University of Virginia Library

Magic Behind The Curtain Line

By CHARLES JANOFF

Pow- A petite 5'2" Blonde
hip-flips her 6 - foot tall
husband.

Zap–people get batted
about with a club looking very
much like a stone-age marriage
counselor.

Smack–two hired hands
administer a sound thrashing to
a scurvy knave.

And at the end, love and
right triumph to the applause
of hundreds of young people.

What can it be? Have the
Three Stooges begun to play in
Days of Our Lives ? Has
Batman returned?

No, it's really nine funny
characters created by the
master of French farce,
Moliere, and nine energetic
actors from among our own
Virginia Players.

Now, you may ask, when
have the players gone in for
slapstick recently? The first
major productions of the year,
Volpone, A Streetcar Named
Desire and A Cry of Players are
certainly not farcical romps.

Well, for the second year in
a row, the Players, along with
the Community Children's
Theatre in Albemarle County
and Charlottesville, are
producing and performing an
abbreviated version of a
famous playwright's work to
be shown in schools from
Roanoke to Richmond. Last
year, they presented a work by
the world's most produced
playwright–Shakespeare
(Taming of the Shrew). This
year, the second-most
produced playwright Moliere
gives them A Doctor In Spite
of Himself, the story of a
crafty woodcutter whose quick
wits and tough hide enable him
to survive some rather unusual
situations.

Graduate drama student Ed
Steele,for the second year,
directs and coordinates the
Players traveling
extravaganza.

"The idea is to get students
interested in varied theater artists
and styles," says Steele. "With
the slapstick humor, the
students can associate what
they see on T.V., such as
Rowan and Martin or the
Three Stooges, with what goes
on in the theater. In this way,
they can be better introduced
to the theater as an
enjoyable experience. The play
and production are geared to
the particular audience, and
change, depending if they are
Junior High, Senior High, or
grade school youngsters."

The versatility of the
production concepts are
developed in the staging itself.

The set, designed by Tom
Bunch, uses periakoti
(triangular revolving set pieces)
for the three setting, and the
set is capable of filling up a
stage from ten to twenty feet
across. Likewise, the lighting
by Lee Hausmann is capable of
quick adjustment to the
claying conditions at each
house. The set is capable of
dismantling in 30 minutes and
stores in a space of 15 square
feet in the back of the Players'
travel bus.

As in directing and
designing, the performers find
the type of broad physical
action demanded in the
slapstick world of Doctor a bit
different from their usual fare-Carol
Hurlburt, who has
played such roles as Stella in
Streetcar, finds the Cockney
servant she plays much
different. "It's harder to pick
up the slapstick, and there are
different considerations that
must be taken into account as
far as the audience is
concerned. The kids are really
receptive to it."

Claudia Haynes, the
shrewish wife of the "Doctor"
puts it this way: "This kind of
production is totally different
from a production we might do
at Minor Hall. The slapstick is a
special problem which needs
continuous work. The
audiences are unpredictable, so
each performance is an
experience; you've really got to
keep the energy up It takes a
while to get comfortable, but
once you do, it's great.

"One of the best things
about the program is talking to
the kids afterwards - they
enjoy it, and see that the
theater is fun, besides being
educational."

The rest of the cast echo
the same sentiments. Tony
Gilbert, who plays the much
beaten Doctor, Mark Hattan as
the lovesick Leandre, Claudia
Lacy as the melancholy
daughter, David Cupp as the
father, and Pat David as the
maid's jealous husband all have
to work within the broad
physical style of humor - and
all seem to enjoy it.

The Community Children's
Theatre sees the Player's tour
as the fruition of a long period
of work to get young people
interested in the theater.
Charlottesville city schools
have been allocated a certain
amount of money to support
theatrical programs in the
schools. The C.C.T. provides
study material about the play
to acquaint the students with
the play beforehand.

Beyond this, though, is the
enjoyment that they kids get
out of the show. They see how
the set is constructed, have the
opportunity to go backstage to
see how the equipment is
operated, find out why falling
and getting hit with a slapstick
doesn't hurt - in general, seeing
the magic that occurs behind
the curtain line.

For too long, theater in the
United States has been the
domain of the few - the
patrons of the Broadway hits.
Hopefully, the introduction of
theater to young people
through programs like the
Players tour will help to
change this. And besides, it's
fun.