Written by Joe Janes
8/23/09
217 of 365
Cast:
Randy, 30s
Ed, 60s
Fred, 60s
Irene, 60s
(Lights up on Randy seated at a card table with three microphones. He wears big, bulky headphones. Seated next to him, is Ed.)
RANDY
Hello, Vacationland. Welcome to Art & About with Randy Carson, your radio connection to the world of the performing arts in Ottawa County. I’m your host, Randy Carson. I’m here on stage at Stagecrafter’s Civic Theater which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week. With me today is Ed Vangeloff, the artistic director of Stagemaker’s . Welcome, Ed.
ED
Thank you, Randy.
RANDY
Fifty years! Wow! That is a long time for a community theater to be in existence. It’s a long time for anything to be in existence. Congratulations.
ED
Thank you, Randy. But I want your listeners to know, that I haven’t been around for the whole fifty years. (he laughs) I’m not that old.
RANDY
How many years have you been with Stagecrafter’s?
ED
48. I remember as a teenager seeing the Stagemaker’s first
production of “Our Town” and I guess you could say I caught the acting bug. I knew right then and there that theater was something I wanted to do in my spare time.
RANDY
And I must say, I’m probably your biggest fan, Ed. You’ve been in over 80 productions with Stagecrafter’s. What have been your favorite shows that you’ve been in?
ED
That’s hard to say. I like every production of “Fiddler on the Roof” we ever did. I played Tevye in eight of them. Every Neil Simon comedy we ever did has been a winner.
RANDY
Always a huge crowd pleaser. Which ones have you done?
ED
Uh, “The Odd Couple,” “The Sunshine Boys,” which is like an older Odd Couple, “Barefoot in the Park,” which is like a male/female Odd Couple. Very funny. All of them. I usually play the Walter Mathau role. And Fred Heckert usually plays the fussy, neat Jack Lemmon-y guy.
RANDY
Even in Barefoot in the Park?
ED
Oh, no, my wife played opposite me in that. In fact, it’s how we met. Isn’t that right, Irene?
IRENE(off)
No!
ED
No, it’s not, we met in high school. (to Irene) This makes a better story! We don’t do “Barefoot” as often as we do “Odd Couple.” We’ve done that one 10 times over the years and it’s always me and Fred. Which is funny, because in real life, we’re the complete opposite. I’m the tidy guy and Fred’s the slob. Well, ever since his wife left him over his drinking problem, he’s been the slob.
FRED(approaching, opening a beer can)
Did I hear my name? Is this guy feeding you a pack of lies?
ED(quietly)
We’re doing an interview for the radio, Fred.
FRED
Oh, yeah, sure, sure…shhhh-shhhhh. Hey, the girl building flats is hot. Meow. Shhhhhhh. (walks away, drinking)
ED
She’s in high school Fred.
FRED
Shhhhh! Don’t spook her.
RANDY
Now, Ed, with this being the 50th anniversary of Stagemaker’s are we going to be seeing anything new?
ED
As a matter of fact, we are. We’ve tackled a lot of the classics over the years, like “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “South Pacific”. This year, we’re digging even further back, and trying our hand at Shakespeare’s “Othello”. It sounds like we’re taking a big risk, but when you think about it, Shakespeare was the Neil Simon of his time.
RANDY
He certainly was. He did comedy and drama, just like Neil Simon. I understand you prepared a little something for us.
ED
Uh, yeah. Hey, Fred … we’re going to do the scene now. What you’re going to hear is me as Othello and Fred as Iago rehearsing one of our scenes.
FRED (re-entering)
She keeps Ed in line.
RANDY
Do you always take the male lead in all of Stagemaker’s productions?
ED
Um, well, it does seem to work out that way. But I audition like everyone else.
RANDY
And who’s directing this production?
ED
That would be Irene Vangeloff, my wife…
(in the background, the sound of hammering is heard)
IRENE (off)
Ray! Ray! Stop with the hammering! God dammit, Ray! Enough with the hammering! (The hammering stops.) Thank you.
(We hear a hammer being thrown down and some muttering from Ray as he stomps off. Fred has taken his oplace at the card table. Iago, performed by Ed, is played as if he were Walter Mathau/Oscar Madison and Othello, performed by Fred, is played as if he were Jack Lemmon/Felix Unger.)
OTHELLO (exasperated)
What do'st thou thinke, Iago?
IAGO
Thinke, my Lord?
OTHELLO
Thinke, my Lord? Alas, thou ecchos't me; As if there were some Monster in thy thought Too hideous to be shewne.
IAGO
Men should be what they seeme.
OTHELLO
Thou do'st conspire against thy Friend, Iago.
IAGO
I do beseech you, To let you know my thoughts
OTHELLO
What dost thou meane?
IAGO
Who steales my purse, steales trash:
OTHELLO
Ha?
IAGO
Oh, beware my Lord, of jealousie, It is the greene-ey'd Monster, which doth mocke The meate it feeds on.
OTHELLO
Iago, Iago, Iago!
IRENE (off)
And scene!
(Sound of a beer can opening. Fred gulps down his drink during his next line.)
FRED
That felt good… I liked that…Should I gay it up more? That always gets laughs.
IRENE (off)
You gay it up any more and we’ll have to loan you my heels. Ha!
ED (to Irene)
I think I should do this with my hand more. You know, gesture more, like I’m acting.
IRENE(off)
Whatever you want, honey.
RANDY
Well, that was really exciting, Ed.
ED
It’s an opportunity to offer our audiences some culture and it gives me a chance to really stretch as an actor. I get to wear blackface.
FRED
We don’t do minstrel shows anymore, but we do still have a lot of make-up left over from those days. So, it’s good to put it to use.
RANDY
And you’ll be walking in the footsteps of some many great actors who have put on blackface for that role. Orson Welles, Lawrence Olivier…
ED
Yeah, and that guy who was the bartender on “The Love Boat”.
RANDY
He probably didn’t wear the blackface.
ED
Who knows. I wasn’t there.
RANDY
This is Randy Carson wishing Stagecrafter’s a happy 50th anniversary here on Art and About with Randy Carson. I’ll be seeing you in the front row.
(Blackout)
