I specifically remember City
Rep Children's Theatre, we had season tickets for years. That was
probably the catalyst.
Nicholas:
My parents were always very encouraging, and my fourth grade teacher
produced a production of Macbeth for our class in which I played
Macduff and the Doctor, and the scream of Banquo. My friend who
played Banquo couldn't scream, so I stood in the hallway screaming
for him as he got stabbed.
Jayne:
I saw Rita Moreno in the film of West Side Story when I was ten years
old and decided "I want to be like that!"
Gavin: Katherine, where did you
come up with the idea for Charm?
Kathleen:
I've loved the writers Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson
since I was in college. I was looking for inspiration and they
inspired me. I never tire of them, even all these years later. I
keep reading them and in the course of doing so, I came across
something called "the Margaret Fuller Problem." I may have
been able to ignore this phrase the first time I saw it in print, but
after I saw it ten or more times, I needed to know what the problem
was. So I found out about Margaret Fuller -- and why, exactly, she
was a "problem." It turns out the problem wasn't so much
with Margaret as the people she associated with in her time -- the
1840's. She didn't fit the feminine standards of her era... mainly
because she was too smart, too well educated, had too much desire and
ambition. Although I have it about a million times easier than
Margaret, I have, in the course of my life, often been made to feel
that I was too smart for my own good, had the wrong kind of ambition,
and wanted too much from others. I identified.
Gavin: How did you decide upon
the characters you chose, and how was it for you developing them
throughout the play?
Kathleen:
I started thinking about a play on the subject of Margaret about five
years ago. I started writing it in 2008. It opens on Friday at SLAC.
She had a tragic ending to her life -- the fates were not kind to
her. So I hope she's looking down from her astral perch and getting
a good laugh at Charm.
Gavin: Meg, what made you jump on
board so quickly to direct this one?
Meg:
I was lucky enough to be on a list of possible directors when SLAC
committed to producing the world premiere of Kathleen's play. I read
the play and said to my deeply astute playwright husband, Keith
Reddin," Would you read this? I think it's really amazing."
He did. I remember him standing in the kitchen as he said, "Grab
this. It is great." So, I read it and read it and pitched my
ideas for production to the artistic staff and Kathleen. I would say
this out there stuff and there would be silence on the other end of
the phone. I thought "well, maybe they're just being polite.
But, maybe not." I got the gig.
Gavin: What has it been like for
you taking the source material and fully putting everything into
production?
Meg: I will never be as well read
as
Kathleen is with these literary giants. I knew Thoreau, I knew
Hawthorne, I knew some Emerson. Did not know Margaret Fuller at all.
What a pleasure it has been to dig into their lives, their writing,
their letters. I realized their notions of Transcendence were the
root ideology of all I believed in. They were the beginning of an
essentially American experience, deeply influenced by the physical
expanse and beauty of the American landscape of the early 19C. I
think it is this experience of primordial landscape that lead them to
free themselves from the bounds of conventional Christianity. For
us, all of this radical rethinking culminated in the cultural
revolution of the 1960's. But, the restraints of intimacy remained
bred into these men. Margaret wanted connection, true intimacy, and
her desire for it changed these men forever. Their writing reflects
her influence. And Margaret didn't stop until she found what she
wanted. It was a long journey. The question is how far have we come?
The Transcendentalists wanted to be like us. They began this journey
to freedom. We now have some pretty sweet freedom and can do
anything we want with whoever we want. And that is a mighty
achievement. But how much of that choice really brings a true
intimacy? And, frankly, I'm envious of them now. I'm in awe of the
size of their minds, of their thinking. They were gorgeous. Maybe,
that's our evolution- to continually ask that question, experiencing
the primordial splendor of each other's being if we are lucky enough.
To go beyond, gender, race- and to master the discipline of learning,
so that our minds are these splendid vessels of knowledge and
impassioned reason. What bliss! This undeniable right of being
human, this pursuit of happiness. This evolution is what Margaret
Fuller consciously put in motion. She was a master of wit, laughter,
love. Charm
offers a magical, comic way of addressing this evolution. Kathleen is
way funny and smart, the challenge of bringing her intention to life
is a juicy one. This company of artists has served that intention.
We've had a blast. I've never laughed so much in any rehearsal, ever.
I think the Salt Lake audiences will too.
Gavin: For the actors, what was
it about this play that caught your eye to audition for it?
Brik:
I was involved in the reading of Charm for the National New Play
Network in Atlanta, and was immediately drawn to the way Kathleen
told the story.
Robert:
Actually, Meg suggested to me that I look at Thoreau. Her
suggestion worked. This play is so up my quirky alley, I was
instantly attracted to the heart of the play. It's a beautiful play
about human relationships. It's all inclusive.
Cheryl:
I haven't stopped thinking about the script since the first time I
read it. I have been obsessed with a role before, but this one feels
like a great gift I have been given.
Nicholas:
I saw a reading of it in Orlando and was intrigued, and auditioned
there for a workshop production of it with Orlando Shakespeare
Theatre. I was cast as Emerson and had the great opportunity of
working with Meg and Kathleen there, and with Patrick Flick who cast
me in the role and oversees all new play development at OST.
Max: To
be truthful, a job. That's what initially caught my eye, and then
the more we found out about it - it's a new play, that's exciting.
And the nature of the play. I didn't know Meg Gibson's working
process. From opening day, her opening speech, I thought, this is
going to be so refreshing - this whole process. In a way, it was
perfect for the nature of the play and the material. It's an
exploratory thing, and it's just been great.
Carianne:
Honestly, I initially auditioned because I knew there was a part I
could play. Then after reading it I thought I really, really, really,
really want to be in this production. I liked the source material.
And I could tell from just the initial reading that this was unique,
that there was going to be a style in this unlike anything I had
worked on before. I also wanted the opportunity to work with
Meg.
Jayne: I
participated in the reading at SLAC in the Spring of 2008. I
thought...this is a GREAT play! I really wanted to be a part of it.
I hadn't been in a show at SLAC since 2006 so I was really happy when
I was cast and I got to "Come home to SLAC."
Gavin: What was the audition
process like for you and what was it like getting the
part?
Nicholas:
It was a thrill getting the role in Orlando and even more exciting
to be asked to come to SLAC to do the same role.
Cheryl:
I auditioned for Kathleen and they taped my audition for Meg to see.
I think Keven called me the next day with the role, and I spent the
better part of an hour alternating between jumping for joy and
thinking, "what have I gotten myself into?"
Max: It
was videotaped and sent back to Meg in New York. I realized the
nature of this part is that Brownson's there for one purpose, so I
just went full out. I figured Meg Gibson, the director, could pull
me back or push me forward. I'm pretty adaptable as an actor, and I
think directors like that.
Carianne:
The audition process is always a little nerve racking for me. I had
to come in prepared with an Aria. I sang Ache Ich Ful from Mozart's
"The Magic Flute". From out side the audition room I could
hear the competition... and it was steep. I found out shortly after
that I had been called back and Saturday would be the second audition. All
those called back were there and I remember watching while many of my
peers did their scenes. Being in a call back watching people is both
inspiring and upsetting. I went in with choices and I watched other
people make different choices sometimes better sometimes not. I also
know some people take other people's ideas. It is hard to watch and I
know I was casting the whole show in my head like crazy. I stuck to
my ideas about the character and didn't waiver, which turned out to
be a good thing. When I was called and offered the role I couldn't
believe it. I accepted the role immediately and proceeded to tell
everyone I knew about being cast. It wasn't until the first week of
rehearsal was over that I thought, "Okay, I'm in. I'm not going
to break my leg or get replaced for some reason... I am really
in."
Jayne:
SLAC auditions are like no others in town. The final audition lasts
about four hours and is almost like a workshop for the play. You
certainly feel like you get a chance to show what you can do... unlike
some other auditions where you are in and out in three minutes. I
remember Meg Gibson ask me to read one of the scenes as if I was a
wild New England turkey. That must be why I got the part.
Brik:
I would say getting the part of Nathaniel/Count O was unlike any
I've ever experienced because it was based on my reading in Atlanta,
and at the time I had never dreamed I would be getting on a plane and
flying to Salt Lake City to be a part of the premiere. So there was
no pressure. I doubt the same would be said if I had gone through an
ordinary audition process.
Jay:
The callbacks were intensive and gave me a good taste of what was to
come in terms of period and general style. I remember everyone
proudly rooster-strutting around the room all buttoned up and
contained, nodding politely and so on. I was really drawn to the
parts of George and Sam and was very happy to be cast in those
roles.
Robert:
I happened to be in SLC the same time as Meg and I read for her
then, then a few months later I met with Meg again in NYC and taped
an audition for Kathleen. I had the privilege of having Keith Reddin
read for Margaret. I was quite happy that it worked out and I was
able to join the cast.
Gavin:
Considering the work, how
has it been for all of you fitting into these roles?
Carianne:
Fitting into the role has been fun. Trying to do it in a corset has
been a challenge. I like my character, through her I get to challenge
my own view of women and what their roles were in the ninteenth
century and what the status quo of today is. That is one of the great
strengths of Kathleen's play, it challenges you to think about then
and now. It is written predominantly about the past but it is
relevant for today's audiences.
Jayne:
I love my part because I get to play three very different women. At
first, Meg just let's you play and take lots of chances. After a
while she becomes very definite about what she wants. She is truly a
craftswoman of theatre.
Jay:
We were assigned book reports detailing the lifestyles and
influences of the time which gave us all a common language that
informed all kinds of choices. It's been a great challenge and a lot
of fun to explore characters in this period and style.
Robert:
I feel that I've given life to Kathleen's Thoreau and the fact that
she hasn't cut the part says something. Doesn't it? Seriously, it's
work. It's always work, but this is why I do this, it's the
rehearsal, the figuring out, the confusion of it all. Every role has
its challenges, but this one has been the one I find closest to me.
Which can make it even more difficult to do.
Nicholas:
I've loved getting to know Ralph Waldo Emerson from various sources;
reading about him, researching his life, the period in which he
lived, finding amazing quotes of his which I regularly post on
Facebook, and learning to embody him as seen by Kathleen in her
fantastical play, and expertly guided by Meg's creative
vision.
Brik:
I have had a wonderful time exploring the period and style of this
piece during the rehearsal process. It's comforting to be in an
environment where you can make bold choices and fail, then pick
yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again as the
saying goes.
Cheryl:
My brain doesn't work anything like Margaret's, but her longing
makes total sense to me.
Max: Every
show delineates itself in what you have to do to prepare for it. The
nature of the show, the nature of the role - it takes on aspects of
you, and you take on aspects of the character. Brownson, the way
he's portrayed in this, is not a character of great depth. He's
there for mainly one purpose, to play a nemesis against Margaret
Fuller. He represents all the vitriolic reaction to her. The other
characters gravitate towards her more - ambivalent and wary of her,
but still with a great fondness for her. I started reading some
stuff about Brownson, and it's confusing. He changed his mind all of
the time; he was a Universal minister, then a Unitarian, and a
Transcendentalist, then he was anti-Transcendentalism, and he was
against Roman-Catholicism, then he became a Roman Catholic and
attacked Transcendentalism as some airy-fairy, nebulous, vague
concept that nobody could pin down. What was interesting for me was
to investigate the period. The nature of this thing we call
Transcendentalism. I had fun just learning about this whole
period.
Gavin: What's the interaction
been like for all of you, both as actors and as the
characters?
Robert:
Ask Jayne Luke about Koosh! For me I just sit and watch Jayne Luke
and Max Robinson work and that is a theatre smorgasbord.
Brilliant.
Jay:
It's a wonderfully talented cast with amazing depth and humor both
onstage and off. It's a joy to be a part of.
Nicholas:
It's a great cast; everyone gets along and we have a wonderful time
together. Creating the characters and relationships has been part of
the ongoing growth in our relationships as actors.
Max: The
Edgerton grant gave us that lead time to explore in a relaxed way.
We have had a great luxury with the grant money to have that extended
rehearsal period, that luxury of time, an easiness - to explore in a
relaxed way. I can't speak for the other actors in the show, but
many times playing the beanbag or koosh - particularly the beanbag -
yeah it's fun, but it's also an exercise in awareness. What is
nature of awareness? Sometimes it is letting go of trying to win
something instead of simply observing. Why wasn't I aware that that
beanbag was coming to my left? Because I was so intent on what was
happening over here. Then you apply that to art. You can be locked
into one preconceived idea. That's what's so great about Meg.
There's a fluidity - this free flow of ideas - 90% of them you're not
going to use, but 10% of them... There's something there that can be
expanded. I think all the other people in the company were on board
with the tone that Meg set from the beginning, and it's so important.
A director doesn't realize that they set a tone from day one.
Everyone's afraid from day one: am I going to make a fool of myself?
Am I as good as so and so? To set a tone of nobody say you're sorry,
don't apologize for trying something. Nobody's going to put you
down. What?! When directors say, "What? Where did you come up
with that?" Little putdowns, which then as artist, you become
very careful. "What does he want me to say?", instead of,
"I was hired to come up with ideas". 90% you're not going
to use, but don't demean them - because then you're going to get a
lockstep performance that's very credible, but nothing that it out of
the ordinary in a magical way... like a donkey braying on all
fours.
Cheryl:
Everyone had been lovely.
Carianne:
The interaction between us as actors has been really good. I don't
mean to be looking at this through rose colored glasses but Meg and
Kathleen did such a great job with the casting, immediately I could
see why people were cast. Everyone has come to this rehearsal process
with such preparation, I felt the complexity of the characters from
the first reading. And we all came in with such furvor for the
material that the rehearsal room always felt like it was filled with
rich, creativity. On stage Meg has given us a great opportunity to
try a variety of choices. Although some of them have not made it to
the final product having had the chance to try those ideas will make
the performances richer as a whole. As people I have had a good time
getting to know everyone. I was familiar with most of the folks in
the cast but didn't really know anyone. Since then I think of many of
these people as dear friends. Several spent Easter with me and my
family.
Brik:
I have the luxury of going from one extreme to another because of
Nathaniel and Count O, in my scenes with Margaret (Cheryl). In the
beginning, I have all the anxiety of repression and self doubt as
Nathaniel comes to grips with his feelings for Margaret, but then
there is the blissful release of passion and love that I get to
experience as Count O. So I guess you could say I get to have my
cake and eat it too!
Jayne:
For me, the best thing about being in theatre is that you get to
meet and work with such interesting people. The people who have been
cast in Charm are REALLY INTERESTING PEOPLE. ..and they are very,
very good at what they do. Then you combine that with these
interesting characters out of American history. They literally
defined early American literature and they all knew each other. I
have loved researching their lives. And I love the way Kathleen has
humanized them in her script.
Gavin: Going into opening night,
what are your overall thoughts on the production?
Jayne:
I believe this is going to be an extraordinary production...I have
worked in theatre for over forty years and I don't often say that. I
love almost all my opportunities to work, but sometimes one comes
along that is extraordinary. Meg is an amazing director... Kathleen
has written a play that will have a long life in American
theatre... the cast is wonderful... and the designers, Keven Myrhe,
Brenda Van der Weil, Jim Craig and Cynthia Reese have created a
beautiful world of transcendental fantasy. The play will be stunning
to watch.
Robert:
My thought is to simply tell the story and get out of the way.
Jay:
I just can't wait to share it with an audience.
Max: I
think it's gorgeous. And interesting. Meaty and perplexing... which
makes it intriguing. There are so many shows with a nice tidy
beginning, middle and end, you know? And the timeline follows this,
and it's very predictable. Instead of - a beach ball. Where did
that come from? Why is there a beach ball on stage? Instead of
letting go and letting images come in and not trying to make
judgments so quickly. It's like when I saw Cirque du Soleil's Mystere down in Las Vegas. It's so magical, such pure theatre.
There are images that are created onstage - at the end, a giant snail
comes on. What?! For one, it is beautiful - and because it's so out
of context, it's magical. You suspend - not just disbelief - you
suspend judgment of meaning, that it has to mean something. You
experience this kind of magical, odd experience and that kid-like
quality of seeing - like a kid for the first time seeing a snail - a
real snail. What the hell is that? It's going up the side of a
wall! How does it do that? It's shiny and... Not having to attach
meaning, but there's a definite feeling of wonderment. It brings
attention to things. Meg's process lends itself to this intuitive
sense. It works for Charm.
Nicholas:
If the audience response is anything like it was in Orlando for the
workshop production, SLAC's audience is in for a wonderful and rare
treat.
Brik:
I hope the audience gets as swept up in the story as I did at the
reading back in December.
Carianne:
Overall thoughts going into opening night- I am excited for
audiences to see it. I hope audiences get it. The technical elements
in this show really add to the performances. We do not have the
traditional four walls, this is not realistic at all. We have a
convention here that has helped enhance a style. Scenes take place in
a surreal way, sometimes they overlap and sometimes there is more
than one scene happening at once. It is very much like a dream. I
think it has been put together in such a way that audiences will
understand, that is my hope. I also hope people love it as much as I
do. I know I am not the only person involved in this production who
feels that this is their baby in some ways.
Gavin: What can we expect from
all of you over the rest of the year?
Nicholas:
Two weeks after we close I'll be on my way to Ohio for the summer to
perform with the Ohio Light Opera in five shows. My main roles there
this summer are Herbie in Gypsy, Don Medigua in Sousa's El Capitan
and Count Boni in Kalman's The Gypsy Princess.
Cheryl:
Hopefully more work.
Carianne:
For the rest of the year I am waiting to hear about other theatre's
seasons and I will throw myself out there again like everyone else.
Fingers Crossed.
Max: A
week after Charm finishes, I go down to Cedar City. It's the first
time I've been down there. I'm doing the new musical of Great Expectations and then a couple of little parts in The Merchant Of Venice, and then I'm understudying the Porter in Macbeth. So it's
great. I love the desert down there.
Jayne:
PLEASE, GOD, LET ME GET ANOTHER JOB.
Robert:
Great deeds are possible!!
Gavin: Aside from the obvious, is
there anything you'd like to promote or plug?
Max: Yes,
Cedar City Shakes this summer!
Nicholas:
Just the obvious.
Cheryl:
Under the name C.G Williams, I have illustrated a children's book
called Everett The Incredibly Helpful Helper, published by Abbeville
Kids. Be the first person on your block to buy a copy! I will meet
you for coffee and sign it!