A few years ago, as I was on the hunt for a small-cast show, I often went back to the phrase, "Something like THE GLASS MENAGERIE." After what was probably much too long, I came to the realization that we could just do... THE GLASS MENAGERIE. Part of the problem in finding a similar show is that there really isn't much out there that combines the fantastic roles and magical-realism of the memory play concept, and certainly nobody that does it as well as Tennessee Williams.
"The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic."
I love memory plays. There is a freedom in expression that comes from not being locked into the literal events of the past, but rather seeing one character's interpretation of those moments. As we worked through the text, one thing we focused on was that we were not, for example, seeing the real versions of Amanda or Laura, what we are watching is Tom's memory and interpretation of their actions. So, if Amanda seems harsh at times, that is because Tom, even if he is now older and wiser, has ingrained those memories that way. Similarly, is Laura really as sweet and innocent as she appears? In reality unlikely, but to Tom that's who his older sister was. In keeping with Williams' original production plans, we've done some other things to call back the memory aspects of the play, whether that be the music that flows under the scenes, the occasional moments where Tom will step out and watch the action rather than take part in it directly, or even little touches such as the complete lack of text on any paper prop throughout to show the lack of details in his memory. It's a world that is not realistic, but to the characters living in Tom's head, it's the only world they've ever known.
"Hold him over the light, he loves the light! See how the light shines through him?"
My relationship with this play goes back to college, where I designed projections for our production. In fact, that was the first credited theatrical design I ever did. So we can blame the hundreds since on this play. I came back to it a couple years ago when I played Tom down the road in Lakewood. And now, here we are again, back in an alley in St. Louis. I rarely have a great desire to come back to a play after I've done it, I'm always looking for the next thing, but there are a few exceptions, and THE GLASS MENAGERIE has certainly proved to be one.
"I know your ambitions do not lie in the warehouse, that like everybody in the whole wide world - you've had to make sacrifices, but - Tom - Tom - life's not easy, it calls for - Spartan endurance!"
Theatre has changed in the past few years. Audiences aren't coming out in the same way, expenses have gone up, and the pool of actors and technicians who are actively working has shrunk. But now, at the end of our 15th season of producing independent fringe theatre, I am eternally grateful to the people who make that possible. Whether it be the actors who take a chance to work small, the designers working in an intimate arena, or the audience in the seats, be they 4 people or 150, who come to be entertained, to be moved, to laugh, sometimes to cry, but always to experience the magic that is live theater. Thank you, I can't wait to do it all again when we return to the Dukesbay Theater next season.
"And so goodbye..."
All the best,
Niclas
"The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic."
I love memory plays. There is a freedom in expression that comes from not being locked into the literal events of the past, but rather seeing one character's interpretation of those moments. As we worked through the text, one thing we focused on was that we were not, for example, seeing the real versions of Amanda or Laura, what we are watching is Tom's memory and interpretation of their actions. So, if Amanda seems harsh at times, that is because Tom, even if he is now older and wiser, has ingrained those memories that way. Similarly, is Laura really as sweet and innocent as she appears? In reality unlikely, but to Tom that's who his older sister was. In keeping with Williams' original production plans, we've done some other things to call back the memory aspects of the play, whether that be the music that flows under the scenes, the occasional moments where Tom will step out and watch the action rather than take part in it directly, or even little touches such as the complete lack of text on any paper prop throughout to show the lack of details in his memory. It's a world that is not realistic, but to the characters living in Tom's head, it's the only world they've ever known.
"Hold him over the light, he loves the light! See how the light shines through him?"
My relationship with this play goes back to college, where I designed projections for our production. In fact, that was the first credited theatrical design I ever did. So we can blame the hundreds since on this play. I came back to it a couple years ago when I played Tom down the road in Lakewood. And now, here we are again, back in an alley in St. Louis. I rarely have a great desire to come back to a play after I've done it, I'm always looking for the next thing, but there are a few exceptions, and THE GLASS MENAGERIE has certainly proved to be one.
"I know your ambitions do not lie in the warehouse, that like everybody in the whole wide world - you've had to make sacrifices, but - Tom - Tom - life's not easy, it calls for - Spartan endurance!"
Theatre has changed in the past few years. Audiences aren't coming out in the same way, expenses have gone up, and the pool of actors and technicians who are actively working has shrunk. But now, at the end of our 15th season of producing independent fringe theatre, I am eternally grateful to the people who make that possible. Whether it be the actors who take a chance to work small, the designers working in an intimate arena, or the audience in the seats, be they 4 people or 150, who come to be entertained, to be moved, to laugh, sometimes to cry, but always to experience the magic that is live theater. Thank you, I can't wait to do it all again when we return to the Dukesbay Theater next season.
"And so goodbye..."
All the best,
Niclas
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