County Players Prepare for their Final Show of the Season
County Players in Wappingers Falls are hard at work preparing for their musical performance of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” in early May. The show offers a vicarious look into the distant lands of ancient Rome.
At its core, the show is a story of romance and passion filled to the brim with hilarious antics that will leave the audience wanting more. The show is revered as a vaudeville classic telling the story of a Roman slave named Pseudolus who seeks to win his freedom by setting up his young master, Hero, with another Roman woman named Philia. The show is a romantic comedy specializing in slapstick comedy and misdirection, with characters often mistaking one another, ending in some pretty uncomfortable circumstances.
The actor playing Hero, Ethan Maslyn, gave an inside look as to what the rehearsal process looks like about two months in advance. “We’ve been going about it in a pretty linear way”, they said. “Blocking the beginning of the show and moving forward from there. I like how it gives a sense of progression and structure moving forward through the rehearsal process.”
Ethan auditioned in mid-February for this show, and this will be their second show at County Players. Their previous performances include Nick in the County Players’ production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Their director, David Ringwood, has been directing at County Players since 1994, and he has additionally performed as an actor in a multitude of shows at County Players.
Ringwood runs a tight ship as the majority of rehearsals have been quite, straightforward, where actors are given blocking and expected to know it by the next rehearsal. Ethan Maslyn also mentioned that due to inclement weather conditions, rehearsals had been postponed, which they noted early on is not much of an issue.
After having the pleasure of attending a rehearsal, it is evident that the County Players have a timeless commitment to the perfection of the arts and continue to uphold that even within early rehearsals. Despite setbacks from the weather, they cover a lot of ground within their rehearsals handling the staging and blocking of earlier scenes.
“Rehearsal consists of a stumble through the scene where we receive our blocking, then a few run-throughs where we polish it,” they said.
Ethan believes this system is imperative for accomplishing large musical shows such as this one. Through this style of directing, Ringwood has had much success because it allows the actors to adjust from blocking to real performance faster. Line retention and memorization, another huge component of putting on a successful show, is also greatly increased through this style of rehearsing.
Time management is everything to the modern-day actor. When asked how they handle time management, Ethan believes discipline and scheduling are very important to maintain the balance between social life and work. “I work a day job in order to save money while also furthering my acting career on the side. It’s really all about pacing yourself and not taking on too many projects all at once. That has been an important lesson to learn for me,” they said. One of the many benefits of local theatre, time management, is an imperative skill and one that Ringwood and other directors at County Players inculcate to ensure perfection.
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, opens on May 5th through the 21st so you will have many chances to see this nonstop hilarious musical classic!
