Week 31, Day 217 -“Art and About with Randy Carson”

“Art and About with Randy Carson”

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 50^th 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 50^th 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 50^th anniversary here on Art and About with Randy Carson. I’ll be seeing you in the front row.

(Blackout)