Audience as Partner in Crime:
Audience Plays Significant Role in Actor's
Performance of I Am My Own Wife
For actor
Todd Almond, stepping onto the Gompertz stage as the only character in Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife will be a new experience - even though he has performed Wright's play countless times, in productions at the Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati and the Actor's Theatre of Louisville.
"The audience changes every night and that naturally changes the show," says director D. Lynn Meyers, who directed Almond in both productions and is redirecting him for a third time for FST's production.
"Doug said every night is like doing a show with an understudy," Almond says, echoing Meyers' thoughts. "You never know what to expect from the audience."
I Am My Own Wife proves that truth is stranger than fiction. In his play, Wright tells the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transvestite who murdered her own father and survived the Nazi and East German regimes. Born Lothar Berfelde, Charlotte grew up to become a self-described "collector of culture." She turned her house into a museum where she preserved recordings, art, gramophones and other bric-a-brac that was routinely discarded. Despite being a transvestite living first among Nazis and later among communists, Charlotte not only survived but also flourished.
Wright, who also wrote Quills, became interested in Charlotte's story when he read her autobiography, I Am My Own Wife: The Outlaw Life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Berlin's Most Famous Transvestite. He set out to write a show about her life, becoming a character in his own work during the process. He also discovered that survival often forces us to lie - to others and ourselves.
I Am My Own Wife was a critical success in New York when he debuted in a production directed by Moises Kaufman and starring Jeffrey Mays. Called "fascinating" (New York Times), "extraordinary" (Daily News) and "brilliant" (New Yorker), the show went on to win numerous awards, including the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Meyers, the first director since Kaufman to helm the production, wanted to direct I Am My Own Wife for the Ensemble Theatre Company where she is the Producing Artistic Director. "I automatically thought of Todd" for the role, she said. So, Almond became the first person since Mays to don the dress and take on the role of Charlotte - and many, many others.
A one-person show is a difficult challenge for most actors. But I Am My Own Wife requires that Almond play more than 35 characters in the span of two hours. It's a daunting task. "All you have is yourself and that script you have to serve," Meyers explains. "You have one person playing 30 plus characters and you have to respect and serve them all."
For the two, the biggest change in doing I Am M Own Wife for a third time at FST's Gompertz Theatre is a physical one. "There is a physical relationship that develops with the audience and that relationship depends on the house. The house affects how you approach the show." The Gompertz stage will be different from any other space in which Almond has performed I Am My Own Wife. But for Meyers, it's not simply about re-staging the show. It's about connecting with the audience.
The show is a history lesson of sorts, but the history is not ancient. "We're not talking about 100 years ago," Meyers says. "We're talking about 40 or 50 years ago. I'm sure a lot of our Sarasota patrons remember that time period well."
That memory, the characters and the intimacy of the Gompertz Theatre will all blend for Florida Studio Theatre's production of I Am My Own Wife - creating a unique experience for each audience member fortunate enough to see it.
I Am My Own Wife begins March 1 and runs through March 24, 2006 at FST's Gompertz Theatre, as a part of the FST Stage III Season. Tickets are $29-34 and may be purchased from the FST Box Office in person or by calling (941) 366-9000. Their website is
www.fst2000.org .
Florida Studio Theatre
1241 North Palm Avenue
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 366-9017 email them at: fst@fst2000.org
Box Office: (941) 366-9000
Plays in the Stage III series explore adult themes and issues. They may not be suitable for all audience members. I Am My Own Wife contains some adult content which audience members may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.
Known as Sarasota's Contemporary Theatre, Florida Studio Theatre was founded in 1973 by Jon Spelman. Starting out as a small touring company, FST traveled to places such as migrant camps and prisons. The company eventually settled down into a permanent home, acquiring the former Woman's Club building - now renamed the Keating Theatre. In the years that followed, Florida Studio Theatre established itself as a major force in American Theatre, presenting contemporary theatre in its three theatre venues: the Keating Theatre, the Goldstein Cabaret and its newest space, the Gompertz Theatre.
Even with its growth, Florida Studio Theatre remains firmly committed to making the arts accessible and affordable to a broad-based audience. Under Richard Hopkins, Artistic Director and CEO, FST develops theatre that speaks to our living, evolving, and dynamically changing world. As FST grows and expands, it continues to provide audiences with challenging, contemporary drama and innovative programs.
Florida Studio Theatre is grateful to Watermark Magazine, the official media sponsor of the Stage III Season; the Greenfield Foundation Goldsmith Fund and Dennis & Graci McGillicuddy for underwriting the Stage III Season; and Arthur Ancowitz & Ina Schnell, Bill Burgunder & Jim Fellows, Ruth Gluck, and Alan & Lois Schottenstein for co-producing I Am My Own Wife.
I Am My Own Wife
Performance Schedule
March 1 - 24, 2006
Wednesday, March 1 7:30 p.m. (Preview)
Thursday, March 2 7:30 p.m. (Preview)
Friday, March 3 7:30 p.m. (Opening)
Saturday, March 4 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 7 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 8 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 9 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 10 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 11 5:30 & 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 12 2:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 14 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 15 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 16 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 17 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 18 5:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 19 2:30 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 21 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 22 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 23 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 24 7:30 p.m.
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