Today was closing day of "Well" by Lisa Kron at Vermont Stage in Burlington. The day I kind of dreaded because it's been such a great ride - and now it's back to NY madness and readings and auditions and blah blah blah...
This play was performed by an amazaing group of people from New York, Baltimore, California, New Jersey and Missouri - who came together to make this complicated but so deeply evocative play, no wait, "exploration," happen in Vermont.
Though it was a privilidge to do this pretty darn complicated play, it was always a bit of a nightmare for Dale "Ann Kron" and me to go onstage every night and matinee. It's pretty dense stuff and we're talking directly to the audience. Dale, not so much, (and she thinks I'm insane that I can say after the show, "Oh, you know that woman in the third row with the teal mock turtleneck who looked like a student but seemed pretty upset when we did that scene about the use of the term "black boy".." I can tell you what people had for breakfast in every audience.) So we were kind of worried about lines and what would happen with an intimate audience of 130 so close to us. We just didn't feel ready.
Three weeks isn't enough time to rehearse this one-act. I know that may sound nuts, but trust me. This is a flippin dense play. The artistic director would actually tell the audience while alerting them to silence their cells, to purchase the script afterwards because they just might want to give it a read after what they were about to see.
Maybe it's because of the heinous reality of money granted to regional theatres that there are only three weeks of rehearsal time - but in one hour and 45 minutes this is a jam packed piece of theatre. With a honkin huge amount of monolugues and exposition and MEMORIES... so you have to really be able to present that stuff to make this incredible story work.
But today, "closing day," was wild. When "Mom" asks if anyone wants a drink, after I've instructed everyone that "OKAY PEOPLY, NO DRINKS, OKAY? WE'RE NOT GOING TO COMPLICATE THIS THING WITH DRINKS." (And for 3 weeks, the audience has always complied.) A 50-something year old asked for a Burbon. Dale "Mom" responded, "Wish I could help you with that!" About 20 minutes later, same woman decided to cross the intimate 3/4 thrust white muslin-floor stage to head to the "head" (while I'm talking and Lord, honestly, when am I not talking in this play!!)... let it go.
Found out after the show she was a four time cancer survivor. Ya know??
The people here are fantastic, kind, multi-talented...some had done the New York thing, but left it for balance. They deeply inspire me.
I was a celebrity here. And that just cracked me up. But moreso, I got the memo about balance in one's life. And I realized New York is so not the beacon for theatre - you can do it anywhere and have possibly a more creative, exciting experience in a place that actually takes risks, respects and wraps you in it's arms for your contribution of heart, soul and humanity - which is kinda why I got into the game in the first place 30 years ago...
Thanks for listening. Back in the Apple Largo manana. May all your dreams explode into reality!
Lisa Barnes
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