January 6, 2025 • 24 mins
What happens when the joys and sorrows of life unfold in a Southern salon filled with laughter and tears? Join us on Steps to the Stage as we welcome director Dona Rice and cast members Stephanie and Jessie, who bring "Steel Magnolias" to life with remarkable warmth and depth. Dona shares a heartfelt synopsis, highlighting the resilience of Southern women against the backdrop of this beloved classic. Stephanie and Jessie, who portray Ouiser and M'Lynn, offer a peek into their characters’ journeys, navigating the complexities of friendship, love, and the ever-evolving mother-daughter bond. Together, we explore the layers of humor and drama that make this story timeless and distinct from its famous film adaptation.
Set against the comforting embrace of a salon in Chickapin Parish, our conversation celebrates the enduring spirit of female friendships weathering life's unpredictable storms. We discuss the importance of crafting more roles for women in theater, especially for older actresses, while reflecting on the personal connections we all share with these characters. With insights into the creative set design that captures an authentic 1980s vibe, we reveal the collaborative magic behind the scenes. Don't miss this episode brimming with heartfelt insights and the inspiring determination of unforgettable characters.
Steel Magnolias runs weekends Jan. 10-25th
Purchase tickets at: https://chinocommunitytheatre.seatyourself.biz
or call 909-590-1149
$15 Student/Senior/Child
$18 General Admission
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Steps to the Stage.
A 7th Street Community Theaterpodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hello and welcome to Steps to the Stage, the
community theater podcast, wherewe talk to the professionals
you know and love.
I'm your host, marci, and todaywe are talking about Steel
Magnolias.
I have three of my friends hereDonna, stephanie and Jesse.
Welcome to the show, all threeof you.
If you would like to introduceyourself a little bit further,
please go ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Sure, I'm Donna Rice.
I'm directing Steel Magnolia.
So excited to be doing that.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I'm Stephanie.
I will be playing Louisa.
Speaker 5 (00:31):
And I am Jessie Pyle.
I'll be playing Malin Eatonton.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome all three of you to the show.
Thank you.
How are you today?
Great, and you, yes, I'm doingwonderful.
Thank you for asking so.
For people who are somehowunfamiliar with Steel Magnolias,
donna, would you mind giving abrief synopsis or introduction
to the show?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
You bet it's just a lovely story that comes out of
the author's lived experience.
He had lost his sister to theeffects of diabetes after she
had a child, and he grew up inthe South among a group of very
resilient, resourceful, brightand alive women, and so he wrote
(01:12):
this play, a sort of catharticthrough his own grief journey,
but also in celebration of allof these women, including his
sister.
And so the story is of thesesix women in this small southern
town, of various ages, but theyall center in the beauty salon,
truvy's Beauty Salon, sometimescalled Truvy's Beauty Spot,
(01:34):
where they all gather to havetheir hair and their nails done
and to talk about their life'sjourney and passages.
It crosses about two years intime and centers around young
Shelby Edenton, who was gettingmarried at the start of the show
, and her mother, malin, playedby Jesse, who's here with us
(01:55):
today, and then their friendsand whatnot in this little
community.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Stephanie Jesse, would you mind each talking
about your characters a littlebit?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Okay, weezer is probably the more the comic
relief.
She is an older Southern womanand has a lot of opinions about
things and has been through alot of things and like most
Southern women she's got thatSouthern mentality.
(02:28):
She grows vegetables.
She's kind of a Serbic and, youknow, will give zingers here
and there and kind of maybe seema little grumpy at times but
she's got a heart of gold andloves her friends and you know
and will do anything for them.
And of course Shelby is almostlike a granddaughter in some
(02:51):
ways, so it's a lot of funplaying her.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Jessie.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Sure, malin is the glue that holds not only her
family together but tries tohold so much together in her
life, and so one of her greatestchallenges is as her daughter,
who she has really nurtured fromthe get-go, starts to have her
(03:18):
own life and her own experiencesand wants to live out her own
dreams, her own experiences.
And wants to live out her owndreams not having the control
that she so dearly wants to have.
And I can very much identifywith some aspects of that
personality and also thealternative the dreams and the
desires and the wants, and soit's a beautiful balance to be
(03:43):
able to bring this character tolife, who really wants what's
best for everyone and yet cannever seem to get exactly what
she wants, because control isnot something you actually have
in life.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
True, so these are very strong characters.
Yes, what is that like sort ofas an actor, sort of tackling a
denser story like this and sortof working in sort of the
characterization of these people?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Great question.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Well, I think when we got together on this, we
naturally kind of found our owngive and take on the stage and
we're still finding moments,obviously because it's a very
short rehearsal process thatwe've had.
But what is beautiful is thatwe have definitely hit on the
(04:40):
kernel of friendship early onand the amount of love that we
share for each other I think ispalpable in every rehearsal room
, in every meeting that we'vehad.
And if you cultivate that, asDonna has, in the rehearsal
process, and you have talentedpeople at every role as we do,
(05:03):
people at every role as we do,myself included.
No, very true, and I'm glad yousaid it, but if you have that,
then you really can't go wrongwith such a beautifully written
story.
I mean, I get choked upimmediately thinking about this
story as it winds its waythrough dreams and hopes and
(05:23):
loss.
So I look forward to bringingthat to the stage and I know
that our cast is going todeliver a very powerful play.
Yes, definitely.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
And I know a lot of people are familiar with the
movie version and I've talked toa few people who have never
seen the movie version andpersonally I had never seen the
stage version until after I sawthe movie and I encourage people
to go see the stage versionfirst, if they have not seen the
movie, because the movieobviously has a lot of star
power and the characters we'replaying are somewhat different,
(06:02):
because we're reinterpretingthem in a different way, because
our group is a differentdynamic, we have, you know,
different age ranges and we havedifferent personalities, and so
I think the way we're I'mseeing the characters
interpreted is very differentthan the movie, yes, which is
great.
And it's still got that, that,that center of being friendship
(06:26):
and love and the mother daughterrelationship which is, you know
, for me personally that's a bigone too, because I have a
daughter.
But it's it's a very uniqueinterpretation and I hope
everyone sees it and doesn't tryand compare, but sees it as
something new and wonderful.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Yeah, and that's really something that's so
important about this show isthat each of these six players
are fully realized characters.
They are full and rich.
Nobody is a caricature or justan add-on.
Everyone is central to thestory and the collective is
central.
So how I knew that in castingthe show it was so important to
(07:11):
get the dynamic right, to getthese six players right, so that
we could create something soalive and real and present, and
that's exactly what they'redoing.
Jesse's exactly right.
We have had a very shortrehearsal process because we've
been rehearsing through theholiday season with a lot of
different demands, so there hasalso been a high demand on each
(07:34):
of these beautiful women.
And also we have a seventhplayer.
We have also one man who ispart of our show.
He's prerecorded as our radioDJ.
There's a radio DJ who appearsthroughout the show.
Very handsome and very handsomefellow whose name also happens
to be Pyle.
That's Aaron Pyle, jesse'shusband, who is our seventh
Steel Magnolia.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yes, I called the show dense earlier and I feel
like that was a poor term.
Rich is, I think, a moreaccurate, but I knew what you
meant.
Yes, it is, but I feel likethat had a negative connotation.
I didn't want to carry thatthrough.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
No, no, no, it's text heavy, it's emotion heavy, it's
humor heavy, it's experienceheavy.
All of that is.
It is so potent like a deep,rich, red velvet cake.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, yes, right, yes.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's that come to life, it's just.
And when we talk about that,though, let's not forget the
glorious humor in this.
This is a very funny show.
All the heart and all the humor.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
Yeah, you can, sorry, but you can forget that it is a
humorous show if you just focuson the text and fall into a
certain pattern with it.
But I I find this show so funand so uplifting and, yes, I'm
exhausted after every rehearsalbecause there is so much to this
(08:54):
specific character's journey,yeah, mm-hmm, but at the end of
the day I find so much joy inthe connection, in the love, in
the humor that my friend Steph,and also Clary, who's played by
Kathy Brule, debrule, debrulewhy did I say Brule?
Delicious, but not rightHoliday season.
The humor that Stephanie andthat Kathy bring to Weezer and
(09:22):
Clary especially are delicious.
And Alison Sano, who plays ouramazing Truby, really holds us
together with that same littleSouthern spice.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yes, and let's talk a little bit about Allie Riley
too, and her delivery of Vanell,who is so timid and unsure of
herself.
And yet there are those moments, those lines that are so
gloriously humorous and warm andrich, and she delivers all of
that just masterfully.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
She has a journey in the show as well, and you can
see it follow through the wholeshow and she comes into her own.
It's a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I feel like Allie is such a good sort of conduit for
that story especially.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
So three, three, six, I can domy math.
Six exceptional talents really,who are pulling the show
together.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
So the two of you sort of just talked about this,
but would you mind a questionfor all three of you.
Would you mind expanding moreabout balancing sort of the
comedy and sort of the darker,more dramatic elements of this
show, because those are, I think, very hand in hand with a
production like this.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Well, the first thing I'll say is that these are all
very intelligent women and theycome from such different life
experiences.
You have a woman who has beenunhappily married twice and has
challenging children.
You have a woman currently in asomewhat unhappy marriage,
(10:53):
again with some challengingchildren.
You have a woman who's holdingeverything together with her
dynamic family.
And you have these youngstersas well, who are teetering on
the edge of womanhood in anamazing way, where they are
(11:16):
discovering the newness of faith, the newness of family, the
newness of relationship, and soto be able to live all of those
lives at once, I think thatreally helps, because you're
never at a loss for some addeddimension to the equation and it
(11:37):
just it mixes up really nicely.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
And the humor saves it too.
I mean there's, you know, extradramatic portions at the, an
extra dramatic portion at theend, and then there's a bit of
comedy relief, but it's not toforget about the drama, it's
more to kind of take a breath,yeah, Taking everything in
stride.
And then let the audience knowokay, they're going to be okay.
(12:02):
You know, life goes on and thesewomen are going to be, they're
going to stay strong and theirfriendship is going to continue.
So I love the comedy part of ittoo because it, like I said it,
lightens it a little and givessome hope.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
And this is life.
Right, life is filled with lightand shade.
This is a daily occurrence, andI think sometimes we, in our
human experiences, we thinkwe're working toward some
achievement of something whereeverything, all the ducks, are
in a row, everything is inalignment, everything is going
well, and then, oh no, this suchand such happened.
(12:41):
Well, that is life, that is thenature of life.
It is oh no, this such and suchhappened.
Well, that is life.
That is the nature of life.
It is the ups and downs, thehighs and lows, and it's what we
do to weather it.
And that's at the heart of thisshow, this story as well, is
that these women have found away through their own resilience
, determination, hope and humor,and also their, more than
anything, their sharedexperience and reliance on one
(13:04):
another and connection with oneanother.
This is how they weather this,in ways that really celebrate
all aspects of life and havethen, in the end, have a very
rich lived experience, althoughit is also filled with heartache
and tragedy that they all worktogether, and I think that's the
point.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
That is the nature of life, a life well lived, yes,
and these are very well lived incharacters.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
As you said, this is based on the playwright's real
experiences to an almostautobiographical degree.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
to a certain extent, Very much so, and a true homage
to these glorious people.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So talk a little bit about sort of creating the
setting of this, the salon, andChickapin Am I saying that right
, chickapin?
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Chickapin, parish, exactly, yeah, so that's the
thing that people who, toStephanie's point, have only
seen the film and think therewe're going to all of these
different locales and settingsand we have these different
characters.
No, the entirety of it, theentirety of our story is within
Truffy's Salon, and so we neededto create a set that has some
(14:13):
various levels and places tomove and be alive, and also a
place that feels very warm andwelcoming to each of these women
so that they walk in the room.
Well, and here's my chair,here's where I put my stuff.
I'm very comfortable to get upand grab a cup of coffee, or to
move over this way, or to takethe smock that I like, or
whatever it is that they have anease and a comfort.
(14:35):
It is a home away from home forthem, and like a living room,
almost where they just happen toget their hair done.
Yeah, so that's the space thatwe work to create, and we're
still creating, as we are deepin our rehearsals still.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Who is your set designer, if I may?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
ask.
So I designed the set itselfstylistically, the look of it.
I'm working with my oftenfabulous partner, marlee Lane,
who we're then directingSchoolhouse Rock together.
She has such a glorious visionfor creating a time period and a
colorscape and just all theflavors that make a very rich
(15:14):
world, and she delights inbringing all those details.
We are sticking to the 1980stimeframe that the story takes
place.
And boy she's on it.
Wait till you see thisChristmas tree she's created for
the second scene, the star atopthe tree.
I'm just going to say everybody,come see this show, because you
need to see this star and howit was created to honor the
(15:34):
salon life.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So what drew each of you personally to this show, as
actors or as directors?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Let me start with that, and then I want to turn it
over to you because I just wantto start.
I actually pitched the show toChino Community Theater and one
of the big reasons aside fromthe fact that it's just an
exceptional script and the wordsare just glorious, the
characters are glorious that weas women in theater especially
women as we get a little olderdiscover fewer and fewer
(16:06):
available parts and that we havean audience that is largely
women.
We have performers who are themajor percentage women and yet
the number of roles available towomen are so much fewer than
the roles available to men, andI want men to have many great
and wonderful experiences aswell, but I want it for women.
(16:27):
So it was a big impetus for melet's bring a show for and about
women that speaks to them, andthat was really my passion and
why I was also just.
I really put a hard pitch to Ineed to direct this show.
Of course, I want to act inevery role as well, but I'm so
delighted to be directing thisshow, so now I turn it over to
(16:48):
these lovelies.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Well, as I've said, I've I saw the movie as a teen
and I connected with it mostlyShelby, because I myself, as a
type one diabetic, and when Isaw it I kind of got nervous.
I'm like, oh, she dies becauseof her diabetes.
But as I grew, as I got olderand I'm like you know, I take
care of myself and I realize, oh, she's different, she has a
(17:11):
different type of diabetes.
But I've auditioned for thisshow a couple of times in my
career I'm quoting, I'm puttingmy quotes and at one point I was
a Shelby and at this point inmy life I thought, oh, I'm more
of a true V Malin.
You know the age range variesin this show and you know I
(17:34):
didn't think, oh, I could play aWeezer because she's too old.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
No, no, and you are much younger than Weezer is
written, and I am much youngerthan written.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
However, I thought that really shouldn't matter at
this point.
It's like it's the character,it's how it's portrayed and you
know, I would audition for thisshow a hundred times more, and
if I could play every role, init.
I would love to, because theyare such.
Each character is so uniquelywritten and there's just a soul
(18:03):
to each one, and so I was drawnto it, not only because of the
script and because of the show,and I had seen the show on stage
.
One of my good friends actuallyplayed Malin in Rialto,
michelle Reinhart, yay and so Iknew I wanted to try, and I knew
Donna from many, many, manyyears and I said I know she
would take this show and make ita celebration of friendship and
(18:27):
women.
And, lo and behold, I got to bea part of it.
So I'm very happy, very happy,to be part of it If I could
speak for a second.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I adored what you just said sort of about whether
the age is right or not.
This character still has thoseexperiences and that sort of
plays into what you said abouthow life has ups and downs and
life does not necessarily pickan age for you to experience
certain things or hardships oranything, and so I actually
really like that idea of playingwith age and sort of how that
works into the dynamics andStephanie was the right person
(18:58):
for this role.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It was undeniable in the audition room.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You just got Weezer.
So fully, yes, yeah, and I canfeel her character.
There's things in her character, in her past that she mentions
and I go yes, I can relate tothat.
I can relate to that and evenif I'm not that age, I still
have had experiences that I canbring to this character, so it's
been a lot of fun.
Yeah, jessie, if you would?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yes.
So when I was first auditioningfor this role, I actually helped
Donna with the season revealand I looked at the part of
Truvy during that scene and Ihad such a blast.
And when I walked into thataudition room, what originally
(19:50):
drew me was really just thisidea of being able to work with
Donna and whatever beautifulteam she could bring together
and getting the opportunity,after a little bit of an absence
from being on stage, tore-enter the scene.
And stepping into that auditionroom, I got to see some
(20:12):
beautiful reads from my friendsand they just tore my heart out
and I felt like in that momentsomething dropped into me, where
I was able to access sometrauma and some real moments
that I've recently experiencedas a mother.
And I opened up in a way that Ihaven't in a long time for the
(20:38):
stage and since having that doorunlocked, I will say that I
have zero problem withconnecting to emotion, to love,
to this story, even as not amother of a 25-year-old although
in the South at that timecertainly I could have been.
(20:59):
I am so honored to be able tobe the conduit, this body
packaging, for this role, forthis production, and it is a
great delight to get the chanceto share the stage with these
talented women.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I want to just add on there and I'm so, so grateful
for both of these women steppinginto and wanting to be a part
of this show.
I spoke of Stephanie in theaudition and I want to talk
about Jessie because, yes, I hadasked Jessie to do the season
reveal scene, where she playedTruby fabulously it was such a
delight.
And I stepped in and I playedCleary and we actually had our
(21:42):
Allie Riley play Annelle andshe's Annelle in the show as
well, because I can't imagineanybody else delivering anything
more exquisite than her Annelle.
But Jessie in that auditionroom immediately stepped into a
space for Malin.
That was undeniable, it filledthe room, it was palpable and
(22:05):
there was no way I could shiftfrom that casting and that
positioning.
And I will tell you verytruthfully, the entire show then
became cast around Jessie asMalin.
I had to start there.
That was the anchor that I hadto work with, because it was so
profound and so real and, as amother who has lost a child,
(22:28):
meaning that to be deliveredauthentically and wholly and
also filled with all of the loveand hope that I knew she would
and she is.
Everyone must see theseperformances.
They must.
You will regret deeply if youdon't, I promise you, because it
is just so glorious.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I for one cannot wait to see each of you in this show
.
We must cry.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The podcast can't see that we're crying right now.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And I thank all three of you for joining me here
today to talk about this and toshare a little bit of each of
your souls in relation to thisshow and to our show.
So again, thank you to allthree of you.
Thank you this show opensJanuary 10th.
Yes 7.30 pm.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Yes, yes, opens January 10th 7.30pm you can get
tickets atchinocommunitytheatrecom org.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I believe my apologies,
chinocommunitytheatreorg.
Go see it please.
And again, thank you all threeof you so much for being here
thank you thanks for listeningto Steps to the Stage, a 7th
Street Community Theatre podcast.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Follow us on your favourite podcast platform and
leave us a review and a 5-starrating.
You can also follow us onInstagram or Facebook and
subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theatre and Chino
Community Children's Theatre fortheir generous support.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
(23:57):
Logo created by Marlee Lane.
Original music by Devon, yourhost and producer, Marci Pinedo.
Engineer and producer Joey Rice.
Engineer and executive producerKirk Lane.
Welcome to Steps to the Stage.
A 7th Street Community Theaterpodcast.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hello and welcome to Steps to the Stage, the
community theater podcast, wherewe talk to the professionals
you know and love.
I'm your host, marci, and todaywe are talking about Steel
Magnolias.
I have three of my friends hereDonna, stephanie and Jesse.
Welcome to the show, all threeof you.
If you would like to introduceyourself a little bit further,
please go ahead.
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Sure, I'm Donna Rice.
I'm directing Steel Magnolia.
So excited to be doing that.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
I'm Stephanie.
I will be playing Louisa.
Speaker 5 (00:31):
And I am Jessie Pyle.
I'll be playing Malin Eatonton.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome all three of you to the show.
Thank you.
How are you today?
Great, and you, yes, I'm doingwonderful.
Thank you for asking so.
For people who are somehowunfamiliar with Steel Magnolias,
donna, would you mind giving abrief synopsis or introduction
to the show?
Speaker 3 (00:49):
You bet it's just a lovely story that comes out of
the author's lived experience.
He had lost his sister to theeffects of diabetes after she
had a child, and he grew up inthe South among a group of very
resilient, resourceful, brightand alive women, and so he wrote
(01:12):
this play, a sort of catharticthrough his own grief journey,
but also in celebration of allof these women, including his
sister.
And so the story is of thesesix women in this small southern
town, of various ages, but theyall center in the beauty salon,
truvy's Beauty Salon, sometimescalled Truvy's Beauty Spot,
(01:34):
where they all gather to havetheir hair and their nails done
and to talk about their life'sjourney and passages.
It crosses about two years intime and centers around young
Shelby Edenton, who was gettingmarried at the start of the show
, and her mother, malin, playedby Jesse, who's here with us
(01:55):
today, and then their friendsand whatnot in this little
community.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Stephanie Jesse, would you mind each talking
about your characters a littlebit?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Okay, weezer is probably the more the comic
relief.
She is an older Southern womanand has a lot of opinions about
things and has been through alot of things and like most
Southern women she's got thatSouthern mentality.
(02:28):
She grows vegetables.
She's kind of a Serbic and, youknow, will give zingers here
and there and kind of maybe seema little grumpy at times but
she's got a heart of gold andloves her friends and you know
and will do anything for them.
And of course Shelby is almostlike a granddaughter in some
(02:51):
ways, so it's a lot of funplaying her.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Jessie.
Speaker 5 (02:57):
Sure, malin is the glue that holds not only her
family together but tries tohold so much together in her
life, and so one of her greatestchallenges is as her daughter,
who she has really nurtured fromthe get-go, starts to have her
(03:18):
own life and her own experiencesand wants to live out her own
dreams, her own experiences.
And wants to live out her owndreams not having the control
that she so dearly wants to have.
And I can very much identifywith some aspects of that
personality and also thealternative the dreams and the
desires and the wants, and soit's a beautiful balance to be
(03:43):
able to bring this character tolife, who really wants what's
best for everyone and yet cannever seem to get exactly what
she wants, because control isnot something you actually have
in life.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
True, so these are very strong characters.
Yes, what is that like sort ofas an actor, sort of tackling a
denser story like this and sortof working in sort of the
characterization of these people?
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Great question.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Well, I think when we got together on this, we
naturally kind of found our owngive and take on the stage and
we're still finding moments,obviously because it's a very
short rehearsal process thatwe've had.
But what is beautiful is thatwe have definitely hit on the
(04:40):
kernel of friendship early onand the amount of love that we
share for each other I think ispalpable in every rehearsal room
, in every meeting that we'vehad.
And if you cultivate that, asDonna has, in the rehearsal
process, and you have talentedpeople at every role as we do,
(05:03):
people at every role as we do,myself included.
No, very true, and I'm glad yousaid it, but if you have that,
then you really can't go wrongwith such a beautifully written
story.
I mean, I get choked upimmediately thinking about this
story as it winds its waythrough dreams and hopes and
(05:23):
loss.
So I look forward to bringingthat to the stage and I know
that our cast is going todeliver a very powerful play.
Yes, definitely.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
And I know a lot of people are familiar with the
movie version and I've talked toa few people who have never
seen the movie version andpersonally I had never seen the
stage version until after I sawthe movie and I encourage people
to go see the stage versionfirst, if they have not seen the
movie, because the movieobviously has a lot of star
power and the characters we'replaying are somewhat different,
(06:02):
because we're reinterpretingthem in a different way, because
our group is a differentdynamic, we have, you know,
different age ranges and we havedifferent personalities, and so
I think the way we're I'mseeing the characters
interpreted is very differentthan the movie, yes, which is
great.
And it's still got that, that,that center of being friendship
(06:26):
and love and the mother daughterrelationship which is, you know
, for me personally that's a bigone too, because I have a
daughter.
But it's it's a very uniqueinterpretation and I hope
everyone sees it and doesn't tryand compare, but sees it as
something new and wonderful.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
Yeah, and that's really something that's so
important about this show isthat each of these six players
are fully realized characters.
They are full and rich.
Nobody is a caricature or justan add-on.
Everyone is central to thestory and the collective is
central.
So how I knew that in castingthe show it was so important to
(07:11):
get the dynamic right, to getthese six players right, so that
we could create something soalive and real and present, and
that's exactly what they'redoing.
Jesse's exactly right.
We have had a very shortrehearsal process because we've
been rehearsing through theholiday season with a lot of
different demands, so there hasalso been a high demand on each
(07:34):
of these beautiful women.
And also we have a seventhplayer.
We have also one man who ispart of our show.
He's prerecorded as our radioDJ.
There's a radio DJ who appearsthroughout the show.
Very handsome and very handsomefellow whose name also happens
to be Pyle.
That's Aaron Pyle, jesse'shusband, who is our seventh
Steel Magnolia.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Yes, I called the show dense earlier and I feel
like that was a poor term.
Rich is, I think, a moreaccurate, but I knew what you
meant.
Yes, it is, but I feel likethat had a negative connotation.
I didn't want to carry thatthrough.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
No, no, no, it's text heavy, it's emotion heavy, it's
humor heavy, it's experienceheavy.
All of that is.
It is so potent like a deep,rich, red velvet cake.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
Yes, yes, right, yes.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
It's that come to life, it's just.
And when we talk about that,though, let's not forget the
glorious humor in this.
This is a very funny show.
All the heart and all the humor.
Speaker 5 (08:31):
Yeah, you can, sorry, but you can forget that it is a
humorous show if you just focuson the text and fall into a
certain pattern with it.
But I I find this show so funand so uplifting and, yes, I'm
exhausted after every rehearsalbecause there is so much to this
(08:54):
specific character's journey,yeah, mm-hmm, but at the end of
the day I find so much joy inthe connection, in the love, in
the humor that my friend Steph,and also Clary, who's played by
Kathy Brule, debrule, debrulewhy did I say Brule?
Delicious, but not rightHoliday season.
The humor that Stephanie andthat Kathy bring to Weezer and
(09:22):
Clary especially are delicious.
And Alison Sano, who plays ouramazing Truby, really holds us
together with that same littleSouthern spice.
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yes, and let's talk a little bit about Allie Riley
too, and her delivery of Vanell,who is so timid and unsure of
herself.
And yet there are those moments, those lines that are so
gloriously humorous and warm andrich, and she delivers all of
that just masterfully.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
She has a journey in the show as well, and you can
see it follow through the wholeshow and she comes into her own.
It's a beautiful thing to see.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I feel like Allie is such a good sort of conduit for
that story especially.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Absolutely, Absolutely.
So three, three, six, I can domy math.
Six exceptional talents really,who are pulling the show
together.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
So the two of you sort of just talked about this,
but would you mind a questionfor all three of you.
Would you mind expanding moreabout balancing sort of the
comedy and sort of the darker,more dramatic elements of this
show, because those are, I think, very hand in hand with a
production like this.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
Well, the first thing I'll say is that these are all
very intelligent women and theycome from such different life
experiences.
You have a woman who has beenunhappily married twice and has
challenging children.
You have a woman currently in asomewhat unhappy marriage,
(10:53):
again with some challengingchildren.
You have a woman who's holdingeverything together with her
dynamic family.
And you have these youngstersas well, who are teetering on
the edge of womanhood in anamazing way, where they are
(11:16):
discovering the newness of faith, the newness of family, the
newness of relationship, and soto be able to live all of those
lives at once, I think thatreally helps, because you're
never at a loss for some addeddimension to the equation and it
(11:37):
just it mixes up really nicely.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
And the humor saves it too.
I mean there's, you know, extradramatic portions at the, an
extra dramatic portion at theend, and then there's a bit of
comedy relief, but it's not toforget about the drama, it's
more to kind of take a breath,yeah, Taking everything in
stride.
And then let the audience knowokay, they're going to be okay.
(12:02):
You know, life goes on and thesewomen are going to be, they're
going to stay strong and theirfriendship is going to continue.
So I love the comedy part of ittoo because it, like I said it,
lightens it a little and givessome hope.
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
And this is life.
Right, life is filled with lightand shade.
This is a daily occurrence, andI think sometimes we, in our
human experiences, we thinkwe're working toward some
achievement of something whereeverything, all the ducks, are
in a row, everything is inalignment, everything is going
well, and then, oh no, this suchand such happened.
(12:41):
Well, that is life, that is thenature of life.
It is oh no, this such and suchhappened.
Well, that is life.
That is the nature of life.
It is the ups and downs, thehighs and lows, and it's what we
do to weather it.
And that's at the heart of thisshow, this story as well, is
that these women have found away through their own resilience
, determination, hope and humor,and also their, more than
anything, their sharedexperience and reliance on one
(13:04):
another and connection with oneanother.
This is how they weather this,in ways that really celebrate
all aspects of life and havethen, in the end, have a very
rich lived experience, althoughit is also filled with heartache
and tragedy that they all worktogether, and I think that's the
point.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
That is the nature of life, a life well lived, yes,
and these are very well lived incharacters.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
As you said, this is based on the playwright's real
experiences to an almostautobiographical degree.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
to a certain extent, Very much so, and a true homage
to these glorious people.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
So talk a little bit about sort of creating the
setting of this, the salon, andChickapin Am I saying that right
, chickapin?
Speaker 3 (13:52):
Chickapin, parish, exactly, yeah, so that's the
thing that people who, toStephanie's point, have only
seen the film and think therewe're going to all of these
different locales and settingsand we have these different
characters.
No, the entirety of it, theentirety of our story is within
Truffy's Salon, and so we neededto create a set that has some
(14:13):
various levels and places tomove and be alive, and also a
place that feels very warm andwelcoming to each of these women
so that they walk in the room.
Well, and here's my chair,here's where I put my stuff.
I'm very comfortable to get upand grab a cup of coffee, or to
move over this way, or to takethe smock that I like, or
whatever it is that they have anease and a comfort.
(14:35):
It is a home away from home forthem, and like a living room,
almost where they just happen toget their hair done.
Yeah, so that's the space thatwe work to create, and we're
still creating, as we are deepin our rehearsals still.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
Who is your set designer, if I may?
Speaker 3 (14:52):
ask.
So I designed the set itselfstylistically, the look of it.
I'm working with my oftenfabulous partner, marlee Lane,
who we're then directingSchoolhouse Rock together.
She has such a glorious visionfor creating a time period and a
colorscape and just all theflavors that make a very rich
(15:14):
world, and she delights inbringing all those details.
We are sticking to the 1980stimeframe that the story takes
place.
And boy she's on it.
Wait till you see thisChristmas tree she's created for
the second scene, the star atopthe tree.
I'm just going to say everybody,come see this show, because you
need to see this star and howit was created to honor the
(15:34):
salon life.
Speaker 2 (15:37):
So what drew each of you personally to this show, as
actors or as directors?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Let me start with that, and then I want to turn it
over to you because I just wantto start.
I actually pitched the show toChino Community Theater and one
of the big reasons aside fromthe fact that it's just an
exceptional script and the wordsare just glorious, the
characters are glorious that weas women in theater especially
women as we get a little olderdiscover fewer and fewer
(16:06):
available parts and that we havean audience that is largely
women.
We have performers who are themajor percentage women and yet
the number of roles available towomen are so much fewer than
the roles available to men, andI want men to have many great
and wonderful experiences aswell, but I want it for women.
(16:27):
So it was a big impetus for melet's bring a show for and about
women that speaks to them, andthat was really my passion and
why I was also just.
I really put a hard pitch to Ineed to direct this show.
Of course, I want to act inevery role as well, but I'm so
delighted to be directing thisshow, so now I turn it over to
(16:48):
these lovelies.
Speaker 4 (16:49):
Well, as I've said, I've I saw the movie as a teen
and I connected with it mostlyShelby, because I myself, as a
type one diabetic, and when Isaw it I kind of got nervous.
I'm like, oh, she dies becauseof her diabetes.
But as I grew, as I got olderand I'm like you know, I take
care of myself and I realize, oh, she's different, she has a
(17:11):
different type of diabetes.
But I've auditioned for thisshow a couple of times in my
career I'm quoting, I'm puttingmy quotes and at one point I was
a Shelby and at this point inmy life I thought, oh, I'm more
of a true V Malin.
You know the age range variesin this show and you know I
(17:34):
didn't think, oh, I could play aWeezer because she's too old.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
No, no, and you are much younger than Weezer is
written, and I am much youngerthan written.
Speaker 4 (17:41):
However, I thought that really shouldn't matter at
this point.
It's like it's the character,it's how it's portrayed and you
know, I would audition for thisshow a hundred times more, and
if I could play every role, init.
I would love to, because theyare such.
Each character is so uniquelywritten and there's just a soul
(18:03):
to each one, and so I was drawnto it, not only because of the
script and because of the show,and I had seen the show on stage
.
One of my good friends actuallyplayed Malin in Rialto,
michelle Reinhart, yay and so Iknew I wanted to try, and I knew
Donna from many, many, manyyears and I said I know she
would take this show and make ita celebration of friendship and
(18:27):
women.
And, lo and behold, I got to bea part of it.
So I'm very happy, very happy,to be part of it If I could
speak for a second.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
I adored what you just said sort of about whether
the age is right or not.
This character still has thoseexperiences and that sort of
plays into what you said abouthow life has ups and downs and
life does not necessarily pickan age for you to experience
certain things or hardships oranything, and so I actually
really like that idea of playingwith age and sort of how that
works into the dynamics andStephanie was the right person
(18:58):
for this role.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It was undeniable in the audition room.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
You just got Weezer.
So fully, yes, yeah, and I canfeel her character.
There's things in her character, in her past that she mentions
and I go yes, I can relate tothat.
I can relate to that and evenif I'm not that age, I still
have had experiences that I canbring to this character, so it's
been a lot of fun.
Yeah, jessie, if you would?
Speaker 5 (19:29):
Yes.
So when I was first auditioningfor this role, I actually helped
Donna with the season revealand I looked at the part of
Truvy during that scene and Ihad such a blast.
And when I walked into thataudition room, what originally
(19:50):
drew me was really just thisidea of being able to work with
Donna and whatever beautifulteam she could bring together
and getting the opportunity,after a little bit of an absence
from being on stage, tore-enter the scene.
And stepping into that auditionroom, I got to see some
(20:12):
beautiful reads from my friendsand they just tore my heart out
and I felt like in that momentsomething dropped into me, where
I was able to access sometrauma and some real moments
that I've recently experiencedas a mother.
And I opened up in a way that Ihaven't in a long time for the
(20:38):
stage and since having that doorunlocked, I will say that I
have zero problem withconnecting to emotion, to love,
to this story, even as not amother of a 25-year-old although
in the South at that timecertainly I could have been.
(20:59):
I am so honored to be able tobe the conduit, this body
packaging, for this role, forthis production, and it is a
great delight to get the chanceto share the stage with these
talented women.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I want to just add on there and I'm so, so grateful
for both of these women steppinginto and wanting to be a part
of this show.
I spoke of Stephanie in theaudition and I want to talk
about Jessie because, yes, I hadasked Jessie to do the season
reveal scene, where she playedTruby fabulously it was such a
delight.
And I stepped in and I playedCleary and we actually had our
(21:42):
Allie Riley play Annelle andshe's Annelle in the show as
well, because I can't imagineanybody else delivering anything
more exquisite than her Annelle.
But Jessie in that auditionroom immediately stepped into a
space for Malin.
That was undeniable, it filledthe room, it was palpable and
(22:05):
there was no way I could shiftfrom that casting and that
positioning.
And I will tell you verytruthfully, the entire show then
became cast around Jessie asMalin.
I had to start there.
That was the anchor that I hadto work with, because it was so
profound and so real and, as amother who has lost a child,
(22:28):
meaning that to be deliveredauthentically and wholly and
also filled with all of the loveand hope that I knew she would
and she is.
Everyone must see theseperformances.
They must.
You will regret deeply if youdon't, I promise you, because it
is just so glorious.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
I for one cannot wait to see each of you in this show
.
We must cry.
Speaker 5 (22:53):
The podcast can't see that we're crying right now.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
And I thank all three of you for joining me here
today to talk about this and toshare a little bit of each of
your souls in relation to thisshow and to our show.
So again, thank you to allthree of you.
Thank you this show opensJanuary 10th.
Yes 7.30 pm.
Speaker 3 (23:15):
Yes, yes, opens January 10th 7.30pm you can get
tickets atchinocommunitytheatrecom org.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
I believe my apologies,
chinocommunitytheatreorg.
Go see it please.
And again, thank you all threeof you so much for being here
thank you thanks for listeningto Steps to the Stage, a 7th
Street Community Theatre podcast.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Follow us on your favourite podcast platform and
leave us a review and a 5-starrating.
You can also follow us onInstagram or Facebook and
subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Special thanks to ChinoCommunity Theatre and Chino
Community Children's Theatre fortheir generous support.
Steps to the Stage was createdby Joey Rice and Kirk Lane.
(23:57):
Logo created by Marlee Lane.
Original music by Devon, yourhost and producer, Marci Pinedo.
Engineer and producer Joey Rice.
Engineer and executive producerKirk Lane.
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