A few weeks ago, anxious to see how the bevy of over 30 handcrafted hats and costumes were progressing, I stopped up to our costume shop to visit costume designer Brian Strachan and his team.  I was drawn to the beautifully designed quilt that Brian, Kimitha Cashin (our props master who’s been assisting in costume construction for this show), and costume assistant Mary Beth Regan (“MB” as she’s known by), were creating for the character of Mother Shaw.  The script calls for Mother Shaw (played by the lovely Barbara D. Mills) to have a shawl.  The shawl is utilized throughout the show as a sort of representational object as Mother Shaw and her ‘hat queens’ share their life lessons and what it means to “wear a crown.”  Director Kevin Ramsey came up with the idea of turning the shawl into a quilt, with patches on the quilt to reference the various journeys that the characters take throughout the show, including many of the core stories depicted in the show, such “jumping the broom,” the “wedding” and the “funeral” scenes, among others. From personal experience (my mother is an avid quilter) I truly appreciate this idea of sharing a legacy, as a quilt does, and was delighted to see how the quilt truly becomes a sort of character in the show.   Take a look at our slideshow (left) with some fun quilt-creation photos.

While visiting, I also took a sneak-peek at the hats Brian was finishing up for the show.  A few were purchased in New York and then embellished and detailed for each specific character, while Brian himself hand-crafted many others from scratch, including the gorgeous fox hat you’ll see in the show, made from a real fox shawl he found at a flea market that he completed with glowing jeweled eyes, and the African hat.  Brian referenced how he loves designing because of its multi-faceted aspects: “You make your design and then you get to see how to make it work for the characters/ actresses.”  You can see these brilliant hats and gorgeous quilt come to life in CROWNS on DTC’s stage until this Sunday, April 29th.  All of the hats are also up for auction through April 29th.  View and bid on your favorite(s) now here.

We’ll see you soon!

-Amanda Curry

DELAWARE YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL Prepares to Take the Stage!

Inspired future playwrights + current theatre professionals =an innovative evening of theatre.

The long- awaited Delaware Young Playwrights Festival has returned here at DTC! The Delaware Young Playwrights Festival or DYPF, which has been on hiatus since 2008, has returned in all its glory with an interactive playwriting workshop for teachers, students, and professional theatre artists.  Sixty-six high school playwrights from across Delaware participated, having submitted 50 plays — all of which were centered on this year’s theme of seeking truth, inspired by a quote from Arthur Miller’s All My Sons (Lest you forget: our season-opener this year): “Every man does have a star. The star of one’s honesty.  And you spend your life groping for it, but once it’s out it never lights again”- Dr. Jim Bayliss.  Plays were then submitted for feedback from DTC’s Department of Education with the six chosen finalists afforded the opportunity to showcase scenes from their plays on March 19th at 7:00pm, when an overall winner will be announced here on the DTC stage.  (NOTE: I had the chance to glance at a few of these scripts and I was honestly in awe of the quality of writing of these HIGH SCHOOL students.  This amazing writing, paired with DTC’s quality education dept, production team, and professional actors is truly something not to be missed).  And better yet, the performances are FREE!

THE PROCESSS: Students were instructed to write a five to ten page, two-character play in which a character or characters experience a pivotal moment in their lives, as one or both seeks to discover truth.  Collaborating on the re-imagining of this year’s DYPF is Director of Education & Community Engagement Charles Conway, Associate Director of Education & Community Engagement Johanna Schloss, Facilitator/Director Ben Smallen, and assisted by Consultant Marielle Eaton.  These DTC theatre artists provided individualized feedback about each of the plays submitted in the first round and each school was invited to submit its top three plays for the second round.

THE WINNERS:  We’re incredibly proud to announce that the following six plays were selected from the second round of submissions and will be presented in the March 19th final showcase: Alexander’s Last Battle by Sarah Gianakon of the Charter School of Wilmington, The Last Canvas by Sanjay Pelinski of Newark High School, A Late Night Dance by Katy Wicks and Hillary Marinelli of St. Elizabeth High School, The Lost Cause by Alexander Cook of Cab Calloway School of the Arts, One Truth by Heather McAdams the Charter School of Wilmington, and Thoughts on My Brother by Lillian Kairis also of the Charter School of Wilmington.  These six student playwrights have spent the past several weeks teaming with our DTC folks as well as Philadelphia-based actors Kim Carson, Timothy Rinehart, Bill D’Agostino and Rebecca Vail work shopping these six plays as they refine their writing for the March 19th performances.  Our friends from Möbius New Media stopped by last’s Saturday workshop to take some photos (see above).

WHY YOU SHOULD GO: After chatting with the actors, education department, and production team, I was so thoroughly impressed with the degree of collaboration I was seeing in this entire process.  According to Director Ben Smallen (whose passion for both theatre and education is quite palpable): “What I have loved about working with this group of young playwrights is the fearless and thoughtful nature with which they have attacked their own writing and rewriting. They are deeply interested in getting and processing feedback on their plays and then implementing changes in order to have their work grow. And of equal importance (and impressiveness) is the intelligence and love with which they deliver constructive feedback to each other. They are never afraid to say what they feel about the work they have just heard and seen, but they understand so immediately how personal the work is to each writer so they are very aware of finding positive and productive ways of phrasing their feedback.” This got me to thinking how much I truly would have loved to be involved in a process like this as a high schooler (Actor Tim Rinehart echoed this sentiment too, and, actually, I think it’s pretty fair that every adult in this process wishes they would have had an opportunity akin to this in their high school days).  Said quite succinctly by these playwrights:

• “To go through the process of writing a play — all the time and attention it took to produce something I’m happy with — and then to see it performed on a [professional] stage, is the most rewarding thing of all!” –Alex Cook, Playwright
• “Seeing a live-action adaptation of something that had always only been a collection of thoughts is a wonderful privilege, and I am excited to both view that and watch others’ reactions to it in the final performance.” – Lily Kairis, Playwright
• “It has always been one of my dreams to see one of my works performed by real, professional actors.  Just the thought that these fantastic actors will be bringing my play to life thrills me every time I think about it.” – Sarah Gianakon, Playwright

I thought actor Bill D’Agostino’s words were the most telling of the heart of this process: “These amazing writers are the future of American theatre and I am awed at the support they are being given by the Delaware Theatre Company.”  It’s truly a great reminder of why we do what we do here at DTC…to create MEANINGFUL theatre and foster the next generation to do just that.  I really do hope you’ll join us in celebrating these talented young Delawareans on Monday, March 19 at 7pm.  Again, this event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.delawaretheatre.org/education_dypf.php

We look forward to seeing you there! -Amanda Curry

Charles Conway, Dir. of Education and Community Engagement, works with TAP actors.

Charlie’s group was busily preparing the first piece Take Off the Hats, a 15-20 minute play that will be performed next Tuesday night at 7:30pm on the Delaware Theatre Company stage.  The show centers on a group of “mysterious strangers” (all donning hats, of course) who arrive in a community divided by the overuse of technology.  These ‘strangers’ guide the townspeople in recognizing their similarities and allow the community to overcome their dependence on technology.  Watching the enthusiasm of both the volunteers (who perform along with the participants) and the performers themselves — a few of which are non-verbal — was truly inspiring.  I have to say my favorite part was the Soul Train-esque dance line-up to the Bruno Mars song “Just the Way You Are.”  I couldn’t help but tear-up, it was so heartfelt and genuine and such an example of what theatre should be — deeply-felt, honest and  FUN.

TAP performers Rachel Isaacs and Ashley Tieste pause for a quick photo before heading on stage for rehearsal.

The second show, Everyday Superheroes, written and directed by Johanna, centers on a group of superheroes who decide to go incognito and have to save the day when the town goes awry without them.  Johanna has created such an endearing, hilarious, beautifully-choreographed piece.  Check out Content Delaware’s incredible video to see a sneak peek at these two shows. (Thanks, Delaware Division of the Arts and Content Delaware!)  Prior to the rehearsal, I got to sit in on these interviews.  As seen in the video, TAP Performer Elizabeth Nolan, age 24, who’s been involved as a performer in TAP since its inception in 1992, and her mother, Mary Ann, were interviewed by Content DE’s Dan Rosenthal regarding their experiences in this program.  It was so incredibly lovely to see the pride that both Elizabeth and her mother share for this troupe, and how she has grown tremendously both socially and as a theatre performer. (Note: Elizabeth plays ‘SuperFan’- a cheerleader with a strong affinity for badminton, in Everyday Superheroes).

Elizabeth, playing “Superfan,” works on memorizing her lines during rehearsal.

Something that I found so profoundly inspiring about the entire program was the sense of support and enthusiasm I felt from all participants.  While Elizabeth and I were watching the rehearsal of Take Off the Hats, Elizabeth was busily signing “Good job!” to her friend Maggie who was rehearsing on stage.   Honestly, we could all learn a serious lesson in support, encouragement, and embracing life from this phenomenal program.  I know I did.

IF YOU GO (And you should- really):

Totally Awesome Players performance:

• Tuesday, March 6^th at 7:30pm
• Delaware Theatre Company stage
• Tickets are $5 in advance, or at the door; DTC Box Office: (302)594-1104

 -Amanda Curry

Audience Services Manager and Marketing Associate

Last week I chatted with the Chairman of Delaware Theatre Company’s Board of Directors and co-chair of the MIDATLANTIC FOOD AND WINE FEAST (MAF+WF), Michael Marquardt, about the upcoming weekend of vino and tempting international cuisine.  This four day, ten-event feast runs Thursday, February 23th through Sunday the 26th in private homes in the Brandywine valley and surrounding areas as well as the world-class Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, all benefiting the Delaware Theatre Company.

http://www.foodandwinefeast.com/

The Theatre and Wine Connection: Growing up in Germany, Marquardt’s mother was a stage actress for well over 10 years and did a great deal of commercial and dubbing work for American television programs (notably, as the voice of one the characters in the hit show Dynasty).  “Like kids today go to the mall, I went to the theatre.  I went to see a play virtually every week—sometimes twice when my mother was performing.  I remember being mesmerized by live theatre that allows you to escape into an inspiring story.  Similarly, growing up in Europe, we drank wine with our middle school teachers.  As a teenager I became more and more interested in wine as a collector, and with my first job, bought a few extra bottles and never looked back.”  Marquardt, who has been involved with the event for some six or seven years, and his team, co-chairs Ajit Mathew George and Lisa Quadrini, along with the entire Wine Guild, have been thrilled to re-brand this event after 23 years and expand its regional reach.

The Events:  This weekend truly offers “something money can’t buy,” according to Marquardt.  The Thursday and Friday evenings offer six Intimate Winemakers Dinners to choose from, hosted in private homes, with five to seven courses prepared by both local and visiting international chefs,  paired with wines poured by the winemakers themselves.  The home of Mike and Ellen Kullman in Greenville, the Oberod Estate of Vance Kershner in Centreville, and the home of Darren and Karen Wright in Historic New Castle are only a few of the hosted estates for these, what Marquardt calls, “quite exclusive culinary experiences.”

One event that truly spoke to me personally as a budding wine enthusiast (and recovering ‘starving grad student’) was the Tasting with the Pros event on Saturday from 12pm to 2pm in Hotel du Pont’s Gold Ballroom—merely $50 for this “tutored” wine tasting for beginners with the visiting winemakers, complemented by a light lunch.  Marquardt noted that attendees to this event should not feel intimated to ask questions about the wines, and that he’s excited to welcome a great deal of young people to this and every food and wine experience this weekend (Spark Magazine will be there to capture the fun!).

Saturday afternoon from 3pm to 5pm in The Green Room (again at the Hotel du Pont) features a unique 1,000 Point Tasting:a master class of sorts for the serious oenophile (that’s ‘wine lover’ to you and me) guided by Charles Curtis, Master of Wine and Head of Wine for Christie’s Asia.  Ten perfect 100-point wines from all over the world will be featured—an exceedingly rare experience, as few wines receive such a high rating.  “Curtis was one of the first people we convinced to help us with the MAF+WF,” Marquardt explained, “and was the former head of the Christie’s Wine Auction in New York, then promoted to head of the auction in Asia.  Curtis currently lives in Hong Kong and is coming in just for the Feast events.  He is extremely well- respected in the wine world and when approached by Ajit, was very interested in supporting this great cause and offering his time and talents.”  Marquardt additionally mentioned the work and research that went into creating the ultimate in wine perfection: “Even if you just have a small interest in wine, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever attend a wine tasting like this.”  10 PERFECT wines to sip and savor?  To that I say: yes, please.

In the 7-Course Winemakers dinner and Live Wine Auction on Saturday night, guests will delight in high-end cuisine prepared by seven notable international chefs (from Portugal, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, just to name a few), working in concert with seven local chefs, each preparing one course with perfectly paired wines.  This black-tie international feast and wine auction led by Charles Curtis, takes place in the Gold Ballroom from 6pm to 11pm.  Michael embraced this idea of “lots of cooks in the kitchen” and likened the idea of meeting a famous playwright to the star-struck feeling of being served by your favorite wine makers and celebrity chefs at this dinner.

The weekend culminates in a grand finale, the Sunday Gospel Brunch: Around the World with 80 Wines. This brunch from 11am to 2pm in the Gold Ballroom features food stations from 10 leading area restaurants and 80 wines.  Guests are treated to the sounds of the 60-member Calvary Baptist Combined Choir while having the opportunity to mingle with Jennifer Behm from Fox TV’s Master Chef and Chef Dana Herbert of TLC’s Next Great Baker.  The inspiration behind this brunch comes from Ajit’s experience with a food and wine festival in Charleston, S.C. that had a similar Gospel brunch finale.

The F+W Celebs:  Obviously, many international chefs and winemakers will be lending time and talent over the course of these four days.  Michael mentioned a few in particular, including Ntsiki Biyela from Stellekaya Winery, the most prominent wine maker in all of Africa.  The New York Times recently featured her in an article.  Other celebrities in the wine world that will be making appearances include Thomas Haag of Weingut Schloss Lieser, Germany,  Bruno Eynard from Chateau Lagrange in France, Chef Vikram Garg from Hawaii, and Chef Juan Nale Ruckauer from Spain, to name a few.  Each of these chefs and winemakers are well known in their own countries, Marquardt mentioned.  He was particularly pleased that in addition to Ntsiki Biyela, three other women will be joining this stellar line-up, including Lauren Moran of Chateau Tanunda, Australia, Sandra Tavares da Silva from Wine & Soul in Portugal and Chef Carla Pernambuco of Brazil.  “The wine and food world has been previously seen as male-dominated and we are so glad to welcome these incredibly accomplished women.”

Be sure to check out http://www.foodandwinefeast.com/ to purchase tickets or for more information. This weekend seems to have something for everyone and above all, allows the Delaware Theatre Company to continue to produce the incredibly high-quality theatre and education programs it’s been known for, for over 30 years.  I’ll be there.  Will you?

-Amanda Curry

Scar tattoos

Mindy Hall, the make-up artist for the Broadway production in 2010 starring Laura Linney designed the scars that were made for Ms. Linney herself. These designs were then traced and sent to a lab in California called Tinsley Transfers to create temporary tattoo-like adhesives (seen left). Brian used Mindy’s original Broadway “scar-tattoo” design from Tinsley Transfers, then developed his own pattern and process specific to Susan’s face for our show here at DTC.

Make-up for creating scars

Brian applied the scar transfers with a combination of Aquatone and eyeliner pencil, painting them directly on Susan’s face. He then used an opaque powder, and finally sprayed a Ben Nye fixative to set them (much like applying hairspray to set). A paint palette is also used when needed, to add shadowing and depth, on Susan’s face and neck.

Brian Strachan instructs Susan McKey how to apply scars.

He patterned the scars to fit Susan’s face and to appear as if the bomb had exploded on her right side and thrown her onto the left.

Which is which?

One of these scars (left) is a tattoo and one was created with only Brian’s make-up wizardry. Can you tell which is which?

Leg scars

Susan’s leg scars are applied with a special effects adhesive called Pros-Aide® and stay on about eight days (she is still able to shower without washing them away). She typically leaves the neck and shoulder scars on for multiple days as well.

Susan McKey in full scar make-up

Brian did significant research into shrapnel injuries and the scarring process, to make the scars appear as realistic as possible.

One of the challenges for this process is that Susan’s character Sarah gradually heals throughout the show, so some of her scars need to be removed at intermission.  The idea of revealing and healing is ever present in this extremely thought-provoking show, both in terms of the production process and the greater themes of the show. Intrigued? Time Stands Still runs here at DTC until February 5th, and then moves to Act II playhouse in Ambler, PA where it will run from February 14-March 11.

-Amanda Curry, Audience Services Manager and Marketing Associate

This blog comes to you from the desk of Amanda Curry, Audience Services Manager and Marketing Associate here at DTC.  I’m absolutely thrilled to be sharing behind-the-scenes info, news and updates as we embark on our third show of the season, the 2010 Broadway hit TIME STANDS STILL by Donald Margulies.   I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with the Director, Bud Martin, as well as the Assistant Director, Bill D’Agostino, to discuss this extremely timely and smart modern drama, and the process of a co-production.

-Bud, you acted as producer for TIME STANDS STILL on Broadway (starring Laura Linney). Being so close to the show, what attracted you to it most from a directorial standpoint?

BUD: Well, I think my first love is directing and when I saw the show originally done at the Manhattan Theatre Club I felt it was one of the first plays in a long time where I was so transported into the world of the play and the lives of these characters.  It was what I thought theatre was really all about.   I’m drawn to the characters and the challenges that they have, and the struggles of what makes for a successful relationship and passion: your passion for your work, your passion for your partner, etc… Looking into two very different couples at two very significant points in their life is the kind of thing I love working on as a director, in terms of dealing with the subtext of all those relationships.

-Bill, I’ll extend that question to you- what attracted you most to this show? 

BILL: I’m also a playwright, and I am awed by playwright Donald Margulies’s writing. It is so seamless and smart and there is so much craft involved, and yet to an audience the craft is just seamless, it just looks like you’re looking in on these people’s lives, as Bud just said.  And you’re just following the story and you’re gripped by these fascinating, flawed beautiful people. But yet behind the scenes, there’s such wonderful mechanism; such wonderful writing behind it that it’s just stunning.  There are things working on multiple levels at all times — ways that he (Margulies) withholds information and gives information away. Nobody else writes like that; in such a beautiful, seamless way.

BUD: The great piece is the withholding of information. There’s a producer friend of mine who often says: “If it ain’t on the page, it ain’t on the stage” and as a director I say “No, it is what’s NOT on the page that is important to find on this stage!” Donald Margulies is so brilliant at that: How do you say what’s not being said?

-Bill, I know that your background is also rooted in both journalism and dramaturgy (researching the background information of a play to inform the actors and production team).  How have both of these served you in beginning work on this project as an assistant director?

BILL: I was never a war journalist, but I think having known people who were….it’s been useful. I knew people that were driven not necessarily to go to the battlefield but to the way that covering certain things you kind of have to bifurcate yourself. I talked in the first rehearsal about the fact that I covered three very intense trials and knowing by the third one the way that you start to, not lose your emotional life, but the way that you have to separate how you feel as a person and your job, that’s important to understanding both of the two main characters, especially Sarah.  She does that to the nth degree.  I did a lot of dramaturgical research for Bud and the actors in terms of articles that are useful to understanding the world that these characters are in.  I found articles from New York Times photographers and reporters. I just gave Kevin Kelly (the actor who plays James) a biography of Daniel Pearl who was a war reporter who was hijacked and killed.  He and the character of James both went to Stanford.

BUD: It’s an interesting study.  I love looking at the layers of people in relationships and people that actually do this [war photographers/ photojournalists] and put themselves in harms way: and why do they do it, are they doing it because they think it’s the right thing to do or are they doing this because they are adrenaline junkies to some extent, I mean why do they take those kinds of risks? It’s not completely altruistic, it’s not just to show the world an injustice, it’s really to get the shot and to survive the risk associated with getting the shot.  And you take that and you couple it with: how do you have a relationship with someone at the same time?  I think it’s an enormously intensely layered person who does that.  It is so timely- we were just looking at pictures of the New York Times Year in Review about three photographers who died taking shots of the war —  two in April and one in May, and it’s so much in our minds.

-Bud, is this the first thing you’ve directed that you produced first?

BUD: No, I did The Story of My Life.  I actually tried to get that to do at Act II and someone optioned it for Broadway and tried to convince me to do it with her.   And that’s one of the ways I learned that there is a completely different job description for the director that works with the playwright on the first production and somebody who does subsequent productions.  There is so much more dramaturgy (research) involved for the director of the first production.  This cast auditioned with the script as it was originally done at Manhattan Theatre Club versus the script that was published after the Broadway production at the CORT theatre.  The actors were all saying it’s amazing how so much of what was in the script was no longer in the script because that was, again, instead of talking about your intention, how do you take that out of there and play it with more sparsity and more economy and more efficiency in the language?  And that’s a different job description than remounting a show and giving it sort of your own twist.
-For both of you, since this is a co-production with Act II playhouse in Ambler, what sort of challenges are you anticipating regarding moving the show from one theatre to the next? (Note: The show will be at DTC from 1/18 to 2/5 and at Act II from 2/14 to 3/11).    

BUD: The stage at Act II is substantially smaller than the stage at DTC, so the audience will literally be “in the apartment.”  The knees of the audience at Act II are right at stage level, so things have to be condensed a bit.   We (at ACT II) don’t have height and we don’t have quite the width, so the way the set is designed is there’s a molding seam, layer of brick that will be taken off at about a 9 foot level at Act II and we’ll have to cheat everything a little closer together. So, I’m not anticipating changing traffic patterns, we do have the ACT II stage taped out within the rehearsal space up there so we’re trying to be cognizant of that and shouldn’t have to re-block the show.  When we did a co-production two years ago with Theatre Exile of a new play that Bruce Graham (who plays Richard in this show) wrote, we moved the show from Plays and Players Theatre in Center City Philadelphia to Act II. The change in the intimacy was very interesting because the audience sort of felt like they were sitting in the den and they were implicated in the plot.  But it’s amazing for a bigger theatre, I think the acoustics are fantastic here at the Delaware Theatre Company, which will allow actors to be able to be more subtle and not have to worry about pushing to be heard.  They can spend more time on their real intention, and- how would somebody say that?  I love this space at DTC, but on the other hand there are some really great benefits of the intimacy of working in a 130-seat theatre.

-Because this show deals with the dangers of photo-journalism on the “front lines” of war- what sort of other resources have you relied on to inform this process?

BILL: The DART center is a center that deals with journalists in conflict (http://dartcenter.org/), and I gave each of the actors a pamphlet of information from their website on what it’s like — what are some tips and tools, to give them the feeling of being insiders.  So they know what kind of information journalists would get, rather than just getting the information that journalists present.  2011 was a terrible year for photojournalists, actually.  Bud mentioned the three in Libya that were killed.  There were also a number that were hijacked and held captive, including the female journalist that was one of the inspirations for the piece, Lynsey Addario.  She wrote a gorgeous essay for the New York Times about being a female war photographer, which I think speaks very synchronistically to the play itself, maybe not surprisingly, since she was one of the inspirations.  She articulates the benefits of being a female photographer, especially in Arab countries, in terms of gaining access to places that men wouldn’t, but also what she endured as a female war photographer and some of the biases.  This is a play about a war photographer, but I think any woman who has to juggle her relationship with her job and her relationship with her family will understand the kind of difficult decisions Sarah (the lead character) faces.  Addario articulates these challenges very well.

BUD: We did a benefit for the DART center during the Broadway production and gave them tickets to a show to raise money, with a reception with the cast afterwards.  It was really revealing to the cast and I think the first performance after they met many of those people was significantly impacted by having spent time with them.  We also did a lot of talk-backs and got many famous photographers and journalists to come by and speak about their experiences.  Bob Woodruff and his wife came and talked about their experiences.  It was very fascinating to a lot of people because of the timeliness of it all.

-Obviously this work is extremely relevant in this time of political unrest in the Middle East.  In the show the characters Sarah and Mandy represent two opposing views of the responsibility of a photojournalist in times of war (i.e.  are they there to help or there to document?)  That being said, how do you think this production will resonate with this audience at this time?  

BUD: That’s a great question and I don’t know that the play tries to answer the question as much as expose the challenge.  Susan McKey (actress who plays Sarah), was talking about having watched a movie about the guilelessness and nerve of photographers, and not just war-time photographers, but what kind of mentality you have to have to get the picture and to sort of force yourself into a situation and actually find that right moment and get the picture.  Think about the nerve and lack of sensitivity that paparazzi photographers have. There’s something that’s characteristic about the focus on capturing the picture vs. changing the reality.  The play doesn’t respond to it — I think that differing opinions are as much about: should you intervene to try and be helpful? The 1993 photograph by Kevin Carter — of a vulture looking on at a starving Sudanese toddler — won a Pulitzer Prize and the photographer ended up committing suicide because he got so much grief about: Did he intervene? Should he? It was a ghoulish, horrifying picture, but talk about a picture that opened people’s eyes to just how horrible the situation was.  But there was so much outrage about him one, taking the picture and two, should he have done something to intervene?  It’s a real challenge. He would have said he exposed the situation, and the drama of that picture made it so much more powerful to so many more people so they could actually take action.  It’s a great debate. I think the bigger polarity between the two (characters) as women is as important in the play as the role of the photographer and the professional woman versus the woman who decides to be a mom and have a child and makes the choice that that’s the most important thing for her, not work.  And having that woman, Mandy, be accepted by Sarah, who is all about professionalism, is important.  Bill said it’s as much about the tension between a woman’s passion for her work and passion for the person that she loves in her life, but it’s also about women’s opinion of other women:  Mandy’s fear that she’s being looked at as being less of a person because she wants to be a mom and stay at home with her kid, because that’s what’s most important to her.

BILL: It’s also as much about — what is the price that that person who is responsible for the world pays in their personal life? That’s not just women — Barack Obama, what is the sacrifice he’s making as a father? I don’t think anyone can successfully balance the responsibilities to the globe, to their community, to their family, to themselves.  It’s a tricky navigation that we all have to make.  And all four characters find very different answers along that spectrum.  And they’re all right, but it’s heart-breaking to watch them make those different choices.

This thoughtful drama is absolutely not to be missed.  TIME STANDS STILL runs at the Delaware Theatre Company 1/18 to 2/5 and at Act II Playhouse in Ambler from 2/14 to 3/11.    

-Amanda Curry

Audience Services Manager and Marketing Associate 

It’s my great fortune to be working with a collection of incredibly smart and passionate theatre artists on this project. Everyone who has read this play has had a tremendously strong reaction to the story and the writing. That collective strong creative response will be a large part of what will hopefully make Lucy a theatrical experience like nothing else in recent memory at DTC.

When I direct at DTC, I normally will set aside about a day and half for table work. This is when the cast literally sits around the table and slowly works through the play — asking questions, sorting through points of confusion, exploring the subject matter. Damien has written a play that has endless layers of fascination to it. One question leads to another. This cast has a voracious curiosity and we are quickly getting to the warm, complex heart of this play – but at the end of day two we are only half way through the play! So, we will continue table work, hopefully starting to put the play on its feet by the end of the day.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the enormous generosity of the autism community. I’ve spoken with many people in the area about autism, attempting to wrap my head around this mysterious disorder. Never has a single person I’ve approached said, “I’m sorry, I don’t want to talk about it.” Today, Juliette Pryor, the mother of a ten-year old boy with autism, came in and spent an hour and a half with the cast, sharing her experience raising her son. She was tremendously open, honest, and articulate. It was of enormous help to the cast and myself. Thank you, Juliette!

But on the first day of rehearsal, as I left the rehearsal room and crossed the stage, something unusual caught my eye.  Our staff had already struck the scenery from our last show, disassembling flats and platforms for re-use later on in the season.  Off-stage left, resting casually in the midst of a stack of lumber and platforms was the item that caught my eye—Sylvia’s little red ball!  I could not help but laugh out loud at life’s imitation of art.

Such is a life in the theatre.  A complicated mixture of pride in and affection for the play just completed and eagerness for the one that comes next, with all of its possibilities.  Our audiences travel that same journey with us throughout the season, and we hope you enjoy that journey as much as we do.

I’m writing today to announce an updated itinerary for that journey, with apologies for over-use of the travel metaphor (an inherent risk while we’re working on Around the World in 80 Days).  Specifically, in the spring, we will be producing Kevin Ramsey’s Chasin’ Dem Blues: Untold Story of Paramount Records in lieu of A Cappella Humana.  Chasin’ Dem Blues is a foot-stomping, roof-raising, multi-media musical celebration, which will thrill audiences with storytellers’ accounts of how a small Midwest town changed the landscape of American music, and ushered in the sound of the early 20th century, a sound that still reverberates today.

Kevin has been eager to share this production with DTC for some time.  He originally developed the piece at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater under the title Grafton City Blues and has been refining and polishing the piece ever since, in anticipation of directing it here in Wilmington.  So we look forward to finishing our season this year with an inspiring American story and a celebration of great music.

Importantly, this change will allow us to give A Cappella Humana the time and support required for a world premiere musical.  Kevin is keenly interested in working with local choirs and other vocal talent in the development of A Cappella Humana and by postponing that production until next season, we can ensure that Kevin has adequate time here in Wilmington for those collaborations.

Throughout the season, check out this blog for other behind-the-scenes updates!  We’ll hear from the artists and artisans who work their magic on our stage and I’m excited that we’ll be able to showcase their talents and share their craft with you.