BRAINERD — Six actors portraying 57 different characters in 18 separate scenes all taking place in one room. That’s what audiences will experience when the Actors Repertory Theatre presents A.R. Gurney’s “The Dining Room.”
Performances will take place 7 p.m. Nov. 21 and Nov 22, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Nov. 23 in the Dryden Theatre on the Brainerd campus of Central Lakes College.
“This is the kind of work ART was created to present,” said director Patrick Spradlin. He, along with fellow Actors Repertory Theatre founder Beth Selinger, co-direct the production. “We choose material that is challenging to actors. This play certainly fits that description.”
Written in 1981 by playwright Gurney, “The Dining Room” is a mosaic of interrelated scenes — some funny, some touching, some rueful — which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP.
In the space of 90 minutes the actors take on roles of stern parents, servants, senile adults, 5 year olds at a birthday party, teenagers sneaking alcohol, and professionals conducting business in a room fraught with memories. Often the actors have less than 30 seconds to switch from one character to another and the scenes frequently overlap each other with one beginning as another ending.
“We love working with this kind of material,” said Selinger. “To watch as actors make choices, add subtleties, find multiple ways to portray such a wide variety of characters, that’s what we treasure in our work in ART. And from the audience’s perspective, it’s really captivating to see this unfold on stage.”
Spradlin thinks area audiences will be familiar with Gurney’s work from other productions that have been staged in the area.
“While I was employed at CLC we produced ‘The Dining Room’ and Gurney’s comedy ‘Sylvia.’ That play has been produced by other local theatres as well,” Spradlin said.
He notes that Gurney is probably best known for his
Pulitzer Prize
nominated play ”
Love Letters
”’
“The late Coral Stein and Joe Plut performed that play on various dates over a five-year period, and we toured it to several venues in the state,” said Spradlin. “It was a special event that our audiences came to see time and time again.”
For this iteration of “The Dining Room” Actors Repertory Theatre has enlisted the talents of a distinguished corps of local actors. The cast includes Olivia Armstrong, Rhoda Jackson, Shane Keran, Jenny Kiffmeyer, Nicholas Kory, and Blake Lubinus. Their work will be familiar to theater-goers, a small sample of which includes “August Osage County” (Armstrong and Lubinus), “Enchanted April” (Jackson), “A Sherlock Carol” (Kiffmeyer), “Tuesdays With Morrie” (Kory), and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)” (Keran).
What audiences can expect to witness is an unfolding of multiple scenes, each of which is complete in itself, featuring unique characters in compelling situations. Each vignette introduces a new set of people and events; a father lectures his son on grammar and politics; a boy returns from boarding school to discover his mother’s infidelity; a senile grandmother doesn’t recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter, her marriage a shambles, pleads futilely to return home. The play captured the imagination of audiences and critics, with comments such as:
“…hilarious and touching…as comic sketch crazily succeeds comic sketch a whole pattern of American life emerges…” — New York Post.“’The Dining Room’ serves a banquet of theatrical riches.” —New York Daily News.“…a thoughtful and superbly written comedy…” — Variety.“…often funny and rueful and, by the end, very moving.” — The New York Times.
Spradlin sat down with the cast and discussed their experience in working with such a uniquely challenging script.
Spradlin: You play multiple roles in “The Dining Room.” Describe the challenges you see as an actor in making each of the roles distinct.
Kory: Playing such a variety of characters all in the span of a single show is exciting and engaging in a way that most shows aren’t. My favorite part of any production is getting into the heads of the characters I play and determining how to take the words on the page and turn them into a performance that feels like a real and genuine person, be it in comedy or in drama. With ”The Dining Room” I have so many more characters to do that with, and less time with each character. This means I have to make every line, every word, and every interaction count in a way that I don’t with other productions.
Armstrong: One of the challenges I’ve encountered in distinguishing the different roles is managing the emotional range of each character. Each scene presents its own emotional journey, and it’s crucial to explore the specific buildup each character needs to effectively convey the scene’s message. Some scenes are definitely more challenging than others. I’ve also found that it is vital to fully embody each character not only through vocal shifts but also through body language, facial expressions, and gestures to effectively convey their backgrounds and emotions.
Lubinus: My central challenge, as I see it, is how to develop each character such that the audience allows enough suspension of disbelief to accept that each character is distinct and different: through physicality, line delivery, and being fully present in each scene. Moreover, I have found a challenge in developing each character without getting too “hammy.” Despite the comic moments (of which there are many), there is an earnestness to this show that I think requires the performances to be played straight and thoughtfully — even when we’re asked to play screaming children.
Kiffmeyer: Trying to recall what it was like to be a child or teenager for those roles, and what a person of that age would be thinking and how they would act. Remembering how to be playful or the angst of being an adolescent.
Jackson: Four of the characters I play are women in their 30s. The greatest challenge for me in making each character distinct is coming up with a different tone of voice and mannerisms to convey in a short amount of time, taking care to not turn a very real person into a caricature.
Keran: I’ve done a few shows where I’ve played multiple roles, so crafting different personalities isn’t as much of a challenge by itself. The challenge this time is that previous shows I’ve played multiple characters in were usually wackier, anything-goes comedies, so I could (generally) get away with being a bit more cartoonish or over-the-top with the different roles. But since this is a bit more grounded and down-to-earth, my aim thus far has been to make them more subtly distinct, not relying as much on drastically altering my voice but by giving the different roles unique body languages or vocal cadences, as well as voicing them in different registers.
Spradlin: Which role or roles in the play are your favorite? Why?
Kiffmeyer: There are several strong female characters in the show who are finding their ways simply by being true to themselves. I like the teenager, Claire, who stands up to her mother about what she likes and doesn’t like. The most fun is Sandra — a little girl at a birthday party.
Kory: Of all the characters I am playing, I think the role of Jim might be my favorite (a father faced with his grown daughter wanting to move herself and her children back in with him). He is in a scene that is both funny and poignant, a scene that can be played equally towards the comedic and the dramatic. I wish I got to play Jim throughout the entire production, but instead I’ve only got the span of a single scene, a mere handful of minutes, to really dig into this character. We get a strong sense of who he is and what his life is like all through the interactions between him and his daughter. I think it is one of the best-written scenes in an already amazing script.
Armstrong: My favorite role to play is Meg (the daughter referred to by Kory) because of the emotional depth of the scene. It’s essential to authentically portray the reality of this moment. Meg is a character who seeks a fresh start in life, which I believe many people can relate to. The ambiguity of the final exchange between her and her dad is particularly impactful, as it allows the audience to interpret it in various ways.
Lubinus: I’ve liked them all so far, so picking a favorite is tough. I think the grandfather sending his grandson to school is a great character–I’ve known old men like him and his dissatisfaction with everything his grandson tells him strikes me as very honest. Mikey has my favorite line of my roles (“Go hug your own, kids, Agnes. I’ve got work to do!”). They would probably be my favorites right now.
Jackson: My favorite role is Aunt Harriet (a woman whose nephew is wanting to chronicle her lifestyle in photos as part of a college project). Although I did not experience this level of formality growing up, I picture in my head an amalgam of three aunties of mine. I hope the love of tradition comes forth.
Spradlin: This show requires a tight ensemble effort. How would you describe the process? How does it differ from other productions you’ve done?
Keran: I do slightly prefer ensemble casts as it gives everyone involved a chance to shine, as it were.
Lubinus: Having no scene breaks is a bit unusual, of course, but I do enjoy the tightrope quality of the pacing.
Kory: Ensemble acting is always fun because it feels like I get to hang out with different people each night. With no leads, no principal parts, it feels like there’s less of a weight on each individual person, and that gives me the permission to play each character a bit bigger or a bit bolder than normally. I also get the opportunity to perform with five different actors, in scenes where each of us are the core focus of the action.
Armstrong: Building trust with my fellow actors has been crucial. This show is fast-paced and features multiple overlapping scenes, so, like in any production, it’s essential to rely on each other to come in at the right time with the correct cues. It’s equally important for the other actors to trust me to fulfill my role effectively. In these overlapping scenes, clearly conveying which characters belong to each moment is vital to maintain clarity. Each of us needs to have a deep understanding of our characters—their backgrounds, intentions, and motivations — while also collaborating to ensure we communicate the messages, ultimately telling cohesive stories together.
Kiffmeyer: Since each of us plays multiple characters, there is more emphasis and time being devoted to character development. For me, the memorization seems easier. The vignettes are all very conversational, which makes the dialogue flow. Blocking is simplified since everything takes place around a dining room table. And costume changes will be minimal, but effective.
Rhoda: The best theater experiences I’ve had as an actor are those ensemble shows where every person involved took the process seriously, yet also strove for a sense of camaraderie. It’s been a very fun experience thus far.
Spradlin: If there was one thing you’d want to tell prospective audience members about “The Dining Room” that might persuade them to attend, what would that be?
Nick: Going to see ”The Dining Room” is like going to see a dozen one-act plays, all of which offer a funny and poignant view at the shape and course of human relationships, and the many roles a single room can play in our lives.
Olivia: The show explores a range of themes and features many different complex characters, all while maintaining a fast-paced narrative that captures your attention from start to finish. Each scene flows seamlessly into the next, ensuring that the audience remains engaged and invested in the characters’ journeys. The humor and drama add depth, creating moments that are both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Blake: I would say that anyone can sit and watch TV or go to an “easier” more “conventional” show and be entertained, but if you want to watch a production that asks something from you, the audience, and invites you to unpack the various characters as you’re watching the cast do the same thing, then this show is for you.
Jenny: I think everyone in the audience will recognize and relate to at least some of the characters in the show. I think the audience will find humor in the (sometimes shallow) social mores on display as well as grasp the deeper undertones.
Rhoda: “The Dining Room” serves up wonderful slices of life — moments of laughter sprinkled with tenderness. Your heart will be filled.
Shane: You get to see me play a little boy with little (if any) shame, so that might be amusing.
Spradlin: Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
Lubinus: This has been just as interesting and as enjoyable as I thought it was going to be. My first description of this play is still that it’s “Weird — and difficult — and totally worth it.”
Kiffmeyer: We have two directors, which is somewhat unusual. Each has specific scenes they are directing, but they collaborate on the entire show.
Keran: I like pepperoni pizza.
The creative team for “The Dining Room” includes co-directors Spradlin and Selinger, sound designer and Actors Repertory Theatre co-founder Curtis Jendrow, set designer Tim Leagjeld, and production state manager Melissa Peterson.
Actors Repertory Theatre produces the play in partnership with the Central Lakes College Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are available on the Actors Repertory Theatre website at
www.art4mn.org
.
This activity is made possible, in part, by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Five Wings Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.