THEATRE PREVIEW:
Published in
How
does an actor audition for the role of a dog?
"Well,
she doesn't crawl around on all fours," chuckles John Rando, director of
the Old Globe's upcoming production of "Sylvia." "But," he quips, "we did have
some little dog treats available."
The
title character in A.R. Gurney's newest play is a lovable mutt, who becomes the
obsession of a married man in mid-life crisis.
"It's
such a clever part," Rando continues.
"[Sylvia is] one-half urban, bold and comedic; the other half, pure
dog." Playwright Gurney, an
Associate Artist of the Old Globe, suggested Kellie Waymire
to play the part. Waymire
had auditioned for the original production at the Manhattan Theatre Club in
1993; the role ultimately went to Sarah Jessica Parker, but Waymire
left an impression.
According
to Rando, she has "a wonderful, adorable quality. But she's also sassy and alive. Sometimes, a part and an actress are made for
each other."
Waymire, a lifelong, inveterate dog-lover, took to
the role like, well, like a dog to a bone.
"It
kills me that I can't have a dog in
"The
play is called 'Sylvia,' but what it's really about is a couple re-defining
their relationship after a big change in their lives [their last child goes off
to college]. Sylvia is sort of a
catalyst, like a rock that's thrown in an unsettled pond."
When
Greg brings home a cute young thing, and then falls in love with her, his wife
Kate jealously tells the dog, "All you are is a male menopausal
moment." Later she gets more vehement:
"You managed to chew a huge hole in a 22-year marriage." Sylvia doesn't just cock her head and listen;
she talks back. She even quotes Homer
and Tennessee Williams.
Some
Kelly
Waymire doesn't agree. "It's not just a light comedy," she
says. "Sylvia helps Greg and Kate
put their lives in focus. There's a conflict
in their marriage, then there's a resolution.
Ultimately, everyone gets what they want, but they have to learn how to
share, how to sacrifice. You can have your cake and eat it, too. And this is a very considered cake-eating
contest."
It's
also a real opportunity for Waymire, who completed
her MFA in Acting at UCSD only three years ago.
During her training, she was cast in two La Jolla Playhouse
productions: she played Geraldine in
"What the Butler Saw" and Hero in "Much Ado About
Nothing."
Her
first
"There
are a lot of really good actors on soaps," she asserts. But there are just as many frustrations. So Waymire and some
fellow soap-actors, "thirsty for something to say of consequence,"
started Rogue Repertory in
But
right now, her theatrical focus is on canine behavior.
"I
don't want to act like a dog. But there is some stuff you can do to suggest
you're a dog. There is a little
butt-wiggling, and there's a floppy, unconsidered quality. I'm trying to manifest the right kind of
attitude and energy. I'm not gonna
convince anyone I'm a dog."
She
doesn't wear a dog costume, and she doesn't bowwow. But she convincingly demonstrates Gurney's
suggested human equivalent of a bark: "Hey! Hey!" Since Sylvia is part poodle, her costume
palette favors pink. She starts off in
scruffy, youthful overalls, and progresses to Capri pants, a mini skirt and
finally, an elegant little black dress.
"I
suppose it's sexy, in a pert kind of way, but not vampy,"
Waymire says.
"Sylvia sort of grows up during the play. She kind of moves from
child to teenager with a raucous attitude, finally demanding intellectual equalness."
"What's
great about it all," explains Rando, "is that Gurney has wedded a
theatrical idea -- an actor behaving as a dog -- with a very
extraordinary, witty, dog intelligence.
It's kind of like James Thurber said:
No one appreciates your art of conversation as much as your dog."
DATEBOOK
"SYLVIA "
A.R. Gurney's latest comedic work,
an inter-species love triangle, opens September 7 (Previews September
1-6). Performances
Tuesday-Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 2 p.m. Through October 12. Cassius Carter Centre
Stage, in
PAT
LAUNER is a freelance writer.
©1996 Patté
Productions Inc.