The O-town Scene

Family ties local theater community Franklin Stage Company begins its 15th season this week with ‘Blithe Spirit’ Music crackles to life, and Madame Arcati whimsically sways her arms. She steps to the song as she primes herself for the coming encounter with the afterlife. The other cast members giggle at her — not just because the script says they should as skeptics of this odd woman who is setting up a séance — but because the actress portray- ing Arcati, Angelina Fiordellsi, truly is funny. Moments earlier, Fiordellsi opened the living room’s patio doors, and after a few giggle- inducing-snort-of-breaths inward, she stops cold and points. “That cuckoo is very angry,” she says as her castmates burst at the seams, holding in laughter that audiences certainly won’t. Today, the audience is comprised of a few interns, the director, lighting designer, sound technician and stage manager for Noel Cow- ard’s “Blithe Spirit,” as well as Franklin Stage Company’s Artistic Director Carmela Marner. It’s a tech day. So is tomorrow. Which means a Saturday and Sunday of 12-hour days spent on stage, ironing out the technical cues. “Blithe Spirit,” which like all Franklin produc- tions is free admission, opened June 29 and will run through July 17 as the first of a full season of offerings. That full slate includes two in-house productions — “Blithe Spirit” and “Trojan Women” — as well as six other theatrical productions. company takes. When Franklin took on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” it was set in the American Southwest with cowboys. Puppets and music are often used, like in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Past produc- tions have included work from 16th century Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega, contemporary American scribe Tennessee Williams and 1700s writer Carlo Goldoni. “They dig the wonderful pieces out of the past and bring them to people around here who would not have had the opportunity to see such a range of theater,” Sam said. “I think there are a lot of average people around here that have been drawn to theater. People who ordinarily wouldn’t have gone to theater were curious about theater in a very small town.” Caitlin Coyne Peter Gaitens, Carmela Marner and Patricia Buckley in Noel Coward’s ‘Blithe Spirit’ at Franklin Stage Company through July 17. “‘Blithe Spirit’ is very funny, and I think people will get a lot out of it,” Marner said. “‘Trojan Women’ is set at the end of the Trojan War, but I feel it will surprise some people, and there’s a chance for a lot of exuberance. With the puppets and live music it will be a neat theater experience.” The season in particular is a special one for Marner. Not only is it a return to a full lineup after taking a one-year hiatus from in-house productions last year and her first full season as artistic director, but it is the 15th season for Franklin Stage Company. “It sort of snuck up on us. It snuck up on me a bit,” Marner said. “It’s sort of shocking that we’ve been doing this for so long. It’s been exciting to choose the plays we want to bring forth to the community. “It’s such a gift to be able to do this, but what I find the most rewarding is people coming up to me afterward and telling me how much we mean to them. It’s very exciting to make a difference in people’s lives. It’s gratifying to know that the work we choose has an impact on people’s lives.” At tech day, the actors are trying to coordinate their move- ments on stage with the sound cues. This production of “Blithe Spirit” is being done as theater-in-the-round with audience watching from three sides. Not having a real backstage com- plicates things. Fiordellsi’s Arcati has opened and closed the gramophone four times as she tries to figure out how to best cue the sound technician when to play the music. They’ll run the scene at least three more times before moving on, creating a long day where patience is key to put the perfect finish on the play before dress rehearsals start in two days. For Marner, this isn’t just a place she’s worked for 15 years — in theater, it never is. Franklin isn’t just a passion either — something needed to endure the long hours of rehearsal before finally being able to bring a work to life on stage in front of a live audience. For Marner, this is family. Franklin Stage Company was founded in 1996 by her parents, Eugene Marner and Carole Lucia Satrina. Along with fellow co-founder Tom Butts, Marner’s parents moved into the building at 25 Institute St. in Franklin — a three-story structure that was once a Mason’s Lodge and a home for girls — and began constructing what has become a vibrant and vital regional theater experience. “For all of us involved in building this company, I think theater is an important component of community life,” Gene said. “Theater is a place where people can come together in a room to talk and think about matters important or not impor- tant. I think we prefer to think that the productions we do are, in some way, important to us and to our audiences.” Audiences have responded. Despite both being older than 80 years old, Cooperstown residents Sam and Hilda Wilcox make the 50-minute trek to Franklin for every show — that is except for the first year, when they were unaware of the company. “They do important plays, plays that challenge the audience. Most of the things you see are embarrassingly juvenile,” Hilda said. “The main thing is, they have very talented actors. They come from all over because they want to be in Franklin.” The Wilcoxes say they are inspired by the direction the The actors are on a “Five” — a five-minute break, that is — while the stage manager and director talk through a lightning and sound transition. In the lobby, the actors chat and snack on clementines and pastries while the sun shines outside and a lawn mower roars to life next door. It’s a typical small-town sum- mer Saturday afternoon. On the floors above the lobby and stage are a prop room stuffed with bicycles, glasses, vases and numerous other random objects; dressing rooms with three men working on completing the “Blithe Spirit” costumes and the Masons’ main room — a fantastic open space with tin tiles on the ceiling and a giant Mason crest above the fireplace at one end. The building certainly isn’t a theater by the look of it, but the feel of a theater lives with the people working on the upcoming production. “Every production is a family, because you are working so intensely together,” Carmela Marner said. “You’re telling the story of the lives of real people, and so it’s intense, and you grow very close. Every play is like a new creature you are giving birth to. “We try to be as inventive as possible by doing an inter- esting take on things people know, or doing more obscure things that people may not have seen,” she said, summarizing Franklin’s direction. The elder Marner sees his daughter running the show now as the natural progression. Theater has a history of family tradition, and he is proud of his daughter for continuing what he helped begin. “The whole thing has been an extraordinary experience from the start,” Gene said of the company’s beginning. “We set out wanting to do plays, and we did them, and apparently we have succeeded in growing a large and loyal audience. We had no idea we would be able to please our audiences this much and grow an audience the way we have.” For more information on Franklin Stage Company’s upcom- ing season and for show times for “Blithe Spirit,” visit www. franklinstagecompany.org. _ Trevor Hayes June 30, 2011 O-Town Scene 11

• Cover