Geva’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Seeing three plays in three days is nothing new for me, but seeing the same play three days in a row? That’s a first! However, each time was from a different perspective. This is a play which should elicit a “can you believe this kind of thing ever happened?” instead of “can you believe this kind of thing still happens?” Harper Lee must have been disappointed that 55 years after her book was published, audiences could still identify with it, rather than read it as literature within a historical context. Even though I’ve seen the movie many times (if you add up all the fractional channel-cruising times), Mark Cuddy’s production, with a beautifully creative set designed by John Haldoupis, had a freshness and immediacy that brought me close to tears each time.

From our regular seats

On Wednesday night, my husband and I saw the production for the first time, and we were both engrossed. Skip Greer was Atticus Finch, and the kids who appeared that night (there are two casts of kids) were incredible. We were delighted to see a slightly more diverse (and full!) audience than usual. Several my friends, who have also seen the show, were initially confused by the appearance of five non-speaking teenagers who randomly appeared, to both watch the action and move the sets, but eventually “got” it.

In an audience of students

For select shows (this being one), Geva presents Student Matinees. The Education Department develops detailed Study Guides to help teachers prepare students to attend a performance, and meets with them beforehand, as well. So Thursday morning, I sat in the back row, behind some 8^th graders and their teacher from Northwest, who had just finished reading the book.There was lots of energy in the hall, and the initial lights out had the odd opposite effect of eliciting whoops and shouts, instead of the usual quiet. When Atticus shoots the dog, the students reacted in shock and surprise, and it took them a while to settle back down.

For the students, attending a matinee at Geva is not just about seeing a play, but also about how to behave when seeing a play. The teacher in front of me chastised a boy who was about to climb from one row to another, as if he were at a sports stadium: “You don’t do that in a theatre!” After the gun shot, and at a couple of other points when the students got raucous, I could hear a chorus of “sh”s from the teachers. But all in all, the students were extremely well behaved and respectful. And in a time when standing ovations are so routine as to be meaningless, it was refreshing to see the students remain in their seats, but applauding and cheering wildly (especially when the three children took their bows).

After the performance, most of the schools departed, but some remained for a Talk Back with the entire cast. By then, when asked how many were first-time theatregoers, only a few hands went up, but I suspect if they’d asked the audience at the beginning, it would have been significantly more. The students had insightful questions for the actors, and answered thoughtfully the moderator’s and actors’ questions back to them. On their way out, the Northwest teacher thanked me (I had identified myself as a trustee…) very much for having them, and I replied that it was our pleasure, and that we hoped that these students would be the audience of the future.

From backstage

At Geva’s annual Summer Curtain Call fundraiser last June, I was the high bidder to “Be an Honorary Crew Member.” What an experience it turned out to be! Friday evening, I met Carolyn Pike, Stage Operations Manager, for a tour of the set and an overview of her performance responsibilities (she has many more the other hours of the week), which runs the gamut from holding doors for actors running to or from the stage, to ensuring the security of any weapons (there are two guns and knife in this show) when they are not on stage. She is also tasked with making sure everything is operational, and fixing any prop that breaks during a show (she admits she has MacGyvered a few things). She introduced me to various people as we passed them, and everyone, including the cast, was extremely friendly and welcoming. Right before they let the audience into the house, I got to watch the “fight call”: a quick run-through of the final fight scene, involving the kids.

Carolyn at her controls

Shortly before the performance started, we donned headsets (I was careful not to talk into mine!) and took our positions, Carolyn at a tiny black & white monitor of the stage, where she presses the buttons to make the scenery panels move, and I at her side (where I had a view of most of the action on stage, as well as the audience at the extreme house left). We listened as Frank Cavallo, Stage Manager, announced a full house and my presence to the crew, assembled the troops, and began calling the various cues for lights, spots, sound, set changes, and “auto” (the panels): “Standby lights 18… lights 18…go.” There was a bit of backstage drama as, between cues, Frank asked whether the actress who plays Mayella had arrived yet – she had been in a fenderbender on her way to the theatre! (Luckily, she did arrive, unharmed, in time.) Carolyn occasionally helped move or stabilize the sets, as when she held Boo’s house in place so that Jem wouldn’t knock it down when he hit it. During a particularly long cueless stretch after the dog is discovered, there was a discussion over the headset about rabies in the Rochester area.

No worries, I didn't touch anything!

At intermission, Carolyn took me down to the Green Room and I was able to chat with a couple of the actors (including the very mature Erin Mueller, who played Scout at all three performances I attended). Her dad, who is on site every performance, had unexpectedly appeared as one of the mob outside the jail, and it hadn’t fazed her. I asked Frank how many cues the show had in total, and he admitted he wasn’t sure, but he thought around 300! During the courtroom scene, which had very few cues, it was strangely quiet over the headset, but Frank reported to Carolyn and me (and everyone else who was listening) that he had counted around 175 cues in the first act, and about 125 in the second, so his instinct had been right. The funniest thing, and I had to keep from bursting out laughing, was when Frank said “damn” after the guilty verdict is read, as if perhaps tonight, Tom Robinson might have been found innocent.

If you attend Summer Curtain Call this June, I highly recommend bidding on this item, for a truly unique, informative, and fun experience. In the meantime, if you haven’t seen this production, go see it if tickets are still available!