Raconteur Theatre Company

In our short existence as a company, we have come upon and overcome many obstacles already.  Why should today be any different?

We are nearing the opening of our production of Ibsen’s Ghosts and at the same time we are preparing to start the production process for our next show (Mom and Pop by local playwright Sarah Tobin).  This is our first experience with overlapping production calendars, and it presents some new…er…learning opportunities.  Although we are continuing to slowly grow our company by bringing in more new and terrific people (we have really great people on board for Ghosts!), there is still a lot for the core founding company members to handle.  So, at a time when we are all maxed out with preparations for this production, we need to be focusing a lot of energy on the next one right now!  For example, we have auditions for Mom and Pop on the Sunday and Monday of tech week for Ghosts, and the Monday immediately following the tear-down of Ghosts will be the first rehearsal of Mom and Pop.  It’s truly non-stop.  On top of that, we are all, of course, working full time outside of the theatre.

This is my cue to get overwhelmed.

So, I tell myself to breathe.  I tell myself that all this work is worth it.  I tell myself that the passion I have for theatre has its outlet here– in a place I can call my own, and in a place I can be surrounded by other hard-working theatre lovers.

We can do this.

Jill

This week, while watching a rehearsal for Ghosts it struck me what a difference a translation can make. I first read Ghosts in college and was embarrassed to admit I didn’t understand it at all. The dialogue (and therefore the plot) was confusing to me. I found a strong dislike for the characters.

Lanford Wilson’s translation of Ghosts is true to the original intent, but it is more conversational. All of those outdated references and themes I found so confusing are made relevant. Although, I was already very familiar with the story I found I was being drawn into the character’s lives in a new way.

It seems for Ghosts, Lanford Wilson’s translation has provided much-needed insights which invite empathy. The same characters I found so distasteful before became pitiable and human. These are people we all understand. So often we see remakes (of any type) as second-rate, rarely can you say that a new version of an older classic is a worthwhile. This is a powerful script, which pays great tribute to Ibsen.

-Molly

So, when we started this little endeavor we call Raconteur Theatre, we made it a point that we didn’t want to become an incestuous, inbred theatre group. Of course there’d be a core group of people who we worked with, and we (the board) would be involved in some way with every production, but we wanted to make sure that A) we didn’t just use the same group of actors in show after show, and B) we didn’t lock ourselves in a theatrical box and only do work with Raconteur from here on out.

Well, Tricia put us on track for the first part of that equation with her casting for Ghosts (as she explains here). And the rest of us are working towards the rest of it as well. Jill auditioned for Bread & Circus Theatre Company, and will be in their February show (more on that later), and I recently took a role in Rosebriar Shakespeare’s production of King Lear.

What role, do you ask? Why, that of Edmund the Bastard. I tend to get cast as the “foil” character a lot. I’m not quite sure why, but that seems to be my lot in life. We’re only one week into rehearsals, but it’s going well so far. I look forward to moving away from contemporary drama and digging back into my Shakespearean roots (the first show I ever did in Columbus was Hamlet, with Rosebriar).

Of course, while being involved with Lear, I still have responsibilities to Raconteur. I’m the Props Designer for Ghosts, and I’ll be doing the program and running the house as well. It’s a fun and intense juggling job, but if we didn’t like challenges, why would be doing theatre?

-Aaron

I spent a good part of the summer worrying about casting Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. It features one of the greatest roles written for a woman, Mrs. Helen Alving.  By “greatest” I mean challenging, complex, on stage almost the entire show and responsible for the play’s success.  Who would be capable, available and interested in acting this role - or any of the others in the play for that matter - for a brand new theatre company that offers minuscule monetary compensation and a short track record of success?

Not knowing what else I could do, I decided to place my faith in God, the Universe or perhaps Dionysus himself to take care of that which was beyond my control.  I focused on my part: reading the script, researching Ibsen, and sending emails to every actor I know to invite them to audition.  I am grateful to say that tactic worked.  I now have a dream cast in whom I have complete confidence to bring Ghosts to life.

The cast of Raconteur Theatre’s production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts translated by Lanford Wilson is:

• Regina: Sarah Willis
• Engstrand: Richard Wilson
• Mrs. Helen Alving: Carolyn Harding
• Reverend Manders:Stephen Woosley
• Oswald: Brennan Hunter