May 7, 2024 • 25 mins
Step inside the haunting world of "The Birds" as director Chris Diehl joins us with actors Aaron, Emma, and Paige from 7th Street Community Theater's latest spine-tingling production. They take us behind the scenes of this Hitchcock-inspired play, revealing the intricacies of transforming a tale of suspense and survival into a stage thriller. As we chat with Chris, whose passion for character studies shines through, we uncover the secrets to crafting a homage that's sure to captivate Hitchcock enthusiasts. The actors share their personal journeys, delving into the challenges of their roles and the thrill that comes with performing in a story where strangers are bound by crisis.
This episode is a celebration of the collaborative heartbeat that keeps theater alive and throbbing with creativity. Discover how a small cast can lead to a deeper, more intimate exploration of the script and characters, fostering an environment where the artistry of playwright Conor McPherson is vividly brought to life. We'll also reflect on the timeless relevance of Daphne du Maurier's storytelling, drawing surprising parallels between the eerie isolation in "The Birds" and our recent collective pandemic experience. Join us for a compelling conversation that not only spotlights the transformative journey from script to stage but also connects the dots between classic narratives like "Vertigo" and the societal issues of today.
May 9, 11, 17 @ 8pm
May 19 & 22 @ 2:30pm
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Paige sometimes will text me with something and say,
hey, I had a thought about Diane.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Yesterday I thought I was the only one that received
late night text from Paige aboutthe play.
Yeah, some are inappropriatebut we won't go into that.
No, no, no, it's the picture.
Jesse Darling is the one.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
The lights are on the curtain's up.
This is Steps to the Stage.
Hello and welcome to Steps tothe Stage, the 7th Street
Community Theater podcast, whereI talk to the community theater
professionals you know and love.
Today, for our 3 on the Edgespecial, we are talking about
the birds.
We have our director, chrisDeals, along with some of our
actor friends, aaron, emma andPaige.
Welcome you all to the show,thank you.
(00:39):
Thank you, great to be here.
Yeah, great to have you, chris.
Why don't you start off whiletalking about sort of the birds
in general for people whosomehow don't know?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
what this is.
Yeah, well, you know, there'sactually a lot of people that
don't know the play, because theplay is not done very much At
least I don't know of it havingbeen done in this area.
I kind of did some onlineresearch when I knew we were
doing a Hitchcock festival, andso when I came across the birds
I was like, ooh, that'sinteresting.
(01:08):
Um, how, how does that go onthe stage?
Because I had only known themovie.
Um, but you know I'm aHitchcock fan, so what I see
this play as closer to.
Uh, the Hitchcock movie isactually Lifeboat, which is one
of his 1940s movies that not aton of people know.
(01:33):
But it's about a ship duringWorld War II that gets torpedoed
by the Germans and a wholebunch of survivors gather
together on a lifeboat andthey're strangers most of them
and they're from different walksof life, and the whole movie is
set on this lifeboat, theentire thing.
(01:55):
There's no prologue, there's notag scene at the end where
they're rescued or anything likethat.
The entire film is set in thislifeboat during World War II,
and the Birds is very much likethat.
This play it's about strangerswho are huddled together in a
home in New England while thebirds are attacking, and so they
(02:21):
have to learn to survivetogether.
So they have to learn tosurvive together.
And I think one of theinteresting things about
Lifeboat, as well as this play,is that we only know the
characters in times of extremedistress.
(02:41):
We have Julia, who are ourthree main characters.
We also have Tierney, who comesin later, but Tierney and Diane
and Julia and Nat these are allthese great characters and we
see how they cope and how theyget along together in an extreme
situation.
So we never know what they'rereally like in their normal life
(03:06):
.
We only know what they tell usand so it's kind of a mystery as
far as who these people arethat we're following as the show
goes on.
But then of course, there's alsothe birds that comes into it,
and so there's this outsidethreat.
(03:26):
You know that is presentthroughout the whole play.
So we think it's prettysuspenseful.
It's a great character study.
We've been having a great timetalking about these characters
together and yeah, and I havethree just amazing actors who
are bringing these characters tolife.
So I said at one rehearsal I'mlike you know, we don't even
(03:48):
really need the birds becausethis show is so interesting with
just the people, just thesecharacters.
But when you add the birds, itjust adds, of course, an extra.
You don't know where it's goingto go, so it always keeps you on
(04:09):
the edge of your seat andlistening and watching and
looking at these people and likewho are?
They really, and what's goingto happen with them?
And it's just the best kind oftheater.
I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
You've already done this a little bit, but would you
mind speaking a bit more onsort of what attracted you to
the show as a director?
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, for one, I love directing shows that deal with
kind of a small cast, andespecially after my last show,
which was August Osage County,where we had just a huge family,
it's nice to deal with like alittle group of people and we
can really explore all the likekind of the little moments, you
(04:49):
know, between everybody andreally get really, really almost
like an x-ray, you know, intothese people and to their
relationships.
So that's one of the thingsthat I loved about the play.
And of course, I also loveHitchcock.
So I love trying to maybe bringsome homages to the movie,
(05:09):
because even though this play iscloser to the original Daphne
du Maurier story, there's stilllittle things that I'm trying to
for fans of the birds and thereare many that they will see
this play and at least pick afew things out.
They're like, oh, they playedthat song in the movie and you
(05:31):
know just little touches likethat that we've added for
Hitchcock fans.
So, yeah, that really appealedto me too.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
And then I would love to extend that question out to
our actors what drew each of youto this show as a performer?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Well, I'll say real quick that I love the playwright
, connor McPherson.
The first play I read by him,shining City, at least a handful
of years ago Just greatcharacters, you know, funny,
heartbreaking all the stuff Ilove.
Right, funny, heartbreaking,all the stuff I love.
And the Seafarer, another greatone.
So I had happened to read this.
(06:11):
I happened to read this in acollection of his, probably
about a year ago, and then theauditions came up.
I thought, oh, I just read that.
So I looked at it again and itreally surprised me.
I really enjoyed it my firstreading, but I honestly had no
idea which is really true formost well-written scripts anyway
(06:31):
.
There's so much to uncover thatI really had no idea quite what
sort of gem that I.
You know that analogy doesn'treally work but what sort of you
know of incredible show I wasentering into and I'm just so
fortunate, and then also actorsthat I haven't worked with and
(06:51):
that maybe goes in anotherdirection.
But as far as this play goes,it's just like any well-written
script.
It's just a beautifully layeredonion script.
It's just a beautifully layeredonion and uh, again, like chris
was uh saying the you know, thecharacters in the in this, the
character studies uh are havebeen just so fascinating and I I
(07:14):
couldn't have wished for abetter group to to dig into with
.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Yeah um well, I, I really love horror and suspense.
That's something I fully diveinto as a general lover of
horror and that kind of stuff.
But to actually get to play acharacter in suspense can allow
(07:46):
to really dive deep and have adirector who can keep you on
pace but let you grow and letyou really flesh out a character
.
And even though it's a glimpseinto these people's lives and
it's, as Chris saidris said, intheir extremes, it's so much fun
(08:07):
and I mean it's it's so.
It's so much fun to play comedy, so much fun to play really,
really dark drama.
But like this is suspense drama, which I think is its own
precious little gem that a lotof actors they never realize
they want to do it until they'rein it, and I think that's
something that entices me.
And you know, like I thankChris for this opportunity and
(08:31):
Paige and Aaron for letting meplay, because this is a lot of
fun and it's a lot of fun tocreate a character that you
don't know how you feel aboutthem Interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And I'd like to just jump in and say that for CCT
audiences who have come to seeother shows here, they will
definitely recognize Emma, andshe was just in Noises Off, so
this is a very different rolefor her.
She has played mostly comedythat I've seen her in and I was
(09:02):
just like I want to see her dothis part because I just know
she would kill it.
And she absolutely does, and soI think audiences who are used
to Emma playing in farces andrunning around half naked in you
know little, whatever she'swearing, they're going to really
have their eyes opened in thisone, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Well, I of course agree with everything that's
been said, but for me, twothings stood out.
One was the opportunity to workwith Chris again, because he is
one of the most phenomenaldirectors I've ever worked with.
He really is an actor'sdirector, and I think part of it
is because he's such a goodactor too, but he knows the
script inside and out and wantsto really create just as much as
(09:51):
the actors do, and that feelswonderful.
But one thing I love about thisscript, this story, is that
every one of these characters isa full person, even though we
have this very scary environment, and the environment
illuminates the character.
There is no caricature in this.
(10:12):
Every one of the characters isa full person, so they each have
their vulnerabilities, theyeach have their anger issues,
they each have their fear.
They have all of this and we'vehad the opportunity to really
bring that to life, and youdon't, which brings so much.
(10:35):
But for the actors, we don'thave much else going on except
what we're.
Every scene has really onestory that is being told.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And that's why I said kind of I think I said at one
point this is almost like aseries of short stories rather
than a novel, you know, becausewe get kind of a glimpse.
Like Emma said, we get theselike I forget how many scenes
there are, 16 or something likethat.
It's a one act play.
I should mention it's 90minutes straight through, so
(11:32):
there's no intermission.
But yeah, it's like you keepgetting these little stories
throughout that all add up tosomething.
And sorry, I didn't mean tointerrupt the page but continue.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
And they're all character-driven.
That's what I love about it.
I mean, it is these charactersin these particular
circumstances.
But so much is revealed inthese little interactions we
have, and, as an actor, it'sjust a phenomenal process to
have just a few of us like this,so that every rehearsal we've
been able to, we've had the timeto go.
(11:58):
What do you think about this?
Well, what do you think aboutthis?
And oh, I didn't notice that.
Well, what do you think aboutthis?
And oh, I didn't notice that.
And once again, to have adirector who is as engaged with
the script as the actors are andtrusts us and allows us to have
those conversations, it's anincredibly fulfilling place to
be as an actor, right, where alot of times, we do so much of
(12:21):
our work outside of therehearsal room, which is fine
too.
We don't have a choice, butwe've been able to really and I
feel like in a way, it kind ofmirrors the story of the play,
right, because we've and onceagain we have the three of us
have never worked togetherbefore, and so we don't really
know each other.
(12:41):
In that sense, we don't.
We're discovering as we go, andwe've been able to really do
that as actors, as well ascreating the story together, so
it's been a really unique andprecious experience for me.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean that all just sounds incredible.
It's just really really greatthat you guys have that
experience and are able to worktogether like that, and that
Chris is such a wonderfuldirector and is able to provide
that for you as well.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, and it really seems to me and again a
testament to the director andthe cast it really seems to me
that often I feel thatplaywrights sometimes leave open
spots for you to collaboratewith them.
They're looking for you to kindof come up with some of your
own answers.
(13:26):
I really kind of feel that withthis.
Maybe that's why on the firsttime on the page I really liked
it, but I had yet to fall inlove with it because I had yet
to answer you know thosequestions upon first reading,
once we start laying thosebricks that were missing before.
Oh my gosh, it's truly acollaboration with the
playwright himself and, yeah,it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And one of the reasons that I like to work with
small casts is because you canreally be collaborative.
When you have a big cast, itoften gets to be too many cooks
in the kitchen, there's just toomany voices and you kind of
have to say you know, great, youknow, give me your ideas.
But ultimately I got to steerthe ship.
(14:11):
But this I really felt likethis is such a group effort for
everyone, where we just all gottogether and the best idea wins.
You know, whoever says, hey,you know, why don't we do this
instead of this?
I certainly don't have all theanswers and I love when you know
(14:31):
.
Even if you think you know thescript backwards and forwards,
you're always introduced to newideas.
Paige sometimes will text mewith something and say, hey, I
had a thought about Diane.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yesterday I thought I was the only one that received
late night text from Paige aboutthe play yeah, about the play
yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Some are inappropriate, but we won't go
into that.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
No, no, no, it's the picture, jessie.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Darling.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
Yeah, about the play.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, some are inappropriate but we won't go
into that.
No, no, no, it's the picture.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Jesse Darling is the picture, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
But, yeah, everybody's always thinking like
nonstop about this play and so,yeah, you keep getting little
epiphanies.
You know, as you go on, youknow as you go on, and I think
all of our opinions haveprobably changed from when we
started to when we, at thispoint right now, we're a little
(15:20):
less than a week away fromopening and I'm sure we're still
going to have more epiphaniesbefore our opening this Thursday
.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
And again, because this is a play based off of the
original novel more than it isbased off of the Hitchcock movie
.
It was a short story, first byDaphne du Maurier.
She also wrote Because this isa play based off of the original
novel more than it is based offof the Hitchcock movie.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Yes, it was a short story first by Daphne du Maurier
.
She also wrote Rebecca, that'sprobably one of her most famous
plays.
He also did a movie of that.
He liked, actually, daphne duMaurier.
He adapted two more of herstories.
But, yeah, hitchcock tookelements from the, which he
(15:55):
often did.
Actually, he took elements fromthe story and was like I'm
going to make this into aHitchcock movie.
So he added his own charactersand added his own stories and
stuff like that.
But yeah, there's still a lotthat's similar, one of the
things being that the birds, youknow we don't have a resolution
(16:19):
you know you don't really get aresolution to this.
It just is like an act of Godand and, speaking of God,
there's a, there's a lot ofinteresting things about.
There's so many things thatthis play touches on, you know,
religion, we talk about religion, we talk about children and
families and and there's just somuch going on and and and, like
(16:39):
Aaron said, you know, some ofit we brought ourselves.
You know, I think, and you know, the playwright really did give
us this ability to kind of, youknow, add to it and embellish.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
And, as Paige said earlier, these are real people,
and not only that, they'rediverse enough to I really
believe that every audiencemember can see themselves and
possibly that changes.
Yeah, as do the characterschange, but I think everyone
will be able to sort of placethemselves in this situation
because they see real people,that they see reflections in
(17:13):
themselves.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I'm sure, yeah, they can definitely connect to at
least parts of us, or all of usat the same time.
And even Tyranny, like eventhat glimpse of that character
you like guarantee an audiencemember is going to go.
I would do that too.
It's all a what if you know Likethis is something that,
especially because it wasadapted recently, like 2009,.
(17:37):
I believe right, and I thinkyou can definitely see yourself
in a modern time.
If this were to happen now, whoknows what would happen, but
this is kind of a glimpse tomaybe, maybe, well, that's
another thing we we decided thiskind of has happened.
I know we all have an experienceof being trapped in a house
with something terrible outside,and that's the amazing part of
(17:58):
chris because literally I thinkthe first rehearsal, second,
second rehearsal Chris just saidCOVID and I was like, oh my God
, and it's something that Ithink is going to really like,
because you sometimes withHitchcock, a lot of people are
going to be like, oh, it's dated, it's not, it's not really.
If you think of the main ideaof what Hitchcock brings and his
(18:21):
movies, it can resonate withanyone.
And this one is just going tohit home, I really think, with
COVID and everything happeningand being trapped and I even had
a friend who got trapped with afew strangers because they
couldn't travel and certainthings like that.
So it's a glimpse into whatwe've been through and what
(18:44):
could be a resolution.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
And Hitchcock often does this in his films where he
uses kind of the trappings of aspy story or a horror story or a
mystery to tell a deeper storyof, you know, the human
condition.
And you know Vertigo is a greatexample of you know a movie
(19:08):
that has, you know, afar-fetched, typical mystery
plot that you would expect in athriller.
But it goes so much deeper thanthat and I feel like this play
and the birds, even the birds,the movie.
It uses the birds to tell amuch deeper story.
But you could also appreciateit on that level as well as just
(19:30):
a good kind of scary night outat the theater, you know.
So not everybody is going tocome out from this play and be
pondering the the you know, themysteries of life.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
The world.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's not that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
It doesn't have to be that deep.
You may look at birdsdifferently.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh, as we have, we definitely will yeah for sure,
just see a crow and go nothing.
Yeah, and I should say, ifyou're scared of birds in real
life, don't let that keep youfrom this show, because you're
not going to be attacked bybirds.
We're not going to have anyweird things where you know
they're going to come down outof the audience.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
So yeah, so as part of the festival and rotating rep
, you were sharing this stagewith the two shows you
previously mentioned.
Would you mind talking aboutthat experience?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, well, it's always interesting because you
have to collaborate with twoother directors and you have to
kind of fit the needs ofeverybody.
All the shows you know.
So luckily we have a Dial M forMurder that we're sharing the
set with, so audiences will seea modified version of the.
(20:40):
You know the sets for theseshows, but what we hope to do is
have a very specific experiencefor everybody who comes, so
they don't just feel likethey're seeing the same show
three times, you know, with thesame set and the same.
You know everybody's bringingsomething different, even if
we're using kind of the samestructure.
We're trying to make it, youknow, different for everyone.
(21:03):
So, and we have, you know, thewonderful, our wonderful founder
, paul Larson, and his wifeKaren, who've been so great in.
You know just, they evenpostponed their trip that they
had planned so they could, theycould finish up our set for us,
and you know it's, it's that'swhat community theater is all
about.
(21:23):
You know everybody chipping in.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, and then, on that note, would you mind
mentioning the costumes andnamely the costume designer for
the show?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Well, we don't really have a costume designer,
because this is set in thefuture, not in the future, but
this is more of a present day.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, it's not a period.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
We're actually keeping it kind of kind of vague
, Okay, as far as the time list,yeah, so we're we're just kind
of doing it ourselves and andand figuring out what works for
our characters.
And one thing is we reallydon't have a whole lot of
changes.
You know, they're kind ofliving through the show, so
you'll see that even when theset, when the scenes change,
(22:03):
they're still on stage movingaround as in-air characters, you
know.
So it's not like the setchanges and you see a crew come
out and change things.
They're all kind of just livingon the stage this whole time we
are stuck in this house,exactly.
They can get in, but they can'tget out.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
And then this is the first show of the Threat on the
Edge Festival.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
It is, we kick it off .
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yes, would you mind telling me the dates so people
know when to come down and seeit?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
The dates are May 9th , 11th and 17th.
Those are our evening shows at8 o'clock, and then we have two
matinees, one on a Saturday andone on a Sunday.
So May 19th and 25th are our2.30 pm matinees and, of course,
we are alternating with twoother shows Dial M for Murder
and the 39 Steps, and weencourage our people to come and
(22:57):
see all three and, as well, geta festival pass, because, as I
explained in the last time I Ihad the pleasure of joining
colin uh, we, we are offering afestival pass and we're, we're,
uh, we're gonna offer people thechance to win a 2025 season
ticket from cct.
Uh, just by purchasing afestival pass, you will, you
(23:19):
will be eligible to that, oralso a festival pass for next
year's Three on the Edge.
So we're really trying to getpeople in to this.
You know, doing a Hitchcockfestival was one thing.
I can tell you that we've hadso many people just like, oh, I
can't wait for the Hitchcock.
Even you know the newspaperwhich you know.
(23:40):
Sometimes it's hard to getcoverage in the newspaper, but
they were like, oh, a Hitchcockfestival.
Even people who aren't regulartheater goers, they hear the
name Hitchcock and they think oh, okay we had people come in for
Spamalot just because they'reMonty Python fans and they came
from far places just to see ourSpamalot production.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
So you know, there are certain names that have a
you know kind of a brand thatreally means something to people
, and Hitchcock is one of them.
So I'm really hoping that thisyear's Three on the Edge,
because all three shows are verydifferent.
You know, as I'm sure you'llfind out with you know when you
do the episodes with the others,but Dial M for Murder is much
(24:23):
more of a classic mystery.
And then the 39 Steps is justsilly spoofery.
So that's, and then ours isdefinitely not.
Ours is the much more serious.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
And the collection of talent in these three Very
lucky to be a part of all ofthis, for sure.
Well, be sure to check out thebirds at the 7th Street, 3 and
the Edge Hitchcock Festival.
Thank you, all four of you forjoining me today.
It was a blast.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Oh, thank you so much .
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Thank you so?
Speaker 4 (24:52):
much, colin.
Thanks for listening to Stepsto the Stage.
And now it's time for theCurtain Call.
Time for the curtain call.
Paige sometimes will text me with something and say,
hey, I had a thought about Diane.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Yesterday I thought I was the only one that received
late night text from Paige aboutthe play.
Yeah, some are inappropriatebut we won't go into that.
No, no, no, it's the picture.
Jesse Darling is the one.
Speaker 4 (00:18):
The lights are on the curtain's up.
This is Steps to the Stage.
Hello and welcome to Steps tothe Stage, the 7th Street
Community Theater podcast, whereI talk to the community theater
professionals you know and love.
Today, for our 3 on the Edgespecial, we are talking about
the birds.
We have our director, chrisDeals, along with some of our
actor friends, aaron, emma andPaige.
Welcome you all to the show,thank you.
(00:39):
Thank you, great to be here.
Yeah, great to have you, chris.
Why don't you start off whiletalking about sort of the birds
in general for people whosomehow don't know?
Speaker 1 (00:47):
what this is.
Yeah, well, you know, there'sactually a lot of people that
don't know the play, because theplay is not done very much At
least I don't know of it havingbeen done in this area.
I kind of did some onlineresearch when I knew we were
doing a Hitchcock festival, andso when I came across the birds
I was like, ooh, that'sinteresting.
(01:08):
Um, how, how does that go onthe stage?
Because I had only known themovie.
Um, but you know I'm aHitchcock fan, so what I see
this play as closer to.
Uh, the Hitchcock movie isactually Lifeboat, which is one
of his 1940s movies that not aton of people know.
(01:33):
But it's about a ship duringWorld War II that gets torpedoed
by the Germans and a wholebunch of survivors gather
together on a lifeboat andthey're strangers most of them
and they're from different walksof life, and the whole movie is
set on this lifeboat, theentire thing.
(01:55):
There's no prologue, there's notag scene at the end where
they're rescued or anything likethat.
The entire film is set in thislifeboat during World War II,
and the Birds is very much likethat.
This play it's about strangerswho are huddled together in a
home in New England while thebirds are attacking, and so they
(02:21):
have to learn to survivetogether.
So they have to learn tosurvive together.
And I think one of theinteresting things about
Lifeboat, as well as this play,is that we only know the
characters in times of extremedistress.
(02:41):
We have Julia, who are ourthree main characters.
We also have Tierney, who comesin later, but Tierney and Diane
and Julia and Nat these are allthese great characters and we
see how they cope and how theyget along together in an extreme
situation.
So we never know what they'rereally like in their normal life
(03:06):
.
We only know what they tell usand so it's kind of a mystery as
far as who these people arethat we're following as the show
goes on.
But then of course, there's alsothe birds that comes into it,
and so there's this outsidethreat.
(03:26):
You know that is presentthroughout the whole play.
So we think it's prettysuspenseful.
It's a great character study.
We've been having a great timetalking about these characters
together and yeah, and I havethree just amazing actors who
are bringing these characters tolife.
So I said at one rehearsal I'mlike you know, we don't even
(03:48):
really need the birds becausethis show is so interesting with
just the people, just thesecharacters.
But when you add the birds, itjust adds, of course, an extra.
You don't know where it's goingto go, so it always keeps you on
(04:09):
the edge of your seat andlistening and watching and
looking at these people and likewho are?
They really, and what's goingto happen with them?
And it's just the best kind oftheater.
I love it.
Speaker 4 (04:22):
You've already done this a little bit, but would you
mind speaking a bit more onsort of what attracted you to
the show as a director?
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah, for one, I love directing shows that deal with
kind of a small cast, andespecially after my last show,
which was August Osage County,where we had just a huge family,
it's nice to deal with like alittle group of people and we
can really explore all the likekind of the little moments, you
(04:49):
know, between everybody andreally get really, really almost
like an x-ray, you know, intothese people and to their
relationships.
So that's one of the thingsthat I loved about the play.
And of course, I also loveHitchcock.
So I love trying to maybe bringsome homages to the movie,
(05:09):
because even though this play iscloser to the original Daphne
du Maurier story, there's stilllittle things that I'm trying to
for fans of the birds and thereare many that they will see
this play and at least pick afew things out.
They're like, oh, they playedthat song in the movie and you
(05:31):
know just little touches likethat that we've added for
Hitchcock fans.
So, yeah, that really appealedto me too.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
And then I would love to extend that question out to
our actors what drew each of youto this show as a performer?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Well, I'll say real quick that I love the playwright
, connor McPherson.
The first play I read by him,shining City, at least a handful
of years ago Just greatcharacters, you know, funny,
heartbreaking all the stuff Ilove.
Right, funny, heartbreaking,all the stuff I love.
And the Seafarer, another greatone.
So I had happened to read this.
(06:11):
I happened to read this in acollection of his, probably
about a year ago, and then theauditions came up.
I thought, oh, I just read that.
So I looked at it again and itreally surprised me.
I really enjoyed it my firstreading, but I honestly had no
idea which is really true formost well-written scripts anyway
(06:31):
.
There's so much to uncover thatI really had no idea quite what
sort of gem that I.
You know that analogy doesn'treally work but what sort of you
know of incredible show I wasentering into and I'm just so
fortunate, and then also actorsthat I haven't worked with and
(06:51):
that maybe goes in anotherdirection.
But as far as this play goes,it's just like any well-written
script.
It's just a beautifully layeredonion script.
It's just a beautifully layeredonion and uh, again, like chris
was uh saying the you know, thecharacters in the in this, the
character studies uh are havebeen just so fascinating and I I
(07:14):
couldn't have wished for abetter group to to dig into with
.
Speaker 5 (07:17):
Yeah um well, I, I really love horror and suspense.
That's something I fully diveinto as a general lover of
horror and that kind of stuff.
But to actually get to play acharacter in suspense can allow
(07:46):
to really dive deep and have adirector who can keep you on
pace but let you grow and letyou really flesh out a character
.
And even though it's a glimpseinto these people's lives and
it's, as Chris saidris said, intheir extremes, it's so much fun
(08:07):
and I mean it's it's so.
It's so much fun to play comedy, so much fun to play really,
really dark drama.
But like this is suspense drama, which I think is its own
precious little gem that a lotof actors they never realize
they want to do it until they'rein it, and I think that's
something that entices me.
And you know, like I thankChris for this opportunity and
(08:31):
Paige and Aaron for letting meplay, because this is a lot of
fun and it's a lot of fun tocreate a character that you
don't know how you feel aboutthem Interesting.
Speaker 1 (08:40):
And I'd like to just jump in and say that for CCT
audiences who have come to seeother shows here, they will
definitely recognize Emma, andshe was just in Noises Off, so
this is a very different rolefor her.
She has played mostly comedythat I've seen her in and I was
(09:02):
just like I want to see her dothis part because I just know
she would kill it.
And she absolutely does, and soI think audiences who are used
to Emma playing in farces andrunning around half naked in you
know little, whatever she'swearing, they're going to really
have their eyes opened in thisone, yeah.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (09:26):
Well, I of course agree with everything that's
been said, but for me, twothings stood out.
One was the opportunity to workwith Chris again, because he is
one of the most phenomenaldirectors I've ever worked with.
He really is an actor'sdirector, and I think part of it
is because he's such a goodactor too, but he knows the
script inside and out and wantsto really create just as much as
(09:51):
the actors do, and that feelswonderful.
But one thing I love about thisscript, this story, is that
every one of these characters isa full person, even though we
have this very scary environment, and the environment
illuminates the character.
There is no caricature in this.
(10:12):
Every one of the characters isa full person, so they each have
their vulnerabilities, theyeach have their anger issues,
they each have their fear.
They have all of this and we'vehad the opportunity to really
bring that to life, and youdon't, which brings so much.
(10:35):
But for the actors, we don'thave much else going on except
what we're.
Every scene has really onestory that is being told.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
And that's why I said kind of I think I said at one
point this is almost like aseries of short stories rather
than a novel, you know, becausewe get kind of a glimpse.
Like Emma said, we get theselike I forget how many scenes
there are, 16 or something likethat.
It's a one act play.
I should mention it's 90minutes straight through, so
(11:32):
there's no intermission.
But yeah, it's like you keepgetting these little stories
throughout that all add up tosomething.
And sorry, I didn't mean tointerrupt the page but continue.
Speaker 2 (11:36):
And they're all character-driven.
That's what I love about it.
I mean, it is these charactersin these particular
circumstances.
But so much is revealed inthese little interactions we
have, and, as an actor, it'sjust a phenomenal process to
have just a few of us like this,so that every rehearsal we've
been able to, we've had the timeto go.
(11:58):
What do you think about this?
Well, what do you think aboutthis?
And oh, I didn't notice that.
Well, what do you think aboutthis?
And oh, I didn't notice that.
And once again, to have adirector who is as engaged with
the script as the actors are andtrusts us and allows us to have
those conversations, it's anincredibly fulfilling place to
be as an actor, right, where alot of times, we do so much of
(12:21):
our work outside of therehearsal room, which is fine
too.
We don't have a choice, butwe've been able to really and I
feel like in a way, it kind ofmirrors the story of the play,
right, because we've and onceagain we have the three of us
have never worked togetherbefore, and so we don't really
know each other.
(12:41):
In that sense, we don't.
We're discovering as we go, andwe've been able to really do
that as actors, as well ascreating the story together, so
it's been a really unique andprecious experience for me.
Speaker 4 (12:54):
Yeah, I mean that all just sounds incredible.
It's just really really greatthat you guys have that
experience and are able to worktogether like that, and that
Chris is such a wonderfuldirector and is able to provide
that for you as well.
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 3 (13:06):
Yeah, and it really seems to me and again a
testament to the director andthe cast it really seems to me
that often I feel thatplaywrights sometimes leave open
spots for you to collaboratewith them.
They're looking for you to kindof come up with some of your
own answers.
(13:26):
I really kind of feel that withthis.
Maybe that's why on the firsttime on the page I really liked
it, but I had yet to fall inlove with it because I had yet
to answer you know thosequestions upon first reading,
once we start laying thosebricks that were missing before.
Oh my gosh, it's truly acollaboration with the
playwright himself and, yeah,it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
And one of the reasons that I like to work with
small casts is because you canreally be collaborative.
When you have a big cast, itoften gets to be too many cooks
in the kitchen, there's just toomany voices and you kind of
have to say you know, great, youknow, give me your ideas.
But ultimately I got to steerthe ship.
(14:11):
But this I really felt likethis is such a group effort for
everyone, where we just all gottogether and the best idea wins.
You know, whoever says, hey,you know, why don't we do this
instead of this?
I certainly don't have all theanswers and I love when you know
(14:31):
.
Even if you think you know thescript backwards and forwards,
you're always introduced to newideas.
Paige sometimes will text mewith something and say, hey, I
had a thought about Diane.
Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yesterday I thought I was the only one that received
late night text from Paige aboutthe play yeah, about the play
yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Some are inappropriate, but we won't go
into that.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
No, no, no, it's the picture, jessie.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Darling.
Speaker 5 (14:53):
Yeah, about the play.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Yeah, some are inappropriate but we won't go
into that.
No, no, no, it's the picture.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Jesse Darling is the picture, yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
But, yeah, everybody's always thinking like
nonstop about this play and so,yeah, you keep getting little
epiphanies.
You know, as you go on, youknow as you go on, and I think
all of our opinions haveprobably changed from when we
started to when we, at thispoint right now, we're a little
(15:20):
less than a week away fromopening and I'm sure we're still
going to have more epiphaniesbefore our opening this Thursday
.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
And again, because this is a play based off of the
original novel more than it isbased off of the Hitchcock movie
.
It was a short story, first byDaphne du Maurier.
She also wrote Because this isa play based off of the original
novel more than it is based offof the Hitchcock movie.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Yes, it was a short story first by Daphne du Maurier
.
She also wrote Rebecca, that'sprobably one of her most famous
plays.
He also did a movie of that.
He liked, actually, daphne duMaurier.
He adapted two more of herstories.
But, yeah, hitchcock tookelements from the, which he
(15:55):
often did.
Actually, he took elements fromthe story and was like I'm
going to make this into aHitchcock movie.
So he added his own charactersand added his own stories and
stuff like that.
But yeah, there's still a lotthat's similar, one of the
things being that the birds, youknow we don't have a resolution
(16:19):
you know you don't really get aresolution to this.
It just is like an act of Godand and, speaking of God,
there's a, there's a lot ofinteresting things about.
There's so many things thatthis play touches on, you know,
religion, we talk about religion, we talk about children and
families and and there's just somuch going on and and and, like
(16:39):
Aaron said, you know, some ofit we brought ourselves.
You know, I think, and you know, the playwright really did give
us this ability to kind of, youknow, add to it and embellish.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
And, as Paige said earlier, these are real people,
and not only that, they'rediverse enough to I really
believe that every audiencemember can see themselves and
possibly that changes.
Yeah, as do the characterschange, but I think everyone
will be able to sort of placethemselves in this situation
because they see real people,that they see reflections in
(17:13):
themselves.
Speaker 5 (17:14):
I'm sure, yeah, they can definitely connect to at
least parts of us, or all of usat the same time.
And even Tyranny, like eventhat glimpse of that character
you like guarantee an audiencemember is going to go.
I would do that too.
It's all a what if you know Likethis is something that,
especially because it wasadapted recently, like 2009,.
(17:37):
I believe right, and I thinkyou can definitely see yourself
in a modern time.
If this were to happen now, whoknows what would happen, but
this is kind of a glimpse tomaybe, maybe, well, that's
another thing we we decided thiskind of has happened.
I know we all have an experienceof being trapped in a house
with something terrible outside,and that's the amazing part of
(17:58):
chris because literally I thinkthe first rehearsal, second,
second rehearsal Chris just saidCOVID and I was like, oh my God
, and it's something that Ithink is going to really like,
because you sometimes withHitchcock, a lot of people are
going to be like, oh, it's dated, it's not, it's not really.
If you think of the main ideaof what Hitchcock brings and his
(18:21):
movies, it can resonate withanyone.
And this one is just going tohit home, I really think, with
COVID and everything happeningand being trapped and I even had
a friend who got trapped with afew strangers because they
couldn't travel and certainthings like that.
So it's a glimpse into whatwe've been through and what
(18:44):
could be a resolution.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
And Hitchcock often does this in his films where he
uses kind of the trappings of aspy story or a horror story or a
mystery to tell a deeper storyof, you know, the human
condition.
And you know Vertigo is a greatexample of you know a movie
(19:08):
that has, you know, afar-fetched, typical mystery
plot that you would expect in athriller.
But it goes so much deeper thanthat and I feel like this play
and the birds, even the birds,the movie.
It uses the birds to tell amuch deeper story.
But you could also appreciateit on that level as well as just
(19:30):
a good kind of scary night outat the theater, you know.
So not everybody is going tocome out from this play and be
pondering the the you know, themysteries of life.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
The world.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
It's not that.
Speaker 3 (19:45):
It doesn't have to be that deep.
You may look at birdsdifferently.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh, as we have, we definitely will yeah for sure,
just see a crow and go nothing.
Yeah, and I should say, ifyou're scared of birds in real
life, don't let that keep youfrom this show, because you're
not going to be attacked bybirds.
We're not going to have anyweird things where you know
they're going to come down outof the audience.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
So yeah, so as part of the festival and rotating rep
, you were sharing this stagewith the two shows you
previously mentioned.
Would you mind talking aboutthat experience?
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, well, it's always interesting because you
have to collaborate with twoother directors and you have to
kind of fit the needs ofeverybody.
All the shows you know.
So luckily we have a Dial M forMurder that we're sharing the
set with, so audiences will seea modified version of the.
(20:40):
You know the sets for theseshows, but what we hope to do is
have a very specific experiencefor everybody who comes, so
they don't just feel likethey're seeing the same show
three times, you know, with thesame set and the same.
You know everybody's bringingsomething different, even if
we're using kind of the samestructure.
We're trying to make it, youknow, different for everyone.
(21:03):
So, and we have, you know, thewonderful, our wonderful founder
, paul Larson, and his wifeKaren, who've been so great in.
You know just, they evenpostponed their trip that they
had planned so they could, theycould finish up our set for us,
and you know it's, it's that'swhat community theater is all
about.
(21:23):
You know everybody chipping in.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Yeah, and then, on that note, would you mind
mentioning the costumes andnamely the costume designer for
the show?
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Well, we don't really have a costume designer,
because this is set in thefuture, not in the future, but
this is more of a present day.
Speaker 2 (21:39):
Yeah, it's not a period.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
We're actually keeping it kind of kind of vague
, Okay, as far as the time list,yeah, so we're we're just kind
of doing it ourselves and andand figuring out what works for
our characters.
And one thing is we reallydon't have a whole lot of
changes.
You know, they're kind ofliving through the show, so
you'll see that even when theset, when the scenes change,
(22:03):
they're still on stage movingaround as in-air characters, you
know.
So it's not like the setchanges and you see a crew come
out and change things.
They're all kind of just livingon the stage this whole time we
are stuck in this house,exactly.
They can get in, but they can'tget out.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
And then this is the first show of the Threat on the
Edge Festival.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
It is, we kick it off .
Speaker 4 (22:28):
Yes, would you mind telling me the dates so people
know when to come down and seeit?
Speaker 1 (22:33):
The dates are May 9th , 11th and 17th.
Those are our evening shows at8 o'clock, and then we have two
matinees, one on a Saturday andone on a Sunday.
So May 19th and 25th are our2.30 pm matinees and, of course,
we are alternating with twoother shows Dial M for Murder
and the 39 Steps, and weencourage our people to come and
(22:57):
see all three and, as well, geta festival pass, because, as I
explained in the last time I Ihad the pleasure of joining
colin uh, we, we are offering afestival pass and we're, we're,
uh, we're gonna offer people thechance to win a 2025 season
ticket from cct.
Uh, just by purchasing afestival pass, you will, you
(23:19):
will be eligible to that, oralso a festival pass for next
year's Three on the Edge.
So we're really trying to getpeople in to this.
You know, doing a Hitchcockfestival was one thing.
I can tell you that we've hadso many people just like, oh, I
can't wait for the Hitchcock.
Even you know the newspaperwhich you know.
(23:40):
Sometimes it's hard to getcoverage in the newspaper, but
they were like, oh, a Hitchcockfestival.
Even people who aren't regulartheater goers, they hear the
name Hitchcock and they think oh, okay we had people come in for
Spamalot just because they'reMonty Python fans and they came
from far places just to see ourSpamalot production.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
That's really cool.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
So you know, there are certain names that have a
you know kind of a brand thatreally means something to people
, and Hitchcock is one of them.
So I'm really hoping that thisyear's Three on the Edge,
because all three shows are verydifferent.
You know, as I'm sure you'llfind out with you know when you
do the episodes with the others,but Dial M for Murder is much
(24:23):
more of a classic mystery.
And then the 39 Steps is justsilly spoofery.
So that's, and then ours isdefinitely not.
Ours is the much more serious.
Speaker 4 (24:36):
And the collection of talent in these three Very
lucky to be a part of all ofthis, for sure.
Well, be sure to check out thebirds at the 7th Street, 3 and
the Edge Hitchcock Festival.
Thank you, all four of you forjoining me today.
It was a blast.
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Oh, thank you so much .
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Thank you so?
Speaker 4 (24:52):
much, colin.
Thanks for listening to Stepsto the Stage.
And now it's time for theCurtain Call.
Time for the curtain call.
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