BWW Interviews: Evelyn Pearson of Nashville Repertory Theatre's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE

Props master Evelyn Pearson is a wealth of information and insight into the set design, story, and props of the shows that Nashville Repertory Theatre produces. In the midst of tech week and opening weekend, she was kind enough to take some time to answer questions regarding the newest production, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, written by Christopher Durang.

BWW Nashville: There is a picture that was posted on the facebook page for Nashville Rep of the set ofVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Right away you can tell that this is going to be a complex and very detailed set. Can you share with us a little bit about the show, to give us an idea of how the set was conceived?

Evelyn Pearson: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy about three siblings, two of whom have stayed home to take care of their aging parents while the other has been working as a movie actress to pay the bills. Now their parents have died and Vanya and Sonia are now occupying their childhood home without really knowing what to do now they aren't taking care of their parents anymore and Masha swoops in with her new "boy toy" boyfriend Spike and drops a major possible change on her siblings. There are also a lot of Chekov references, which adds a whole other layer of jokes within the story. It's very much about family and just a really fun and lovely story. The set for this show is very much like looking at your childhood home after being gone for a while in that it's very much about the parents and very little about them. Vanya and Sonia have left all of the things that decorated their parents' home for years and not changed anything to make it for themselves because, even though it feels like home to them, it's still their parents' house.

BWW Nashville: I've always thought that a set can make or break a production. What types of things do you feel the set for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spikebring to the production to help round out the story and the acting?

Evelyn Pearson: It brings in the backstory of these people and shows where they are coming from and the invisible characters of the parents who shaped so much of who all of their children have become because of them. I think having that added dimension helps round out the characters more and adds another level to the story that would be missed without that being there.

BWW Nashville: What kind of story do you feel the props and set tell the audience, separate from the story that is acted out on stage? Do you feel the set has its own story to add to the production?

Evelyn Pearson: Yes, I've covered it a bit in the previous questions, but Gary Hoff created this whole backstory for the parents that he gleaned from the couple of mentions of them in the script and then I worked along with him to develop the various things that they would have in the house that defined who they are. Yes, you can see from the set that the parents were very much into theatre and so much of their lives were influenced by that, after all, they named all of their children after Chekov characters! It also shows that they made sure there were plenty of things around to entertain their children when they were children. There's also some hints of how what they were going through in their old age affected some of the things in the home.

BWW Nashville: What is your favorite prop piece from this production? Why is it your favorite?

Evelyn Pearson: This is a tough question. I think I have two props that are my favorite from this show. One is Vanya's play script because it was one of the first pieces I made and one of the pieces that adds a bit to Vanya's story, not just in the actual use of it in the show, but if you look at it up close, it also gives hints at other elements of Vanya's character and how private he is as a person. We really don't learn a lot about him in this story and there are little things like the script that help to show that. The other is the Snow White doll that was designed and built by my props intern, Maureen Hennessey. She had a lot of fun with the creation of that prop and it shows in the finished product. It ties for my favorite because it is one of those props that you see in a script and know immediately that it is so reflective of the humor of that particular story.

BWW Nashville: Once the show starts performances, do you feel like the set and props continue to change, or do they become more set in their purpose and action for the production?

Evelyn Pearson: The props change a lot during rehearsals, but once we get through our final technical and dress rehearsals, they are pretty much set for the rest of the show. The set really gains its purpose and action once all of the other technical elements come together and we have actors in the space. It gains a whole life once all of the lights, set dressing, and costumed actors become part of the picture, but once we get into previews and the performances it is pretty much set for the rest of the performances.

BWW Nashville: Can you share with us some of your set pieces, and the story behind them?

Evelyn Pearson: There are a lot of great set dressing pieces and actual set pieces. One of my favorite set pieces is the fireplace that Gary did all of the tilework for out of cardstock tile images, which look like the real thing until you are right on top of them. All of the posters on the set are theatre show posters that Gary made to outline the parents' community theatre career. He built all of the text and pulled the images himself, but the logos for the theatre are from the actual theatre in Bucks County. I made several 1950s - 1970s fireworks packages that dress the shelves in the garage that are remnants of past summers of their childhood. I also did a whole puzzle and then undid a lot of it and hot glued it to a piece of poster size cardboard to act as an in progress puzzle for on the coffee table because when I was growing up, any time I would go to my grandmother's house, there was always a partially completed puzzle on the coffee table in her living room and I thought that would definitely be something that the Hardwicke family would have and it ended up becoming part of the show in several places, which is great. There's a bird's nest that lives on top of the chimney that pretty much no one will see, but it has a little bluebird in it that I built specifically for that spot on the set. There's also a popsicle stick goldfish graveyard that I made that is on the right side of the set. Sonia wasn't very good at keeping fish alive, but her parents kept buying them for her anyway and they never let her know that the fish died. Vanya made the graveyard so that once Sonia was old enough to be told about it, she would at least know that they had had a proper burial.

BWW Nashville: Pick one set piece that you'd like the readers of this article to look for when they come see the show and why they should seek it out?

Evelyn Pearson: The bottom right shelf of the bookcases in the back hallway has pictures of little Vanya, Sonia, and Masha on them. They are the actual pictures of the three cast members playing the siblings and it was just a fun way for us to tie everything together for us.

BWW Nashville: What has been your favorite part of this particular production?

Evelyn Pearson: I can't even begin to pick a part. I love this whole show and it's been such a great production to work on for me. I always love shows that have creative props that may come with a bit of a challenge and an added layer of the story through the set dressing. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spikeis one of those shows that gives me that opportunity, so I definitely ran with it and had a great time doing it.

We thank Evelyn for taking the time to answer our questions, in spite of her busy schedule. If you'd like to explore the wonders of Christopher Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the show runs through April 25th. Tickets can be purchase on the Nashville Repertory Theatre's website or by calling the box office at 615-782-4040.

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