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February 14, 2003
Tin
Can People Makes Debut
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Photo:
Fred LeBlanc
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During
January Term, a company of fourteen cast and crewmembers formed
a theater cooperative, working twelve-hour days to produce The
Tin Can People. Presented by the Mount Holyoke College Department
of Theatre Arts and directed by Joyce Devlin, professor of theatre
arts, the play by Edward Bond is set in the aftermath of a nuclear
holocaust as seven people struggle to survive. Devlin, along with
assistant director Jean Dixon FP and cast members Elizabeth “Biz”
Wells ’06 and UMass student Bill Growney, sat down with
CSJ writer Laura Purdom in the midst of
an intensive month of January Term rehearsals to talk about the
production.
How has the collective process worked?
JOYCE DEVLIN: We do a lot of talking. The actors have much more
input than they would in a normal rehearsal situation. I made
it very clear, though, that if we get into any kind of scuffle,
I’m going to decide. I’ve done some research on theater
collectives, and sometimes they spend a whole week trying to sort
out certain things. We don’t have time for that. On the
other hand, I think this process is wonderful. Last night we were
in rehearsal and I said, ‘I haven’t got an idea. Who’s
got an idea?’ Someone came forward, then another. ‘Ah!
I like that.’ We tried it, it’s great, and we’re
using it.
BIZ WELLS: That’s one of the nice things. Even though Joyce
has the final say, it’s very clear that we have input. Sometimes
it works, and sometimes it fails horribly, but there’s no
problem with actors or designers or stage managers saying, ‘Why
don’t you try it this way?’ When that happens, the
entire scene can change.
BILLGROWNEY: Last night, the chorus was out on stage, and we were
trying to figure how to enter. Joyce said, ‘Somebody throw
me an idea.’ Matt [Warford], who is one of the chorus members,
was like, ‘Why don’t we crawl up from behind the stage?’
Joyce was like, ‘Well, let’s try that.’ And
. . .
JOYCE DEVLIN: It really works. We tried something else first—coming
in slowly from the wings. It was my idea, and it looked terrible.
You know how it is with theater. You can talk about it, but until
you see it, you don’t know.
JEAN DIXON: Everybody has a different idea, and everybody has
something to contribute, which makes the class more interesting.
What made
you decide to try this an intensive J-Term course?
JOYCE DEVLIN:
Students are so busy. They always have something else they have
to do. It’s a real struggle to keep a cast together. And
then, of course, there are illnesses and family things. I thought,
I want to try working twelve or thirteen hours a day with the
same people who have no other obligations. But, it’s a real
test of our stamina.
What is a typical day like?
JEAN DIXON: We start at 9 am with intensive Suzuki training. Then,
10:30 to 12:30 is rehearsal. After lunch, from 1:30 to 4:30, we
divide into crews—costumes, props, lighting—and work
on those areas. And then from around 6:30 to 9:30 pm, another
rehearsal.
How has it been for the cast and crew, working long hours on a
play about such a disturbing topic?
JOYCE DEVLIN: It’s a very tough play. I was concerned about
the cast getting depressed. At first, to prevent this, I was making
up little games at the end of rehearsals—for example, seeing
who can laugh the longest. But I realized we don’t have
to do that. There’s something very uplifting about actually
working on the material even though the material is unsettling.
In a funny way, what’s worse is being out of rehearsal.
BIZ WELLS: Yeah. Oh, yeah—going through everyday life and
relating what you’re doing in rehearsals to it. Rehearsals
are a different world. You’re not yourself. You’re
not just Matt or Bill sitting in your room reading. You’re
Second Man on stage.
JOYCE DEVLIN: The work is difficult, and it’s supposed to
be difficult. It’s out of the difficulty that you perform.
I think that’s why we’re not depressed. The difficulty
is in the text—it’s about psychic numbing, passing
injured people on the street after a nuclear explosion, and not
being able to help them. But when we do this work, we’re
also working in very challenging physical positions. So, even
though what we’re thinking about is depressing, we’re
also thinking, ‘How am I going to keep from falling?’
I think this is diffusing the feelings.
Is there a particular technique on which the physical work is
based?
JOYCE DEVLIN: I’m training this company in the Suzuki technique,
based on the work of the Japanese director Tadaki Suzuki. Every
day at nine o’clock in the morning for an hour and fifteen
minutes we make a lot of noise, we stomp on the floor, we take
odd positions and maintain them for long periods of time. It’s
building a lot of strength and focus and concentration in the
cast. It’s also very creative. We’re all in a high
creative mode.
Performances of The Tin Can People are February 13–15
at 8 pm and February 15 and 16 at 2 pm. Ticket are $5 general
admission, $3 students and seniors. Admission is free to MHC students
on opening night, February 13. All performances take place in
Rooke Theatre. Call the box office at x2406.
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