Revisiting the Days...

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

I was just revisiting two of the questionnaires that have been posted this season and since Ms. Louis and Ms. Roop are currently appearing on the boards in Barksdale's hit production of Doubt: a Parable, I thought I might relink them for your reading pleasure!

Katherine Louis, now turning in a show-stopping cameo performance as Mrs. Muller, came by and offered her thoughts in the fall when she was working on our season opener, The Member of the Wedding. You can revisit her post here.

Maggie Roop, who provides a beautifully honest portrayal of the young nun, Sister James, answered the questionnaire more recently as she was dazzling audiences in the ensemble of Theatre IV's production of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, while SIMULTANEOUSLY rehearsing for her current performance in Doubt: a Parable. The bulk of her questionnaire can be viewed here on the Theatre IV blog (as well as her talking about working on both productions), but there were a couple of answers that seemed just a bit too racy for The Children's Theatre of Virginia, so the rest of her questionnaire can be viewed here on the Barksdale Buzz.

Enjoy revisiting!

Oh, ALSO, Mary Burruss has a nice post on the Richmond VA Theatre blog that is primarily about Doubt. You can see that here.

Dawn Westbrook...Questionnaire...'Nuff Said

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Dawn Westbrook, our hysterical director of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter, has filled out the new questionnaire! This woman is a riot! So I'm just gonna let it speak for herself. And if you wanna see her hysterics onstage, come check out RD at Theatre IV, opening THIS FRIDAY!

Hometown: Sandston, Virginia

Audition song: "Don’t Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl

Special skills:Right now??? Doctoring up gold coins to make them shiny.

Favorite word: Cozy

First show ever saw: Professional would have been at Theatre VA and I think it was Tintypes

If you could go back in time and catch one show (Broadway or otherwise) what would it be?: The original cast, opening night of A Chorus Line.

Favorite show tune: I love “The Story Goes on” (if sung well)… from Baby.

Least favorite word: No

Favorite play: I loved watching Take Me Out sometimes I can’t tell if I enjoy great direction and magical moments, or the writing better. It is GREAT when they are both present. This one had both!

Favorite musical: I absolutely ADORE Avenue Q!!!!!

Most played song on your iPod (or CD player): "Love is Gone" at the gym or running.

Last book you read: Eat, Love, Pray but I am currently reading Obama’s newest book The Audacity of Hope.

Sound or noise you love: Mommie!!! Being screamed by my daughter when I come home.

Must-see TV show: My husband and I love American Idol, but I haven’t had a chance to watch it this season due to rehearsal conflicts. My favorite show is Entourage.

Last good movie you saw: Juno, which was recommended by my friend Jacquie O’Connor. My husband and I were able to finagle a date during rehearsals and one of my Friday nights off we caught dinner and this movie. Made for a great date night. And again…I’m back to “cozy” and “good direction and writing” all in one evening. Nothing better, my friend, nothing better.

Sound or noise you hate: The word NO. I hate saying it and I HATE hearing it.

Worst job you ever had: Working for a man I didn’t respect at Northwestern Mutual Service with 9-5 hours.

First stage kiss: South Pacific in High School with former Richmonder R.L. Rowsey

Worst costume ever: There are worst designs and then there are one’s that just didn’t flatter. I think I’ll leave this one alone.

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, emotionally)?: Creatively would have to be “Yes, I think we can do that!” Spiritually would have to be when justice and harmony are present and make their energies known to the universe. Emotionally …is a little more difficult to describe, but I think it’s when I FEEL the presence of justice, harmony and/or love in a moment, because I think that gives us a glimmer into what GOD is all about.

Billy-Christopher Has Surrendered to the Questionnaire

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

My turn! (Makes me think of Bronson Pinchot in the Broadway revival of Putting It Together when he came out to sing "Buddy's Blues" from Follies. Anybody? ...Nobody?)

I thought I wouldn't do the questionnaire, since it might seem a bit odd to do it and post it myself. And my boss (the fabulous Sara Marsden, Director of Marketing) also thought it was odd), but I figured what the heck. I'm in a show daggone it; and the mood struck me, so here it is: (Just ignore the rather dated headshot there at the top.)

Hometown: Campbellsville, KY

Audition song: "Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily We Roll Along (for EVERYTHING!!!) I auditioned for a pop show in NY with this song and the casting director asked me to learn a pop song and he would like to see me again. Very nice guy.

Got my Equity card singing this song in the style of Huck Finn!!! Special skills: hehehe...a bad Katherine Hepburn imitation. And I can eat popcorn out of my nose without using my hands.

Favorite word: lascivious

First show ever saw: Cats (ech...ech...sorry, hairball)

If you could go back in time and catch one show (Broadway or otherwise) what would it be?: First replacements in Sweeney Todd: Dorothy Loudon (Tony winner as the original Miss Hannigan) and George Hearn

Favorite show tune: "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables; such an incredibly well-crafted piece.

Least favorite word: How about phrase? "You're too young." I've heard that several times lately.

Favorite play: The Zoo Story by Edward Albee (who turns 80 on March 12!!!)

Favorite musical: Oh...so hard to choose... Godspell, Les Mis, Jekyll and Hyde (concept version, not that mess that ended up onstage), Sweeney Todd, ...

Most played song on your iPod (or CD player): currently anything on Patti Lupone's The Lady with the Torch album

Last book you read: Pillowman by Martin McDonagh. Disturbing. Wish that I hadn't started, but once I did, I couldn't put it down.

Sound or noise you love: a creek

Must-see TV show: Golden Girls (hehehe)

Last good movie you saw: Across the Universe (I bow to Julie Taymor)

Sound or noise you hate: Macy Gray singing.

Worst job you ever had: McDonald's (four times; three different McDonald's), which was rivaled only by a theatre I did summerstock with, but we'll let that lie.

First stage kiss: I was 21, she was 15 (and in her first professional production). I had just moved from Kentucky to take my first fulltime professional acting job in The Diary of Anne Frank. She remains to be one of the most professional actors I have ever worked with.

Worst costume ever: The Secret Garden. Dickon. Knickers. Vest. Neither of which are very flattering to guys that are not small. I was quite not small then.

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, emotionally)?: A great connection. Onstage or off. Indefinable. But you can feel it when it happens. Especially when you're sitting in an audience watching it happen...or sitting across a table from that person and it's happening.

Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter Grows a Bit of Magic Herself with the New and "Improved"(?) Questionnaire

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Guinea pig number two turns out to be the actress playing the title character in Theatre IV's AMERICAN PREMIERE production of Rumpelstitskin's Daughter. Gigi Galiffa is a 17-year-old senior at Atlee High School. 17!!! Playing the title character!!!!! And her singing the song "Secret of Gold"!!!!!!! I would buy a ticket just to hear her sing this song. Even if there weren't a gazillion other fantastic things about this show, Gigi singing this song is...yeah...the first time I heard her sing it was during a run-through and I was sitting off-stage talking to Thomas and apparently dropped out mid-sentence to listen. It's really stunning. Aside from being a great talent, she's so much fun! Such a fun cast we have!

There's even more stuff about the rehearsal process, etc. on Theatre IV's blog now. So be sure to keep checking in there as well! http://www.theatreiv.blogspot.com/

So, without further ado...(where are the timpanis when you need them?)...Gigi's questionnaire!

Hometown: I’ve lived in the Ville my whole life (aka Mechanicsville, VA).

Audition song: For Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter I sang “A Place Called Home” from A Christmas Carol. I recently sang “Home” from Maury Yeston’s Phantom for another audition…. Hopefully singing about home is my good luck charm =].

Favorite word: Serendipity: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. I like the movie, too.

First show ever saw: The first show I can really recall seeing was The Best Christmas Pageant Ever when I was in 4th grade. And where else but Theatre IV? Then 4 years later, I actually got to be in the same show at Theatre IV. Now it’s about 4 years later and I’m in Rumpelstiltskin’s Daughter, the first show I’ve been in at Theatre IV since then. Funny how things work out, huh?

Favorite musical: Holy cow. Where do I start? If I had to pick one, it would probably be Hairspray.

Most played song on your iPod (or CD player): Most likely something by Michael Buble or the Candyskins.

Last book you read: I read The Kite Runner after I got it for Christmas. It was one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read and I definitely recommend it. Now I’m reading Dracula, but I’ll probably have to set that aside to read Pride and Prejudice (one of my all-time favorites) for English class.

Sound or noise you love: Waves crashing at the beach. A racquet hitting a tennis ball.

Must-see TV show: The Biggest Loser. They change people’s lives on that show! I love it!

Last good movie you saw: Shakespeare in Love…*sigh*

Worst job you ever had: Well seeing as I’ve only had one job…it wasn’t bad. I was a hostess at the Grapevine II in the Short Pump area.

First stage kiss: Two years ago in Guys and Dolls. I played Sarah Brown and my friend who played Sky Masterson is about 5834956289305732 feet tall. Haha. It was interesting.

Worst costume ever: I could tell you about several dance costumes, but here’s one of the worst. Picture a black biker shorts unitard with cap-sleeves. Oh, and it gets better…a huge, red, sequin-bordered, velveteen, broken heart covering the entire surface area of my third grade stomach and chest. And we mustn’t forget the accessories: bright red bobby socks worn with pink ballet shoes and a red and silver sequined headband worn hippie-style. Song, you ask? "Don’t Go Breaking My Heart."

Rumpelstiltskin Weaves Some Magic

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

There are some new and exciting things happening on Barksdale Theatre's sister theatre's blog these days. You can check it out here!

One of these fun new things is (drum roll please...)

The new, improved(?) questionnaire has arrived! I have combined questions from James Lipton's adaptation of Pivot's questionnaire (featured on Inside the Actor's Studio), added several questions from Playbill.com's Cue & A, and decided to see how things play without pictures. I'm working toward creating a questionnaire completely (or relatively) unique to Barksdale Theatre and Theatre IV, but for now it's fun to play around with others' ideas.

Our first interviewee is David Janeski who plays Rumpelstiltskin in the American premiere of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter at Theatre IV (opening next Friday). David also appeared in Smoke on the Mountain (as Dennis, one of the twins; "[He's] the boy.") and Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, as well as Mame in Barksdale Theatre's Signature Season.

So...on to the questionnaire!

Hometown: Haymarket, VA. It used to be nowhere. Now it’s where Disney got kicked out, now holds the title of first outpost of DC Traffic. Thank you over development without infrastructure. Grr.

Audition song: I should have one shouldn’t I? I don’t parade myself as a “musical theatre actor;” I think not having a song repertoire is my subconscious way of keeping that. I once sang 8 bars at a 16 bar audition. I offered to sing it twice. They declined.

Special skills: EVERYONE involved in a production has special skills. Skills like imagination, promptness, teamwork.

Favorite word: Whatever my line is :)

First show ever saw: It was a Langston Hughes something at the Kennedy Center

If you could go back in time and catch one show (Broadway or otherwise) what would it be?: Somewhat hesitantly I would go back and see a performance that happened in Richmond December 26th 1811 entitled Raymond and Agnes or The Bleeding Nun, during which the scenery overhead caught fire and burned the place to the ground in

Favorite show tune: Aw really? You know not all of us are in love with musicals. I’ll go with “Till There Was You,” the Beatles version.

Least favorite word: Words mispronounced. ie: Exspecially.

Favorite play: I think this answer for most of us is influenced by the latest plays we’ve read. In that regard I’ll say An Enemy Of The People Ibsen w/ Miller

Favorite musical: Ragtime

Most played song on your iPod (or CD player): Eisley, "Many Funerals." It’s the 1st song on their latest album entitled Combinations

.Last book you read: 1491 by Charles C. Mann. It explores the pre-Colombian societies in the Americas and how they rivaled and even surpassed those of Eurasia.

Sound or noise you love: The tearing of a perforated edge.

Must-see TV show: Frankly, none of them. Aside from a football or baseball game I don’t watch television.

Last good movie you saw: Stardust

Sound or noise you hate: Screeching brakes; I hope nothing serious happened.

Worst job you ever had: I worked as a surveyor for a couple of summers. I carried a compound bucket full of wooden stakes, a small sledge hammer, radio, 5’ metal pole for shooting topography, and drug it all through briars, bogs, and wherever else was still undeveloped in northern Virginia in the late 1990’s. A wasp stung my eyelid; an hour later it looked like I was hiding a golf ball under there. Woo fun!

First stage kiss: I played Romeo in college in a production directed by Richmonder Jack Parrish. That stands as my only stage kiss.

Worst costume ever: Worst as in didn’t fit the show, poorly constructed, I would never wear it but on stage? As Puck in college I wore fur overalls cut for a flood

What turns you on (creatively, spiritually, emotionally)?: Wit coupled with intelligence.

So have a looksey at the Theatre IV blog and bring your kids (or just yourself) to see the American premiere of Rumpelstiltskin's Daughter!

www.theatreiv.blogspot.com

Jacqueline Jones Teaches Us Many Things in Her Responses to "The Questionnaire"

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Theatre IV’s production of A Christmas Story opens this Friday at the beautiful, historic Empire Theatre. One of Richmond’s favorite ladies is featured as Miss Shields (well, at some performances, but I’ll let her explain that later). Jacqueline Jones, known to most as Jackie, you may remember from Deathtrap, Over the River and Through the Woods, or Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, or from Into the Woods at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, or perhaps even more likely, as Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle at Theatre IV (the first show I saw at the Empire Theatre). Jackie has taken on the Pivot/Lipton questionnaire and shared some fantastic stories!

1. What is your favorite word?

Onomatopoeia

I like saying it different ways and in different voices and with different meanings. Have a whole conversation using only onomatopoeia. It's a good word. Honk.

I also like to say kiwi – and banana. Those are fun to say in different voices, too.

Mmeep, Mmeep.

2. What is your least favorite word?

Any word that is whined.

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?

Cool crisp fresh air – autumn is my favorite season, spring is a close second. Unless it is spring. Then autumn is a close second.

Singing in tight harmonies when they are right – it takes me a long time to learn them, so when I finally get them, I feel pretty and enjoy a sense of accomplishment – pulling weeds does that for me too, but it's not as fun.

My mother and my best friend Walker always suggested that I'd better hone my acting skills 'cause I'd never make it as a singer. When I was in college (Boston University, SFA '78), I took Voice for Theatre Students from a BU School of Music opera teacher. She carried her dog, Chloe, to every class (hmmm, I cannot remember the teacher's name, but I'll never forget the dog's). The dog, a tiny little thing the teacher carried under her arm, was there to show us how to breathe. I am really good at panting. My jury song (that's just too fancy a word for what we did, but what else shall I call it?) was "Will You Remember (Sweetheart)?" Maybe you've heard a Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy recording of it. After I finished singing, our teacher turned to my fellow students and proudly proclaimed, "Now class, didn't we turn this sow's ear into a silk purse!" Hmmm.

I usually refer to myself as a character singer.

(Jackie and Walker pictured together to the right)

4. What turns you off?

Dishonesty. Betray my trust and your name is mud.

I almost included "Rudeness," too. But I console myself that if not for the varied people and behaviors in the world, character actors would be out of a job.

5. What sound or noise do you love?

Quiet.

Shhhh of the overhead fan as it cools me to sleep while I am under a heavy quilt.

Train whistle – we live just close enough to the tracks, but not too close.

My children's *happy* voices: their laughter and humming and storytelling. My kids are "all grown up" now. Their happy voices still make me reel. (Jackie's son Madison pictured at left)

The garage door late at night: everyone's home and I can sleep soundly.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?

The bass vibrating my car from someone else's vehicle … even after they've driven a block away.

Our dog whining.

7. What is your favorite curse word? (have it at it. I obviously won't post it for real, but in some approved somewhat censored fashion) (Note: Jackie did her own censoring)

My favorites are not ones I actually use; in fact people tend to apologize when they curse around me. Maybe I make them feel guilty.

I did not grow up in a cursing home.

(Jackie's mother, Bea, pictured to the right; Bea is on the left in the picture with her mother, Jackie's Oma, on the right)

Our kitchen was divided into two parts by a bar which housed the stovetop. One day when I was about 13, I was on one side of the divider at our table. My mother was on the opposite side where she was hidden by the open refrigerator door. She did not know I was present.

Suddenly there was a crash followed by "S#!+!"

"Mom?"

Brief silence before her nonchalant, "Yes?"

I'd never heard my mother curse before and rarely since.

My college pal Bruce MacVittie (his birthday was October 14 – I always remember it because he told me no one ever remembered his birthday – part friendship, part challenge) is from Rhode Island. Oh boy, did he cuss! Those words just rolled off freely like I'd never heard (really never heard) before. Bruce wanted to teach me how to sling 'em too. We practiced. I learned to say "A$$H@!*" with a terrific New England accent just like his and one time I even tried it on for real. He glowed.

The German equivalent of "A$$H@!*" was my Oma's favorite and she taught it and all the other German curse words to her coworkers in the shoe department at Thalhimers where she and my Opa were tops. Oh the stories! I don't really like the word in German or English, but just the way Bruce MacVittie said it. Aside from that one time, I don't use it at all, but the "Sugar Honey Ice Tea" cuss has slipped from my lips on rare occasions.

One more cursing story. This one took place in 1982 on a Theatre IV tour of the musical The Golden Goose by Ford Flannagan; see him in Theatre IV's upcoming Peter Pan!

The cast included my current tag team Teacher in A Christmas Story. AnnaMarie Rossi and I share the role of Miss Shields in Theatre IV's upcoming holiday offering at the historic Empire Theatre (I do the weekday student matinees; she does weekend matinees and we split the evenings). In The Golden Goose, AnnaMarie played The Princess Who Could Not Smile. I portrayed Goldie, the Golden Goose, and at the time I was even still Jackie Goldberg. Hmmm, I wonder if Ford did that on purpose. Ford? We traveled with The Queen, The Guard, The Jester and Simpleton. All six actors but Goldie and Simpleton played multiple roles.

Ford, who wrote the book and lyrics and directed our show, was once quoted as saying, "the play is based on the Grimm stories about Simpleton and the Golden Goose. It has nothing to do with the goose that laid the golden egg.''

The publicity material said "The story takes place in a gloom-filled kingdom, the result of a spell cast by an evil Jester. The Queen holds a contest to find someone to break the spell, which can be done by making the melancholy Princess laugh. Simpleton, the hero of the tale, is aided by the title character."

The Queen was also our company manager on that tour. She was the liaison between Theatre IV and our venue contact person (usually a school "prince – i – pal" – ha-ha); she made big decisions on tour, a Queen Mother if you will. Coincidently, she is the person instrumental in my diligence in always wearing a seatbelt, even before it was a state law.

One of our Princes had major potty mouth. MAJOR. Our Queen on the other hand may as well have been called the Virgin Queen, my own dumb joke, because that title has little to do with the fact that she did not did not did not like cussing ... or overuse of the word hate. The Queen's disapproval of cursing fueled Mr. Potty Prince even more.

One day, his word du jour was … well … it was ... "f*%#wad." I'd never even heard that word. Have you? After hearing it all morning, our Queen went into a royal tizzy (she never raised her voice, even on this occasion) and decreed that the cursing must stop. It did. For a while. Until ... Later that day.

In our production of The Golden Goose, in an effort to make The Princess Who Could Not Smile happy again, the Queen throws a ball during which three Princes made cameo appearances to dance with The Princess Who Could Not Smile. Afterwards, she sings a lovely solo about when the good ol' days were so ... good, and how sad she is now. (Ford writes lyrics better than I do. He wrote Theatre IV's Little Red Hen, too. I was the title character in its premier in 1981. My sister Laura still asks me to twang the title song to her on the phone.) (Promo shot of The Little Red Hen at right, with Jackie at bottom left, AnnaMarie Rossi at left and Ford center, also pictured are Debbie Gale Taylor, seen as Joan's mother in Barksdale Theatre's production of The Lark last season, and Richard Travis)

Anyway, this particular show, the third dance partner, our very own Potty Prince, entered and twirled The Princess Who Could Not Smile as usual till the point at which he faced upstage (away from the audience). As The Princess Who Could Not Smile faced downstage, her face in full view of the audience, Potty Prince opened his mouth to reveal to her a tiny note neatly placed on his tongue, a tiny note with the word " f*%#wad " on it.

The Girl Who Could Not Smile must not smile now or the curse would be broken and the play would be over! So. She cried. And she cried and she cried. And she cried through her song and ran off stage "in tears." And her Queen mother did not know why the Princess was crying so hard since the Queen's throne was positioned where she could not see what had transpired. As you can imagine, this fairytale had no happy ending except that it is a good one to tell when someone asks about curse words.

I still hum that song sometimes.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I like to type. I edit a few newsletters, publicity and scripts on a volunteer basis. Sumpeen like dat, maybe? But just edit. Not write from scratch. That thing about writers sweating blood – not for me.

"Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead." - Gene Fowler -

I am so thankful my Dad insisted I take typing. Nowadays with computers, keyboarding is a given for youngsters. But when I was growing up, typing was a high school elective. I didn't know then that nerve damage would eventually make writing difficult for me. But typing – piece o'cake.

While I attended BU, I picked up some secretarial classes at Fisher Jr. College, Evening Division. I took Stenoscript, a new (at that time) kind of shorthand that I never used again. I don't think anyone has ever used it. I still have the book. Oh! It holds two long-forgotten letters of recommendations from my teachers. In my typing class was a guy who wrote pornography for a living. His editor told him that if he didn't type better, he would lose his job. He didn't "look like" a pornographer.

9. What profession would you not like to do?

Proofreading. Makes me nervous. I MIGHT MISS SOMETHIINNG. Math makes me nervous, too.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

You finally made it; the children will be fine.

(Jackie's daughter, Jasmine, pictured to the left.)

Be sure to check out Jackie and the rest of the cast of A Christmas Story at Theatre IV at the historic Empire Theatre November 30 - December 23. For tickets, call the box office at 344-8040.

You can also check out Jackie online at www.jacquelinejones.net

"Debra Wagoner, AKA Topeka Abotelli Sings in the Key of Q" or Debra Meets Lipton or Debra Wagoner Fills Out "The Questionnaire"

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

Tomorrow night at 8PM the smash Off-Broadway hit Swingtime Canteen opens at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern. I have my tickets; do you have yours? It has already been mentioned that one could hear/watch these five dynamic performers rehearse from the marketing department at the Empire Theatre. I cannot tell a lie: I watched and listened on more than one occasion. These women (Debra Wagoner, Katrinah Carol Lewis, Vilma Gil, Audra Honaker, and Jan Guarino) sound AMAZING!!!

There are so many great shows opening this month! Swingtime on Friday, Moonlight and Magnolias next Friday at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn, and Theatre IV's production of A Christmas Story next Friday (yes, it's adapted from the movie!!!). Ooh...also Spinning Into Butter is playing at the Firehouse Theatre Project through this Saturday. It's pretty incredible: beautiful set (Edwin Slipek, Jr.), very interesting, thought-provoking play, and all of the actors really bring it to the table...or desk...so to speak (Katie McCall, Melissa Johnston Price, Fred Iocovo, Tony Santiago, Matt Polson, and our very own Robert Albertia). Oh, and A Lesson Before Dying is playing at the African American Repertory Theatre through this Sunday. From what I hear, it's a really fantastic production. Essie Simms in particular was very adamant about how great the show is. Plus, it features Darius T. Epps, another Barksdale Theatre employee!

So...back to the subject at hand...I get a bit excited about good theatre...and there's so much of it here! It's so exciting to live in this community! Anyway...to Debra's questionnaire...

I must point out that I found it rather amusing that Debra shares many of the same answers as Joy Williams (whose questionnaire you can see two posts below). And she hadn't read Joy's before answering. Just a fun little thing.

So...to "The Questionnaire"!

1. What is your favorite word?
Yes

2. What is your least favorite word?
No.
Big surprise, huh?

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
Getting it right. I’m a terrible perfectionist.
A live audience….and knowing when you “have them.” I’ve often been asked why I don’t do more cabaret type gigs…get myself a little band together, etc. And I guess it’s because I like telling stories. And musicals to me are the best of both those worlds. You get to tell a story to the audience with words and music. Some people turn their noses up at musical theatre. But it IS most definitely an art form. And when it’s done well, it can be very transporting.

4. What turns you off?
People who hate musical theatre, HA HA!
But seriously, folks, I’m turned off by willful ignorance. Deliberate cruelty. Intolerance.
And little things like people who don’t use their turn signals……

5. What sound or noise do you love?
Laughter. Applause. Can’t pick just one sound.

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
Hmmmmm……microphone feedback. I would swear that I’ve sustained some hearing loss over the many years of dealing with microphones. I’ve never really enjoyed using them. But they are a necessary evil, I guess.

7. What is your favorite curse word?
F***. I have a potty mouth...It might be because out of pure contrariness; I started cursing when someone told me: “You have such a sweet face I can’t imagine you ever saying dirty words”. Well, f*** that s***.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Costume design. But, gee, I need to learn how to sew. The only other job I ever enjoyed was being a patient advocate of sorts for the elderly. Walking them through the insurance red tape, etc. I got some nice thank you letters, and some great homemade cookies doing that job! It felt really great knowing that I was helping these folks out. That was many years ago, and the healthcare/insurance system is even worse than it was then. Geez!

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything to do with politics.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Come on in and sit right down and make yourself at home.

You can read more about Debra and her goings on and her debut album, The Hopeful Romantic, which features a really stellar interpretation of "No One Is Alone" from Into the Woods, among others, at http://www.debrawagoner.com/.

Be sure to check out Debra and all the ladies in Swingtime Canteen at Barksdale Theatre at Hanover Tavern, running November 23 - January 20. Opening weekend is already sold out so be sure to purchase your tickets soon!

Wichmann Steps Up to the Plate and Answers Lipton's Questionnaire (Is that a long title? I'll work on it.)

Posted by Billy Christopher Maupin

So...once upon a time...wait...Into the Woods just closed (that was the first line of the show)...umm...Seems to me this old arbor has shrunk...ok...so maybe the first line of Carson McCullers' beautiful play, The Member of the Wedding, also isn't the best way to start this post, even though this post bears a strong connection to Barksdale's upcoming production of said play in our very exciting Signature Season at Willow Lawn.

So, scratch all that, I'm just gonna jump right in: Marcel Proust used to do this questionnaire thing that inspired Bernard Pivot, who among other things was a French talk show host, he himself being French as well, not just the talk show...anyway...at the end of his show, Bouillon de Culture(1990-2001), he would ask all of his guests a set of questions. James Lipton, host of Inside the Actor's Studio, was inspired by this and decided to adapt it (just slightly) to end all of his shows. (Inside the Actor's Studio airs on Sundays at 8 pm, I believe, and is often incredibly interesting. You can also find a lot of the episodes with some really great stars-Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Teri Hatcher, the cast of Will & Grace-on YouTube...oh how I love YouTube.)

But what I thought would be way cool would be to put those same questions to some our Richmond artists and have a sort of series of these posts. In the coming weeks, leading up to and during the run of The Member of the Wedding, you will get to read what these actors, designers, technicians, etc. had to say in response the questionnaire. Today...I'm getting goosebumps, I'm so excited...we have director Scott Wichmann's responses to the Bernard-Pivot-Slightly-Adapted-for-Inside-the-Actor's-Studio- Questionnaire (I keep spelling questionnaire wrong...oh, how I also love spell check- which it is now telling me is two words).

LET THE FUN BEGIN!
(Oh, wait, before the fun begins, I suppose we should note that all comments and opinions expressed in these responses are the sole opinion of the interviewee and do not represent the opinions of Barksdale Theatre or its affiliates, blah blah blah:)

And now the fun!:

1. What is your favorite word?
MUKLUKS!! The eskimo footwear made popular by the Sketch Comedy troupe 'Radio Free Vestibule' in their classic four-minute sketch 'Bulbous Bouffant' back in 1994. You can listen to the audio of 'Bulbous Bouffant' at http://www.ferin.com/words.mp3/ it is HILARIOUS. Having fun with words and their goofy sounds always makes me happy.

2. What is your least favorite word?
NO. I think I've always been averse to that one. Especially when it is in answer to my query, "Honey, are there any more cookies left?"

3. What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
I really get a charge out of being plugged into the creative process with other committed artists who are not afraid to take risks and fall on their faces. I think as I get older, and hopefully more emotionally mature, I'm learning that it is best to just put yourself out there (whether onstage or off) and let yourself respond honestly and fearlessly. That's where the good stuff always is, and that is how you learn to evolve as a human being.

4. What turns you off?
The perpetuation of willfull ignorance, the current info-tainment based political and cultural scene, Brussels sprouts, and the New York Yankees.

5. What sound or noise do you love?
My dog Elliot's hound-dog bay, the crack of a wooden bat, the lightsaber noise, the Godzilla roar, and the meditation bell. Oh, and the words "The Red Sox Win!"

6. What sound or noise do you hate?
Styrofoam. I absolutely cannot stand it. It's like my kryptonite. I hear it, and I'm like, "If.. just...can..reach...utility belt..."

7. What is your favorite curse word?
It isn't a curse word, per se, but my father used to say "You can just go pound sand" whenever he was really upset at someone for something. The futile image of someone 'Pounding sand' was just hilarious to me as a kid. Every now and then I'll use that one, keeping in mind that I hope one day I can turn out to be the kind of gentleman my father is.

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I would seriously love to go into politics one day. I'm very concerned about the state of the country right now, and I feel that to a large extent, the people in Washington don't really address the pressing concerns of everyday Americans. I continually find that people of all party affiliations deeply share that view. It is really sad that one has to be a quadrillionaire to run for President in this day and age. I could probably talk politics all day long with anyone, anywhere. I love it.

9. What profession would you not like to do?
Anything that harms animals or makes me have to juggle fire. Or chainsaws.

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
MUKLUKS!!! Then I'd know we're cool with each other.

So come check out Scott's direction of Carson McCuller's The Member of the Wedding, September 21 through October 28 at Barksdale Theatre at Willow Lawn. I'm really excited about seeing this production for several reasons, not the least of which is that I think it's a marvelous, beautifully written play. Another being that once upon a time, I worked on Theatre IV's production of Ben Franklin and His Kite (Shout out to BFK'04!) that Scott wrote and directed, creating a really fantastic production. Oh, I should mention that to get tickets to The Member of the Wedding, you can call the box office at 282-2620 (or you can order them online, but my recommendation is that you call and speak with one of the fabulous box office staff)!

-- Billy Christopher Maupin
w/Scott Wichmann's illuminating responses