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by Larla Dey Maloney submitted to Princeton University
This fall I performed the role of Stage Manager in the local high school
production of Thornton Wilder's Our Town. Our director didn't cast the role as the traditional lead, white male that most productions use; we cut the role into two female parts of different race. Without the traditional
portrayal to fall back on, we had to create our characters from scratch. The thought crossed my mind a few times that my character didn't really have a name. Certain names remind you of stereotypes, and based on a name
you can make some easy, general choices on how to portray that character. Mindy is a ditz, Christine can easily be a nerd, and Irma can make a nice old maid. That name association gives you a point to start from, after
which you can explore other things. But where on earth do you start with a name like Stage?
I formed an image of a guy wearing dirty overalls, walking barefoot and playing guitar outside his cabin in the woods.
He liked to philosophize about the world, and found that a little Bailey's in his coffee made that world slightly clearer. He didn't need people around and didn't completely understand them -- or maybe he did, and just
got frustrated because they didn't understand themselves. He usually walked with his hands in his pockets, looking either up at the trees or down at the ground, but never focused at eye level. Somewhere in the process I
adopted a feminine perspective on my character, very much a tomboy but also very much a woman.
At two points in the show I took on other roles. . . in Act Two I played the minister at the wedding, which was a
background character and not very distinct. Then, with fairly short notice I took on the role of Joe the undertaker in Act Three. I learned the blocking and the lines quickly, but my problem was that I had to change
into Joe right on-stage, and just after my favorite Stage Manager speech. I decided to use a few simple physical traits to help get into character. First I buttoned my shirt, which in three seconds was the only thing I
could think of to give the audience some clue that I was changing identities. I developed a squint, changed the tone of my voice, and I gave Joe a limp by keeping my left knee locked. I rested my hand on the small of my
back to suggest some pain there. Together with his bible and his concern for the bereaved, Joe made a pretty nice guy.
I think I should also comment about my work backstage. I was on many crews for Our Town:
props, stage, music, and publicity. I was on the lights hanging crew, which meant I got to play with the new lights and hang them and wire them and go home before rehearsal to try and wash the fiberglass out of my arms.
I participated in almost every other aspect as well: props, stage, costumes, music and publicity. Somehow working crews brings me closer to the show and I think it helps my performance -- there's an advantage to hanging
the light that you stand in and putting down the floor you walk on.
This summer I studied at McCarter Theatre, and sometimes I would wander up to the stage when everyone else was gone. The theater stood dark
except for one work light center stage. I would walk down stage and just sit there facing the house. And I would listen, and close my eyes and let all of my own thoughts drift away. There in the dark was everything I
love about the theater. It was as if I could feel the energy of the thousands of people who had been on that stage, who had put their sweat and tears and heart into the theater. All of their energy was lingering there
in the dark, and I felt this mysterious longing to understand and be a part of that greatness. Standing on the Highland Park stage, saying the lines of the opening speech in the third act, looking out through the wall
of light over the audience, I felt that longing again. I felt the meaning of Wilder's text and I recognized the anxiousness with which I performed. I caught the acting bug long ago, but for the first time I feel like I
have earned some small piece of understanding, like I belong there in the theater and have become part of the mystery in the dark. There are no words to accurately convey what that means to me, but I guess one could say
that I figured out where to go with a first name like Stage.
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