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| "Dearly Departed"
embraces Southern stigmas |
Kevin Delury
Entertainment Beat Writer |
Jacque Lenz | The Appalachian |
Usually, when one thinks
of actors preparing for an upcoming performance, visions of dramatic
outbursts at fellow actors and directors, accompanied by sulking
off in the corner, as well as complaining about a variety of things
come to mind.
We have Hollywood for the most part to thank for that idea. But
then again, Hollywood does not know the first thing about stage
acting, and they certainly do not know anything about the cast of
“Dearly Departed.”
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“I love it,”
said Kirk Dickens, who plays the character Ray-Bud. “Every
rehearsal is like a party.”
Shelby Jennings, who plays the role of Raynelle,
also shares this sentiment.
“I’ve been in a lot of great shows
here and had a lot of casts, but I think this is one of the greatest
casts I’ve been in,” said Jennings.
“Dearly Departed” is somewhat of a
Kentucky-fried nightmare. After the family patriarch Bud Turpin
drops dead at the breakfast table in the first act, things are set
in motion as the Turpin family gathers together to prepare for his
funeral. Each character exudes some stereotypical southern trait
but plays it off in such a way that you might as well be looking
at someone you have met in real life.
“It’s just like my family from back
home,” said Dickens of the characters.
Perhaps one of the reasons for tuning in so closely
to Southern colloquialisms is the fact that characters in the original
script were left so empty it was almost entirely up to the actors
to breath life into them.
“We had a big discussion about our hometown,
where we had lived,” said Dickens. “It’s really been
a pretty shallow script as far as character information goes, so
we had to make all the information about how old we were, how long
we had known each other, how long we’d been married, things
about children and relationships and things like that.”
The reason for the almost one-dimensional characters
might be in part because “Dearly Departed” was not originally
intended as a play.
“As a play, it’s not one of your great
plays,” said director Joel Williams. “It’s really
a series of sketches. It was originated in an improvisational theatre
in New York. They eventually gelled it into what we have as a complete
play.”
A good deal of the comedic improvisational aspect
of “Dearly Departed” rests on Stephanie Fields, who plays
the character Delightful.
“I have three lines, so basically my job
is to be funny,” said Fields.
“Dearly Departed” is Fields’ first
play at Appalachian State University, but she as taken to the stage
and her role seamlessly, producing some of the show’s best
laughs.
“Almost everything I do onstage is completely
improv,” said Fields. “Shelby and I actually have worked
a lot together to work on new bits and keep it fresh.”
Audiences can look forward to a good deal of
laughs courtesy of the cast who make up “Dearly Departed.”
“It’s not even satire,” said Williams.
“There’s very little to think about when you see this
play. You see it, laugh at it, and you go home and say ‘Man,
that was funny.’”
“Dearly Departed will be showing at Valborg
Theatre Oct. 9-12 with the show beginning at 8 p.m., and Oct. 12
with a 2 p.m. matinee and a final 8 p.m. performance. Tickets are
on sale at the Valborg Box Office for $6 in advance and $10 at the
door. |
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