What We Did on Our Summer Vacation
Marianne Phinney, Director, Educating Rita
Mounting a Footlighters production in the summer is a challenge. People tend not to be around. They have the audacity to go on vacation, leaving Walpole for the obviously less desirable climes of Cape Cod or New Hampshire. It's hot (well, not this year). It's sunny (well, not so much this year, either). Who wants to spend three or more evenings a week in a dark theater rehearsing a play or building a set?
What's the solution?
First, choose a play that doesn't involve a large cast. That way, if we don't get too many people at auditions, we can still cast the show. Second, find one that doesn't involve unusual props, because there won't be many volunteers to help you locate them. Third, choose one that doesn't involve a complicated set (last year's production of Sylvia, done with set pieces against black backdrops, is an example), because it's hard to get a master carpenter and workers to build the set.
Well, we got two out of three.
The August play, Educating Rita, requires two people. However, they must be in particular age ranges and both characters have to use British accents (different ones, of course). Fortunately, we had almost twenty wonderful people come to auditions, making the casting job quite difficult.
Finally, my assistant director and I selected Amy Barry, a Footlighter newcomer as Rita. Amy has a theater degree from the University of Miami in Florida and a wealth of professional and community theatre experience.
As Frank, we chose Al Morin, a longstanding Footlighter who last appeared on our stage as my husband in Company, and who has designed and built many of our sets in the past few years.
And props? Well, the show is set in England. British cigarettes, newspapers, lots of books--and don't forget that painting by Raphael on the back wall. There's a fine line in this production between props and set dressing, but between Gloria O'Connor and Barbara Pettis (props) as well as Erica Feick (set dressing), we've found everything we need.
That brings us to point number three.
Educating Rita calls for a single setting, what's called a "unit set." The setting is Frank's office at the university in Liverpool where he works. There is a large window overlooking the campus; the window is mentioned several times in the play. Hardly a no-set set.
I had asked Al if he was willing to design the set before the auditions. He had indicated some willingness but also said he wanted to audition. When I cast him, I asked if he was still willing to design but said that I wanted to find someone else to build the set so that he could focus on the role. I never had a chance.
The set you will see was designed and built by Al Morin, all while he was working in rehearsal three to four days a week (and yes, he also has a "real job" like the rest of us). He had some construction help and a small army of painters, plus the set dressing services of Erika Feick (much of the "perfect mess" is her doing), but most of the construction was his alone. As with all of the sets Al has done for us in the past few years, it is realistic, comfortable and exactly right for the play.
We rarely have a chance to truly thank the folks who volunteer great gobs of their time and talent to the Footlighters. Thanks to Al, we could rehearse on the actual set from the start, an almost unheard-of luxury. Al, for all the sets you've built for me and other directors, for your insights into the play and the character of Frank, and for everything else you've done—thank you.