Our Town

Has anybody ever done Our Town? I know it's a very commom play. I just got cast as Simon Stimson.

I've been in it twice.
Once as Mrs. Webb, and once as Mrs. Soames.

Simon Stimson is a very intruiging character.
I think that the contrast of Simon to Mrs. Soames is supposed to underscore the main theme of the play.

Simon never found what he was looking for in life, and in death he remains bitter, still not having found the solice he reached for by taking his own life.
Mrs. Soames was drawn to the world of the living and paid heavy attention to the social experiences of those around her, and in death she comes to accept that the world as she knew it is gone.

Mrs. Soames in the only person in town who wants to help Simon, instead of just ignoring his problems, and she is voted down.
Simon, therefore, ends up having to dive further into his music and his drinking, as the town doesn't seem to care whether he behaves that way or not.
His lack of connection with the world is what convinces him to leave it, but in death he is more strongly connected to the world he left behind than many of the others who led happier existances.

Hope that helps.

Congratulations!

---

Hey, FloweryFriend:

How was your stage manager? This seems like a really interesting role, but it seems like if you don't have a really stellar actor in it, it's going to be boring and just talk talk talk. (I haven't seen the show, I've only read it.)
My school is doing it later this year, and my teacher had the awful idea of splitting this role among three people. I got the impression that he was supposed to be sort of a God-figure. What's your take on it? You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about the show.

---

Gypsy Rose Lee:

I have been in two productions, and thus have worked with two Stage Managers. Both of them were female, which is unusual. One of the Stage Managers I worked with was incredibly talented, dynamic, believable, stoic, and all around perfect for the role. The other Stage Manager had trouble remembering the massive amount of lines that went with the part until very late in the rehearsal process. This caused her to be very focused on the words she was saying, as opposed to their meanings. She tried very hard, but she used smiling as a crutch, which did not fit with the character. Ultimately, I think the problem was that she found her own role boring, and thus couldn't commit to it on a level that properly drew in the audience.

The role of the Stage Manager is one that is both immensely intruiging, and wickedly challenging. The actor has to "own" the play. The Stage Manager controls all the action, and therefore must have a very powerful and commanding presence, but has to also have the ability to fade into the background of the scene and lose focus completely at other times. The Stage Manager also takes on other roles within the production, both male and female. This adds to the omnipresent and ethereal nature of the character, but only works properly if the Stage Manager can truly transform into the others that he/she portrays.

Another dimension of the Stage Manager is that the character must be completely stoic. This is seen most especially in Act III. Emily makes several requests of the Stage Manager, looking for comfort, answers, and sympathy. In order for the message of the play to come across properly, the Stage Manager can give her none of that. Not to say that the Stage Manager is cold or cruel... just slightly detached and removed from the situation (almost as the college professor in Act I is when acting as a sort of historian).

It is easy to see why you would describe the Stage Manager as a "God-figure" (indeed, that is often the role that a stage manager takes on in any production... watching over everyone and controlling everything). And perhaps it is the idea of the God-figure that has given your director the idea to split it into three (is your director a Christian, by any chance? I was once in a play in which the God-figure was divided into a Father, a Son, and a Holy Spirit... it was interesting...). I personally think that dividing the role would weaken the strength of the character, as then the power and control would not be held by a single omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being. But I'm not your director. For every production, there is a unique directorial concept, and I'm sure that your director has what he/she thinks is a good reason for dividing the role (even though the reason might just be that the role is a LOT to memorize and breaking it down might remove pressure from a single actor).

Thornton Wilder broke barriers with Our Town by removing the audience's dependence on a set and costumes and forcing them to pay attention to the message of the play. Now, several decades have passed, this play has been performed millions of times, and the once avant garde ideas of the play are now familiar. Perhaps it is only through re-envisioning the play that we can put our audiences in the position of being in a completely new theatrical experience as Wilder intended, and thus maintain the integrity of the piece. So although you and I might not understand where your director is coming from, I would not stand in the way of this.

One of the productions of Our Town I was in was staged as a rehearsal. All the actors came onto stage in street clothes, talking amongst ourselves, drinking bottles of water, doing warmups, etc. Then the 'director' informed us that we were beginning rehearsal, and that we were going to be wearing bits and pieces of costumes that day. Then we began the 'rehearsal'. Our costumes were as 'unfinished' and suggestive as the set. As an 'actor', my costume was dark-wash jeans, a grey long-sleeve shirt, and a black vest. When I became 'Mrs. Soames', I added on a large flowered hat and a bright shawl. In Act III, I covered my costume with a long black robe/cape. It was a very cool effect. After Act III ended and we had 'rehearsed' our curtain call, the 'director' excused us from rehearsal. We all slowly walked off stage, quietly talking amongst ourselves. And the 'actor' who had played Emily stayed on the stage as the rest of us left, as though she had been so moved by the power of her own words that she wasn't ready to leave the stage yet. The lights switched off one at a time, until she was left alone on stage with the ghostlight. It was a pretty powerful image, I thought. She came to a state of peace, and then walked off the stage to rejoin the rest of the cast, thus making the choice to reconnect with humanity. I felt that it was a very powerful ending to the play.

So there you are. Different directors. Different concepts. Great results. Hope that helps.

---

In a scene that Thornton Wilder cut before performances began, Editor Webb and his wife discussed Simon Stimson's problem: his wife ran away with a politician. This embittered Stimson and he took to drink and ultimately suicide.

If you can find a video of the Robby Benson/Hal Holbrook TV version, you'll find that scene re-inserted.

---

Our Town, done incorrectly (which is most of the time) can be the most boring piece of drama. I was in it freshman year (played Wally). It's probably my worst experience on stage.

The last scene always make me cry

I was George Gibbs. Really disliked the character (thought he was extremely flat and uninteresting for my taste--hard to connect with). The show reads extremely well and it's a wonderful piece of literature. However, I really find it uninteresting and very dry when it is played on stage. Nothing ever really happens, and, while there are clearly moving and meaningful moments, the play on a whole isn't exactly the most provocative piece of theatre.