Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Pygmalion Theatre Company: Sordid Lives
Posted By Gavin Sheehan on May 12, 2010, 1:43 AM
As
the 2009-2010 theatre season comes to a close and people start
looking toward the next round of plays, final productions have now
kicked off at every theatre company. Starting with Plan-B's And
The Banned Slammed On nearly two
weeks ago and the remaining ones wraping up around July. Today we
take a look at the final production from another resident of the Rose
Wagner.
--- Pygmalion Theatre Company's second presentation of
Sordid Lives
kicks off tomorrow night. The Texas-branded dark comedy of a family
dealing with the death of an elderly matriarch while sorting out
their own inner issues. I got a chance to chat with the play's
director (and Pygmalion's Artistic Director) Fran Pruyn, as well as
actors Michael Canham and Brabara Gandy about the production, as we
as their thoughts on local theater.
Fran
Pruyn, Barbara Gandy and Michael
Canham
http://www.pygmalionproductions.org/
Gavin:
Hello all! First off, tell us a little bit about yourselves.
Fran:
I started doing theatre in high school and never stopped. In the
decades that followed I have directed scores of shows, and produced
maybe three times that number. My most recent production was The
Passion of Sister Dottie S. Dixon, the homage to Mormon women with
gay children. To support my theatre habit, I am the Senior Principal
of Marketing and Business Development at CRSA – an architecture and
planning firm. The other partners are remarkably indulgent with me... I have sat on several boards, touted many causes, and am
currently a proud if not brilliant member of the Intermountain Wild
Horse and Burro Drill Team.
Barb:
I'm Barb Gandy. I'm originally from Denver; moved here in 1978 with the plan of getting into the Dance Program at the U of
U. I didn't make it in, but stayed in SLC. Currently, my day job is
a commercial banker with U.S. Bank. I'm a Board Member of Pygmalion
Productions. So, I believe my right and left brain are balanced. To
relax, I read novels. I live in a household of six -- two dogs, a love
bird, my best friend, and her life partner. Unconventional, but it
works for me.
Michael:
My name is Michael Canham and I am playing the role of Brother Boy,
the tragic funny guy in the show.
Gavin:
What inspired all you to take an interest in theater?
Barb:
My BA is in theatre. I've been doing stuff on stage since I was five years-old.
I have a clear little memory of dancing/singing at the old Denver
Auditorium as a kid wearing a white satin costume with blue
maribou -- don't know the tune though. While growing up, I was part of
a entertaining troupe that did variety shows at hospitals, nursing
homes, military bases, and anywhere else we were called. So, being
in front of an audience is second nature. My dad was a musician, and
his dad was a stagehand in Denver vaudeville houses -- he also worked
the Wild Bill Hickcock Wild West Show tour and met my grandmother in
England during the tour. She was a singer, and hailed from
Vienna.
Michael:
I really don’t have one particular thing that inspired me to want
to do theater, I just remember from a small age that this is what I
wanted to do. It just seemed natural to do so.
Fran:
Oh gee, I probably wanted to be a movie star – I mean why does
anyone take drama in high school? When I realized that wasn’t
either easy or likely, I decided I wanted to be a drama critic --
writing came easier to me than acting. I wrote for the student
newspaper at the University of Colorado, and rapidly realized I knew
diddly squat about what I was writing. That is when I decided to
take some theatre classes. It didn’t take long to realize,
aptitude be damned, it was theatre not criticism that I found
attractive: the scripts, the ideas, the creativity, and most of all
the wonderfully good-humored collaboration of the people
involved.
Gavin:
Fran, how did you originally come across Sordid Lives?
Fran:
Teresa Sanderson brought it to us. She had seen a production in San
Diego and said, “we have to do this show!” We read it and
agreed.
Michael:
I can’t speak for fran, but I remember I saw the movie and just
about peed my pants!
Gavin:
What made you what to do the first production in 2008, and what was
it like bringing that play to life that season?
Michael:
It was so exciting to do Sordid Lives in 2008. This was a regional
premier and knowing that it was a cult movie , I felt that it would
be interesting to see who it brought in. Like I said, I loved the
movie and just felt that I had to do it. There was no question about
it.
Fran: The
message and characters resonated with us: the women are so
wonderfully wild and wacky (and that includes Brother Boy), and Ty’s
story fits the old axiom, “parents are the first to know that their
kids are gay, and the last to admit it.” Most importantly, this is
a funny, funny piece of theatre. The actors love doing it, the
audience enjoy that the situations and are infected by the fun that
goes on stage. I have seen this show in rehearsal over, and over and
over again, and there are still moments that I find so funny I can’t
breathe. I have the advantage of having a very patient, generous and
good natured cast that makes the process a joy.
Gavin:
What made you decide to bring it back for a second run? And what was
your approach to directing it this time around?
Fran:
Two reasons: first it was hugely successful the first time around
and we had plenty of audience members who didn’t get to see it the
first time, and second – it was so much fun that the cast and crew
agreed after the first run that we had to do it again. My approach
was not to mess with the stuff that I knew worked (like some of the
blocking), but to accommodate the interpretations of our new cast
members and the new insights of the actors who are doing the show for
the first time. I wanted to keep it fresh, by being open to new
bits, new moments, new ideas, new decisions — but I also wanted to
capitalize on the work we had done the first time around particularly
with the physical humor.
Gavin:
For the actors, what was it about this play that caught your eye to
audition for it?
Barb: Sordid Lives is one of the funniest plays I've been involved in that
also has an underlying serious message. When we got a hold of the
play the first time, I organized a reading of it. I assigned myself
the part of Dr. Eve for the reading -- folks seemed to like me. So,
when the production was mounted, Fran cast me as Dr. Eve. This time
around, Reb Fleming, who played Latrelle in the 2008 production, was
not able to come back in 2010. So, after much deliberation on Fran
and others' parts, and with the blessing of Reb, I got cast as
Latrelle.
Michael:
Well, I guess I should not say this, but I didn’t really have to
audition. We did a read through one Sunday afternoon about four years
ago and just read it to see if it was a show that PYG would want to
do. The producers basically decided it then and there and gave out
roles. I am actually very lucky because I know there were a couple
actors in town that wanted this role. Sorry boys!
Gavin:
How has it been for both of you fitting into these roles and
interacting with each other and the rest of the cast?
Michael:
Working with this cast has been so much fun. My “big” scene is
just with on other person, so I don’t get to see many of the cast
members unless Fran is rehearsing more than one scene that night. So
I am looking forward to the last week of rehearsals so that I can see
everyone! But Chris ( Dr. Eve) and I are having a riot. This is
her first time in the show, so it is fun for me to recreate and do
new things with her.
Barb:
The 2008 production as Dr. Eve I got to play with Mike Canham
(Brother Boy). It was wild -- I got to strip down to my red
rhinestone bra and holler desperate sexual epithets at Mike. Whoo
hoo! Oh, yeah, I was the body in the coffin too -- actually quite
restful. This time, I'm playing uptight Latrelle, the mother of Ty,
who is gay. I love Latrelle too. She is so desperate to present a
good face to the community which means she about goes nuts trying to
'reason' with her wild-ass sister LaVonda (Teresa Sanderson), cover
up her mother's farcical cause of death (tripping over 2 wooden legs,
hitting her head on the sink in a seedy motel room where she's
committing adultery), and not wanting to face the fact that her son
is gay. But, she loves them all! And love wins out. What's also
exciting this time is I get to be in scenes with Teresa and Vicki
Pugmire, two of my closest friends I've known for years; I've only
known Fran longer. We believe this is the first time all three of us
have been in scenes together. And, I have a lovely scene with Ty,
played by Alex Bala. I'm so lucky - he just great.
Gavin:
Going into opening night, what are your overall thoughts on the
production?
Michael:
I am hoping for a HUGE success of course! I would love to see this
show sold out and I hope that we get a lot of return visitors from
the last time we did it, mostly because I don’t shave my face for
just anyone, ya know!
Fran:
Other than louder, faster, funnier? Gee, just the usual stuff. Where can I find a coffin for cheap, why does that actor have such
big feet, is a lav mic really necessary on Bitsy, should I use real
beer in the bottles??? This is a great show... I hope lots of people
see it.
Barb:
The returning ensemble are stronger than ever, and the new members of
the ensemble are terrific. This is a ''pee your pants because you're
laughing so hard" production, but you might shed a tear too. We're
well supported by the design team and crew, as well as Becca our
stage manager.
Gavin:
Going state-wide, what are your thoughts on local theater, both good
and bad?
Barb:
On the weaker side, I have little patience for shows promoted as
"family entertainment". What that generally means is it's
suitable for a child. While I don't mean the lowest common
denominator, certainly the youngest common denominator. And, how
many productions of Nunsense, Joseph and the Amazing..., and Forever
Plaid do I want to see? One each and I've already done it. On the
other hand, the amount of theatre in the state on every level is
amazing; from small community theatres to the Shakespeare Festival to
very fine university/college theatre programs. And, to satisfy my
interests, there are a number of solid companies producing
thought-provoking theatre -- newer ones like Utah Theatre Artists, to
established companies like Pygmalion, SLAC, and Plan-B, even
Pioneer Theatre Company and The Grand Theatre which both present a broad
based season.
Fran:
There is a lot of talent in this state, and a lot of great local
theatre. Even the “worst” shows have ten fabulous minutes and
one terrific actor. I am praying that enough young people want to
see live theatre to keep the art form viable for the next century.
There is so much competition for audiences, and funding, and it costs
so much to produce
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe could be done to improve it?
Fran:
We need more spaces like the Rose Wagner Theatre, that are actually
designed to do small, intimate theatre in. (The Rose Wagner BB was
really designed for dance, and as a result does not have optimal
floors, or wing space, or acoustics... for theatre. That is). We
need more rehearsal space that is affordable. We need more parents
to encourage their kids to do theatre, and to go to theatre, and not
to be afraid of the ideas that are presented in “progressive”
plays. Actually, I think we all do damned good job – given that we
are all in some way or other hand to mouth – as a friend once said,
“it just depends on the size of the hand and the size of the
mouth.”
Barb:
Changing a mind-set that may be religiously/morally based and thus
primarily supportive of 'family' theatre is difficult. However, I
think it's important that funding agencies -- government based and
private foundations -- be open to supporting all types of theatre.
ZAP is a great example.
Gavin:
What's your take on the recent push to bring “Broadway to
Utah”?
Barb:
I worry about it. I'd rather see capital funding to build another
facility like the Rose Wagner. The Rose is busting at the seems, and
Pygmalion is lucky to be a tenant there. There is a big need for
smaller performance spaces -- 75 seats studio theatres to 350 seat
theatres -- as well as a crying need for reasonably priced rehearsal
space. Part of me certainly wants the community to go see theatre,
but the ticket price of "Broadway" theatre tends to mean: A) many audience members will save up to go to a touring show and not
go to any other; B) some audience members will assume that the
touring show has to be better than anything locally -- which is so
not true. The hope is that the audiences will then be interested in
local productions, but I'm skeptical.
Fran:
Performance facilities are very, very expensive to build and mostly
to maintain. Studies indicate their is a need for smaller spaces,
why stretch our resources on a much larger space? Especially now. I
just don’t think we have the tax base to pay for this and
everything else we have as well. For the time being, we have
facilities enough to handle touring shows, and heck plane tickets are
not that expensive. I’d just as soon see the big stuff in big
cities.
Gavin:
What can we expect from all of you over the rest of the
year?
Michael:
Hmmm, what will I be up to the rest of the year? I have no direct
plans. There is another show coming up that I would love to audition
for, but we will see. Other than that… summer is coming and I hope
to have a blooming garden, lots of veggies, a few cocktails and lots
of laughs with friends. And I’ll probably go see some
theater.
Fran:
We need to slot our third show next season, but first up is a great
play by Elaine Jarvick who writes for the Deseret News called The
Coming Ice Age - a funny and poignant show about growing older and
downsizing, and then a play called Well by Lisa Kron – a
memoir that is sort of about a mother/daughter relationship, sort of
about integration, sort of about being “well”. It is tender, and
also funny. Funny is very important to me.
Barb:
Working behind the scenes for Pygmalion's 2010-2011 season. I
generally appear in at least one production a season, but have no
immediately plans for next season. We'll just have to see.
Gavin:
Aside from the obvious, is there anything you'd like to promote or
plug?
Barb:
Yes -- Pygmalion will be announcing its season soon -- the opener is
a lovely play by local playwright Elaine Clark opening in October. We're also planning an August
fundraiser brunch with great entertainment, so look for that too.
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