With a cast as large as "Auntie Mame" and the fact that the play takes place over 20 years, there are A LOT of costumes to arrange and fit. Some of the actors are double cast with characters that are in their 20s to their 60s. The play opens during the bootleg era of the 20s, goes thru the depression, heads down to the glorious south for a spell, then back to Manhattan, plus a trip to Connecticut! Characters are wild, eccentric, traditional, conservative, urban, suburban - in other words, all over the place.
If it wasn't for our amazing wardrobe expert, Judy Patefield (pictured), we'd be lost, for sure. She has the responsibility of taking the director's vision for each person in Mame's world, and creating just the right look.
As an actor, it's a thrill to collaborate with Judy. Characters suddenly evolve and develop. It starts to bring our more and more of who s/he will become on stage.
Of course then, there's all the shoes! Which ones? Is there such a thing as too many? HA! Of course not!
Tickets are on sale now thru the St. Norbert Box Office, 920-403-3950 or online, www.evergreenproductions.org
One of the best gifts Evergreen has to offer is it's ability to bring people of various ages together. Every now and then, we get a golden opportunity to cast a multi-generational show. And AUNTIE MAME is just one of those shows.
You see, when the old and young get together, some really beautiful things happen. Youth of course, always brings high energy and humor to adults who can forget how playful theater is. And our seasoned actors have the chance to encourage and mentor the younger ones who are still developing their craft. So much of the toxicity in
this world comes from a collective draining of empathy. We don't
understand each other, and we don't want to. But theater invites us --
no, forces us -- to empathize.
It's an amazing mix - theater. People of every age and every race or belief coming together for one purpose and goal. For it's success, it takes patience, understanding, humor, give and take -- all the same pieces that make family and community.
Tickets are on sale now thru the St. Norbert Box Office, 920-403-3950 or online, www.evergreenproductions.org
We've still been spending lots of time working on blocking and getting the gist of our characters. This week, Mame introduced us to some of her more colorful companions. There's Gooch, the endearingly awkward secretary, and O'Bannion, the flirtatious ghost writer.
It's always an interesting balance as an actor to hear the director's vision while at the same time interpretting it and creating an authentic character. Even when the characters are as wild as those in Mame's world, there needs to be a sense of honesty or else they wouldn't be so loveable.
Of course, while the director is off working with another group, that's a great chance to work on lines!
Tickets are on sale now thru the St. Norbert Box Office, 920-403-3950 or online, www.evergreenproductions.org
As an actor, it's a thrill to collaborate with Judy. Characters suddenly evolve and develop. It starts to bring our more and more of who s/he will become on stage.
