BWW Blog: Amanda Grillo - Our School, Our Show, OUR TOWN: Meet the Family Edition Part 2

As stated last week, the concept of family is a very large aspect of this production. Last week, we had the pleasure of meeting the Gibbs family. This week we get an inside look at the perspective of theatre and the production from the Webb family.

Mr. Webb is played by Andy Esborn. He is active in both tech and performance aspects. He shared info with us on how to balance a love of both:

"One thing that I have come to realize is that when you are acting in a performance, you can't get too involved with the tech side of things. As much as you want to do both, [in this instant] your acting is more important than the technical stuff. That being said, if they are relying on you to help build the set, you want to be able to be there and make sure things are getting done. From the start of the show I make it clear I'm not going to be as available for doing technical work."

When asked what audiences can expect to see, Esborn responded:

"To quote the director, 'good college theatre'. My favorite character so far is the stage manager because Zach Fontanez is such a great actor and he's doing a lot of really good stuff with the part; stuff that I wouldn't have really thought to do had I had that part."

He is very excited to finally be able to play a dad on stage in a full production. He appeared as a father in one of the short plays in the Student New Works Festival. Esborn explained, "It's harder than I thought it was going to be." His favorite part of the production is:

"From the start, everyone was there paying attention to the director's notes. I think that's different from a lot of typical college productions; at least the ones that I've been in. You start at the beginning of the rehearsal process and there may be some people who have never been in a college play before. There's a lot less of the talkative giddy stuff that you see in high school theatre. It's nice to start the process to have everyone cooperating from the start."

Next is Mr. Webb's darling wife, Mrs. Webb, played by Kiera Terrell. Her favorite part of the production is:

"I've really enjoyed the process. Every rehearsal I feel more and more connected to Myrtle Webb as a character, and it's been so cool to see everyone kind of grow into their characters. We've really made this production unique and ours. Plus this is a great cast, we are always laughing and having fun!"

She also shares the most challenging part of her role:

"The most challenging part for me has definitely been the miming. There is so much time that I spend on stage miming entire morning routines in my kitchen, and it's been tough to get it to look realistic and right! I want the audience to really get what I'm doing, and be like "oh she's making pancakes!""

She also shares with us:

"I think audiences should expect to see really raw, honest and genuine connections between people who enjoy the little things about life. Come see it! You won't regret it!"

Next up is the loving little brother that just wants to know about Canada, Wally, played by Tim Sheehan. His favorite part of the production is:

"Working with the cast, watching them work and seeing how they work out scenes individually. They're really a great bunch of people. It's always a joy to watch them because they are always making choices and trying to see what works and sometimes it turns out to be really good; other times we all just have a good laugh about it."

Sheehan was also a featured vocalist in the Fall Cabaret. He gave actors a bit of advice when it came to balancing two shows:

"Given that Wally is a bit of a smaller role, it wasn't that difficult for me personally in this situation. My biggest recommendation is to not stress out and I know that sounds hard, but if you perceive the issue to be bigger than it is then it's just going to go out of control and turn into a big boulder on your back. Take it one performance at a time."

Here is his description of what makes the show unique:

"I think the best word to use to describe this production would be natural. There's not a lot of drama. It's not very soap opera centric. It's a tale of two young town members growing up and how they interact with family and how people just go about their day."

Sheehan also would like to thank the director for the opportunity to be a part of this show. He describes this show as an absolute blast and it has been great to work with everyone from the cabarets and Psycho Beach Party again; as well as working with the new members to the theatre program family.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Emily Webb, played by Erica Quaedvlieg, who shared with us her favorite part of being involved in this production:

"My favorite part about being in this production has to be working with the cast and production crew. In order for a strong foundation in a performance, all the pieces of the puzzle must fit perfectly and work well together. I feel that is how this cast and crew demonstrates this well. The cast is dedicated to their work and of course, none of this could be done without our Director and Assistant Director Jonathan Yukich and Diana Harris. Jonathan allows for his cast members to grow on stage, encouraging new ideas and thoughts while bringing a light and humorous atmosphere to a rehearsal. Diana has helped so incredibly much with the pantomime techniques that we use throughout the show. She demonstrates specific movements that occur before during and after each motion to ensure that the audience makes a clear connection to what we are trying to convey on stage."

The role of Emily is actually a bit of a newer type of role for Quaedvlieg. She revealed to us what being able to fulfill this new challenge:

"Having the opportunity to play Emily Webb means the absolute world to me. In many of the previous productions I've done, I have been cast in the comedic character, or the "funny best friend," so when I was cast as Emily I was extremely excited, and extremely nervous. I was really looking for something to challenge me, and I certainly got my wish granted. Emily throughout the show, and especially in act three has such a tremendous arc in character development with just a couple of short lines. This role has challenged me to make new choices, and present my lines in a more diverse way than ever before."

Come see Our Town

November 16th thru the 19th at the Bucknall Theater

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