MIRANDOLINA - HPT- Photos

 Alas, as seems to be my custom, I have no actual photographs of this production. these frame grabs from the very short video-taped excerpts are all I can offer as proof of this very creatively staged classic:

 Working outdoors posed challanges. Some nights were still and quiet. the chirping of the crickets seemed to add an ambiance to the play...On other nights, the wind would channel down the hill and blow straight past us and down to the lake behind. On those evenings, Nothing we actors said traveled very far in front of us...in the direction of the audience! Very Challenging Theatre!!

 LISSA ROGERS as Mirandolina, with DICK HARRIS, JAMES MAYNARD, JOHN MURPHY...

 and...PETE TAMEZ, seen below. LISSA & PETE had starred together in THE BILLY CLUB PUPPETS five years earlier on this same stage. DICK HARRIS would perform with THE HIP POCKET for another 30 years until his passing.

Working with DICK was always interesting. I remember that JOHN MURPHY and I really rehearsed our parts to make a maximum effect on the audience...but we both paled next to the natural effort of Mr. Harris...he stole the show, and not for the first or last time.

MIRANDOLINA - HPT - Lost Sketch

I discovered this lost sketch...I had completely forgotten about it..and only uncovered it recently as I was preparing some of my work to be sent to the archives of the HIP POCKET THEATRE.

This isn't an actual Design, or even an Elevation for set constuction. I must have made it  for myself as an Idea for possible use of the space for this particular play. It does pretty closely resemble the final set as constructed from borrowed and found objects.

After  UNDERNEATH THE TOP DOWN finished it's run ( we typically ran 12 performances of each show...Friday, Saturday & Sunday evenings...Sunday Night was Two For One!...for four weeks) RICHARD HILL and  I  had  ONE WEEK ( I still can't believe we pulled this off!) to re-align and re-light the space for the next show. The following Friday, after a typically Disasterous Thursday Night Dress Rehearsal...we  Opened the next show... come Hell or High Water ( not out of the realm of possibility out at OAKE ACRES ...see earlier posts).

This particular week..the early part of September, 1984  Richard and I did something pretty amazing together... the platforms you see drawn above at both stage left and stage right, with their regular and irregular steps, had been in existance out at Oak Acres since our first show there, THE BILLY CLUB PUPPETS  in 1979. We built the central platform which joined the two sides of the stage... just the two of us... during that off week. It was not built for MIRANDOLINA, but for ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN which was to follow in October. The area in the center was built to house a Revolving Wall, central to the plot of that show, and for which we would need to be able to rehearse during the run of MIRANDOLINA. For this show we used the upper platform as the "Suite" in the Inn which  DICK HARRIS  occupied, and staged some props and a fake door on the wall underneath, which with very little effort could be made to turn 360 degrees ( Completely thanks to Richard's Talent!)

RICHARD HILL passed away two years ago. He and I had been Friends and Theatrical Co-Workers for over a decade, both at CASA MANANA and at HIP POCKET THEATRE. Our relationship was not always easy, but I know that we both respected each other's talents...and I think about him...and miss him every day.... It is telling, I believe that when I found and unfolded this musty old pencil sketch...I immediately thought of Him.

MIRANDOLINA, The Mistress of the Inn - HPT - 1984

 And now...back to  THE HIP POCKET THEATRE  and our 1984 production of CARLO GOLDINI's  1753 play  THE MISTRESS OF THE INN.

( seen above are  JOHN MURPHY, DICK HARRIS  &  JAMES MAYNARD in a publicity photo by MICHAEL BODYCOMB)

We veared wildly about in that outdoor summer season, THE HEAD, HANDS & TOE SHOW, a mime review by JOHNNY SIMONS opened the season. This was followed by the first stage adaptation of  THE MALTESE FALCON,  which was also my own return to the Theatre playing the role of Joel Cairo.

 Then the Scottish play  UNDERNEATH THE TOP DOWN,  which I have posted about earlier...and after that this classical comedy of manners...

...and after that the season ending production, my own adaptation of the film ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN!

I ask you, Where on Earth could you go to see a theatrical season like that? THE HIP POCKET THEATRE, that is Where...and now almost 40 years on they are Still producing landmark seasons out under the Texas Summer skies. I'm so proud to have once been a part of that tradition.

 Just a bit of a footnote about the GOLDONI play:

 It is considered the first theatrical work since SHAKESPEARE  to deal honestly with the relations between the sexes. No less than  CONSTANTIN STANSLAVSKI,  the Russian Founder of the School of Modern Acting, staged the play in te first season of the MOSCOW ART THEATRE ( famous for promoting the new works of that youngster  ANTON CHEKHOV)  in 1989, with he himself playing the leading role...(seen above in a photo from the second revival in 1914)

...Even earlier than this, the Italian actress ELENORA DUSE, whose career predated Sarah Bernhart in the early 1800's, had assayed the role.

She even performed in the play before the then young Queen Victoria on an English Tour ( as pictured above in one of the earliest known photographs of a stage actress).

I wasn't going to post anything about this show, since I didn't have any material...or so I thought...

Once again the turning of the dusty old files hase uncovered a rendering which even I had forgotten about....

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT - Final

 Here is a shot of Ann-Marie Rogers, Randy Jones and Stan Graham. Randy and Stan actually Looked like brothers which greatly enhanced their scenes together. ( I had played the brother's role in the CASA MANANA PLAYHOUSE production a decade earlier in Fort Worth).

This plan for the Jail House "accessories" is more important than it looks. The two cots were stationary and simple enough, but the Locker unit had to serve several purposes during the play. Aside from it's utilitarian use, it also was employed as a Coffin at one point and as the Boat which Thoreau and his brother take out onto Walden Pond on their last day together. As you can see, this simple prop had to be built very carefully and sturdily so that it could stand up to the many uses it served.

This was an important design assignment for me. I had proved that I could produce both costumes and settings for experimental plays and Main Stage works, and this play cemented my position. I was the  Designer for all the Wichita Community Theatre productions for the next three Seasons.

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL _ WCT _ Stage Left

At Stage Left was a unit depicting the Front Porch of the female lead character of Ellen played here by Ann-Marie Rogers. This character was used by the playwrights as a sort of go-between for Thoreau and his ill-fated brother John.

 I took my design quite literally from a WPA mapping project of Early American homes from this period which I found in the Wichita Public Library.

The bench on which Stan Graham is seated was also literally "begged" off someone's front porch by MARY JANE TEALL. She just went up and talked the owners into letting us use it for two weeks, probably in exchange for free tickets!

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT - Stage Right

Here is the plan for the stage Right Podium or Pulpit unit. This could swivel around to represent a window seat in Emerson's house or the Sunday Podium from which he delivered his sermons.

MARY JANE TEALL knew Everyone in Wichita and could borrow just about anything for one of our shows back then. The desk and chair seen here belonged to one of the board members as I  recall. I was lucky in that I never had to worry about appropriate set dressings because of her tremendous talent for smoozing people. I should also say that I had tremendous respect for her talent as a Director as well. I learned a great deal from her, all of it good..

(the actors seen here are: Al Bryniarski  as  Emerson,  Misty Maynard  as  Mrs. Emerson,  and  Stan Graham as Thoreau.)

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT _ Groundplans

 The Theatres at Century II were designed by an Achitect, not a Theatrical Designer. Tne end result is a beautiful auditorium with an impressive stage space...which turns out to be largely unusable!

This working drawing of the groundplan for THOREAU illustrates this problem perfectly. The angled lines represent the far left and right sightlines of the auditorium. The raked platform at center is actually aligned along the true front edge of the procenium of the theatre. The area with curved front edge is the elevator Orchestra Pit which could be raised to stage height when needed. In order to present this show with the widest angle of audience vision, I was forced to move the set forward into the auditorium.

After much experimentation on the drawing board, I settled on the final groundplan below. It is imperative that the Designer furnish the Director with a workable groundplan for any set design.

Once the actors have been rehearsed, they must be able to maneuver around the finished set with only the usual minor adjustments in levels and lighting. And...most importantly, the Audience must be able to see all the action of the play from whatever seat they find themselves in!

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT - Central Platform

The stage was divided into three main acting areas of which this central raked platform saw the most activity. If you wish to make an impression upon your audience in a steeply set auditorium, use a raked ( slanted downstage ) platform. The rake (6 degrees is generally considered sufficient) seems to "project" the actors out toward the audience in some mystical way known only to the ancient ones.

The upper part of the platform represented the Jail in which Thoreau spent his night. From there began the spiraling painted pattern which continued down onto the groundcloth and up by means of scenic projection onto the cyclorama which hung behind the main stage.
 As Thoreau ventured beyond his "Cell" the flashback action of the play followed this spiral path which led to the acting areas downstage, and at the right and left of the stage. In other words, as the actor walked and talked, he was confronted with scenes from his past along this spiraling watery way.

( The actors seen here are:  Stan Graham  as  Thoreau,  Randall Parker  as  Bailey,  and Stan Foster  as Sam.  Stan was also our theatre carpenter. I don't think there was anything he couldn't build. When I showed him how to make realistic looking bamboo columns out of carpet tubes and canvas for MY THREE ANGELS, he and I were mates for life. I can't tell you how many times in the years after this that I would have killed to have him working with me again.)

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT - Groundcloth

As I mentioned in the previous post a full stage groundcloth was employed for the stage covering of the set for THOREAU.

I had three ways of creating the stage floor for any production in the Little Theatre at Century II ( Now the Mary Jane Teall Theatre in honor of our Director then). This large heavy canvas, which was about  20' by 35'  or so could be painted in any way needed for a "Soft" underlayment ( Grass, Dirt, etc.), and here was meticulously laid out in a spiraling pattern suggesting the famous Walden Pond where Thoreau found his identity.

I also employed at times about 30 sheets of cheap paneling. Laid together right side up and secured to the bare stage, these could replicate a reasonable facimile of a wood floor. Turned over with their bare masonite backs faced up, they could be painted to resemble a tiled floor, or any other hard surfaced underlayment.

 Since the seating pitch in the Little Theatre was so steep, the design of the stage floor always had to be considered as a part of any show's design and added a considerable amount of time to the overall work involved in creating the setting.

My work with the FORT WORTH COMMUNITY THEATRE in the 1970's, which performed in a similarly steeply raked auditorium helped me to be prepared for this eventuality.

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - WCT - Article

 The newspaper article above appeared the week THOREAU opened at Century II in Wichita. It contains the usual amount of fanciful reporting which I had already become used to and would experience again during my career. While it was true that WICHITA COMMUNITY THEATRE typically employed what is refered to as a "Box Set" for it's productions ( usually a room with 3 walls and standard furnishings fairly realistically represented ) there was nothing even remotely revolutionary about the minimalist approach I employed for this play. In fact the authors JEROME LAWRENCE and ROBERT E. LEE called for a simple and uncomplicated staging with only needed props employed.

What I am actually painting in the photo above is a 20" X 30" piece of clear plexiglass using the brown paper template shown here. Using stained glass paints for tinting the plex, I created what amounted to a large slide which could be inserted in a lightbox. This would "project" the image of a tranquil pond onto the cyclorama which backed the stage setting. Combined with the painted groundcloth, an illusion of the famous Walden Pond was created over the entire stage at key moments during the play.

THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL - Wichita Community Theatre 1981

Following the recent production of Wichita Community Theatre's  INHERIT THE WIND ( which I believe was Very Imaginatively staged) I was reminded of the two Lawrence & Lee plays I staged during my time as Designer for that company.

In 1981 we produced  THE NIGHT THOREAU SPENT IN JAIL on the Main Stage at Century II. I always thought it would have been better presented in the more intimate setting at the Workshop, but I designed the best production I could in the larger venue. This is also, to my surprise, the most completely documented production of mine that I have discovered so far.

I have a special love for this play, as I had my first adult role in it in 1973 at the Casa Manana Playhouse in Fort Worth, Texas. I played Thoreau's brother in an extended production which we presented once a week to bused in Junior High and High School audiences for several months.

Over the next few posts I will share photos and renderings of the WCT production which I Designed, Directed by the legendary Mary Jane Teall and Brilliantly Lighted  by Michael Hostetler, and which haven't been seen publically in over 30 years.

( Stan Graham  as  Thoreau  with the Company)

Some Other PUPPETS on the HPT Stage

 These TIGER puppets I designed and built in Wichita, Kansas in 1976. They were made for the original production of  IN WATERMELON SUGAR at the HIP POCKET THEATRE'S first home at Grissom & Friends compound on HWY 80. A decade later when we revived the show at Oak Acres I was finally able to perform with them myself...here in this publicity photo with JEFF FARRELL.

And here are THE SNOIDS! From the most famous ( or Infamous!) HPT show R.CRUMB COMIX.

I remember the first time I met Robert Crumb. I was sitting in the middle of the floor in the workshop behind Johnny & Diane Simons house on Fairmount Street in Fort Worth...surrounded by scraps of foam rubber and hot glue...constructing these very puppets based on Crumb's illustrations in the underground comics he was famous for. I looked up and there stood the Man himself, looking down at me quizically. To say it was a surreal moment is an understatement!

Crumb had seen his work animated before ( disasterously so) but I don't believe even He could ever have invisioned these demonic little creatures as Puppets...and What Puppets they Were!

KENNY WEBER and I operated them during performance. They had movable mouths and eyes, articulated arms and legs...and they were Anitomically Correct...if not Politically so.

If you have no knowledge of R. Crumb or his "Snoids" I suggest you Google him and find out. This production was not just a success it was a HUGE Success in 1985 and gained us national media coverage for the first time. Sharing the stage above are HOLLY NELSON and JOHN MURPHY, who played Mr. Crumb with uncanny similarity.

Check out the video of this show at http://www.youtube.com/user/HipPocketMemories

UNDERNEATH THE TOP DOWN (The Scotland Show) HPT 1984

After the HIP POCKET THEATRE made their trip to Scotland to perform at the Edinburgh fringe festival, JOHNNY SIMONS wrote this delightful little fantasy play with music in which our local legend THE LAKE WORTH MONSTER is introduced to Scotland's LOCH NESS MONSTER. Nessie turns out to be just a wee little monster and was represented in the show by the puppet which I designed and made ( and ended up operating as well!Here with LAKE SIMONS).

The Real Loch Ness Monster also made an appearance as Dessie, Nessie's Mother. We used the Brontosaurous left over from KING KONG in 1981 with some green sparkles and lighting for this.

I also operated the rather large Scotish gentleman seen above and the other puppets were redressed from THE BILLY CLUB PUPPETS in 1979 ( in fact the Scotsman's head was made for the Laughing Sailor figure in my production of SLEUTH at the WICHITA COMMUNITY THEATRE two years earlier, so we really were Recycling things!).

We had just done THE MALTESE FALCON out at Oak Acres...all in Black & White with an all black stage...very Noir...so the audience was shocked at the rollicking overabundance of Plaid and the stage repainted in every vibrant color of the universe for this show!