The Barnstormers and I

          I have been very fortunate to have been a part of quite a few Barnstormer’s productions now.  All of these experiences have been lovely in their different ways because there are always new people involved and especially because every show is incredibly different.  I am very lucky to have been given the role I was given in this show.  There are many talented actresses at our school, and I feel a certain level of responsibility in telling Mollie’s story.  Mollie has been such a great acting challenge and experience for me.  I have never played a character so close to my own age, which has been a really interesting part of my experience being her.  She is complicated and interesting.  She has secrets and becomes caught back up in the past from which she was so desperately trying to escape.  With some characters I have played in the past, their lives have been leading somewhere and they find themselves at a crossroads, and, generally, that’s from where the conflict in the play arises.  But Mollie’s story begins right when her life seems to be taking off.  She is married to a wonderful man and their new business venture already appears to be a success. Then the play really begins.  And the conflicts become more and more clear as it becomes apparent that everyone is hiding something. 
            Perhaps one of the most fun aspects of being in a show is getting to tech week.  Tech week happens to also be the most stressful week in a show’s production journey, but I love it.  It’s the period in a show’s life where everything starts coming together.  The set is finalized, props are in, and costumes are starting to be worn.  All of these are wonderful, and essential; but, my favorite part of tech week is that moment where everyone realizes the show is actually going to happen.  That there will actually be an audience and the sound and lighting cues are all prepped.  Its that moment when I realize that the show can actually run, “on its own.”  I use quotations there because there is a small army of people who are working behind the scenes to make sure those sound and lighting cues go off during every performance, and the idea of any show running without its crew is ludicrous.  Nevertheless, by the end of tech week and a show is on its feet and running, I feel like we can finally exercise our characters.  This is just my perspective, and I guarantee there are myriad reactions and perspectives on tech week, most unlike my own.  However, and strictly for the purposes of this blog post, I have decided to throw my two cents out, into the ether of the inter-webs, and in the hopes that perhaps one person might read this and enjoy one actor’s perspective on “The Mousetrap.”  

Maura Kanter, Actor