Tartuffe, 1987

For our production of Tartuffe written by Molière in 1664 we used the popular translation by Richard Wilbur.
The production was updated to the current day and set in back yard of a rich family in Connecticut.
The set had just one long wall along the back with only one door which led to what was supposed to be a sauna.



Tartuffe, 1987



A little smoke from a fog machine would flow out each time the door was opened.

The front of the stage had a pit extension with a cut out to represent a swimming pool complete with a diving board and chrome ladder coming up out of the water.

Downstage right a hot tub was built into the stage.

The hot tub was really a large oval horse trough with a plastic liner and we filled it each night just before the show with about 100 gallons of very hot water.

By the time the water was used it was just about room temperature.

After each show that water was bucketed out and dumped and fresh water added before each show.

Fun.

 

One of my favorite moments was the seduction scene that took place in the tub as Tartuffe chased after Elmire.

Later in the play Orgon would fall, fully dressed, into the tub.

Yes I have a photo of him falling someplace and will, along with many others, scan it and post it here.

As can be seen in the photos there also was a large canvas “Sail” above the set.

I was never sure what the scene designer had in mind with it and I do not think I did the best job in lighting it but I tried.

Like most plays I have worked on, I did enjoy this production but felt that there were too many non-students in the cast for me.

The non-students were very good and it made for a stronger production but because we are a college I always like to see the students get a chance to act and design when possible.

When we did the play again twenty years later (2007) the entire cast was made up of student actors.

For that production the director set the production into the past to the 1980’s which made it the same time frame as the production noted here.

The newer production was done with a different script and a much broader comic style.

The ending was fun and there is a short video on YouTube of part of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oasPhJ_-3aI

Tartuffe, 2007

Cherry Cheesecake

When I started my blog almost four years ago I was not really sure what I was going to write but I knew That I had lots of Theatre stories to tell and just started writing them down.

I thought I would just go back to the earliest show I could remember, start from there and see where it would go.

With over 150 posts covering  many plays I know that I have often said how any given show was special and everyone had a good time working on it.

Not every play is extraordinary and back in April I wrote about how working on some plays have driven me crazy at times.

But for the most part I have always enjoyed working in Theatre and if I did not like it why else would I keep doing it for over forty years.

My Blog does have a few loyal followers and I know that people do read it from time-to-time, the stats page tells me that my Blog  has had over 12,000 visits so far, but I was still surprised to the reaction to my last blog post.

When I wrote about Picnic I said that I really enjoyed working on it and that and I knew that it effected many of those people who worked on it.

As it happened one of those who was in the play read my blog and shared it on Facebook with many of cast members and staff who worked on the play.

I knew that many of the actors from the play were still friends and had stayed in touch and it was fun to read their posts and recollections of the show, even those which may have differed from my own memories.

Not every show forms long lasting friendships, but that production of Picnic did.

Four of the actors from Picnic would go on to work together on a student production of Extremities which further strengthened their friendship.

The play also caused many bruises for the actors.

Again, not every show will have long lasting effects on everyone involved in it, but some do and that is what keeps us all coming back to work on more.

Even if a given play turns out bad, it is in the weeks rehearsals that bonds of friendship are forged.

When I worked summer stock back when I was in college, the conditions where I worked were poor by most standards, but by overcoming the lack of a well equipped shop with large power tools it gave me more self confidence in my work with hand tools and the basic circular saw.

As I look back on all the plays that I have worked on I have seen many relationships come and go.

I remember a couple who worked on several plays together while in college and met up again a few years after graduation and are now married.

Of course there are those couples who were madly in love while in college and ended up married to others.

Life backstage is not that much different than the rest of the world, but sometimes the pressures of working in Theatre can seem to magnify emotions.

I am happy though when I see those long lasting friendships that I know started on a bare stage or rehearsal room so many years before.

 

 

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