Love Letters

The name of our next Reader's Theatre production, in which I have a co-starring role. In the words of our company:

Written by A.R. Gurney, the play follows a lifelong string of correspondence between staid, dutiful lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and the vivacious, somewhat unstable painter Melissa Gardner. From second grade through middle-age, the details of their poignantly funny friendship and ill-fated romance emerge from what is written- and what is left unsaid- in their letters.

So-poignant romantic comedy. I'm a little outside of my normal comfort zone of sketch comedy, playing a bit of a starched-collar go-getter, but it's that sort of new realm that I am really seeking in my born-again acting life. We know I can play a spaz, but how do I tackle the the meaty, tearful delivery? Reader's Theatre is really cool, because so much depends on the delivery. Not hiding behind technical wizardry or even blocking. The audience hangs on the words, going up for the highs and being brought down with the actors for the lows, moreso than in any other theatre I've seen. I'm so excited to take on the challenge of not only playing a character that is a bit outside myself (though one to which I can relate for a couple of different reasons, not the least of which is my own personal history with love letters to Paraguay), but a character at all ages of his life between eight and 55.

We had our first readthrough Tuesday night, and I'm paired up with a couple of pros (literally); in the director and female lead, both of whom have an employment resume that includes Minneapolis' Brave New Workshop, a place in which I have at one time or another considered "plying my sketch comedy craft."

More on this show, undoutedly, as the rehearsal process continues.