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TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR THE COMING SEASON
Tickets
for the 2014-15 season will go on sale on October 1. The
best way to purchase tickets is to go to the Players web page to select seats. There is a discount for groups of 10 or more. Email to tickets for information.
COSTUMES FOR THE MATCHMAKER
Actors animate their characters, but let's face it, costumes maketh the show. Especially in a show like Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, scheduled to open Nov. 7. Set in late 19th-century Yonkers, New York,
the show's costumes are striking in their silhouettes, varied in texture
and rich in color and hue. A moving work of art if you will, created by
Tracy Wall, who researches and constructs her costumes with a keen eye
and a deft hand. "I start with the silhouette of the time period to
inform the general shape," she says.
 In
this show, that means an S shape for the women, effected by extravagant
bustles which are offset by smaller hats, perched, feathered and
beribboned. After that, myriad elements come into play. "The director
and I sit down to talk about her vision (along with the set designer)
which can mean color, economic level, realism and accuracy," Tracy
explains. She considers personalities, too. "Are they young, old,
fashionable, rich, poor, funny, commanding, sentimental"? In a comedy
like this one, a costumer often adds witty elements to accentuate a
character's disposition. From the 17th to 19th centuries, a variety of
sartorial gimmicks were employed to create the impression of an
hourglass figure for women. Hoops, corsets, crinolines and bustles were
chief among them. "We're using modern reproduction 'bustle hoops' for
Matchmaker," Tracy explains. "We're trying to go for the biggest
bustles-they were at their largest from 1885 to 1888." So what happens
when a woman's posterior is so prominently endowed? Sitting lessons for
one thing. Tracy could be seen at a recent rehearsal tutoring the ladies
on the art of gracefully positioning their abundant costume rumps into a
chair. "Lift, tilt, pause and down." Happily for the ladies,
reproduction bustles are constructed of modern materials and securely
fastened. Not always so for ladies of lesser means in the 19th century.
Some inventive women of that era used burlap or various cast-off fibers
to create the fashionable look of their wealthier counterparts. Problem
was those make-shift rears often shifted or even slipped right out from
under petticoats. One creative lady in Chester, England, unwittingly
provided lunch for a hungry donkey who couldn't resist the sack of grain
she had so cleverly employed in the interest of haute couture!
HAPPY HOME FOR OUR OLD PIANO
Last
fall we painted our old upright piano and it graced the green for a
month advertising Les Mis while being played by many. When it came
time to remove it, the Chamber of Commerce offered to take it for the
Visitor Center. So we rolled it over there one crisp, fall day. It
lived in the Center for the winter, and come spring it was wheeled out
to be enjoyed throughout the summer by the many visitors to
Concord. This fall, the Chamber decided it was time to say,
"farewell," so they put an ad on Craigslist. It has now found a happy
home in Dorchester, Mass. It's great to see the piano being used and
well-loved.
KIRSTEN GOULD HONORED BY FENN SCHOOL After
the Fenn school's Homecoming game with Groton on September 27, the Ward
Hall stage was dedicated to and renamed for long-time arts teacher and
drama director Kirsten Gould, also a long-time member and director for
the Players. |
When Mary Fitzpatrick was invited to interview as a director for the
Concord Players' season, she read all the plays that were being
considered and found her match with Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. "Because I'd seen Hello Dolly I thought I knew The Matchmaker but I had no idea how wonderful it was on its own--before it became a musical," she says. "I have been trying to direct Our Town for years and I haven't had the opportunity. When I read The Matchmaker I realized I liked it even better. It has all the elements I love in a
play--great writing, well-developed characters, and it made me laugh out
loud. Plus it gave me a chance to work with The Concord Players. They
have a wonderful, well-deserved reputation and I feel very fortunate to
have this opportunity." A professionally trained actor who studied in
New York and London, Mary came to directing when she couldn't decide
which part to try out for in a production of Steel Magnolias at
Arlington Friends of the Drama. "I thought by directing I could work on
all the characters; since then I've directed a show whenever I fell in
love with the characters." Has she fallen in love with the Horace
Vandergelder and Dolly Levi? Oh yes, and all of their lively cohorts.
The play is a farce. Doors and furniture become characters in their own
right, physical comedy is fast and complex, and absurd situations have
to be believable. Fitzpatrick is undaunted. "As in every play, the story
has to be told with truth and strong emotions. The difference in a
comedy--and a farce in particular--is the element of timing. The
intensity of each emotion has to be very clear and the action has to
move quickly. It's a team sport!" Whatever the challenges, Fitzpatrick
is a seasoned pro who can meet them. Her years of experience and
formidable artistic talent ensure that The Matchmaker will be a success. "I'm having a great time," she says. "It's a
wonderful group of hard-working, talented people who have fun and work
incredibly hard to create a good show--and this is a big show: four
sets, 15 actors, musicians, and major set changes. I'm going to be
spoiled after this experience."
