May 5, 2025 • 23 mins
How often do audiences get to experience a play directed by its own playwright? In this enlightening episode of Steps to the Stage, we take you behind the scenes of "Bending the Spoon," part of Chino Community Theatre's Three on the Edge Festival, where writer-director Ken Lay brings his own creation to life.
The play centers on a three-generation family preparing to celebrate a sweet sixteen birthday that unexpectedly resurrects a 20-year-old family tragedy. While the premise might sound heavy, Lay promises plenty of laughter amidst the tears, creating a richly human experience that reflects real life's complex emotional landscape.
What makes this production uniquely fascinating is the creative dynamics at play. Tracy Lay, who portrays Gina and happens to be Ken's wife, brings her third iteration of the character to stage, having originated the role in 2018. Meanwhile, Cindy East, who plays grandmother Carol, describes the rare advantage of working directly with the playwright: "He has so much more insight than the average director would have." This intimate connection between writer, director, and actors creates an electric creative environment where lines can be adjusted on the fly when Ken realizes something that worked on paper doesn't translate perfectly to stage.
The cast reveals how Ken's approach to balancing comedy with tragedy stems from his belief that "you just have to laugh instead of cry" sometimes. Rather than relying on slapstick or overt jokes, the humor emerges organically from recognizable family interactions—those moments audience members will recognize from their own lives. As Tracy explains, "People are going to see these characters and relate to them," thinking, "that sounds just like my dad" or "that's how I talk to my husband."
At its heart, "Bending the Spoon" explores how families navigate life's unpredictable challenges. As Ken thoughtfully puts it, "Sometimes in life, more than one thing hits you at the same time, and you don't always get to resolve one before the next one comes along." When asked to describe the play in just one word, the creative team offers three powerful options: "Life," "Humanity," and "Heart."
Don't miss this rare theatrical experience where playwright vision merges directly with stage direction. Discover for yourself why this production has the cast occasionally leaving rehearsals in emotional silence after powerful scenes, yet still finding themselves laughing at the same moments after countless rehearsals.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Steps to the Stage.
A 7th Street Community Theatrepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello and welcome to Steps to the Stage, the
community theatre podcast, wherewe talk to the theatre
professionals you know and love.
I'm Marlee and today we'regoing to be covering Chino
Community Theatre's Three on theEdge Festival, featuring
Breathing Corpses, Savage inLimbo and Bending the Spoon.
Right now we're talking aboutBending the Spoon and I have
three amazing big participantsin this play.
(00:30):
So if we could just go down theline, introduce yourself and
your role in this play.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I'm Ken Lay.
I am the writer and director ofBending the Spoon.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I'm Tracy Lay and I play Gina in Bending the Spoon.
I'm Cindy.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
East and I play Gina.
In Bending the Spoon.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm Cindy East and I play Carol the grandmother
Amazing and from our writer anddirector.
Could you give like a shortsynopsis of what's going on in
the play?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Sure, bending the Spoon is just the story of a
three-generation family.
They're about to celebrate thebirthday of the youngest member
of the family, who's about toturn 16.
Uh, but in the process of doingthat it's dredging up, uh, a 20
year old family tragedy thateverybody's having to deal with.
(01:15):
Um and uh, it makes itespecially hard.
Uh, it sounds heavy and uh,certainly there there may be a
tear or two, but I promisethere's lots and lots and lots
and lots of laughs as well.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Amazing.
I mean, we have a uniquesituation, having the playwright
be part of the production.
So how has the process been?
Just like getting to work inthis theater on a play you've
written.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It's an honor and I'm really appreciative to CCT for
allowing us the opportunity tostage this and show it off to
people here in the Inland Empire.
It's a great cast.
It's all people, mostly peoplethat I've worked with before,
and certainly I've seen them allon stage at the very least
before, so it's great to be ableto work with this group.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Amazing.
And then, as actors, how has itbeen working with your director
?
That's also your playwright.
How's this experience it's sounique to talk about?
I'm usually like why'd you pickthis play?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
But it's like well, hey, yeah, I actually have.
I originated the role of Ginaback in 2018.
We actually did it as a stagereading here at CCT and then we
did it as a stage performance atthe Santa Monica Playhouse Very
cool.
So I've played Gina.
This is my third time playingthe part.
(02:33):
I absolutely love it.
It's interesting having myhusband as my director, but this
is not the first time he'sdirected me and I just love it.
I love this role, I love thisplay and I just hope it really
resonates with the audiences aswell.
Yeah, how have you felt?
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I am honored to have been selected throughout the
audition process to be a part ofthis group, and Ken is
wonderful as a director.
He's empowering, even though hewrote the play and I guess
because he wrote it he has somuch more insight yeah, very
true Than the average directorwould have and he's given us the
(03:22):
benefit of that insight andhe's been eloquent with that
information, so it's really beenhelpful.
I'm loving doing this.
The part of Carol reallyresonates with me.
I relate to her in almost everyway, not 100%.
I didn't experience the tragedythat Ken referenced, but I've
(03:43):
referenced those feelings I have.
You know you have fear as aparent and a grandparent when
you're raising children and youhave grandchildren and you see
them struggle, and so you dohave those fears and luckily
they've not come to fruition.
But I still resonate with that,given that I'm actually the age
(04:08):
, I believe, of my character andI've been married 52 years.
You know I experience some ofwhat she's going through so I
really relate to it and I'magain just honored to be a part
of this and excited to put it onthe stage and I hope a lot of
people come to see this because,as Ken said, even though it
deals with a tragedy, there area lot of light moments and there
(04:32):
is some laughter and we keep itreal and I think that the
audiences will be pleasantlysurprised to come see this.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, I love it.
We've had a lot of like now,because this is the third play
we're talking about in the threeon the edge festival.
We have a lot of like the sametheme of like dark comedies and
like the human experience andadding all of that in.
So how's it been um for you, Imean, it's different experience.
But more on, like the directing, how's it been putting comedic
elements into some like heavystorylines for like directing
(05:03):
actors?
How's that been?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I think you have to have that if you're going to
deal with heavy subject matter.
You can't bang people over thehead for two hours and leave
them limp and lifeless.
I think that this show isactually quite the opposite of
that.
I hope that it will infuse lifeinto the people that see it.
(05:25):
One of the things that we talkabout is the fact that somebody
once asked me after they saw theshow I believe it was in Santa
Monica and said well, is itabout this problem or is it
about that problem, or is itabout this other problem, that
problem, or is it about thisother problem?
And my answer really was it'sabout all those.
(05:48):
And yet it's really not aboutany of them, because it's really
more about the fact thatsometimes in life, more than one
thing hits you at the same timeand you don't always get a
chance to resolve one before thenext one comes along.
And that's really more whatit's about and how you do that
within the structure of a familyand how a family can either
contribute to those problems.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, amazing, amazing.
And then, as actors, how hasthat kind of you know, the
comedic and dark, how's thatbeen in the process?
Has it been an easy process orare there some like weird things
that you have to work through?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
The comedic part comes easily, I think for me in
this show, Comedy is not alwayseasy.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yes, very true.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Drama comes easier to me, but in this particular show
, the comedy comes easily to me.
Our opening scene just startswith laughter, and so it's just
really easy to play on that.
Yeah, there's a lot of ups anddowns in this show, but I think
(06:51):
that the cast as a whole isdoing a great job.
But I think that the cast as awhole is doing a great job,
bringing about all those lightmoments as well as the heavier
ones as well.
Speaker 5 (07:01):
For me, it's just the opposite.
I've always been known as thecomedic actress and a comedic
director I'm usually alwaysright?
Yeah, definitely.
So I almost always get thecomedies and I love comedy, and
it is hard, but for me it'snatural.
So this has been a departurefor me and it's a challenge, but
(07:24):
it's a welcome challenge andwhat's exciting for me is to
explore all the different levels.
It's not just one level,there's a lot of levels.
There's every emotion that ahuman can have that we're
experiencing in the show, and sofor me to find those different
levels and those differentemotions has been a rewarding
(07:45):
challenge and just I hope thatI'm living up to the
expectations.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's been fun, amazing.
It's so cool having such like apersonal like touch.
I feel like the anyone watchingit will be like wow, I can like
.
You know how you can feel when,like, the actors are working
together and when it's likesomething really special to
people, they can, they can feelit on stage.
From the more production sideof it, how has it been like
fully seeing your play likefully like realized, with like
(08:13):
costume, and been like fullyseeing your play like fully like
realized, with like costume andset Like?
How have those likedecision-making been like
interesting and fun in thisexperience?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I think the challenge with Three on the Edge is
always that you're sharing spaceand stage and to a certain
extent, honestly, you're sharingthe set as well, so there's
been a lot of collaboration andcooperation that's been
necessary.
Chino keeps the stage busy, soeven as we're recording this
(08:42):
podcast today, they're just nowdoing the strike on the show
that just ended, and in lessthan two weeks the festival
opens.
So there's very little time tobe on stage.
So the production process isquite challenging.
We don't have, we have verylittle time on stage and and
just a couple of rehearsals onthe actual set before we open.
So that's just the nature ofThree on the Edge.
(09:04):
It's, it's one of thechallenges, but I I've seen so
many of the Three on the Edgeproductions over the past
several years and the showsalways seem to rise to the
challenge, I agree yeah, there'ssomething in like the like
tension, so to speak, that likemakes people rise to the
occasion.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So, yeah, I agree, I think this would be amazing, an
amazing thing to watch.
What has been like this is likea unique production experience.
What's been like the best ormost memorable, like little
moment that you've anybody's hadI don't know.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I going back to ken being the, the playwright and,
and you know, performing infront of the person who wrote it
.
You don't get that experience.
Not a lot of people get to dothat, right, and so, um, we, we
make jokes every now and thenwhen we're, you know, for
flubbing up lines or we getstuck on something like we're
like talk to the playwrightabout this you know and you can,
(09:55):
yeah, yeah.
That's cool.
And so there's even been sometimes where he's like I'm going
to change that, we're going tochange the wording there, and
he's like I can do that becauseI wrote it.
I know that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah, so it's just a one of the actors AJ, I was
giving him a bit of stagedirection.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
He goes, but that's not what's written here and
you're like well, guess what?
Yeah, I mean, I said well, atthe time I wrote it it hadn't
been produced yet, and now thatI see it, I need to make this
change, and so that's also oneof the fun things, just being
able to have the opportunity todirect it.
You see, sometimes I wouldn'tcall them mistakes, but just
once you get it on its feetsomething that you had in mind
(10:38):
doesn't quite work, or you thinkit would work better a
different way.
So it's interesting.
I've been really grateful toCindy and Tracy and AJ and Paul
and Stephanie and Dylan and toFlynn.
They've all been so gracious inworking with me on making
changes.
I do have a pretty distinctvision of what I wanted all
(10:59):
these characters to be like, andit's a challenge for a director
, especially if it's somethingthat you didn't write.
Artists can have differences ofopinion, and they're not, and
they can both be right.
It's hard to feel like as thewriter, I am right because I
also want to allow some of that.
I want to be able to bring thebest ideas to the stage, and if
(11:21):
somebody has a better idea thanI did, I want to be able to
honor that.
But it can be a challenge,especially if it's a little
different than what you'doriginally envisioned.
So it's a growing process forme as well, trying to navigate
the waters both as a writer andthe director.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
Yeah, very interesting.
I think you've been relativelyflexible.
This is my third time nowworking closely with a
playwright.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
The other two times.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
I directed, I was directing plays and the
playwrights were local and Tracywas in one of them that I
directed where our playwrightcame.
Tracy was in one of them that Idirected where our playwright
came.
Even though he didn't direct,he watched and he loved some of
the things that we directed andthat the actors came up with
some of their ideas.
He even said, even though theywere both published plays or one
(12:09):
was one was not, one waspublished, the one I'm
referencing right now he saidI'm going to try to alter that
because I liked what they didand so yeah, that makes you feel
good.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
It does right, it does yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
And so, yeah, it's been an interesting process.
Being in a play directed by theplaywright, though, has been
quite different than having theother playwright be by my side
or be there to critique whatwe've done yeah, it's kind of
unique thing about theater andlike writing theater.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
It's like you can like have like a proofreader,
but it's like you almost itneeds to happen to know like
what's gonna gonna work andstuff.
So that's been, that's beenreally interesting.
Has there been anything, um, onthe director side and writing
side, that's been likesurprising.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
That's happened that like work, like just like I know
there's been readings and stuff, but seeing it like like a
fully fledged production thatyou were surprised about, that
worked or something that you hadan expectation for that ended
up being different yeah, I meanthere are a lot, a lot of big
laughs that I expected to besmiles from the audience, that
and and I've been reallygratified by that that that
(13:14):
things that I never imaginedthat there would be the laughter
that there has been for some ofthe things there's at least one
moment that has never workedvery well but I thought was
going to be really funny andactually in this version I've
altered the lines a little bit.
It'll be interesting to see ifit plays a little bit
differently.
But yeah, you get surprisedsometimes and especially, I
(13:37):
would say especially the laughsthat have come consistently,
that I was just kind ofexpecting to be smiles.
You actually get the laughs.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Yeah, there's still some scenes that I'm not a part
of and I'm watching, and I stillgiggle to myself as I'm
watching it, and I've seen itmany, many times and they still
make me laugh out loud.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
And even where there's not outright laughs or
guffaws or how you, in theheartbreaking moments, there's
also heartwarming moments, sothat it may not be an outright
laugh, but it's, it's pleasant.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
It's warming, amazing .
I know it's so cool, such aunique, such a unique experience
to be a part of.
So everybody should come andsee because it's a a new thing
that you won't be seeing before.
Um, in in the process, what wasfor for our actors, like what
was?
I know we kind of talked aboutthe drama being most challenging
(14:36):
for you, but did you haveanything else?
That kind of like you got stuckon and you feel like you like
overcame now in this part of theprocess for me.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
I would say that it's's learning the number of
lines that I have.
It's a lot of lines and it'sone of the bigger parts I've had
over the last two or threeyears, so I've had to sharpen
the brain cells a little bit.
Yeah.
It gets harder to rememberthose lines the older you get.
(15:03):
Tell me it does Absolutely.
Tell me it does Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I think for me there's been a couple of times
where I'm kind of stuck on aline reading and I'm not
normally one to be like, how doyou want this said.
But I did ask Ken.
You know I'm stuck on how youenvisioned this line being done
and he's not one to give linereadings either.
(15:30):
But when he was asked, heprovided and I was like, oh,
that makes more sense.
Okay, yeah, okay, I got it, youknow.
So, other than that, I feellike these lines just, they just
flow from me, they just yeahlines, just, they just flow from
me.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
They just, yeah, they're with those, with a minor
exception that there's a couple.
I have a handful of lines thatare all really similar in
different scenes, so rememberingwhich line comes where, yeah,
yeah, it's always those trickyones, those lines that get you
every now and then, yeah yeah,so amazing also.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I know it's kind of we're looking at the setting of
a family, looking at biggerthings.
What was kind of theinspiration on having that being
what we're focusing on and whyspecifically with a family
(16:25):
element?
Like, why that?
Why were you drawn to doingthat?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
It's partly my personality I do.
I mean, I have a sense of humor.
I do feel like I wouldn't saythat the humor is really
self-deprecating humor per se,but I do feel like sometimes you
just have to laugh instead ofcry.
And I do feel like some of theand don't ask me to name any off
(16:52):
the top of my head, but I knowthat a lot of the movies and
plays and whatnot that I've seenthat are dealing with heavier
subjects, the ones that alsospend a generous amount of time
making me laugh, are the onesthat generally I'm more drawn to
.
And so, as far as inspiration,I think it's just being part of
(17:19):
a family and the challenges ofbeing part of a family and
trying to deal with life'schallenges.
And family can be defined anyway, whether it's by blood or
maybe by the group of peoplethat you call your family,
whether they're blood or not.
When you have that support,it's nice to have.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I think, too, the comedy that comes with it is not
slapstick, it's not farce.
It's just things that happen infamilies, in relationships, the
way you say things to eachother.
I think the comedy comes fromthe fact that people are going
(18:01):
to see these characters andrelate to them.
Oh my gosh, that sounds justlike my dad.
Or that's oh my gosh, that's howI talk to my own husband or
whatever, and I think peoplewill connect with that and
they'll relate to that.
It's not so much here's a jokehere, here's a joke here but
it's like yeah, that's howpeople talk to each other, it's
(18:24):
how family members.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It's pouring out of real life.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Exactly, exactly, exactly, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, what's everyone's like best moment, or
like a moment, something thathappened that you're most proud
of?
You know something you want,like a listener, to like know
about when they're watching youplay For me it's delving deep
into my emotions and beingvulnerable.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Yeah, because I'm not that type of person.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
My personality, I'm not vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (18:52):
I'm strong and I have a tough facade, and so for me
to dig deep and find thatvulnerability has been rewarding
.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Yeah amazing, I think , for me some of the topics are
kind of starting to hit home inmy own life.
Yeah, okay, yep, all right,let's you know.
(19:28):
So there's and there's I thinkthere's not just me, that's done
that, you know, we finish up ascene and everybody just kind of
goes okay.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
You know we got through all of that.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But I'm just super proud of my husband.
You know, when I first, hewould not let me read a lot of
the script.
When he was first writing it.
I would get maybe little bitsand pieces, but you know he
wanted it to be something thatwas more complete.
I think it was.
I don't recall you.
(20:01):
Correct me if I'm wrong, dear.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, I didn't let you read much of it until it was
pretty close to being finished.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Yeah, and just super proud of this because it's like
we've said throughout thispodcast here that it's funny,
it's heartwarming, it'sgut-wrenching at times, it's
real, it's gut-wrenching attimes, it's real and I think
(20:32):
that's what people will connectwith just the realness of these
characters, the realness of theissues that they're dealing with
.
And I just could not be moreproud of Ken for what he's
created and I'm so glad to be apart of it again.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Exactly.
I love it.
What's been your best moment?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
I know there's probably a lot going on, but
just like a small little thing,what each actor brings, that's
different from what the othershave brought, and as a writer,
it's very gratifying because ifI want this to live on, it's not
going to be the same cast everytime and you have to see if
(21:14):
other people can bring otherthings and that the characters
are still living and breathingand doing what they need to do.
It could be a little differentthan what somebody else brought
to it, but if it's a real playand if it's going to last, it
has to be able to do that, andso it's been really great seeing
Cindy and AJ and Paul andStephanie and Dylan and Flynn
(21:34):
bringing different things tothese roles, because none of
them have played them previously.
So it's nice to see that.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, like people create their own relationships
with this play that youobviously had for a long time.
That's cool.
That's nice to see that.
Yeah, like people create theirown relationships with this play
that you obviously had for along time, that's cool.
That's cool to see.
Okay, it's been amazing talkingto you as we kind of wrap
things up.
If you were to sell the show inone word, what would you say?
We've been doing that for therest of them.
Just one word to kind of justdescribe the play Something that
would draw someone in.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Wow, one word.
It's hard to distill it down toone word it's life I love that.
That's very cool oh my gosh umhumanity oh cool I love it um
heart wow, those are.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Those are good.
Those are good words.
I love it.
So, everybody, bending theSpoon will be performing May
10th and 25th at 2.30, and thenMay 17th, 13th Sorry, whoa 15th,
17th and then on the 23rd at7.30.
So, everyone get your ticketsfor this unique experience
watching Bending the Spoon.
And thank you all for talkingto me.
It's been amazing, thank you somuch, marlene, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, a 7th
Street Community Theatre podcast.
Follow us on your favouritepodcast platform and leave us a
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It really helps.
You can also find us onInstagram, facebook and YouTube.
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theatre and Chino
Community Children's Theater fortheir generous support and very
(23:08):
special thank you to thelisteners.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
Logo created by Marley Lane.
Original music by Joey Rice.
Your host, marley Lane.
Engineer and producer, joeyRice.
Engineer and executive producer, kirk Lane.
Welcome to Steps to the Stage.
A 7th Street Community Theatrepodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello and welcome to Steps to the Stage, the
community theatre podcast, wherewe talk to the theatre
professionals you know and love.
I'm Marlee and today we'regoing to be covering Chino
Community Theatre's Three on theEdge Festival, featuring
Breathing Corpses, Savage inLimbo and Bending the Spoon.
Right now we're talking aboutBending the Spoon and I have
three amazing big participantsin this play.
(00:30):
So if we could just go down theline, introduce yourself and
your role in this play.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I'm Ken Lay.
I am the writer and director ofBending the Spoon.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I'm Tracy Lay and I play Gina in Bending the Spoon.
I'm Cindy.
Speaker 5 (00:44):
East and I play Gina.
In Bending the Spoon.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm Cindy East and I play Carol the grandmother
Amazing and from our writer anddirector.
Could you give like a shortsynopsis of what's going on in
the play?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Sure, bending the Spoon is just the story of a
three-generation family.
They're about to celebrate thebirthday of the youngest member
of the family, who's about toturn 16.
Uh, but in the process of doingthat it's dredging up, uh, a 20
year old family tragedy thateverybody's having to deal with.
(01:15):
Um and uh, it makes itespecially hard.
Uh, it sounds heavy and uh,certainly there there may be a
tear or two, but I promisethere's lots and lots and lots
and lots of laughs as well.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Amazing.
I mean, we have a uniquesituation, having the playwright
be part of the production.
So how has the process been?
Just like getting to work inthis theater on a play you've
written.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
It's an honor and I'm really appreciative to CCT for
allowing us the opportunity tostage this and show it off to
people here in the Inland Empire.
It's a great cast.
It's all people, mostly peoplethat I've worked with before,
and certainly I've seen them allon stage at the very least
before, so it's great to be ableto work with this group.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Amazing.
And then, as actors, how has itbeen working with your director
?
That's also your playwright.
How's this experience it's sounique to talk about?
I'm usually like why'd you pickthis play?
Speaker 4 (02:11):
But it's like well, hey, yeah, I actually have.
I originated the role of Ginaback in 2018.
We actually did it as a stagereading here at CCT and then we
did it as a stage performance atthe Santa Monica Playhouse Very
cool.
So I've played Gina.
This is my third time playingthe part.
(02:33):
I absolutely love it.
It's interesting having myhusband as my director, but this
is not the first time he'sdirected me and I just love it.
I love this role, I love thisplay and I just hope it really
resonates with the audiences aswell.
Yeah, how have you felt?
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I am honored to have been selected throughout the
audition process to be a part ofthis group, and Ken is
wonderful as a director.
He's empowering, even though hewrote the play and I guess
because he wrote it he has somuch more insight yeah, very
true Than the average directorwould have and he's given us the
(03:22):
benefit of that insight andhe's been eloquent with that
information, so it's really beenhelpful.
I'm loving doing this.
The part of Carol reallyresonates with me.
I relate to her in almost everyway, not 100%.
I didn't experience the tragedythat Ken referenced, but I've
(03:43):
referenced those feelings I have.
You know you have fear as aparent and a grandparent when
you're raising children and youhave grandchildren and you see
them struggle, and so you dohave those fears and luckily
they've not come to fruition.
But I still resonate with that,given that I'm actually the age
(04:08):
, I believe, of my character andI've been married 52 years.
You know I experience some ofwhat she's going through so I
really relate to it and I'magain just honored to be a part
of this and excited to put it onthe stage and I hope a lot of
people come to see this because,as Ken said, even though it
deals with a tragedy, there area lot of light moments and there
(04:32):
is some laughter and we keep itreal and I think that the
audiences will be pleasantlysurprised to come see this.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Yeah, I love it.
We've had a lot of like now,because this is the third play
we're talking about in the threeon the edge festival.
We have a lot of like the sametheme of like dark comedies and
like the human experience andadding all of that in.
So how's it been um for you, Imean, it's different experience.
But more on, like the directing, how's it been putting comedic
elements into some like heavystorylines for like directing
(05:03):
actors?
How's that been?
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I think you have to have that if you're going to
deal with heavy subject matter.
You can't bang people over thehead for two hours and leave
them limp and lifeless.
I think that this show isactually quite the opposite of
that.
I hope that it will infuse lifeinto the people that see it.
(05:25):
One of the things that we talkabout is the fact that somebody
once asked me after they saw theshow I believe it was in Santa
Monica and said well, is itabout this problem or is it
about that problem, or is itabout this other problem, that
problem, or is it about thisother problem?
And my answer really was it'sabout all those.
(05:48):
And yet it's really not aboutany of them, because it's really
more about the fact thatsometimes in life, more than one
thing hits you at the same timeand you don't always get a
chance to resolve one before thenext one comes along.
And that's really more whatit's about and how you do that
within the structure of a familyand how a family can either
contribute to those problems.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Yeah, amazing, amazing.
And then, as actors, how hasthat kind of you know, the
comedic and dark, how's thatbeen in the process?
Has it been an easy process orare there some like weird things
that you have to work through?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
The comedic part comes easily, I think for me in
this show, Comedy is not alwayseasy.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yes, very true.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Drama comes easier to me, but in this particular show
, the comedy comes easily to me.
Our opening scene just startswith laughter, and so it's just
really easy to play on that.
Yeah, there's a lot of ups anddowns in this show, but I think
(06:51):
that the cast as a whole isdoing a great job.
But I think that the cast as awhole is doing a great job,
bringing about all those lightmoments as well as the heavier
ones as well.
Speaker 5 (07:01):
For me, it's just the opposite.
I've always been known as thecomedic actress and a comedic
director I'm usually alwaysright?
Yeah, definitely.
So I almost always get thecomedies and I love comedy, and
it is hard, but for me it'snatural.
So this has been a departurefor me and it's a challenge, but
(07:24):
it's a welcome challenge andwhat's exciting for me is to
explore all the different levels.
It's not just one level,there's a lot of levels.
There's every emotion that ahuman can have that we're
experiencing in the show, and sofor me to find those different
levels and those differentemotions has been a rewarding
(07:45):
challenge and just I hope thatI'm living up to the
expectations.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
It's been fun, amazing.
It's so cool having such like apersonal like touch.
I feel like the anyone watchingit will be like wow, I can like
.
You know how you can feel when,like, the actors are working
together and when it's likesomething really special to
people, they can, they can feelit on stage.
From the more production sideof it, how has it been like
fully seeing your play likefully like realized, with like
(08:13):
costume, and been like fullyseeing your play like fully like
realized, with like costume andset Like?
How have those likedecision-making been like
interesting and fun in thisexperience?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
I think the challenge with Three on the Edge is
always that you're sharing spaceand stage and to a certain
extent, honestly, you're sharingthe set as well, so there's
been a lot of collaboration andcooperation that's been
necessary.
Chino keeps the stage busy, soeven as we're recording this
(08:42):
podcast today, they're just nowdoing the strike on the show
that just ended, and in lessthan two weeks the festival
opens.
So there's very little time tobe on stage.
So the production process isquite challenging.
We don't have, we have verylittle time on stage and and
just a couple of rehearsals onthe actual set before we open.
So that's just the nature ofThree on the Edge.
(09:04):
It's, it's one of thechallenges, but I I've seen so
many of the Three on the Edgeproductions over the past
several years and the showsalways seem to rise to the
challenge, I agree yeah, there'ssomething in like the like
tension, so to speak, that likemakes people rise to the
occasion.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
So, yeah, I agree, I think this would be amazing, an
amazing thing to watch.
What has been like this is likea unique production experience.
What's been like the best ormost memorable, like little
moment that you've anybody's hadI don't know.
Speaker 4 (09:34):
I going back to ken being the, the playwright and,
and you know, performing infront of the person who wrote it
.
You don't get that experience.
Not a lot of people get to dothat, right, and so, um, we, we
make jokes every now and thenwhen we're, you know, for
flubbing up lines or we getstuck on something like we're
like talk to the playwrightabout this you know and you can,
(09:55):
yeah, yeah.
That's cool.
And so there's even been sometimes where he's like I'm going
to change that, we're going tochange the wording there, and
he's like I can do that becauseI wrote it.
I know that's so cool.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
Yeah, so it's just a one of the actors AJ, I was
giving him a bit of stagedirection.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
He goes, but that's not what's written here and
you're like well, guess what?
Yeah, I mean, I said well, atthe time I wrote it it hadn't
been produced yet, and now thatI see it, I need to make this
change, and so that's also oneof the fun things, just being
able to have the opportunity todirect it.
You see, sometimes I wouldn'tcall them mistakes, but just
once you get it on its feetsomething that you had in mind
(10:38):
doesn't quite work, or you thinkit would work better a
different way.
So it's interesting.
I've been really grateful toCindy and Tracy and AJ and Paul
and Stephanie and Dylan and toFlynn.
They've all been so gracious inworking with me on making
changes.
I do have a pretty distinctvision of what I wanted all
(10:59):
these characters to be like, andit's a challenge for a director
, especially if it's somethingthat you didn't write.
Artists can have differences ofopinion, and they're not, and
they can both be right.
It's hard to feel like as thewriter, I am right because I
also want to allow some of that.
I want to be able to bring thebest ideas to the stage, and if
(11:21):
somebody has a better idea thanI did, I want to be able to
honor that.
But it can be a challenge,especially if it's a little
different than what you'doriginally envisioned.
So it's a growing process forme as well, trying to navigate
the waters both as a writer andthe director.
Speaker 5 (11:36):
Yeah, very interesting.
I think you've been relativelyflexible.
This is my third time nowworking closely with a
playwright.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
The other two times.
Speaker 5 (11:45):
I directed, I was directing plays and the
playwrights were local and Tracywas in one of them that I
directed where our playwrightcame.
Tracy was in one of them that Idirected where our playwright
came.
Even though he didn't direct,he watched and he loved some of
the things that we directed andthat the actors came up with
some of their ideas.
He even said, even though theywere both published plays or one
(12:09):
was one was not, one waspublished, the one I'm
referencing right now he saidI'm going to try to alter that
because I liked what they didand so yeah, that makes you feel
good.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
It does right, it does yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:23):
And so, yeah, it's been an interesting process.
Being in a play directed by theplaywright, though, has been
quite different than having theother playwright be by my side
or be there to critique whatwe've done yeah, it's kind of
unique thing about theater andlike writing theater.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
It's like you can like have like a proofreader,
but it's like you almost itneeds to happen to know like
what's gonna gonna work andstuff.
So that's been, that's beenreally interesting.
Has there been anything, um, onthe director side and writing
side, that's been likesurprising.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
That's happened that like work, like just like I know
there's been readings and stuff, but seeing it like like a
fully fledged production thatyou were surprised about, that
worked or something that you hadan expectation for that ended
up being different yeah, I meanthere are a lot, a lot of big
laughs that I expected to besmiles from the audience, that
and and I've been reallygratified by that that that
(13:14):
things that I never imaginedthat there would be the laughter
that there has been for some ofthe things there's at least one
moment that has never workedvery well but I thought was
going to be really funny andactually in this version I've
altered the lines a little bit.
It'll be interesting to see ifit plays a little bit
differently.
But yeah, you get surprisedsometimes and especially, I
(13:37):
would say especially the laughsthat have come consistently,
that I was just kind ofexpecting to be smiles.
You actually get the laughs.
Speaker 4 (13:45):
Yeah, there's still some scenes that I'm not a part
of and I'm watching, and I stillgiggle to myself as I'm
watching it, and I've seen itmany, many times and they still
make me laugh out loud.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
And even where there's not outright laughs or
guffaws or how you, in theheartbreaking moments, there's
also heartwarming moments, sothat it may not be an outright
laugh, but it's, it's pleasant.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
It's warming, amazing .
I know it's so cool, such aunique, such a unique experience
to be a part of.
So everybody should come andsee because it's a a new thing
that you won't be seeing before.
Um, in in the process, what wasfor for our actors, like what
was?
I know we kind of talked aboutthe drama being most challenging
(14:36):
for you, but did you haveanything else?
That kind of like you got stuckon and you feel like you like
overcame now in this part of theprocess for me.
Speaker 5 (14:43):
I would say that it's's learning the number of
lines that I have.
It's a lot of lines and it'sone of the bigger parts I've had
over the last two or threeyears, so I've had to sharpen
the brain cells a little bit.
Yeah.
It gets harder to rememberthose lines the older you get.
(15:03):
Tell me it does Absolutely.
Tell me it does Absolutely.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
I think for me there's been a couple of times
where I'm kind of stuck on aline reading and I'm not
normally one to be like, how doyou want this said.
But I did ask Ken.
You know I'm stuck on how youenvisioned this line being done
and he's not one to give linereadings either.
(15:30):
But when he was asked, heprovided and I was like, oh,
that makes more sense.
Okay, yeah, okay, I got it, youknow.
So, other than that, I feellike these lines just, they just
flow from me, they just yeahlines, just, they just flow from
me.
Speaker 5 (15:48):
They just, yeah, they're with those, with a minor
exception that there's a couple.
I have a handful of lines thatare all really similar in
different scenes, so rememberingwhich line comes where, yeah,
yeah, it's always those trickyones, those lines that get you
every now and then, yeah yeah,so amazing also.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
I know it's kind of we're looking at the setting of
a family, looking at biggerthings.
What was kind of theinspiration on having that being
what we're focusing on and whyspecifically with a family
(16:25):
element?
Like, why that?
Why were you drawn to doingthat?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
It's partly my personality I do.
I mean, I have a sense of humor.
I do feel like I wouldn't saythat the humor is really
self-deprecating humor per se,but I do feel like sometimes you
just have to laugh instead ofcry.
And I do feel like some of theand don't ask me to name any off
(16:52):
the top of my head, but I knowthat a lot of the movies and
plays and whatnot that I've seenthat are dealing with heavier
subjects, the ones that alsospend a generous amount of time
making me laugh, are the onesthat generally I'm more drawn to
.
And so, as far as inspiration,I think it's just being part of
(17:19):
a family and the challenges ofbeing part of a family and
trying to deal with life'schallenges.
And family can be defined anyway, whether it's by blood or
maybe by the group of peoplethat you call your family,
whether they're blood or not.
When you have that support,it's nice to have.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
I think, too, the comedy that comes with it is not
slapstick, it's not farce.
It's just things that happen infamilies, in relationships, the
way you say things to eachother.
I think the comedy comes fromthe fact that people are going
(18:01):
to see these characters andrelate to them.
Oh my gosh, that sounds justlike my dad.
Or that's oh my gosh, that's howI talk to my own husband or
whatever, and I think peoplewill connect with that and
they'll relate to that.
It's not so much here's a jokehere, here's a joke here but
it's like yeah, that's howpeople talk to each other, it's
(18:24):
how family members.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
It's pouring out of real life.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Exactly, exactly, exactly, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, what's everyone's like best moment, or
like a moment, something thathappened that you're most proud
of?
You know something you want,like a listener, to like know
about when they're watching youplay For me it's delving deep
into my emotions and beingvulnerable.
Speaker 5 (18:45):
Yeah, because I'm not that type of person.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
My personality, I'm not vulnerable.
Speaker 5 (18:52):
I'm strong and I have a tough facade, and so for me
to dig deep and find thatvulnerability has been rewarding
.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Yeah amazing, I think , for me some of the topics are
kind of starting to hit home inmy own life.
Yeah, okay, yep, all right,let's you know.
(19:28):
So there's and there's I thinkthere's not just me, that's done
that, you know, we finish up ascene and everybody just kind of
goes okay.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
You know we got through all of that.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
But I'm just super proud of my husband.
You know, when I first, hewould not let me read a lot of
the script.
When he was first writing it.
I would get maybe little bitsand pieces, but you know he
wanted it to be something thatwas more complete.
I think it was.
I don't recall you.
(20:01):
Correct me if I'm wrong, dear.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Yeah, I didn't let you read much of it until it was
pretty close to being finished.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
Yeah, and just super proud of this because it's like
we've said throughout thispodcast here that it's funny,
it's heartwarming, it'sgut-wrenching at times, it's
real, it's gut-wrenching attimes, it's real and I think
(20:32):
that's what people will connectwith just the realness of these
characters, the realness of theissues that they're dealing with
.
And I just could not be moreproud of Ken for what he's
created and I'm so glad to be apart of it again.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
Exactly.
I love it.
What's been your best moment?
Speaker 3 (20:54):
I know there's probably a lot going on, but
just like a small little thing,what each actor brings, that's
different from what the othershave brought, and as a writer,
it's very gratifying because ifI want this to live on, it's not
going to be the same cast everytime and you have to see if
(21:14):
other people can bring otherthings and that the characters
are still living and breathingand doing what they need to do.
It could be a little differentthan what somebody else brought
to it, but if it's a real playand if it's going to last, it
has to be able to do that, andso it's been really great seeing
Cindy and AJ and Paul andStephanie and Dylan and Flynn
(21:34):
bringing different things tothese roles, because none of
them have played them previously.
So it's nice to see that.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
Yeah, like people create their own relationships
with this play that youobviously had for a long time.
That's cool.
That's nice to see that.
Yeah, like people create theirown relationships with this play
that you obviously had for along time, that's cool.
That's cool to see.
Okay, it's been amazing talkingto you as we kind of wrap
things up.
If you were to sell the show inone word, what would you say?
We've been doing that for therest of them.
Just one word to kind of justdescribe the play Something that
would draw someone in.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
Wow, one word.
It's hard to distill it down toone word it's life I love that.
That's very cool oh my gosh umhumanity oh cool I love it um
heart wow, those are.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Those are good.
Those are good words.
I love it.
So, everybody, bending theSpoon will be performing May
10th and 25th at 2.30, and thenMay 17th, 13th Sorry, whoa 15th,
17th and then on the 23rd at7.30.
So, everyone get your ticketsfor this unique experience
watching Bending the Spoon.
And thank you all for talkingto me.
It's been amazing, thank you somuch, marlene, thank you.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
Thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, a 7th
Street Community Theatre podcast.
Follow us on your favouritepodcast platform and leave us a
review and a 5 star rating.
It really helps.
You can also find us onInstagram, facebook and YouTube.
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theatre and Chino
Community Children's Theater fortheir generous support and very
(23:08):
special thank you to thelisteners.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
Logo created by Marley Lane.
Original music by Joey Rice.
Your host, marley Lane.
Engineer and producer, joeyRice.
Engineer and executive producer, kirk Lane.
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