June 14th, 2011
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Author: One might mistakenly presume that a play titled “Hatchetman” is about an axe murderer, that it is some sort of “Crime and Punishment: Part Two.” But no, the show – written by David Wiltse and playing at People’s Light & Theatre through July 17 – occurs at a golf magazine office.
The plot of the production centers on the mayhem caused by fear of an imminent corporate takeover. The “exceedingly incompetent editorial staff” fears the person who will cut them down and take away their jobs, hence, the “hatchetman.”
Guest director Steve Umberger, who has directed two shows at People’s Light prior to this one, explains that the golf magazine “has just been put on the market and there’s a corporation sniffing around, and it throws everyone into a tizzy because they think they’re going to lose their jobs.” With the employees’ fear that somebody on the staff is going to fire them comes the mindset “how do I keep my job?”
To the average post-recessional American businessperson, this may sound like a horror story, but the play is a comedy. A farce, to be exact.
Thus, elaborates Umberger, the action is very “wild and crazy,” with characters who are “all very wacky-eccentric.” He adds that “it’s a challenge, because it’s not sort of natural behavior. It is exaggerated, so you have to have a certain style of playing that’s still real, you still have to believe in [it], but then it sort of has to go up a couple of notches, and that’s a really specific challenge. Not all actors can do it, and there aren’t a lot of plays like that.”
Yet having a cast of merely six has certainly alleviated some of these difficulties for Umberger. When asked about the ups and downs of working with such a small cast, he answers with conviction, “there are only ups.”
After having directed several Shakespearean performances, which typically have a minimum of 15 actors, Umberger can attest that adding characters means adding layers of complexity, that “any time you add actors, you’re just adding more work.” He says that smaller casts “makes it easier to do a tighter production” and aid the process of working together.
Another factor that facilitated the group work necessary in theatrics was being at a theater with a resident acting company, whereas “most theaters have different casts for every play.”
“With that,” explains Umberger, “comes a lot of shared history and a lot of experience together, so we don’t have to start from scratch. We can start further ahead, so we can get a little bit further in terms of finding relationships and finding business and making the play come to life.”
As with all genres of theater, but farce in particular, making the play come to life is key. Umberger seeks to achieve this not only through the actors, but also through stage elements such as costuming, set and lighting.
“Because it’s a farce,” he says, “it’s a little bit heightened. The colors are brighter, more vibrant; the costumes are a little bit crazier.” Overall, what makes “Hatchetman” distinct from other plays is that “it’s just heightened, just ramped-up, just more energy.”
Despite the clear theme of exaggerated action, Umberger feels that the audience can relate to the characters and what they’re going through. They have the “hopes and dreams and fears and quirks that everybody has, and that’s what audiences recognize.”
People can relate to the guy with the poor memory who asks the questions that have already been answered. People can relate to the situation in which “everybody’s running around trying to save their jobs.” Continued…
And when it comes to farce, which Umberger notes is “a very hard genre to write,” such a juxtaposition of overstated characters and relatability constitutes a success.
Umberger’s positive experiences at People’s Light should also make this particular production of the show a success. He says of the actors, “they’re all really experienced, and they’re experienced with comedy, and physical comedy, slapstick.”
He also notes of the theater itself: “it’s a great environment … the staff is terrific, we’re very well-cared-for, and all the production elements get the attention they need.”
Such an ambience “makes the job easier. It makes the audience’s experience better,” Umberger says. And when it comes to theater, what better goal is there than a happy, satisfied audience?
IF YOU GO:
“Hatchetman”
continues at
People’s Light & Theatre,
39 Conestoga Road,
Malvern, PA 19355,
through July 17.
Tickets prices vary.
Info: 610-644-3500 or Continued…
One might mistakenly presume that a play titled “Hatchetman” is about an axe murderer, that it is some sort of “Crime and Punishment: Part Two.” But no, the show – written by David Wiltse and playing at People’s Light & Theatre through July 17 – occurs at a golf magazine office.
The plot of the production centers on the mayhem caused by fear of an imminent corporate takeover. The “exceedingly incompetent editorial staff” fears the person who will cut them down and take away their jobs, hence, the “hatchetman.”
Guest director Steve Umberger, who has directed two shows at People’s Light prior to this one, explains that the golf magazine “has just been put on the market and there’s a corporation sniffing around, and it throws everyone into a tizzy because they think they’re going to lose their jobs.” With the employees’ fear that somebody on the staff is going to fire them comes the mindset “how do I keep my job?”
To the average post-recessional American businessperson, this may sound like a horror story, but the play is a comedy. A farce, to be exact.
Thus, elaborates Umberger, the action is very “wild and crazy,” with characters who are “all very wacky-eccentric.” He adds that “it’s a challenge, because it’s not sort of natural behavior. It is exaggerated, so you have to have a certain style of playing that’s still real, you still have to believe in [it], but then it sort of has to go up a couple of notches, and that’s a really specific challenge. Not all actors can do it, and there aren’t a lot of plays like that.”
Yet having a cast of merely six has certainly alleviated some of these difficulties for Umberger. When asked about the ups and downs of working with such a small cast, he answers with conviction, “there are only ups.”
After having directed several Shakespearean performances, which typically have a minimum of 15 actors, Umberger can attest that adding characters means adding layers of complexity, that “any time you add actors, you’re just adding more work.” He says that smaller casts “makes it easier to do a tighter production” and aid the process of working together.
Another factor that facilitated the group work necessary in theatrics was being at a theater with a resident acting company, whereas “most theaters have different casts for every play.”
“With that,” explains Umberger, “comes a lot of shared history and a lot of experience together, so we don’t have to start from scratch. We can start further ahead, so we can get a little bit further in terms of finding relationships and finding business and making the play come to life.”
As with all genres of theater, but farce in particular, making the play come to life is key. Umberger seeks to achieve this not only through the actors, but also through stage elements such as costuming, set and lighting.
“Because it’s a farce,” he says, “it’s a little bit heightened. The colors are brighter, more vibrant; the costumes are a little bit crazier.” Overall, what makes “Hatchetman” distinct from other plays is that “it’s just heightened, just ramped-up, just more energy.”
Despite the clear theme of exaggerated action, Umberger feels that the audience can relate to the characters and what they’re going through. They have the “hopes and dreams and fears and quirks that everybody has, and that’s what audiences recognize.”
People can relate to the guy with the poor memory who asks the questions that have already been answered. People can relate to the situation in which “everybody’s running around trying to save their jobs.”
And when it comes to farce, which Umberger notes is “a very hard genre to write,” such a juxtaposition of overstated characters and relatability constitutes a success.
Umberger’s positive experiences at People’s Light should also make this particular production of the show a success. He says of the actors, “they’re all really experienced, and they’re experienced with comedy, and physical comedy, slapstick.”
He also notes of the theater itself: “it’s a great environment … the staff is terrific, we’re very well-cared-for, and all the production elements get the attention they need.”
Such an ambience “makes the job easier. It makes the audience’s experience better,” Umberger says. And when it comes to theater, what better goal is there than a happy, satisfied audience?
IF YOU GO:
“Hatchetman”
continues at
People’s Light & Theatre,
39 Conestoga Road,
Malvern, PA 19355,
through July 17.
Tickets prices vary.
Info: 610-644-3500 or
www.peopleslight.org/production/hatchetman
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