Thornton Wilder's Stage Manager in "Our Town": A Historical Perspective

Our guest blogger today is Tim Boucher, Assistant Stage Manager of "Our Town" at Everyman Theatre. For more, visit www.timboucher.com.

Written in 1937, Thornton Wilder's epic American classic, "Our Town," draws on then-contemporary theatrical conventions with which modern theatre-goers are likely to be unfamiliar. Chief among them is the role of the near-omniscient figure of the Stage Manager, played by Everyman Theatre resident actor Wilbur Love. Love, reprising his debut role in theatre after some 250 shows since then, first played the Stage Manager in Wichita East High School's 1959 production of "Our Town," at the tender age of sixteen.

Wilder's Stage Manager is at once participant and commentator- actor and narrator- of the events onstage representing typical small-town New England life at the turn of the 20th century. Atypical of modern theatre's insistence on an invisible "fourth wall" separating actor from audience, Love's Stage Manager addresses the house directly: acting as tour guide or concierge, orienting visitors new to Grover's Corners, New Hampshire; introducing the town's residents, their troubles and triumphs; setting up and commenting on the action of the play; and even jumping in and out of scenes with mercurial ease.

While such a figure appears onstage with less frequency in theatre of the 2000s, to the Vaudeville houses and variety halls of the 1930s and earlier, his presence was much more familiar. In today's theatre, the stage manager generally sits hidden in a booth behind the audience during performances and 'calls the show': coordinating action onstage and off with lights, sound and other essential timing cues. In old-time theatres- like the historic Town Theatre into which Everyman is slated to move in 2011- often trod the boards, appearing in front of the audience. As Douglas Gilbert wrote in his 1940 book, American Vaudeville: Its Life and Times, the stage manager of a variety or vaudeville house often "...acted as interlocutor in the minstrels (a feature in many bills), played 'straight' in the afterpieces, and sometimes took on important roles in the dramas and sketches."

In other words, old-time theatre demanded that a stage manager play the same role onstage as they do backstage: host and master of ceremonies. In addition to calling the show and coordinating the stage crew ('grips' in Vaudeville slang), the stage manager- since the mid-1800s- has been responsible for scheduling and running rehearsals. Like the interlocutor or "middle-man" of the minstrel shows, the stage manager acts as go-between and facilitator for artists, the director, production staff, and everyone else involved in the mounting and running of a show. In the case of Everyman's production of "Our Town," this is over forty people- all overseen by the watchful eye of Resident Stage Manager, Mandy Hall, and two assistant or deputy stage managers.

The roots of stage management as a theatrical discipline are intextricably intertwined with that of the stage director. In ancient Greek drama, the playwright was responsible for producing and directing his own shows. Termed the didaskolos or 'teacher,' it was his duty to train the actors and chorus, compose the music, and coordinate all elements of a performance. Religious mystery plays of the Middle Ages and the secular morality plays which they envolved into were overseen by a pageant master, who was tasked with coordinating rehearsals for the town-wide spectacles associated with feast days, and who was able to levy fines for bad acting and forgetfulness of lines.

From the strolling players and Renaissance Commedia dell'Arte troupes onward to the 19th century, it was typically the lead actor of a troupe who acted as actor-manager, choosing plays to produce, taking a lead role in them and handling finances and business on behalf of the company. As the internal organization of theatre became both more complex and standardized in the 19th and 20th centuries, these duties are now distributed across multiple individuals with unique talents and specializations: from the director and stage manager to the production manager and company manager.

Wilder's "Our Town," therefore, both memorializes and highlights dramatically a much under-appreciated figure central to the experience of theatrical production and its vast history: the stage manager.

Behind the scenes with Gail Stewart Beach, costume designer for Two Rooms

Gail has lent her talents to productions on the Everyman stage before, including last year's hit I Am My Own Wife and 2006's School for Scandal, which earned her a Greater Baltimore Theater Award for Outstanding Costume Design.

The chair of the drama department at the Catholic University of America gave us some insight into the elements she chose to portray one character's suffering in Two Rooms, opening January 22nd.

On choosing a scheme that would compliment the lighting design:
"There is always a balance that needs to be found between the artistry of the lights and the visibility of the actors and their costumes. To create a feeling of Beirut Daniel [Ettinger] used very saturated amber lights to great effect. However it meant that colors got duller, shifting towards browns and greys. To give the sense that Michael had been a prisoner for a long time we needed to give him layers of dirt, along with bruises discussed in the dialogue between Ellen, Walker and Lainie."

On the color palette she chose:
"The plan was to use a special wheel of makeup that includes several shades of red to purple, plus green and yellow to create faded bruises. We especially concentrated on the wrist area, since Michael was in handcuffs the entire time he was held, so that should have had given him sores, bruising and faded bruises.

"We also had containers of powdered makeup called 'plains dirt,' which has a very orange hue, charcoal and ash. We wound up finding that only a very aggressive layering of charcoal really read for the audience, mixed in with some of the plains dirt."

On designing the costume of Michael, played by Clint Brandhagen:

"His clothing needed to be dirty... and look naturally aged. I spent time on his pants and shirt, distressing them... rubbing them with sandpaper until they wear away, focusing on places that would normally go first. I also dyed them in grey dye, to a medium charcoal color, and used fabric spray to create areas of dirt that would not wash out."

On the make-up application:

"Clint actually applies the makeup himself, and we utilize the powder to make the costume distressing look real. We got some cocoa butter to put on him first, which does two things: the powder sticks better, and his skin is protected to some degree. It also serves as a grease look on his clothing. To grease up his hair, we are using hair conditioner, which only helps his hair yet gives us the desired effect. Because he is off-stage throughout the production, he can replenish as needed.

"Our decision was that to some degree, this was Lainie's impression of what he would look like."

What's cooking for Rabbit Hole

Everyone behind the scenes at Everyman has had the pleasure of enjoying Associate Production Manager Mandy Hall's baking, from cakes for birthday celebrations to fruit crumble just because she had fresh-picked blueberries.

But for this season's opening production of Rabbit Hole, Mandy is stepping outside of her usual role. She will spend the next five weeks as Everyman's Resident Chef, baking all of the items that appear on stage.

Rabbit Hole follows the journey of a family grieving the death of their young son. Food is featured in many scenes, and the eating isn't something that happens coincidentally in the background as the actors deliver their lines. It's an important part of the scenery, enhancing the warm and homey environment.

The preparation of the food also serves as a coping mechanism for Becca, a stay-at-home mom who suddenly finds herself with a lot of time on her hands. For her, the baking is both a distraction and an integral part of the healing process, a way to focus her energy and keep up appearances as her family drifts further apart.

For the Baltimore premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Everyman's designers have created the kind of comfortable, modern kitchen you'd expect to see in any well-to-do home in the suburbs. There are stainless steel appliances purchased from Sears, running water and a refrigerator that will actually keep all of the food fresh throughout the show's run. Which is a good thing, because if it wasn't hidden in the on-set refrigerator, it would likely be eaten by Everyman's staff and production crew before it could reach the actors' lips!

With a script that focuses so heavily on the consumption of specific types of food, and given Everyman's intimate performance space, the artistic team knew that using fake food or substitutes just wouldn't do. As a self-described "foodie," Everyman Artistic Director (and director of Rabbit Hole) Vincent Lancisi wanted to make sure that the food was made with as much detail as any other piece of scenery or prop. With the nearest audience member just a few feet from the Corbetts' kitchen, Vinny didn't want anyone to be distracted by food that didn't look real.

The prospect of buying enough fresh baked goods to sustain the cast through eight shows a week was too expensive, so Mandy volunteered to do the baking. It's been one of her favorite things to do since she was a teenager, she said. Once she tried it, she realized she had a natural talent for it- and that there was nothing more rewarding than the compliments she received after baking something everyone loved.

For the duration of Rabbit Hole, Mandy must keep the refrigerator stocked with creme caramel fresh enough to ooze onto the plate when Becca serves it. She's also preparing apple tortes, lemon squares, zucchini bread, chocolate chip cookies and birthday cake. To save money and make the experience as delicious as possible for all of the cast members, she's baking everything from scratch: peeling and slicing the apples for the tortes and rolling out fresh pie crusts. Everything she has to prepare for the show takes over an hour to bake in the oven.

It's just one of the many strange things she's had to do during her fifteen years with Everyman Theatre. She recalls one particular experience, during Everyman's production of Lonely Planet in the 1997-98 season, when she had to drag 180 chairs off the stage every night and restack them for each performance. At the end of each night, she was covered in bruises, Mandy said.

Her role in Rabbit Hole should prove to be a lot more enjoyable- both for Mandy and for the lucky actors who get to reap the rewards eight times a week.

Thank you for Toasting the New Season with Everyman!

On August 11, Everyman hosted an event to celebrate the launch of the 2009-10 Season. The evening doubled as the rollout party for Urbanite magazine's August issue (check out Everyman's full-page ad on page 76, and our mention in the fall arts preview).

For the first of its kind, the event was extremely successful! Over 200 subscribers, patrons and new friends packed our tiny lobby on a balmy Tuesday night. Our guests emptied a keg generously donated by The Brewer's Art, sipped wine and enjoyed hors d'oeuvres by Baltimore Pho, Sascha's Catering, Sofi's Crepes and Station North Arts Cafe. Delicious desserts were provided by Chef's Expressions.

Photos from the evening can be found on Urbanite's photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanite

Many thanks to all of our sponsors, and to everyone who came out to toast the new season with us!

Building the Rabbit Hole set

Construction is well underway for the first production of Everyman's 2009-10 Season. Rabbit Hole will feature Everyman Resident Company Members Megan Anderson, Deborah Hazlett and Rosemary Knower in the story of the Corbetts, a family struggling to move on after a life-shattering tragedy.

The set for Rabbit Hole will feature a platform that rotates 360 degrees, with different rooms in the Corbett household portrayed on each side of the wall. The rotating set, which is remarkably easy to move, turns on fifteen wheels and locks into place during scenes.

It's just one example of how Everyman's creative team adapts to the theatre's intimate space. The script demands a re-imagination of the family's living room and a child's bedroom, and low ceilings over the stage don't allow for a second floor to be constructed. Another challenge of the Rabbit Hole set was the installation of a working kitchen with running water.

Below, view a demonstration of the work-in-progress by Everyman Technical Director, Bill Jamieson.





Because of the limitations presented by the scene shop, sets are largely constructed on stage, with the construction team working around rehearsal schedules. By the time opening night arrives on September 11, over seven weeks of labor will have been dedicated to fulfilling Resident Set Designer Daniel Ettinger's creative vision. The set's tranquil colors and suburban scenery echo the solid, comfortable life the family led before the first act begins.

The Rabbit Hole set was designed by Resident Set Designer Daniel Ettinger, constructed by Bill Jamieson, Andrew Gaylin, Sean Blue, and Rick Gerriets, and painted by Amy Kellet.