Surf City Theatre presents “Cannibals” through Jan. 31
If a starring role in a play or film is up for grabs, even your best friend may stab you in the back.
A few years ago, R. J. Colleary wrote a play called “Cannibals” about a group of middle-aged women who offer moral support and encouragement to one another as they pursue their acting careers, but at the same time they’re in direct competition with one another for an ever-diminishing number of roles.
As director Kathleen Rubin puts it, “It’s a comedy and tragedy all at the same time. That’s what I think will appeal to everyone, the universality of it, and the fun. There’s a lot of fun in the show.”
The tagline of “Cannibals” seems to confirm this: “In Hollywood, no one can hear you scream.”
Only its second appearance
In 2010, Kathleen Rubin directed the world premiere of the play at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles. This past weekend, Surf City Theatre opened it at the Second Story Theatre on Pier Avenue in Hermosa Beach, where it runs this weekend and next.
“This is the first revival, the second production of it,” Rubin says, “and it’s been really fun to revisit a piece that, when we worked on it the first time, we were involved with the writer and fine-tuning things. But this is a whole different experience because, as the director, I have a much clearer idea going in because we knew what worked and we knew what could be tweaked.”
What was tweaked, or rather excised, was about half a page from the end of the play. Otherwise, “Cannibals” is essentially intact, with many humorous lines that no doubt are just as effective today as they were five years before.
Caryn Richman starred in the inaugural production, and she’s reprising her role as Linda, the character in whose home the women’s support group meets each Wednesday. Not only that, she’s on the theater company’s board of trustees and it was her idea to bring “Cannibals” to the stage in Hermosa.
“The company is wonderful about doing a lot of classics and plays that our audiences recognize,” Richman says, “but this was one of those pieces where I thought, ‘Maybe we can do this,” and I hounded Lisa (Lisa Leonard, the artistic director). She read it and we all agreed on the board that this might be a fun thing to bring to Surf City. And then I called Kathy and said, ‘Please come do this again,’ and we’re lucky that she did.”
You laugh, and you cry
The cast of “Cannibals” is comprised of six women and one man, and with less than two hours before the opening night curtain four of the seven sat down to talk about the play and their roles in it. Everyone, it appears, was drawn to the script by Bob Colleary, which is not only an intertwined comedy and tragedy, but veers from stretches of sitcom humor to sober monologues that reveal a deeper side of each character.
“When I read through the script I was laughing out loud,” says Jennifer Titus, who plays a preening, self-absorbed actress named Elizabeth. “Bob is a brilliant writer, and what I found the most entertaining was how the characters feed off of one another, and how the combinations of the different (personalities) working together is kind of what makes it work. If we were all the same, it wouldn’t be interesting.
“It’s funny,” she adds, “because we have a group of characters who are very different, yet we all share a very similar love, and that’s the love of acting — both in real life and on the stage. And some of the lines that each of us have, it’s just hilarious because we can absolutely relate to these issues about Hollywood and the acting industry and competitions and castings, and feeling like we’re too old or too this or too whatever for the part you’re always trying to go out for.”
And how did Titus audition for her role? Not in the traditional manner, as it turned out.
“I hadn’t even met Kathy in person until the first rehearsal,” she says, “because I auditioned via Skype. I was communicating with Caryn and I said, ‘I’m unable to come up this week,’ and so Kathy and I connected via Skype.” Ruben then asked her to read for the part. “So I got in character and the next conversation via Skype was my audition. Modern technology! I didn’t even have to get in a car, and I auditioned from Laguna Beach to someone who was sitting in Marina del Rey.”
Art imitating life
Coming to Hermosa from Laguna Beach can be quite a drive, but it’s no easier for Pam Trotter, who plays the overweight Mo, a character who says that the more weight she puts on the more roles she gets.
“I like to do shows to keep my craft sharp,” Trotter says. “Of course we can all take an acting class, but instead of doing that it’s more fun to be involved in a production. You get the teaching from the director, you get the production end; you get to see it all and be a part of the whole thing.”
Like some of the other actors in “Cannibals,” Louise Martin as well as Richman and Titus, Trotter does occasional film and television work. And she also points out that the characters they’re playing onstage are very similar to what they’re facing as actresses in their daily lives.
For the most part, that is.
“By the way, for the record,” Titus says, “I’m nothing like my character in real life. But that’s what’s so fun about playing this. It’s kind of like I’m playing people I’ve seen (and encountered) in the industry, and I get to put all that together in a character and put it on stage. It’s like Halloween: I’m just gonna be this, even though I’m really not.”
Jennifer Titus, by the way, in addition to starring in a pair of Roger Corman films, was a professional figure skater and is also a licensed medical doctor. Elizabeth, her character in “Cannibals,” is decidedly not this person!
“Steve,” says Richman, addressing the sole male lead, “I never asked you this question, but why Walter?”
“Because he was going to be with six women on stage,” Leonard says jokingly.
“And he was a little too old to play Kimmi,” Richman replies.
It’s evident that everyone feels comfortable around Steven Bray, and he turns out to be as likeable in person as he is on stage. “The writing is funny and real,” he says, and adds that he responded to the rhythm of the piece.
As for the Kimmi character, it’s a part for a 20-year-old and in “Cannibals” it’s played by an exuberant and beaming Jordyn Casey, who really is 20-years-old. Apparently, during the casting process, 20-somethings tended to be flakey, according to Rubin; they’d send in resumes or sign up for auditions and then not show up. Casey, of course, was an exception. “She has been a consummate professional at 20,” Richman says, “and it will serve her well along with her talent.”
Of the other two actors, Jenna Lee as Donna plays an aloof narrator, a cross between Joan Collins and Priscilla Presley, while Louise Martin as Carole is somewhat bitter and resentful, largely because years earlier she was upstaged, her grand moment ruined… by Donna.
Credit where credit is due
What gives “Cannibals” its substance are its monologues. “They’re very poignant,” Leonard says. “I’ve been touched a lot when I listen to those monologues because that’s when a lot of the truth of the play comes out.”
“The timing is also more challenging than your normal comedy,” Richman says, “because we go from scenes that are quite comedic to all of a sudden–boom–here’s what’s going on underneath the comedy.”
“Right,” adds Rubin. “Subtext.”
It’s a challenge for the actors to change gears, Richman continues, “without the energy falling and becoming a melodrama in the middle of a comedy. It’s trickier than it appears to be.”
“For any piece,” Rubin says, “no matter if it’s a broad comedy or a melodrama, it has to be grounded in the truth and in reality–because otherwise it isn’t relatable.
“In the collaborative process I always tell my actors: bring your ideas. I had a really clear idea about this show because I’d done it, but bring your ideas. Make me look at it in a different way. And if it’s a good idea, I’ll go with it.” There’s a pause. “And I’ll take the credit for it.
This brings a hearty laugh, and in a way it’s like “Cannibals” itself, where levity and gravity are swimming back and forth and side by side.
Cannibals is being performed Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. as well as Sunday at 2 p.m., this weekend and next, at the Second Story Theatre, 710 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach. Tickets, $25. The playwright, R. J. Colleary, will be on hand for a Q&A with the cast after the Jan. 29 show. (424) 241-8040 or email surfcitytheatre@gmail.com. For more information, go to surfcitytheatre.com.
