Interview with the director, Sands Hall
12:01 a.m. PT Apr 17, 2008
Prospector: Why did you choose to direct this play?
Sands Hall: I was looking for a play that would be a classic and beloved piece, with a relatively small cast (having done "Grapes of Wrath with a cast of 34), and I'd always heard so much about this movie. I finally watched it, for the very first time, last year and immediately saw why it is such a favorite of so many people. I read the play script (it was a huge success on Broadway in 1939-1940, before MGM made the film), and though it is somewhat different than the film, I loved the play if possible even more. Philip Barry touches on marvelous aspects of human nature and makes us laugh in recognition. He has a deft, light touch with dialogue (as those who have seen the movie know), and he manages a delightful balance of the dramatic and the comic, while never letting go that this is a romance, that this is a comedy. It's just a marvelous script, and we've got a fantastic and committed group of actors.
P: How has the experience been in rehearsals
SH: Rehearsals are a great deal of fun. There is this terrific balance of the dramatic and the comic in Barry's script, and as we work to find the truth in the scenes it's just wonderful to see how, as we commit to that, the comedy springs forth in a delightful, light way. John Bush, a good friend of the Center for the Arts, donated his airplane hangar for rehearsals, as it's a large enough space that we could do what called "taping the stage" -- meaning that the actors have a floor beneath them filled with lines of tape indicating stairs and doors, etc, which helps a lot with spacing and makes the transfer to the actual set less arduous. It was cold a lot of the nights we rehearsed there, and in spite of the roaring furnace and even a space heater, it's been marvelous to watch the elegant, lovely actor (Elena Powell) playing the elegant, lovely Tracy Lord rehearsing in wool socks and leg warmers and enormous sweaters, and Rene Sprattling, who plays Tracy's mother, turning the pages of her script with mittened hands. It's been one of those experiences that makes a rehearsal process very precious.
P: How do you relate to this play?
SH: The heroine of the piece, Tracy Lord, is grappling with self-imposed high standards, which she expects herself and -- and here's the rub - others to uphold. In the course of the play she gets to confront that she is a human being like any other, with failings. She comes to like herself, and it is out of the affection for and understanding of herself that she chooses the right man. So while the story is a love triangle, it is also the story of a woman coming to terms with herself and liking what she sees. I love stories like this. I think we need more of them in the world. Love is pretty vital, but real love starts with love of self. And it's great to see a play with such a strong and wonderful and vibrant and intelligent woman at its center.
