Stage struck
Auditions begin cycle of production for venerable Your Theatre company
By ROBERT HIGGINS, Standard-Times correspondent
Photos by MIKE VALERI/The Standard-Times
Roger Allen and Lucy Bly read for parts in "The Cemetery Club," a comedy to be produced by Your Theatre Inc. at its new home, the auditorium at St. Martin's Church in New Bedford's South End. |
The great boxer Jack Dempsey once said, "You know what a champion is? A champion is someone who's ready when the gong rings --not just before, not just after --but when it rings."
The gong was about to ring Aug. 23, the second night of auditions for amateur actors looking for parts in "The Cemetery Club," a production of Your Theatre Inc., a New Bedford-based company now in its 59th year.
They were responding to a casting call for the Ivan Menchell comedy about three Jewish widows (Ida, Lucille and Doris) who meet once a month for tea before going to visit their husbands' graves. One day, while visiting the cemetery, they meet Sam the butcher, who is visiting his wife's grave. Ida is attracted to Sam, but Doris and Lucille squash the budding romance. They are grief-stricken, however, when this nearly breaks Ida's heart.
The casting call, in the form of an email to Your Theatre's 125 or so members, included a thumbnail sketch of the characters, all late middle-age. For instance:
Ida. Sweet-tempered. Just starting to think about finding a new companion and beginning a new life.
Lucille. Feisty embodiment of the girl who wants to have fun. Likes to be the center of attention and is dating.
Doris. Priggish and judgmental, particularly when Sam enters the picture. Still obsessed by the memory of her husband.
Mildred. A feisty neighbor.
Sam. An outgoing man, warm-hearted and ready to have a good time.
Note: The ability to master a mild N.Y. Jewish accent is required.
Each sketch included the character's age -- 50s to 60s.
"That's protection from having actors in their 20s and 30s up to read," says Ed Mcguire, 68, Your Theatre's artistic director and business manager.
The curtain won't rise on "The Cemetery Club" until mid-March, but the auditions in August were a simple matter of logistics for the nonprofit, volunteer company, which will stage five productions this year.
"If we waited until, say, January for tryouts, the actors we wanted most in the 'Cemetery' parts would probably already have been cast in other shows," explains Mr. Mcguire, a former sales rep for metal companies and an award-winning actor himself.
Lawrence R. Houbre Jr., 46, who will direct "The Cemetery Club," is one of the play's biggest fans. Mr. Houbre doesn't think the show is hilarious, not in a Neil Simon way, anyhow. But it's "funny in a light way," he offers. "And there are a lot of touching moments, revelations about life. Letting some relationships go, and starting others kind of things."
A computer consultant, Mr. Houbre is also a budding playwright as well as Your Theatre's president, succeeding Cynthia J. Messier, who helmed the theater company for 27 years.
In its early days, Your Theatre, founded in 1946, hopscotched around the Whaling City area in its quest for a permanent home. The company performed in such venues as the Fairhaven Town Hall, as well as a number of New Bedford schools and facilities.
Its newest home is the hall auditorium of St. Martin's Church on Rivet Street in New Bedford's South End. St. Martin's not only fulfilled the company's desire to remain in New Bedford, but also includes space for a proscenium stage (if somewhat small at 19 by 19 feet), 25-foot ceilings, no obstructive pillars and lots of on-site parking.
It was there that a group of hopeful performers assembled Aug. 23 for the second night of auditions for "The Cemetery Club." Among them:
Mimi Allen, 72, is a New Bedford resident by way of Manhattan. A singer, she has been in such Your Theatre musicals as "The Boyfriend" and "Oliver!"
As a young woman, Mrs. Allen wanted to join an amateur Gilbert and Sullivan repertory company in Manhattan.
"But my first husband hated Gilbert and Sullivan," she recalls, "and refused to baby sit while I was at rehearsals."
She went on in life, but never did get to sing G&S. She was now hoping for a part in "The Cemetery Club."
Cynthia Messier, 59, of Fairhaven was once awarded an "Artie" (Area Regional Theater) for directing "A Moon for the Misbegotten."
She's currently enjoying a brief respite from acting, but wouldn't turn down a part in "The Cemetery Club," if offered. She says roles today are somewhat limited for her. "I'm way beyond playing an ingenue or Miss America anymore, "she says.
As a young man, Roger Allen, 66, of New Bedford reported for The Standard-Times. An ordained minister possessing a Ph.D in psychology and philosophy, Mr. Allen lived in California for many years.
On the West Coast, he worked with such amateur acting groups as The Pasadena Playhouse and the Santa Ana Community Theatre.
Maureen Walker, 57, of New Bedford is a regular at auditions. She will take on just about any role. Born in Nemonety, Wisc., Ms. Walker was once in an Off, Off Broadway production.
"Someday I'm going to rub out that 'Off, Off' and see how that grabs 'em," she vows. "It'll read: 'Maureen Walker -- Broadway actor!' "
Lucy Bly, 60, of New Bedford has had many Your Theatre roles, and has also directed with distinction.
But she's done neither lately. Presently a language teacher at Dartmouth High School, her first job with Your Theatre was as a dancer in "The Boyfriend." The bug bit, but good. "I've been hanging around the theater ever since," she says.
Your Theatre's eight directors decide which plays to stage each season. This year's roster includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Proof," which opened this weekend -- a matinee is offered today at $2:30 p.m.; tickets are $15-$22 -- and continues Sept. 21-24. James Prideaux's comedy "Mixed Couples" opens Nov. 9, Martin McDonagh's comic tale, "The Beauty Queen of Leehane," takes the stage Jan. 18 and, following "The Cemetery Club," the season ends with Oscar Wilde's farce, "The Importance of Being Earnest," opening May 10.
Your Theatre Inc. not only welcomes volunteer actors, but neophyte directors, too. To prove their directing mettle, they are assigned a one-act play, along with a cast, costumes, sets, lights and even an audience of theater subscribers. Those in the production, as well as company veterans, critique the director's work. If successful, the director can then submit a list of plays he or she would like to direct, from which the company's Board of Directors makes a selection for the season.
In the years Your Theatre has assembled its season in this way, Mr. McGuire says he's never had to flunk a fledgling director.
As for those who auditioned for parts in "The Cemetery Club"?
Mr. Allen nabbed the role of Sam and Ms. Messier will play Doris. From the earlier audition, Linda Monchik was tapped to play Ida and Trudi Miller will fill the role of Lucille.
Mildred, the feisty neighbor, has yet to be cast.
Rehearsals won't begin until January.
See you then.
This story appeared on Page C1 of The Standard-Times on September 18, 2005.
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