BWW INTERVIEWS: Actress Victoria Frings on the 24-Hour Bald Soprano

As an undergrad at the University of Pennsylvania, Victoria Frings performed in the Harold Prince Theatre at the Annenberg Center twice - first time as the Emcee in Cabaret and the second time as Little Sally in Urinetown. But last week she returned in a professional show, Brat Productions' The 24-Hour Bald Soprano. After she'd had time to recover from the twenty four shows in twenty four hours, I sat down with Victoria over brunch to discuss the experience.

 

So what was it like to return to the Prince? "Comforting. It was weird at first, but there was something great about it. Since graduating, it's been a battle as the youngest and newest, but this show was a reversal. It felt good to be in a professional company coming in and having people from the company use me as an expert." Victoria helped introduce her cast mates and members of the production staff to the space and provided a write-up about what else to do in the area. "But once the show started I didn't recognize the Prince, it felt different."

This was actually the third time The 24-Hour Bald Soprano has been produced in Philadelphia. The first time was twelve years ago for the Philly Fringe, the second at the Wilma in 2007 for a ten year reunion, and finally this last production at the Annenberg Center on January 22-23. In some ways, it is becoming a Philly favorite.

Ionesco's absurdist play is written as an infinite loop allowing two actors, the Maid and the Fire Chief, to remain constant while two pairs of actors rotate playing the Martins and the Smiths. Brat founder, Madi Distefano has directed all three productions. Says Victoria, "Madi really understands absurdism. The more real it is for your characters, the more absurd the production becomes for the audience."

Keeping it real must have become difficult as the 24 hours progressed, because things certainly got crazy. Having a roommate who performed in a previous production and a few repeat cast members (Nathan Holt as the Fire Chief and Jess Conda as Mary the maid), Victoria had heard many stories about the crazy things that happenedin previous productions. However before the show, they were warned that nothing would happen in order to make the show more uniform in case someone was there to review or there for the first time at an odd hour. However, this did not end up being the case.

The Fire Chief serves as a wildcard character. He enters later in the play and has the opportunity to completely affect the show. "At four in the morning when the actors are falling asleep, [he] keeps you on your toes, changes your line reading. You have to go along with what is happening but stay true to the play." I saw three productions and had three very different Fire Chiefs. At midnight he arrived with a burlesque dancer in full costume, at 3 pm he played a rapper/break dancer who got Bradley Wrenn break dancing as well and Victoria tap dancing, and at 6 PM he appeared as a little boy with an arrow shaved into his chest hair pointing to his superman underwear. (Yes, he was wearing nothing but the fireman hat, his boots, and briefs). According to Victoria, the first prank was at midnight and the second was around 4 AM when he appeared in a full Energizer Bunny costume. The bunny costume was the only character choice repeated in the 24 performances. He also arrived as a magician, a drunk, and a homosexual. One show he brought a can of PBR and started drinking on stage, while another he brought bananas for the other actors. But her favorite prank was when he caught them all of guard by appearing at the door at the first ring of the doorbell, rather than the fourth, leading to some awkward moments.

Sound cues were also different at times. Every once in a while the doorbell farted instead of ringing. Another time, instead of the bonging, the clock said one of the actor's names quickly, "Brad Wrenn." Around 2, the show was running a little behind, so the director came backstage and informed them it was time for an Italian Run (essentially doing the show as fast as you can with the audience still being able to understand the words). The cast moved so quickly that they were finished by 2:45 and the Smiths had to stay on stage for fifteen minutes, knitting and reading the newspaper.

So what was more fun, playing Mrs. Smith or playing Mrs. Martin? Victoria says her preference flip-flopped throughout the process and performance. "I felt more akin to Mrs. Smith from the get go. I grew up on old English movies, so I understood the high-class British woman who's bored and chatters a lot." However, rehearsal began with Victoria in the role of Mrs. Martin. (As a side note, the Martin's Manchester accent was added in this production.) "I fell in love with Mrs. Martin. I finally found a character who wasn't false-didn't look untrue onstage. The show is full of stereotypes, but we tried to make them look real and recognizable." However, towards the middle of the performance "Brad [Wrenn] and I never wanted to do the Martins ever again. They were so happy and we were so tired. They have lest to do on stage, but they have to receive everything that's going on."

By the end, the audience was fully participating, shouting "Hurrah" with the cast and chanting, counting down between show, "two more shows." But Victoria says she worried before the show, "who is this really for? Who's going to come unless they're already theater enthusiasts or involved in a theater company." At the end of the show, following "a truly humbling and overwhelming five minute standing ovation," Victoria met a couple in the lobby that came to the show Friday night and stayed virtually the entire twenty-four hours. "They weren't theater people, and he claimed to not like theater, in some ways that was more of a compliment than having friends see the show."

Prior to performance, the cast had run the show no more than five times in a row in order to keep the experience of the 24 hours a mystery. Post performance did the cast crash? Not at all, Victoria said, "I was so energized! We were all crying, we were hugging, and champagne was flowing."

Next up, Victoria is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro with her family, before returning to the Wilma this spring for their production of Leaving. 

 

Victoria Frings (Mrs. Martin/Mrs. Smith) is thrilled to be making her Brat debut with A 24-Hour The Bald Soprano. Locally, Victoria has worked with the Wilma (Rock 'n' Roll), Philadelphia Theatre Workshop (The :nv:s:ble Play), and Plays and Players (Camelot; Zombie! The Musical). She has studied acting at The American Conservatory Theatre and holds a BA from UPenn in Environmental Studies and Science, Technology, and Society Studies.

For more information on The 24-Hour Bald Soprano see the official press release.

 

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