Report on “Sylvia” Talkback (Nov 20)

Sylvia heads into its final week – only 4 more chances (including tonight – Wednesday) to catch this charming and very funny show, which closes on Saturday November 26.

Greg (Andrew Batten) tries to persuade Kate (Dinah Watts - left) to let him keep Sylvia (Lea Russell - front). Photo: Bruce Peters.

The enthusiastic audience at last Sunday’s Talkback asked some interesting questions of the cast and director Maria Popoff,  which were fielded by producer Ramona Baillie.  Here are some excerpts.

Q:           Was there a reason why the dog Sylvia becomes more human-like in the second act?

A (director Maria Popoff):  It’s the way the play was written.  Sylvia becomes more part of the family…

A  (actor Lea Russell, who played Sylvia):   I noticed that the rhythm of Sylvia’s speech changed drastically in the second half of the play.  She’s less frantic and her thoughts are clearer.

Q:           I found the ending unrealistic – the author obviously wanted to have a happy ending, but it didn’t seem believable that Kate would have such a transformation.

A (actor Dinah Watts, who played Kate):  I actually agree.  I think Kate would have gone to England and stayed!

A (actor Lea Russell, who played Sylvia):   It’s kind of a nod to Shakespeare (which Kate quotes throughout the play) – the happy ending as an epilogue, wrapping everything up.

Q:           Kate makes a smart decision, and it saves her marriage, but to be believable, there should have been hints earlier in the play.

A  (director Maria Popoff):  A pet brings people together.  They start talking to each other more.  As the therapist Leslie says to Greg, maybe Kate is talking to him through the dog.

Q:           How did Lea play such a believable dog?

A  (actor Lea Russell):  When I first came to rehearsal, I just tried to go with my first instinct, and acted like I thought a dog would – just “animal”.  But I discovered it was too feline!  We had a fabulous movement coach, Jennifer Jones, who came twice to rehearsal and helped me build a small vocabulary of movements.  I also observed a lot of dogs in a park near my house, and Maria’s dog Sadie who came to rehearsal.

Q:           I enjoyed the scene where Sylvia reacts to the cat.

A (actors Dinah Watts, who played Kate, and Kay Montgomery, who played Phyllis):  It’s our favourite too!

Q:           Why the androgynous marriage therapist?

A (director Maria Popoff):  The playwright was very specific in the script about the gender ambiguity of the character.  I just tried to stick with what he set out, and find the truthfulness in it.

A (actor Mary Joseph, who played Leslie):  But the unitard, the watch and the glasses were all Maria’s idea!

Maria noted that in the script, the characters of Leslie, Phyllis and Tom (played by Douglas Tindal – the dog owner who befriends Greg, played by Andrew Batten) are intended to be played by the same actor.  She got permission from playwright A.R. Gurney to cast three different actors in those roles.

Q;           Has this play changed anyone’s mind about dog ownership?

A (actor Dinah Watts):  I’m a cat person; never liked dogs.  But after doing this play, I’m reconsidering!

Maria admitted that the lovely part-Lab in the photo seen at the end of the show is her own dog, 11-year old Sadie.  She came to rehearsal a few times, so the cast could observe and play with her.  She is credited in the program as “Canine Coach”!

Seven people from a MeetUp group called Thumbs Up Theatre came to see the show, and some posted comments on their site:

 It was fantastic. Well written, directed and performed. Lea Russell who plays Sylvia stole the show, but the whole cast was wonderful. Bravo!!!

I was pleasantly surprised at how funny this play was!! It was a cleverly written script and thought the acting was superb. The dog Sylvia was particularly entertaining.

A lot of fun. Well worth seeing.

It is indeed!

Another “Sylvia” interview: Douglas and Kay’s backstage stories

I asked the cast how the show’s been going so far – four performances in.  Kay Montgomery (Phyllis) reports happily that  “A couple of lovely ladies came opening night, and enjoyed it so much that they came back for the Sunday matinee!”

Love to hear stuff like that.

Phyllis (Kay Montgomery - right) gives Kate (Dinah Watts) some strong advice. Photo: Bruce Peters.

Kay also mentioned that she suspects one of Alumnae Theatre’s resident ghosts of hiding her earrings.  Hmm – I know at least one of them enjoys flickering lights and moving furniture, so wouldn’t be at all surprised…  If you’re new to this blog, and want to read about some ghostly encounters at the theatre, check out :

http://alumnaetheatre.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/more-spooky-times-the-queens/

http://alumnaetheatre.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/new-ideas-soledad-castcrew-ghost-experience/

And now, enjoy some Q & A with a couple of the very real “Sylvia” cast!

Q :        Do you, or the cast as a whole, have any pre-show rituals?

DOUGLAS TINDAL (Tom):   Can I tattle?  Dinah [Watts] and Andy [Andrew Batten] do a silly walk.  Mary K [stage manager Mary Keenan] counts us down and then throws the “places” to Steph [ASM Stephanie Souille].  Gerry [lighting operator Gerald Croteau] appears from somewhere at about 15 minutes to and stands in the doorway for a bit.  Kay [Montgomery] sets out her lunch for intermission.  Lea [Russell] does great stretching.  Mary J [Mary Joseph] gets half suited, like a track star at the end of the race.  I sit in the corner, and Dinah and Kay tell me to stop singing.

KAY MONTGOMERY (Phyllis):  Fortunately, I’m only in Act I, so I can start relaxing sooner and have my first glass of wine for the day.  The next big hurdle is not to get too relaxed and miss my curtain call….

Q:         Any funny anecdotes about stuff that’s happened onstage or in the dressing room?

DOUGLAS TINDAL (Tom):  The dressing room is a very bubbly place. Of the dressing rooms I’ve known, this is the bubbliest.

KAY MONTGOMERY (Phyllis):  I am suffering from the ‘Missing ear-ring’ syndrome, one at a time, one personal one and one costume one.  We do have a ghost at the Alumnae Theatre, and I’m blaming him, especially since my costume ear-ring showed up at home!

Q:         If you don’t already have a pet, has this show inspired you to adopt one?

DOUGLAS TINDAL (Tom):  No no no no no no no. Nope. Uh-uh. No.

KAY MONTGOMERY (Phyllis):   Never owned a pet, but I’m definitely in line to adopt Lea!

Q:         Would you prefer a full house of quiet people, or a small but loudly appreciative audience?

DOUGLAS TINDAL (Tom):  Wednesday’s audience was the latter:  small but very engaged and appreciative. They were the best so far.

KAY MONTGOMERY (Phyllis):  Definitely the latter.

** BONUS QUESTION (and you should stop reading **NOW **if you don’t want to be spoiled):

Who is that lovely dog in the photo at the end of the show?

KAY MONTGOMERY (Phyllis):  It’s a female named Sadie, and she’s owned by a member of the company.  (Guess who!)

Bringing “Sylvia” to life

So what’s it like to play a dog?  Here’s fearless actor (and cat person) Lea Russell on finding her inner canine for A.R. Gurney’s hit comedy…

Lea Russell and two of her "babies" - Wally on the left and Henry on the right.

Q:        Do you have a dance or movement background or training?

A:        I graduated from Humber’s Theatre Performance Program, which is a predominantly Physical Theatre-based training program. However, we studied a wide range of classical and contemporary theory. Humber gave me the unique opportunity to study many forms of movement and dance with some of the best instructors in the business, including Catherine Marrion, Pam Johnson, Kelly McEvenue, Florence MacGregor, Heidi Strauss (Ballet/Modern Dance), Sharon Moore (Modern Dance), Patrick Parson (African Dance), Kelly Arnsby (Historical Dance).

Q:        What made you want to audition for this role?

A:        Actually, I was just looking at the Alumnae Theatre website and read the posting.  I think I had missed the submission deadline but Ramona’s [producer Ramona Baillie] contact info was there so I called and she gave me an audition. The rest is history.

Q:        What has been the most fun about playing a dog?

A:        The most fun part about playing a dog, as an actor anyway, are her animal intentions. Actually they are more like instincts than intentions: “Food, shelter, sex” – Gurney says it himself. I love that Sylvia can be in the depths of despair and bounce back a few seconds later, thanks to a treat or a pat.

Q:        What parameters or guidance did Maria give you as to how “doggy” she wanted Sylvia to be?

A:        Maria Popoff is one of those directors that actors love to work with. She will let you try anything and everything in rehearsals. Sometimes she will take an actor’s proposal and expand on it, or help us steer a scene in another direction. We tried the whole play as a literal “doggy” dog. Then we rehearsed the scenes again, keeping the physicality more pedestrian by putting the doggy feeling inside. This really helped us find “The Other” that Gurney talks about several times in the play. If you follow the clues in the script you will find that the “Other” is not a dog if it were a human, or a human if it were a dog, but both at the same time.  Confused yet? Come to the show and we will explain it to you!

Q:        Have you been observing real dogs during this process?

A:        There is a dog park right across the street from my place and I creep on the dogs all the time.

Q:        Have you spent a lot of time with [movement coach] Jen Jones?

A:        Jen and I have spent two amazing days together in rehearsals. She is fantastic.  She came in and was like, “Oh, a dog looks like this…” The entire cast and crew would be standing around in awe of her dog-likeness.  Jen was also brilliant at “going into heat” – her pelvic mobility is outstanding!

Q:        A funny stories from rehearsal?

A:        Well, I must say we all have a great time during the scene where Sylvia meets Phyllis (Kay Montgomery) and her crotch.  Kay and I are polar opposites, she is a Zen master and I am a bull in a china shop. Sometimes Sylvia’s energy would get the best of me and I would charge Kay when she wasn’t ready. Once she got scared as I was coming for her crotch and put her hands out to protect herself. I dove in and stuck myself in the eye with one of her fingers. Poor Kay felt terrible but it served me right, after that I was definitely more careful.

Blogger’s note:  the scene in which Sylvia meets Phyllis (and her crotch) was the first one I saw in rehearsal – see post titled “Sylvia says hello“.  It is absolutely hysterical.  Can’t wait to see the whole show put together!