WILLIAMSVILLE-Rock River Players' (RRP) production of Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling continues this weekend at the Williamsville Hall. Based on Harling's experience with his own sister's death, the 1987 play is about the bond among a group of Southern women in northwest Louisiana.
The all-woman cast includes four players new to the RRP: Susan Boyd Joyce, formerly from Los Angeles and now from Brattleboro; Melanie Keiser, of Williamsville; Mo Hart, known locally to Actors Theatre Playhouse audiences; and Charlene Kennedy, a retired professor of theater living in New Hampshire.
RRP's Nicole Winot, a Windham County native and former member of the Leland & Gray Players, and Amy Donahue of South Newfane round out the cast directed by one of RRP's founding players, Cris Parker-Jennings.
The Commons spoke recently with Donahue, RRP's co-artistic director and the show's assistant producer. She plays the role of Shelby Latcherie.
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Annie Landenberger: Tell me about this play, why it resonates with you.
Amy Donohue: [It resonates] in the sense that there is a certain special type of camaraderie and chemistry that can rise out of a group of women who care about each other and, yes, there can be tension and hard times and fights. There can be challenges, but then there can be on the other side even more strength of connecting and care for one another.
Through the rehearsal process there have been bumps in the road - not to the magnitude of what happens in the story, but there are parallels there where the challenges experienced by the characters draw them together to a new depth of relationship.
I think that's what's happened with the cast. The regular challenges of putting together a show, the challenges we're all experiencing in our personal lives, and choosing to share with one another have really deepened the chemistry that was there truly from the beginning. I think we felt it even during auditions.
A.L.: Tell me about how you've been working to develop this camaraderie, which is palpable from the audience perspective.
A.D.: The cast naturally divides into some pairings. The two older characters, Ouiser and Clairee, are esteemed figures in the town. [Actors Kennedy and Boyd Joyce] have gone out of their way to get together - to get to know one another, and I think Mel and Nicole [playing Truvy and Annelle] have connected over learning how to do hair on stage.
And Mo and I - sometime during the process, we decided we needed to have a mother/daughter lunch, and just yesterday we all went to get our nails done in preparation for the show; we had a little day of pampering.
Cris has created an environment where we feel very welcome to offer ideas and give each other feedback [...] so a lot of fun little moments have emerged from us just having the freedom to explore. [...] Even now we're discovering new ways to sink into our characters and allow ourselves to react and feel the way that our characters would feel in a given situation.
A.L.: I love the set. Can you tell me how that came to be?
A.D.: Cris had a vision of a raised platform in the back so we could have more floor space to work with from the stations that a salon has and still keep the sight lines we need to work within. That was the concept.
Shey [Nessralla, assistant producer and Donahue's husband] sketched out the design, and my dad, who's been working on school play sets for 25 years, came up for the weekend with my brother and my mom, and we just had a big old family set-building day that was beyond my wildest dreams. It was lots of fun.
And then Cris is the best thrifter I have ever known. She filled the stage with authentic stuff - found these '80s salon chairs, a wash sink, then all sorts of '80s paraphernalia.
For my part, I said, "You know what this salon needs - some of those '80s posters where people are obnoxiously glamorous and posing like the most beautiful woman in the world with hair that's 10 feet tall because it's the '80s." And we got six of the most ridiculous portraits we could find and we blew them up.
I think every person in the cast has contributed some piece that has really made everything feel a little more authentic. It really feels like you're in a beauty salon.
A.L.: Tell me about different hats you're wearing in the production and how you're juggling those with full-time work, marriage....
A.D.: Well, on the marriage point, it is helpful to have the other half of the equation involved. This story - the movie - is a family movie for the Nessralla family, so [my husband] was thrilled that I was cast as Shelby and he was hooked by what he saw going on, motivated by his new love for the stage and then the interest in wanting to learn more [about all aspects of production processes].
Up to this point, he's just had his three acting credits [all with the RRP] and has just been sinking his teeth in.
Living in Vermont and both being involved in a community theater as heavily as we are is literally a dream come true. I always thought I'd be doing theater and he'd be off doing intramural sports or something, so to have him on the team is just a joy.
A.L.: You're co-artistic director of the RRP. How's that feeling these days?
A.D.: I love that we have the ability to produce shows that are of such a variety and that touch on the different interests of those involved and those coming to see the shows.
And I'm so excited for our anniversary plans - eager to celebrate our first decade of existence. I've only been around for a few of those years, and they've been the most fun of my life.
I'm so honored to be at the helm with Bahman [Mahdavi]. I think he and I really complement each other in terms of what we bring to the table, and I enjoy working with him. He's a great collaborator, and we have a really good time.
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The last performances of Steel Magnolias can be seen this weekend at the Rock River Players' home, the Williamsville Hall, on Dover Road in Williamsville.
Performances take place on Friday, Aug. 16 and Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Aug. 18, at 2 p.m.
For more information and to purchase tickets in advance, visit rockriverplayers.org.
Annie Landenberger is a freelance writer who contributes regularly to these pages. She is the founder and former artistic director of the Rock River Players.
This Arts item by Annie Landenberger was written for The Commons.