StageStruck: Crime on Campus

We were featured last week in the Valley Advocate.  Read the full article here.

Photo by Jon Crispin

Quoted from the article: Darren Harned, an MFA candidate in the Smith College playwriting program, says he wrote Some Mother's Son because "I love crime fiction and I wanted to tell one of those sorts of stories, but from a woman's point of view." Though it's not specified in the script, he set it precisely in 1963—on the cusp of history just before the Beatles and Vietnam—because in that era the woman's vantage point "would have been limited and oblique, as most women were stuck in their homes." Much of the play's dialogue has the feel of TV shows of the period, from Perry Mason toAlfred Hitchcock Presents.

The point of view is that of Masha Kvichak (Susanna Apgar), an unhappily married Midwestern housewife whose teenage son appears to have murdered his best friend. Her maternal impulse leads her to destroy incriminating evidence and ultimately to violence. She is, the playwright says, "a mother trying to protect their way of life for her son's sake, while that way of life may be the root of their problems." The cast also includes Masha's husband, her lover, her potential nemesis and two cops—but not her son the suspect, whom we see only through his mother's reckless devotion."

Some Mother's Son on Craigslist

Not sure who posted this, but it was found today on Craigslist and contains some neat quotes from Darren Harned, the playwright.

Smith College Theatre Presents Some Mother’s Son, a Premiere of a New Play by Darren Harned

Ticket Information: www.smith.edu/smitharts and Tel. 413.585.ARTS (2787), or visit facebook.com/smithcollegeperformingarts

Northampton: Was it suicide? Or murder? In the spring of 1963, a high school boy is found drowned in a local lake. An eyewitness accuses the boy’s best friend, a star varsity player named Richie Kvichak, of killing him. As the investigation heats up and the evidence piles up against Richie, his mother Masha (Susanna Apgar) must choose to stand by and hope for the best or to protect her son at all costs–and keep a lid on the secrets and lies that threaten to tear her family apart. Darren Harned is an MFA Playwriting candidate at Smith College and a graduate of Hampshire College. His short play Board of Review was produced as part of Smith College’s One Acts Play Festival in 2010. Another short play, Ephemera, was accepted into the 2007 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival and was performed as part of Smith College’s Festival of One-Act Plays in 2008. He has also been the recipient of two Five College Denis Johnson Playwriting Prizes.

When asked why he set the play in 1963 Harned replied, “Because the mood of that year fit the mood of the play. The rapidly mounting tensions in American society were right there on the surface, but they hadn’t yet boiled over into conflict: the Cuban missile crisis had just happened, we saw the onset of the Civil Rights and Women’s movements, the JFK assassination, the beginning of the Vietnam era…that social backdrop provides the play with a certain thematic weight it wouldn't have had in any other year.” We asked Darren how he conceived of the complex character of Masha and he said, “I had the idea of a mother trying to advocate for her child in wrongheaded ways–she’s trying to protect their way of life for her son’s sake, while that way of life may be the root of their problems. That’s why it’s set in 1963.”

Director Kendra Arimoto has assembled a stellar cast of actors with extensive and varied acting backgrounds: Susanna Apgar (Masha), Emily Brown (Constance North), Johnny Donaldson (Nelson), Hannah Vasconcellos Hastings (Christopher), Rory Alexander Farrell Madden (Officer Partridge), Kevin Maroney (Detective), Alex Techeira (Carl). Visit the play’s Web site for actor and designer biographies, interviews, and behind-the-scenes updates and videos. http://kvichak.blogspot.com/

“For most audiences it is easy to imagine the Monster, while at the same time it is almost impossible to imagine the Monster’s Mother.” To purchase tickets online visit:http://smith.tix.com/Schedule.asp?OrganizationNumber=2720 or call the box office: 413.585.ARTS (2787).

Opening Night!

Join us for opening night! 

Tonight at 8pm in Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre at Smith College.  

For tickets go HERE.  

Don't miss this highly anticipated production!

Susanna Apgar 'AC stars as Masha Kvichak in
Some Mother's Son by Darren Harned and directed by Kendra Arimoto.
(Photo by Jon Crispin).

Watch the trailer!

Spotlight on... Susanna Apgar!

Hello, folks!
Last night was our final dress rehearsal which means... we open tonight! It's been an inspiring, exciting, and fast four weeks of rehearsal. We cannot wait to have an audience.
Want to learn more about the show? Check out the TRAILER.
Already interested? Purchase those tickets HERE!

Despite all the craziness of tech/dress week, we snuck in a chance to chat with leading lady, Susanna Apgar, who stars as "Masha Kvichak" in Some Mother's Son. 

Susanna Apgar ('AC)

Name?  Susanna Apgar

Character?  Masha Kvichak

Why acting?  Because I love it (in an inescapable kind of way), and because I believe theatre can be more than it's become, or than it's thought to have become.

How and why did you get involved with Some Mother's Son?  I was in Andrea Hairston's playwriting class at Smith with Kendra and Darren, and I was fortunate enough to have read this play from its earlier stages.  I loved it.  I was thrilled to learn they'd be producing it here at Smith, with Kendra directing.  I couldn't wait to audition.

What has surprised, inspired, excited, and/or challenged you most throughout the process thus far?  Logistically, balancing rehearsals with school and work has definitely been a bit challenging.  But I can't complain - I love school, I love my job, and this play really is just phenomenal.

Artistically, this character has been an enormously wonderful challenge.  What is she most concerned about?  Her son?  Appearances?  Is she actually a sociopath?  Who exactly does she love, if she even CAN love?  What is she trying to break free from - that which threatens her life as she knows it, or that very life itself?  It might be both, and the question might be how aware she is of precisely that struggle, and its impossibility.  It is a tremendous, tremendous role.

What is your favorite word?
Love

What is your least favorite word?  Should

What turns you on?  Digging toward new ideas, learning and teaching (as a never ending cycle), vulnerability, mistakes, generosity, gratitude.  And love.

What turns you off?  Treating one's opinion as fact.

What sound or noise do you love?  My niece & nephew's voices, baby sneezes, my cat cooing (he almost never meows - he honestly sounds exactly like a dove).  And I must say - when I played Roller Derby, the sound of the home crowd going nuts when I broke out of the pack as the Jammer was just indescribable.  I miss playing a ton.

What sound or noise do you hate?  Angry yelling, especially especially especially at kids.

What is your favorite curse word?  Fuck

In addition to theatre skills, Susanna boasts an
eclectic resume that includes skating
for the Pioneer Valley Roller Derby. 

Susanna knows how to whip it.

What is something you want to do during your life?
Learn.  (I'd especially love to learn to speak Spanish.)

Earliest memory of theatre?  I played a tooth in first grade.  A Second Bicuspid.  I had two lines .... and I messed them up:  I said the second one first.  So i just said the second line again when the time came.  I didn't mind too much - I liked my outfit, and I got to talk in front of the audience.  It didn't matter a whole lot to me what I was saying.

Why is theatre necessary?  Roughly speaking, for the same reason that dogs sniff each other's bums.  We're terribly, terribly interested in ourselves, and in each other (perhaps as other versions of ourselves).  Humans are endlessly interested in other humans, interested in the story, the many stories that make up the one grand story, of being human.

I heard somewhere along the way that after the Plague had wiped out a full third of London, and the theatres were finally allowed to reopen, Shakespeare opened not with a comedy or a triumphant history, but with Romeo and Juliet.  A devastated city could then let their hearts break as they needed to, they could see and hear and feel and know, recognize, the story of these brilliant, beautiful young kids whose lives were blooming spectacularly as they shone with love and humor and folly and gorgeous humanity .... until everything went utterly out of their own control, and they did not survive.

There is something in theatre being collective and public.  I think theatre has always been and remains one of the safe-houses for something primal, something indescribable and necessary, a vital brand of communication that we ironically have no word for.

* * * * *

Susanna Apgar (Masha) is an actor, writer and director.  She trained with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA, and studied with Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles.  Past shows include Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Lysistrata, The Celebration, and The 24-Hour Theatre Project.  She also skated and coached for Pioneer Valley Roller Derby in Northampton, MA for several years.  She is attending Smith College as an Ada Comstock Scholar, and lives with her small, naughty cat, Mitch.

Susanna and Mitch.

Spotlight on... Rory Alexander Farrell Madden!

Rory during rehearsals for the 24 Hour Theatre Festival at
Northampton Center for the Arts (2010).

Name: Rory Alexander Farrell Madden

Character: Officer Partridge

Why Acting: I enjoy getting into another person's head and thinking about what motivates them, what their mannerisms are, and how they react on a physical and emotional level in ways different than I do. And of course, this is all more fun since all the other actors are doing the same thing, and we get to play off each other onstage.

There are other perks as well. Acting is a great way to hang out with other creatively minded and interesting people, for example!

I also like that despite the work required an actor, there's a lot that flows naturally once you get cast. For example, unlike forcing myself to write a story or play, which requires a lot of willpower, I basically HAVE to show up for rehearsals and performance. I'd let way too many people down if I didn't. Furthermore, I have TONS of help with my character; the writer literally wrote down all the lines I am going to say, and there's a director there to help me interpret them! Someone chooses what I wear, and I even get an awesome set to play around with. So basically I got plopped down into this creative outlet where everyone, even the other actors, are trying to make my job as easy as enjoyable as possible. It's great!

How and why did you get involved with Some Mother's Son? Kendra emailed me and asked me to join after another actor had to drop out. She wrote a one act at Smith that I performed in, so I was excited to work with her. Plus some other people I'd worked with were involved in the production so I was looking forward to working with them again. Oh, and my character description was something like "A young, sexy policeman." HOT!

Surprises and Such: I'm only in a few scenes so I have found that to be an interesting challenge. It's fun because I can devote all my energy to just those scenes, but it's challenging because I have only a short period of time to establish a character and make an impression. In one of the scenes I play primarily a background role, so I enjoy finding opportunities to add to the scene without dominating it.

Favorite Word: Indignant. A friend of mine made me a shirt that reads "Morally Indignant" on the front and "And Okay with it!" on the back, and I wear it proudly because it's one of the qualities about myself that I admire!

Least Favorite Word: Oh, one of the many standard words that shouldn't have been created in the first place because they are demeaning to whole groups of people.

What Turns Me On: Gosh, I forget what other people said, but I assume this isn't supposed to be overtly sexual... Intelligence, wit, charm, atheists, logic, whimsy, forwardness, polite honesty, compassion.

What Turns Me Off: Cruelty, irrationality, passivity.

Sound that I love: Cool science fiction sounds like lasers firing, explosions, whooshes, that sort of thing.

Sound that I hate: I am not fond of the classic nails across a chalkboard thing.

Favorite Curse Word: Clowntarded. It's so ridiculous that I like to think that makes up for it being derogatory. Also, favorite curse phrase is "Go fuck a duck".

Life Goal: I think I'd like to design and publish a roleplaying game I'd really enjoy playing.

Earliest Memory of Theatre: Huh, I really don't remember. Maybe a "Punch in Judy" show when I was in England and four years old, though those all tend to mush together. My mother is a theatre professor so I've been watching her plays and plays in general since a very young age.

Why is Theatre Necessary? Not a super easy question, but I think it has some notable advantages over other mediums. For one, you have a direct connection with the audience; you are aware they are watching you, can react to their reactions, etc. Plus, theres the whole fetish angle; it arguably feels more "real" or important than watching a television show or a movie. That also has a perk that people are probably going to be in a different state of mind and more invested in what they are watching so you can push them a little harder than you might otherwise be able to. There's less of a forced focus; the audience is free to choose to some degree who and what they pay attention to which adds an extra dimension to things. You can also play around more with stripping away the pretense of reality you often find in film or television; you can tell a story and show how you are telling the story by exposing the set pieces, using simple or representational costumes, and creatively casting actors of different genders, ages, races, etc to make fun points!

Rory in a skintight suit for the opening scene of
Big Love at Smith College (2008).

Spotlight on... Alex Teicheira!

Name: Alex Teicheira

Character: Carl Kvichak

Why acting?

This is all I can see me doing with my life, until I'm 93, on my way to a rehearsal in New York, when I slip on some wet pavement and die from impact on my now brittle bones.  

How/why did you get involved with Some Mother's Son?

My GF lives in the same house as the director Kendra Arimoto, and we were all talking in the kitchen together over cooking and washing dishes, when it became clear we could help each other.  I wanted to act, she needed men to audition that very night, and so it began...

What has surprised you about the process?

I was surprised to find so many talented people from so many backgrounds and experiences in such close proximity, either students and alumni from the 5 college system, or members of the community, all together 

Favorite Word:  Kumquat.

Least Favorite Word: e or i-anything (email, eharmony, ipad, ipod, ibook, itunes, etc). Twitter and Facebook rank lowly as well.

What turns you on?  Travel, my girlfriend, and traveling with my girlfriend. 

What turns you off? Belching, social networking sites.

What sound or noise do you love? The sound of a baseball hitting a wooden bat. 

What is you favorite curse word? Joder (Espana)

What is something you want to do during your life?  Be able to afford a fantastic honeymoon and apartment. 

Earliest memory of theatre? My earliest memory of theatre is acting in a school Xmas play when I was 5, and I got to be Santa Claus, replete with beard and hat. 

Why is theatre necessary? Theatre is necessary as a way to celebrate life.  It is a LIVE art form, one that always seems to be threatened by new mediums, yet still finds a way to survive and be vital to society. 

Spotlight on... Kaidi Williams (Costume Designer)!

Today was our final rehearsal before Tech begins on Saturday. One of the many exciting things happen in the next few days is the introduction of costumes. Speaking of costumes, we sat down with Costume Designer Kaidi Williams to learn more about her background and process.

Pictured: Kaidi Williams (Costume Designer for Some Mother's Son) 
showing off her cartridge pleating skills.

Name?
Kaidi Williams

Which designer are you? 
Costumes

Why designing? I have always loved doing crafts, sewing, and designing clothes.  My high-school notebooks were full of sketches in the margins.  I have also always loved theatre.  I grew up attending countless community theatre and high school performances (mostly musicals- which I adore) as well as enrolling in many summer theatre programs.  Designing costumes for theatre is the perfect meld of these two passions of mine.  I find researching clothing so interesting, and then I welcome the challenge of adapting and choosing what each character should wear on stage.  Costumes can beautifully enhance a character by giving the actor a certain feeling in the clothes and by communicating more information to the audience with simply the initial visual.

How and why did you get involved with Some Mother's Son?
As a senior at Smith, I was hoping to be able to design my own show before leaving.  Kiki Smith, Costume Design Professor and my advisor, asked me if I would be interested in working on this new show.  I was very excited to have the chance to design for a period show, and then when I read the script I was intrigued by the actual content.

Describe your design process. (Where do you start? What do you look to for inspiration? 
I begin by looking for images from the time that convey a feeling or direction that I would like to work towards with my designs.  These images may or may not include specific details that I think I want to include for the play.  After talking with the director I start to identify certain clothing elements that I think would be important to include for each character.  Sears and Roebuck catalogues are one of my favourite things to use for 20th century clothing research.  They give me such a good idea of average styles at the time- more so that documentation of high fashion.

What has surprised, inspired, excited, and/or challenged you most throughout the process thus far?
When I began my research I was surprised to learn that the iconic ‘60s styles that we all know, did not come around until much later in the decade.  The first half of the ‘60s is very much still the styles we think of as being ‘50s.  The next big hurdle was the fact that the play takes place all in one day.  This means that the characters would be wearing the same clothing for the entire performance.  It is hard to pick just one ensemble for each character, especially once you watch the actors filling out so many dimensions in rehearsal.  Think about what one outfit you would choose to represent your entire self: personality, interests, job, friends, hobbies, hometown, hopes, dislikes, etc. etc. etc.  In the end I saw Masha trying to rewind her life to the mid ‘50s when her family was happier, so I have given her three outfits to wear over the course of the show as she dresses for dinner and then has to change when that gets dirty.

What are the joys and/or challenges of designing for Hallie Flanagan Studio Theatre?
Hallie is such a wonderful space.  I love that I can use a garment with small detail and the audience will still be able to see the beautiful touches that make so many things, especially in this period, special.  On the flip side, the drawback of Hallie is that you can’t hide anything.  There can’t be any stains or wrinkles because the audience is so close that they will notice everything right away.

How has the decision to set the play in Northampton inspired your designs?
I would say that having a setting of Northampton hasn’t inspired as much as informed my design.  It is very important to know if these people are living in a small town or in Manhattan.  Their surrounds really affect what they would have worn and how “fashionable” they would have been.

Kaidi as "Thomasina" in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia
alongside her brother, Caleb, playing Gus.

What is your favorite color? 
Purple

What is your least favorite color?
Avocado Green

What turns you on?
Sunshine

What turns you off?
Rough itchy fabric

What sound or noise do you love?
Loon call

What sound or noise do you hate? 
Long finger nails scratching pantyhose

What is something you want to do during your life?
One thing I really want to do is to raise and train a service Golden Retriever from a puppy.  I love training dogs, and I think that would be a great way to do that while helping people.

Earliest memory of theatre? 
When I was 4 I went to see “Annie” at the local children’s theatre.  I thought it was the greatest thing.  I wished I could be Annie singing those songs up there.  That really started my intense love for musical theatre.

Why is theatre necessary?
Theatre is necessary for my happiness.  There is nothing else that makes me more happy than coming home with that theatre high.  I get it when I go to watch something that is really well done, and when I am working a show backstage.  Outside of just myself, I think theatre is so important because it allows us to explore other worlds and other people outside of ourselves.  You can watch a story about another time and place in a movie, but you can’t connect to actor and the atmosphere as deeply as you can with live theatre.

Kaidi drinking tea with her boyfriend on top of a tor in the Peak District of England.