‘Our Town’ coming to your town

Simplicity is elegance, be it in life or in the WSU Performing Arts production of “Our Town” that tells the story of life, love, and death.

Written by Thornton Wilder, the American classic is first and foremost a story about life and appreciating it to its fullest, said show director Mary Trotter, a clinical assistant professor for performing arts.

Set from 1901 to 1913, Trotter said the characters are simple people in a simple time, dealing with everyday issues still dealt with today.

“I love this show,” Trotter said. “I have wanted to direct it for a long time.”

Chelsea Feiock, a junior studying psychology, plays Emily Webb, a daughter in one of two families featured in the story. She described “Our Town” as a beautiful story about living life and how it ends. Though not necessarily a sad play, Feiock said it’s very nostalgic for people.

Feiock’s character Emily is part of the main romance in the story. The play is full of family moments, including some between Emily’s love interest George and his father, Feiock said. The story doesn’t follow one specific character, but rather the town of Grover’s Corner itself and the Webb and Gibbs families.

“(It’s) very relatable. I think the audience who come will leave feeling very satisfied,” Feiock said. “It’s something that will keep your attention.”

Clarice Cohn, a senior digital technology and culture major who plays Mrs. Myrtle Webb, said people shouldn’t be deterred that the show is set so long ago, because the experiences of the characters and their conversations are still relevant today.

These include falling in love for the first time, the relationship between parent and child, and talking about the moment when two people take the plunge and decide to spend the rest of their lives together.

“(It’s) appreciating (life) in its simplicity,” Trotter said, “which is mirrored in the convention of the pantomime and simple nature of the set.”

The set is limited to chairs, tables, and archways that symbolize doors. Sometimes a sheet of wood is placed over chairs to create the tables. Every other set piece, from the 1900s-era stove to the morning’s breakfast, is pantomimed by the actors.

Thornton actually wrote the play to be performed in this way, with the limited set and no walls, Trotter said. The importance is the companionship, helping the audience pay more attention to the characters of the play rather than what the set looks like.

“I’ve never done anything like it,” Cohn said. “My entire kitchen doesn’t exist.”

For a while the actors would rehearse by bringing in pictures of items they have to pantomime, such as the sink and stove, Feiock said. They’d also carry smaller objects until they became accustomed to how they were held, she said.

The cast taped the outline of the set to remember where everything is, but recently the actors took it off when they learned where everything in each set was located, Cohn said.

“People can’t tell what I’m cooking, but they know what I’m doing,” she said.

Although she did a little pantomime practice with Nuthouse Improv, Feiock said she never saw a show that did so much of it. She said it looks really theatrical and while it was a challenge at first it’s gotten easier.

“Everyone’s very enthusiastic (and) very energetic,” she said. “It’s one of the best productions I’ve ever been in.”

Trotter said she found the play at the right time, after a death in her family. She said doing the production helped her get in touch with the simple things in life, a problem she believes is very common among people.

“A lot of people have that same issue of we get wrapped up in these big problems and forget what’s right in front of us,” Trotter said.

Cohn said she never played a motherly character before and she found it enjoyable. Rehearsals were long and often, but she said she made many friends.

“The relationships and connections you make with fellow actors in a scene is new to me, and it’s very cool,” Feiock said.

“Our Town” will showcase at the Wadleigh Theatre in Daggy Hall Dec. 4-6 and 11-13. The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 2 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $5 for non-WSU students, and free for WSU students.