By Caitlin Stephens
Staff Writer
The New Exponent was lucky enough to interview Dr. Eric Love about his involvement in The Fantasticks, the Tennessee Wesleyan College Drama Department’s fall production. The play opened on Homecoming night and ran on the following Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The Fantasticks is the longest running musical in history and originally debuted in 1960. The play starred Dylan Pogue, Jen Nunley, Logan Reed, Rick Parker, Kathleen “Kitty” Waller, Tyler Stanfield, Kortni Lake, Evergreen Haverkamp, Meagan Malone, and Kelsey Peck.
NE: What was your inspiration for choosing The Fantasticks for this production?
LOVE: I have wanted to do The Fantasticks since I first saw it 16 years ago. This was my first good opportunity. Also the cast is relatively small and the music is do-able with piano only so that we didn’t have to arrange for a big orchestra or what have you. I just love the story in general-the fact that it’s sweet on the surface but actually has some “teeth” when you get into it. It goes from a romanticized version of love to a much more realistic version of love through the course of the play.
NE: How do you think the play was received by the audience as a whole?
LOVE: I can’t really say-I only talked to a small percentage of them, but those that I did talk to seemed to love it. The audience response during the show was very positive in terms of laughter, applause, etc. so, I am certainly inclined to think it went very well. I personally could not have been more pleased.
NE: The play only ran for four days, why so brief a running time?
LOVE: Actually, for Wesleyan, this was a long run because it spanned two weekends-in the past that has not been the case. Also, royalties on musicals are very, very expensive, and four dates was within our budget.
NE: Did you change anything from the original script or add anything to the set that was not included in the original?
LOVE: Every production of every play is unique. We can’t possibly do something exactly the way it was done when a play premiered-and this one debuted in 1960. Through its long life it has changed quite a bit, and ours certainly had its own idiosyncrasies.
NE: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the production?
LOVE: Scheduling, mostly. Townsend is a campus space, not a theater space, so there are inherent issues with time in the space. Building the set to rehearse on it, then having to dismantle it for Lip-Sync two days before we opened, then rebuilding it the day of opening was a big challenge, but the students and others that helped put this together are so professional that we managed to get it done.
NE: What was the most fun part of putting on this play?
LOVE: There is no “most” fun part, the whole process is joyful. I especially like early rehearsals when you can let actors explore and have fun before you start nailing things down. Also, I really enjoyed working with the actors who portrayed the mutes in terms of developing their actions and characters. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my colleagues in the music program, Drs. Manley and Windt were easy and fun to work with and have a high level of professionalism. Also, working with members of the community for the first time was enjoyable. In the end, however, the moments that leave me the most proud are when I see my students take the stage and do a professional-quality job after all that hard work. It’s hard to put into words how much that means to me, how much it touches my heart and makes all the difficulties worth it.
NE: Are you happy with how the play turned out?
LOVE: Extremely. It was a show that all of the actors and crew can be proud of, and one that I think captured the vision of the play and playwrights better than any I’ve seen. I know that’s a self-serving statement, but I guess I am simply saying that my vision of what this play should be is what the audience saw. As a director that is what you strive for, so not only am I happy, but I also think that everyone involved with it should be proud and happy with the results.
NE: Was there a particular performance that stood out to you?
LOVE: They were all excellent each in his or her own way.
NE: What made you choose the actors you did?
LOVE: That’s a question that could take several pages to answer. It boils down to what each auditionee’s particular talents or strengths are versus how I see the characters and the potential relationships between characters. For this show, for instance, I had two older actors from the community audition who had what it takes so it was logical to put them in the roles of parents. There are a lot of competing and conflicting concerns that go into any casting process. First you need to get at LEAST as many capable people audition as you have roles, if that doesn’t happen you’re in big trouble. Once you have enough actors available that can handle the job, you have to look at their appearance, talent, voices, etc. and find a combination that will work best. I certainly could have cast the play differently than I did, but I think we made all the right choices in the end.
NE: Were there any setbacks that made you have to change the way you planned certain aspects of the performance?
LOVE: Yes, Tyler Stanfield, who played Henry Albertson, a washed-up old actor, broke her foot during rehearsal two days before the show. We had to entirely change all of her movements to accommodate her injury, incorporating a wheelchair as well as her crutches. She was awesome and got through it with flying colors, although perhaps a bump on the foot now and again.
NE: What were the most time consuming tasks in preparation for the performance?
LOVE: We rehearsed between 4-5 days a week for 3+ hours each night for 7 weeks. The actors also prepared at home, as well as having voice rehearsals. Many, many hours were put into the lighting configuration. Without such an incredible crew it never would have happened. I think most people really have no idea the hundreds of man-hours that go into putting on a play like this. I haven’t even mentioned creating props and costumes, or all the time spent with my nose in the script planning and re-planning when things didn’t work. The amount of time spent working on a production is equal to my entire teaching load, basically for 7 weeks my family just didn’t see me for more than a few minutes a day. So, even though theatre is my joy, I am happy to be able to re-acquaint myself with my wife and daughter.
NE: Do you have any plans or ideas for the spring production yet?
LOVE: Last spring we presented a group of students’ own autobiographical stories put together in a single performance piece called “Works in Progress: A Tennessee Wesleyan Collage.” The response was so positive from the audience-particularly the student audience-that we’re doing a new version “Works in Progress II.” I teach several sections of speech class, and the first assignment is to tell a story from your life. The stories I got were incredible-ranging from a student who survived the Rwandan Genocide to the funniest hunting story I have ever heard and everything in between. We weaved then together into a basic play structure, so this year I am collections stories from class again-I already have several great ones- and we’ll do the same kind of thing in the spring, but with new stories and new staging, etc. I promise that it will be unlike anything most theatergoers have ever seen.
NE: Finally, is there anything else you would like to add about your experience with this production in general?
LOVE: Just that it was great working with other members of the dept. of fines arts. Also, we enjoyed great institutional support. We needed a place to put two spotlights and working with Dr. Condon, Larry Wallace, and Mike Ingram and facilities in general, we got some spotlight platforms built that look like they have always been there. Plus, we couldn’t get any of the staging done without the help of facilities, and I am thankful for that. Also, I have to say how much other faculty such as Dr. Brown and Dr. E. Ruleman helped out, plus we had great attendance from faculty and administration. It was also a real treat to open the show on homecoming night and we were pleased to have so many alumni attend. We also enjoyed great support from Dr. Hine, for which I am grateful, as well as Blake McCaslin and Nicole Gibbs….there was so much support from elements of the institution that I know I am forgetting someone, so I’ll just make a blanket statement that since coming here I have been pleased with how much the people here value theatre and have been willing to help us get what we need to do a good in the first place. Finally, it was great to see how much student attendance there was. Ultimately, that is why we do this.
