Two Weeks Till Our Show!!!!

A long nine hour day yesterday filled with laughter, tears, drama, comedy...'Aha' moments and lingering questions...ponderings...and again 'Aha, now I understand'...
The challenge of memorization was holding many back from 'telling their stories' from their hearts...I reminded them that they could hold their scripts...or put their lines on notecards...with scripts in hand, their stories flowed trippingly off their tonges (Shakespeare 'Hamlet') and into our hearts...several times I joined them with my tears and most often I had chill bumps leaping to my skin...Again I say 'BRAVO' to my students for continuing to seek ways to 'make their stories better as well as their performances'...Nine hours nonstop and yet when I returned home I continued to work fueled by the energy of my students and friends.  I only wish I could make a real living doing what I do best...teaching and directing...it is my mission in life.  To change lives all for the betterment of humanity.

The Memory Chair (cont’d)



Wednesday, April 13, 2011


This is the eleventh week of Life Stories class; one weekly session remains, and only seventeen days until—Showtime!


Like last week, our timetable for today is geared toward making our stories come alive!


The hub of action is located at a table in one corner of the room where Wrenn, wearing her director’s hat, manages the moment: getting the ad-libs in place, the gestures, the looks, the pauses, the body language, and the necessary background vocal sounds.


Before I go any further into this blog, I want to give a thumbs-up to our benefactress, Wrenn: the plate of cookies was over the top; many thanks for feeding those of us with a ‘sweet’ tooth! Hey, Don—we had food today! Remember?


Mid-way the morning, posed, costumed pictures were taken of a number of the stories; still shots depicting the essence of the storyline behind the photos.


We were given a diagram of the stage and as each scheduled presentation took place, a character’s floor placement was added to the scripts; also word changes, some added, others deleted; and narrations became action scenes with only certain pivotal speaking words.


As the meetings have piled up, our shared stories have linked us in a unique way; we’ve been gifted with insights into the lives of a roomful of once strangers, who now feel like long-time friends. We’ve abbreviated the usual required time of ‘getting to know each other’ by simply getting inside our heads—and hearts, in a few short weeks.


Next Wednesday is the final class meeting and rehearsals will rule the day: a morning session, lunch, and then an afternoon run-thru. All stories will be performed and given a final scrutiny with many eyes following scenes that are becoming like we own them as a group.


During this last time together as classmates, we get to watch the complete play as it will unfold on stage; we get to see our past tied up in skits, and whether the story is one of sadness or joy, of an accounting of the times, or a confession from the heart, or a glimpse into the ‘winter’ of a life, we will have lived the circle of emotions surrounding our lives—and all this within a 12 week time frame!

Elizabeth (Willie) Towles

STUART LITTLE

For the past two months I have been directing 33 young people aged 7 - 16...thirty three energetic creative and very kind young people of various levels and skills.  Some are performing onstage for their first time...some have been in all three plays I've directed for Davidson Community Players Connie Company.  I didn't like the script but found a way to make it work both for my artistic needs as well as an educational vehicle for the actors involved.  I chose to conceptualize the play in 1945, when the book was published by E.B White.   I saw it starting off on a street in NYC (the script has a narrator telling the story...I wanted the narrator to be a character in the play...so divided the narrator parts and gave them to the various characters in the play)  in early morning with birds and cats entering and then people starting off their day buying newspapers and waiting for the bus...I wanted to put an opening 'swing time' dance in the play and one of my actors suggested May 8, 1945 and the celebration of D-Day, end of the war in Europe!  Great idea!

Another topic we discussed was the importance of women in the work force since so many men were fighting in the war.  The ensemble has done a bang-up job of creating interesting characters and eight year old Dwayne Allgoods a spectacular job of learning a bizillion lines and leading the show with his innocence, strength and energy. Eight of the nine shows were sold out before we opened and the ninth show sold out this past week.  BRAVO Cast of STUART LITTLE!!!

Life Stories Class Ten

The excitement for our performance grows...as everyone leans forward watching one another explore the actions behind their stories...all searching inside themselves while seeking the truth of the moment in their words...I wonder if I would take such a leap into the unknown...perhaps if the unknown were something I had always dreamed of doing...of experiencing...Thank you Willie for such astute observations and recording.

The Memory Chair (cont’d)



Wednesday, April 6, 2011


This is week ten of Life Stories class…only a dozen plus days before the last scheduled meeting fulfills the enrollment specifications….


And change, again, starts the day. We skip the mind and body exercise—the energy in the room is already soaring, and we’ve put on our acting hats that ready us for whatever Wrenn throws our way.


We visited the auditorium where the show will be performed and gathered on stage; centering our minds on the logistics of actually stepping inside an actor’s skin. We went to the dressing area where counters line both sides of the room, and mirrors take up wall space—everywhere—perhaps a last minute aid in getting the inner mind as well as the outer side ready for the role to be played?


I listened to the low buzz of voices as we made our way back to class—soon-to-be ‘stars,’ coming from all directions, elevator, and an assortment of stairways.


Wrenn chose six skits for today’s rehearsal: Carolyn’s monologue about love, Marti’s anecdote of an unsettling relationship; Hess, with a love letter to his wife, Lynnsy’s story spoke of having the freedom to choose; Christine’s read on skipping school at the age of five, and ‘life’ with her grandmother; and also, my story about the break-up of a marriage, and the consequences that follow.


In the remaining two weeks, there is much work to be done: filling our minds with text, perfecting the proper emotion at the right time, staging floor placement for better delivery of script’s message, and last but not least, choosing a costume to fit the action…are we racing headlong into an unquenchable thirst of—‘acting fever?’ Hmm!


Wrenn gave out books that consisted of all the stories to be presented; and we rehearsed the intro of My Life Story is…bringing us ever closer to the day we speak our written words into existence. For…words in print remains an unstirred story until other eyes read them—silent, until a voice gives them a place in a listener’s mind.


And that’s what our play is really about—the sharing of our lives in story enactment!


Elizabeth (Willie)

STUART LITTLE

STUART LITTLE COMES TO DAVIDSON

I am directing Stuart Little for the Davidson Community Players Connie Company.  It plays April 2,9 at 10am; 1pm, April 3,10 at 1pm; 4pm and April 8 at 7pm.  Tickets are only $7.  Several shows are sold out, so it is advised that you make a reservation.  It is such a fun 60 minute show with 32 actors in a 1945 conceptualized Stuart Little.  

Call:  704-892-7953

or order online:  http://www.davidsoncommunityplayers.org/

See you at the Theatre!!!

Life Stories Class Eight

Every week I am energized working with my 'Life Stories' students....every week uncovers innovative talents hidden within each as they courageously step forward to tell their story...open to the suggestions of the class...and to my direction...One student said she had been practicing in front of a mirror so she could 'show' the emotion of her work.  I asked her to put her paper down and tell me the story...and then she came alive...her characters were real and in the room with us...as she changed from a teenage girl wanting an education to the father who wouldn't allow her to go to school.  Afterwards, she knew that she didn't need a mirror to find the 'heart' of the story...she only needed to tell what was in her heart.


Willie continues to journal the process so beautifully and true.  While there are only 3 more scheduled sessions, I will be adding more rehearsals for this ever so important work.
Thank you Willie

The Memory Chair (cont’d)
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
This is the ninth week of Life Stories class, and the remaining rungs on the down side of our ladder are much nearer the floor.

I mentioned change had joined our group—it now shapes our weekly agenda, weaving in and out among the familiar exercises our bodies and minds have grown to expect. And presently, we’ve given the Bard, Shakespeare, a respite from fracturing his masterful list of insults. The time has come for us to step out from under the cover of his clever mind and find the treasure-trove of uniqueness in each other.

Wrenn asked that we take the prompt of My Life Story is…, and fill in the blanks, making a short statement of defining ourselves—this will be a lead-in for the production of our play, titled: Life Stories, scheduled for May 1, 2011.

Improvisation time followed. From the list of Life Stories Outline Draft, Wrenn chose five skits to be rehearsed; only one was a repeat, War Times; however, two new contributors joined in, making it a five member group endeavor, and greatly intensifying the drama of the scene. Barbara’s anecdote revealed a tale of want in New Shoes; Don’s monologue spoke of Real Men; and with Jane’s story, Who is that Lady?, the inspiration came from an afternoon’s visit with her mother. The last new performance belonged to Dave, and was titled, The Garden.

And all the while, as each memoir exposes the bones of its story, Wrenn goes into action: glasses off, hands waving, and stopping the scene with, yep—change. She takes out words, adds other words, directs a different emotion, suggests a new stage placement—and gently, but surely…in the end, molds the scene to her liking.
We have three classes left to determine how to represent our stories in their best showing; only three short ‘takes’ before the final curtain opens to the immediate present where suddenly—our past becomes our future!

Elizabeth Towles (Willie)

Life StoriesDesigning Our Production

A collaborative group flexible with their words..their stories..willing to try anything....all filled with the courage to explore new paths..to leap and fall...to leap and fly!  Leading and being led by this amazing group of people is a new chapter of fulfilling my life mission..my life story.


The Memory Chair (cont’d)



Wednesday, March 23, 2011


This is week eight of Life Stories class…and the climb down the other side seems to be moving faster than the climb up the first half of our journey’s ladder.


Change has become the norm: the chairs are once again spread out against the walls, pulling in slightly at the corners to make a ¾ circle. Wrenn mixes it up in the ‘warm-up’ activities with a face, mouth, and tongue exercise, saying this will prepare us for what’s ahead. After we stretch everything above the neck: making our faces appear as though looking in one of those ‘funny’ mirrors at a circus, drawing up sounds from our throats that would have us being picked up by the local authority if witnessed; and uttering vocal phrases that defy translation; she at last says our faces, tongues, and throats are loosened enough to go forward with today’s program.


Today, we will speak our stories into existence.


We are partnered in groups; each group has to review and work up an improvisational presentation for a story already selected by Wrenn.


Six skits are showcased: four of the stories being repeat improvisations; only this time around, the action more fully developed. The first new story involves Mardell’s depiction of her moment in the limelight—literally—one of those ‘oops, there goes the pants’ scene that stays with you for life! The last interpretation, a stand-out performance belonging to Don, Hess, and Ted; a trilogy on dealing with the serious complications of war times: lives changed forever…or the final loss—death of loved ones.


The assignment for next week centers on developing interesting skits, and given a time limit of about an hour of performance time, we are feverously scrambling to make a playbill that keeps the audience glued to their seats and waiting breathlessly for the next scene.


And of course, each performer, just before stage entry, will get that all time, grand edict of show business: Break a Leg!

Life Stories Class Seven

The students in the class grow closer with every session.  The last group of stories today and next week we start work on editing, rewriting and rehearsing the stories....We have the bones...the foundation...onward to adding the layers of definition, detail and wonder!
Wrenn

The Memory Chair (cont’d)



Wednesday, March 16, 2011


This is week seven of Life Stories class and we have now gone beyond the apex of the scheduled plan.


The chairs remain in the close circle of last week’s arrangement, and as Wrenn opens the class with our ‘coming alive,’ maneuvers, we respond with familiarity. We quickly follow her lead when she makes a transition and takes us into another activity—well, perhaps not all that quickly! For instance, we were told to call out a number, being we were fourteen count (with Wrenn), and one was supposed to speak a number spontaneously, but never two people in unison; it was supposed to be, 1, 2, 3, etc. It took us some time to count impromptu; and in sequence without the sound of that second voice riding the same number. An exercise in preciseness, hearing…and paying attention!


We usually sing a song and I try to sit by Ted whenever possible; I enjoy his masterful melodic tones resounding in my ears.


Story time came next, and like last week, we read them fully and out loud again; most writing pieces centered on grown children, grandchildren, and close relatives. Christine ‘talked’ her story, and all eyes were on her, following her soft voice as she went about her narration. Ted chose to read his assignment; the message was on the accountability in living one’s life. There was much discussion between the stories, a spoken word or a phrase that opened the flood gates on our thoughts….


Lynnsy was the final participant; she sang her anecdote: You Gotta Have Heart! A winner—we all have a lotta’ heart!


The next topic consisted of handouts of a summary of all stories turned in for six weeks; we had to designate the genre of each story. From this, the assignment for next week is to choose three stories from our six weekly assignments that show improvisational possibilities.


Time to act-up is just ahead!


Lynnsy had one final surprise; she raised her left sleeve to reveal none other than a kaleidoscope of color, an abstract tattoo in a Picasso styling that dazzled the eyes. The painting ran from her wrist all the way up to her shoulder. I had told Sandy earlier that when I looked over at Lynnsy, I had to smile…she struck me as having a whimsical soul—the tattoo was a nice fit!






Elizabeth Towles (Willie)