Thursday we met for a read-through of Book of Days by Lanford Wilson. I love this script, and that's the most important reason I agreed to endure the 40-minute commute to Gaithersburg (much longer in rush hour) to rehearse and perform the play. (But, hey, there's a Panera about a mile from the theater/rehearsal space, so life is good.)

The story of the play takes place in a small town in Ozarks Missouri, one that is conveniently blessed with a strong community theater, for this is a play within a play. Ruth Hoch, amateur musical comedienne and accountant for the town's cheese factory, finds herself improbably cast as the lead in George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan. When a power struggle for direction of the factory, sparked by Ruth's idealistic husband Len, gets out of hand, plucky Ruth recapitulates the tragedy of Shaw's doomed heroine, Joan of Arc.

I play the comic relief: Boyd Middleton, bicoastal stage and screen director and acidic personality, who has mysteriously been tapped to direct this little theater Saint Joan. I didn't realize how funny some of Boyd's material is until I heard reactions at the read-through.

The play is told in a presentational trunk-show style, with actors announcing changes of time and place. Director Karen wants to be very faithful to that style, and this will suit the limited technical resources of Montgomery Playhouse—in contrast to the professional production at Arena Stage a couple of years back, which didn't capitalize on the play's low-budget vibe.

Boyd has a talky scene with Reverend Groves in which they argue whether Joan was mad or genuinely inspired, so I've picked up a copy of Shaw's play in order to dig a little deeper into this scene. The debate takes place in a locker room after the Reverend has just whipped Boyd at one-on-one basketball. No acting necessary there. As written, Boyd changes back into his street clothes during the scene. Bring on the self-tanner! Montgomery Playhouse's stage is not ready for my pale legs.

In the cast, I've worked with Ceil (Stage Manager), Andy (Len), and Stan (Sheriff Atkins) before, and I'm acquainted with Andrea (Ruth) and Jean (Martha). Bill (Walt), Katie (Louann), Erika (Ginger), Colin (James), Robin (Sharon) are effectively new faces for me. We're still looking to cast Earl and Rev. Groves.

Mechanically, I'm trying something different with my script: I pasted script pages into a blank spiral-bound book the way that Martha (Independence) and Katie do. We'll see how that works out.

Oddly enough, I find myself a little troubled that Rev. Groves, a conservative Christian pastor, serves as an antagonist to Ruth. I'm beginning to tire of the notion that the Bible-thumpers are always the bad guys. I hope that we cast someone strong in the role, someone who can make the Rev a sympathetic character.

posted: 10:10:28 PM  

Gothamist links to information about the second annual Proust Fest and other things Swannian.

posted: 12:34:34 PM  

James Wood elaborates on playwright Lisa's dictum: Endings are hard.

(Thanks to Arts & Letters Daily.)

posted: 10:34:15 AM