The Understudy Scoop

The Gaming Table understudies

The understudy company for The Gaming Table is made up of seven actors who cover all the roles and even some of the assistant stage manager’s tracks. They observe rehearsals during the process, particularly staging rehearsals and run-throughs of the show to record the blocking (a.k.a. movement on stage, which can be tricky when you have to cover more than one role) of their “overstudies.” It is their responsibility to learn entrances, exits, cues, what props to use when, over-arching character choices, and, of course, all the lines on their own. Then, once the show is in performance, the understudy company meets for 3-4 hours each weekday (unable to work on the weekends due to the two-show day schedule) for about two weeks after the play is officially opened.

Stage Manage extraordinaire Che Wernsman, who is in charge of running the understudy rehearsals and ensuring an understudy is prepared to go on at a moment’s notice, said that the amount of time an understudy company rehearses changes for each production. Essentially, they rehearse until everything is covered and accounted for—which, on a highly complex show with a tricky set like The Gaming Table, could take a while!

However, Che and the fearless ‘studies completed their rehearsals this past week, and in honor of their valiant efforts, I wanted to take a moment to introduce them to you. Chances are you will not see them on stage in our production (after all, they are backups in case of an actor illness or other emergency), but their contributions are significant. So without further ado, the understudies of The Gaming Table:

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Colin Brush (Ensign Lovely/Buckle): Colin is a Capricorn, born/raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Colin went to Carnegie Mellon University for undergrad and then University of Maryland for graduate work studying Operatic Performance at both. Both programs were heavily acting focused, which led him to make the transition to theatre. When talking about why he was drawn to the theatre, Colin said “Many opera singers/operas are unfortunately not as theatrically compelling as most actors and plays are, and I felt a lacking in my operatic endeavors.” Colin has only understudied in opera before this. “The nice thing about operatic understudying,” he said, “is that the music is always static, so you never have to worry about mimicking or not mimicking someone else’s inflection; it’s written in!” Colin’s experience at the Folger has been absolutely a highlight of his time living in DC for sure, and he said he was “never ONCE bored sitting in rehearsal.”

Leigh Anna Fry (Lady Reveller/Mrs. Sago): When not acting, Leigh Anna is a consultant and project manager for RGS, a Management Consulting company in Arlington, VA. She supports a Navy Leadership Development Program, a Mentoring Program that helps Wounded Warriors transition into the civilian workplace, and the Naval Aviation Enterprise. “This is my first time as an understudy and it’s been a great experience. [It’s] a little strange at first because you’re part of the process but not really part of the ensemble that forms…[but] my love for baking and my grandmother Mommy Ethel’s pound cake opened the door for some nice introductions.” Leigh Anna has been seen on TV in MSNBC documentaries on Charles Manson, as follower Linda Kasabian, and on Patty Hearst, as SLA kidnapper Emily Harris (and as the voice of Patty). Next up, Our Lady of Sandwich by local DC playwrights Mario Baldessari and Keith Bridges. Performances are March 29-April 1.

Bethany Goodell (Valeria/Banker): Originally a “Navy brat,” Bethany has been back in the DC area for about ten years. She left DC to attend Elon University where she received her BFA in Acting. When she returned, she put her acting skills to use working on imaginative play with autistic children. In her spare time she has acted in shows in Virginia and DC. Her favorite past roles include Ophelia in Hamlet and Jo March in Little Women. This is her first time being an understudy. Bethany is also a wonderful photographer and is responsible for the lovely picture of The Gaming Table understudy company you can see in this post.

Jason McIntosh (Captain Hearty/Mr. Sago): Jason is a graduate of The Studio Theatre Acting Conservatory and is a prominent voice-over artist in the DC area, as well as a stage actor. He has appeared at The Studio Theatre, The Inkwell, Forum Theatre and Dance, and in Twisted at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival.

Steven Quartell (Lord Worthy/Sir James Courtly): Steven has worked at American Century Theatre and the Prenzie Players and is the Associate Producer for Marketing and Development at Harrison Hilltop Theatre, as well as the Social Media Administrator at Hilltop Campus Village. He has also been an organizer/volunteer at Students for Barack Obama.

Howard Wahlberg (Sir Richard Plainman): Howard is a former Director of Marketing for Arena Stage and currently owns and operates No Tonsils Productions, a voiceover and narration production company. Howard re-entered the profession after decades of absence and is “grateful for the countless blessings of the incredibly welcoming and encouraging DC theatre community!” His acting credits include J.L. Stevens in Cry for the Gods and Frank in the Studio in Tragedy. In May, he’ll be appeariong in Suicide, Incorporated with the No Rules Theatre Company in May. Howard studied acting at Mason Gross School of the Arts (Rutgers University) and later pursued “graduate” studies at Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College. This is Howard’s first time understudying. His “day job” finds him as the head of the membership division of the National Science Teachers Association.

Mary Wentz (Alpiew and Lady Lucy): This is Mary’s first time understudying at Folger Theatre. She created a model of the set made up of glasses (the pillars), a paper towel role (the main staircase), and other household items on her kitchen table with board game pieces to move about in order to help her to learn blocking. Mary is also currently performing in Genesis Reboot at Synetic Theater with an understudy ready to go on for her should she be needed on the Folger stage.

Other Famous Understudies

“My part had three lines. I said, ‘You look wonderful, sir,’ three times. All my friends said, ‘Do not take that role, and do not understudy. You’ll regret it the rest of your life.’ I did both of those things, and I’ve never regretted it once.” —Jeffrey Tambor

- In 1954’s The Pajama Game, star Carol Haney was injured during the run of the show. Her understudy who filled in at a moment’s notice was none other than Shirley MacLaine. Not only was MacLaine a great success in the role, but she also garnered the attention of a Hollywood producer, who happened to be in the crowd the night she went on. This led to movie stardom and later to an Academy Award for her performance in Terms of Endearment.

- Elaine Stritch understudied Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam and took over her role in the national tour.

- Brad Oscar started off the 2001 season as an understudy and ended it as a Tony nominee. Oscar had begun as the understudy for the role of Franz Liebkind in The Producers and was called in (and eventually took over the part) when the original actor, Ron Orbach, was injured.

- Sutton Foster also got her big break as an understudy in 2002. She went on as Thoroughly Modern Millie’s title character at the last second for an out-of-town performance and was so impressive she was later given the role full time on Broadway. Foster won a Tony Award for Best Actress in the role.

Members of The Gaming Table Cast Talk About Going On as an Understudy

“I am the first understudy to ever have to go on at the Contemporary American Theater Festival, for a musical no less! Book in hand, I only got lost once and had to make the other actors wait to find my place. The standing ovation I got at the end of it from the whole audience was awesome. Terrifying…just terrifying….“ —Ashley Ivey

“I only have one experience understudying where I actually went on. It was at a big theater, and the actor I was understudying was a big name company member in a fairly little, thankless role. He actually used to go home at intermission, because his part in the play was done. [When I went on], I was super-adrenalized, and I felt like I did a much better job because, being new to town and relatively unknown, I actually cared about the part. Though, I understand there were quite a lot of very disappointed patrons who didn’t get to see the ‘star’ in the role.” —Michael Glenn

“I was internally covering a one-scene role in a musical that involved a ridiculously complex operatic quartet in Italian. The season had just opened and the actress I was covering was assigned to understudy a lead role in another play at the Festival. It turned out she had to go on for the lead in the other show, so I had to go on for her in the quartet. We hadn’t even had one understudy rehearsal yet, since the shows had just opened. It was tense because, not only am I not an Italian-speaking opera singer, and not only had I had no rehearsal, but the four person scene and song were completely interdependent—so if I messed up, the whole thing would derail. I don’t remember much except that I must have gotten through it alright because when I came off stage and looked into the wings, the entire cast and crew had gathered and were jumping up and down and silently screaming for me. That moment is still one of my best memories in the theatre, and perhaps of all time.” —Emily Trask

“Being an understudy has been wonderful for me.”  —Michael Milligan

“All my understudy experiences are completely boring because I actively wish to never go on. I do have a friend however, who was working on a show with a diva actress who was constantly threatening to not go on that night. They solved her behavior problem by informing her (falsely) that she had an understudy. Never heard a peep from her again. That’s one of my favorite understudy stories.”  —Tonya Beckman

The Gaming Table runs until March 4th at Folger Theatre. Check it out!

Cheers!

The Gaming Table set by Marion Williams. Photo ©2012 Carol Pratt.

Hello there. Emily Trask here. Since writing my previous blog entry about Marion Williams‘ extraordinary set design for The Gaming Table, I became inspired and curious about her idea of the theatre, the building, and the space as a game itself. What was particularly intriguing to me is, that although it surrounds us, this kind of architectural game is designed so well we rarely even know we’re playing!

Nowhere is this notion more readily and shrewdly employed than in a Las Vegas casino. There are numerous tricks up the proverbial sleeves of these gaming institutions (some of which both intentionally and coincidentally show up in our Gaming Table set ) to keep the game going at all times.

The Duce take me if I can hit the Way out. - Ensign Lovely

LAYOUT

To begin with, much like the numerous stairs and confusing passageways of our Gaming Table set, casino layouts are great labyrinths. They are designed for the primary purpose of getting a gambler lost. Just about anyone who has set foot into a Vegas casino can attest to this. Almost as soon as you step inside, the entrance seems to vanish and you have little choice but to be drawn in. In fact, there is intentionally no “main entrance or exit” to most casinos, but rather a handful of small, somewhat disguised doors to the outside world that require you to take numerous escalators, stairs, and/or hallways to get to. Some of the larger casinos even require you to walk through a mall, or external but enclosed village of sorts, before you get to the casino proper, making it even more difficult to find your way out.

Map of Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas

THE LOGIC OF THE ILLOGICAL

There is also no logical arrangement to where things are located in a Vegas casino. If you need to use the restroom, get something to eat, or even collect your winnings, you have to wind yourself deep into the gut of the gaming. Often these services are lodged as far back as possible so that you are forced to wander through the building to find what you’re looking for, only to be side tracked to a green-topped table or sexy slot machine. In addition, there are multiple sets of the same game in different locations, so if you ask for directions or remember the location of the bathroom because it is “near the Golden Monkey slot machines,” you will, unfortunately, find that there are three sets of Golden Monkey slot machines, arranged in exactly the same formation but strategically placed around the building to make you think the bathroom is one way – only to be drawn further into the casino. This intentional confusion is coupled with the specific height of slot machines, statues, and plants placed specifically to hinder people from seeing across the floor of a casino. This keeps them from taking stock of where they’ve come from or where they’re going. This all means finding your way out (especially if you’ve had a few free drinks) is a game in and of itself!!!

You wake when you should repose – Lady Lucy

TIME STANDS STILL

There is a sense of timelessness when you are enveloped in a casino. You instantly feel like you are on vacation from the external world. This is also of a design. First of all, there are no clocks in casinos, and therefore it is easy to let time, literally, slip away. You won’t realize you are spending hours on a slot machine if there is nothing around to count the hours spent. Also, there are no windows in the building. This, again, is of a design (and one employed in our set as well!). The view of the outside world is intentionally eschewed and shut out. If you were to see it getting dark outside or to look up from your game and notice the light of the dawn, your internal clock might signal that it’s time to move on, that you should be hungry for dinner or that you need to go to sleep. But with no visual cue that time is passing, and no practical way around you to confirm what time it is, it is easy to understand why someone might – to quote the footman in the opening scene of The Gaming Table – “Game all Night, and Sleep all Day.”

STIMULATION AND DISTRACTIO… I’m sorry, what did you say?

Flashing lights, ornate decorations, bells, music, glitzy attired wait staff, sounds. Not only do these distract a gambler and make it that much more difficult for them to stay focused on the game at hand, but they non-verbally communicate that “winning” surrounds you. Hearing the siren of success from across the casino floor (which we’ve already established you can’t see) gives the impression that people nearby are winning (even though the great majority are losing), and if you keep playing, you could too! However, even when that great majority is losing, whatever machine they are on is still playing festive upbeat music designed to get stuck in your head. Gamblers can’t help but be drawn in to the spectacle of luridness and excess.

The Gaming Table wallpaper

What raises the stakes on this atmosphere of excess is a cleverly crafted ambiance. The lighting that is spilling out of the games is low and mellow, as if you’re in a cozy den somewhere. The carpeting and patterns on the wall are large and busy in a mesmerizing fashion (not unlike the pattern of the wallpaper on our set of The Gaming Table). This maintains an air of easy festivity, while stimulating and distracting a gambler until they are drawn to the smooth green felt of a table. Also, the color of the walls in casinos is often red (again, like the walls on our set), which studies say evokes a luscious feeling of “safety” and comfort. One distraction that is kept at bay is garbage and unwanted clutter. The Casino floor is kept spotlessly clean with workers continuously sweeping and keeping the environment welcoming. Not only is their presence practical but the constant attendance of another person being there to “pick up after you” (not unlike the servants in Lady Reveller’s house) gives the subconscious impression that you’ve already won big and are of that higher class which gets waited on.

Come! Courage Captain, Courage - Lady Reveller

FREEBIES

Every game – both table and machine – is designed to pay out small wins in the short run in order to eventually take more from you in the long run. Slot machines regularly make small payouts, forever keeping the jackpot just one star or cherry away. Other games are designed to give the gambler a feeling of “control” such as craps or keno. The player has direct “contact” with the outcome, like throwing the dice or picking their own numbers. JUST LIKE BASSET!!! It gives the gambler a fabricated sense that they can outsmart the game – causing them to play longer.

The casino also makes sure to ply its patrons with coupons for free meals, buffets, and shows to keep them on the vicinity and coming back for more. This way, even if they lose they feel like they won something free.

And last but not least: Booze. Almost all casinos provide free drinks for their gamblers. These drinks are often served by attractive cocktail waitresses, in flashy outfits (see Stimulation and Distraction section above). Alcohol slows even the smartest player, making them careless, yet leaving them feeling more satisfied and more confident – and therefore more liberal with their bets.

An Expensive Air

There is a myth that casinos pump oxygen into their building to keep patrons more awake (a tactic that might have been useful for a few theatre audiences I’ve seen! None at the Folger, of course). Some sources assert this is mere myth, while others are convinced it’s true, claiming casinos pump in additional oxygen from pressurized tanks so that the gamblers feel refreshed, awake, and able to gamble for longer. There have even been reports that some casinos release pheromones that promote feelings of euphoria or comfort, bringing the addictive nature of gambling to new heights. True or not, I have personally seen oxygen bars selling oxygen for recreational use in many Vegas casinos. Individual flavored scents may be added to enhance the experience of a shot of oxygen that gives you a little head rush and wakes you up. This is, of course, for a small price.

While The Gaming Table show or set does not come equipped with an oxygen bar, there is coffee available in the lobby during intermission.   

I hope you’ll join us before the show closes on March 4. Tickets are still available at www.folger.edu/gamingtable or by calling the box office at 202.544.7077.

Cheers!

Julie Jesneck as Lady Reveller. Photo ©Carol Pratt.

Hello, friends! Emily Townley (Alpiew) here. The Gaming Table is now in the third week of its six-week run, and we’re having lots of fun with it!

As a little addendum to my most recent entry, I thought I’d mention a bit about the wonderful fans that our costume designer, Jessica Ford, created, matched to the costumes, and hand-painted for the wealthier female characters in the play. It’s also time for another contest and giveaway!

Fans have a pretty fascinating history. Early civilizations used them as cooling devices and as a way to thresh grain. Through their connection to the Staff of Life, fans in Egypt became something of a religious artifact (two beautiful fans were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun).

Christopher Columbus presented a feather fan to Queen Isabella of Spain and fans were widely used throughout Europe. The Japanese, however, are credited with creating the folding fan. Legend has it that a Japanese animal-lover rescued a bat and became fascinated by how the bat’s large wings were able to fold into a compact space, but when open could create a tremendous breeze.

In the 18^th century, the French viewed the fan as a work of art. Fans were painted by artisans on vellum and silk and embellished with expensive materials like ivory, tortoise shell, and mother of pearl. Fans were sought after status symbols and became a very desired accessory.

For wealthy women of the period, a fan eventually became an extension of the woman’s body and an extremely effective means of communication. An entire language of codes and gestures was created around the fan… which brings us to our little contest!

The first person to correctly match the fan gesture with its intended message wins TWO TICKETS TO THE GAMING TABLE (space available) and an fabulous Folger Theatre water bottle. We’ll post the correct answers soon. Have at it, you gamers!

The Gesture

1. Drawing the fan across the cheek
2. Drawing the fan across the eyes
3. Half-opened fan pressed to the lips
4. Drawing the fan through the hand
5. Opening and closing the fan several times

The intended message

A. “You may kiss me”
B. “I hate you”
C. “I love you”
D. “You are cruel”
E. “I am sorry”

Post your responses in the comments section below.

One of the most wonderful things about this show I think are the AMAZING costumes, designed by the uber-talented Jessica Ford. The Restoration ushered in an explosion of curls, ribbons, puffs, flounces, and feathers. The actually clothing of the period was fairly outlandish to begin with. Jessica has taken all of our characters’ clothing one notch HIGHER to an even more extreme place! Think incredibly colorful fabric full of stripes and crazy animal prints, covered in tassles and beading and brocade along with sky-high wigs that always remind me of ornate pastries, or maybe ice-cream cones.

Charles II, who was King from 1660 to 1665, was a very well-known philanderer, who reveled in sexuality and freedom. Thus it was if highly witty, playful, and sexually frank literature had court sanction. Restoration comedies, such as The Gaming Table, can provide a very unique window into the sexual mores of the era.

Emily Townley costume fitting

As this was the first time women were allowed on stage, the sex appeal that the actresses’ bodies brought to the stage was a major selling point for theatre-goers. Many plot points were developed by the theatre manager and the playwright simply to maximize a woman’s body. Dresses were designed to be extremely low-cut (and believe me, the costumes in our show most certainly are! There’s a photo of me here during one of my costume fittings that….uh….demonstrates) and women were sometimes completely bare-breasted on stage (that doesn’t happen in our show, so don’t get too excited!). Often scenes would depict women swanning about in their bedclothes which were sheer, gauzy, and clingy (the Mrs. Sullen character in Farquhar’s Beaux Stratagem is a great example). In many stories, the bosom was used as a “letterbox” and women would put letters in and pull them out quite often, just to draw the audience’s attention to that area. And one of the most popular plot points utilized having women cross-dress and wear men’s breeches, the better to show off actresses’ hips, thighs, calves and ankles.

Here are a few photos of Jessica’s amazing work and how it all translated on stage. The first rendering here is of Lady Lucy, the prim and pious voice of the play, who secretly longs for and desires Sir James Courtly under her virtuous exterior.

And then we have here a few photos of Katie deBuys, who plays Lady Lucy.

Here’s another sketch by Jessica of Mrs. Sago, the tacky and striving middle-class wife of a tradesman, who desperately tries to emulate the upper-class characters in the play by mimicking their dress and…doesn’t really getting it right! The sketch is paired below with a photo that features the actual Mrs. Sago costume, worn by the very funny Tonya Beckman Ross, who plays her. In the background to the left of Ms. Ross is Michael Milligan playing Sir James Courtly. He is sporting a Periwig, a wig that gained favor during the time of Louis XIV. Originally these wigs were made to look like natural hair, but during the Restoration they reached outlandish heights of artificial effect and absurd Periwigs, perfected by French wig-makers, were highly prized and valued.

Here’s a rendering of my character, Alpiew. My clothing, of course, is much more simple than the clothing worn by the woman I serve, Lady Reveller, played by Julie Jesneck. Here’s Jessica’s rendering of Julie’s costume, along with a photo of Julie wearing her costume backstage and…um…diligently doing research on gaming (she is SUCH a professional, she never stops working!)

Lady Lucy, Lady Reveller, and Mrs. Sago are wearing terrific, if slightly exaggerated, examples of a Manteau, the formal gown of the period. Traditionally, the overskirt was looped back and held by ribbons and bows. The looped-up folds were often bunched in back over an underskirt of taffeta.

And those fantastic concoctions on their heads are called Fontanges. In the 1680s, the Duchess of Fontanges, having her hat blown off at a royal hunting party, tied her curls in place with her garter, arranging a bow with the ends in front. From that incident a new fashion evolved – a cap of tiers of upstanding wired and pleated ruffles of lace and ribbons. The hair dressed in that fashion was called coiffure a la Fontanges, and the cap with its narrow rising front was known as le bonnet a la Fontanges.

So gussy up in your finest and come on out to see us in ours! And stay tuned for my next entry – it’ll have a really fun little contest with a FANTASTIC prize. Adieu, all!

The Gaming Table set by Marion Williams. Photo ©2012 Carol Pratt.

Upon walking into the Folger Theatre these days, one has the distinct impression that they’ve stumbled into a lush version of an M.C. Escher sketch. What’s more, it’s hard to tell where the theater ends and the stage begins. But this delightful disorientation is all of a design. A scenic design, to be exact, by Marion Williams. I was so awed by the set, from its concept to its construction, that I simply had to pick Marion’s brain about it.

ET — The set for The Gaming Table seems to be such a natural extension of the overall theater space, using the esthetic already in place in the Folger. Was that important to your design and why?

MW — We wanted to make the audience feel as though they were actually inside the house, that the game was going on all around them. I did not want an audience member to be able to tell where the theater ended and the set began. The Folger is such a unique space for a set designer to work, as it has such a powerful aesthetic already. The beautiful wood tones and ornate details of the theater seemed a perfect style for our world, so I thought—lets use what is there and simply make lots more of it!

ET — There seems to be no “easy way out” of the house, and you mentioned that was somewhat inspired by present day casinos*. Could you elaborate?

MW — The design of Vegas casinos is really brilliant and wonderfully manipulative; they are designed specifically to keep the game going all the time. The buildings obscure any view of the outside world, while surrounding you with the enviably rich spectacle of the game. They are designed to keep you at the game with the flow of their plans always funneling you back to the tables.

This seemed like just the world we were dealing with in this play. So in the design we purposely do not see any sign of the outside world. We wanted it to feel like the house really could just go on and on, as if behind every doorway could be another game.

* Watch for an upcoming blog about the tricks Vegas casinos really use to keep their gamers gambling—and how some of those tricks actually appear in our set!

ET — You mentioned you also took some inspiration from a playing card itself?

MW — Yes, the design of a playing card has no up or down, it is meant to be viewed form either direction. I thought using this idea, both literally and metaphorically, might be really great for this play, as if there would be no upside down or right side up to this world. The design of the set echoes the design of the playing card. 

* Marion found some of that inspiration in the above period playing card, and Eleanor Holdridge, the director, decided it was too fabulous not to make an appearance in the show. Watch for it! It’ll be hard to miss!

The Gaming Table wallpaper

ET — The pattern of the wallpaper is so unique. How did you come up with it?

MW — It is, in fact, a real wallpaper pattern from the period of the play. However, I loved the fact that it did in many ways look like patterns on playing cards*.

* So much so that the wallpaper pattern also appears on the back of our playing cards in the scene when we play Basset!

ET — Alright, I have to ask: Did you draw inspiration from Escher as well?

MW — We did actually. Eleanor and I looked specifically at Escher’s Relativity. We loved the way the world worked, that it was just a continuous maze of stairs and walls. I also loved the fact that in some ways it works like the playing card, with no specific right side up or upside down. I thought perhaps we could use the architectural details of the Folger and create a world for the play that worked like that.

ET — Lastly, does the puzzle-like circuitousness of the set itself intentionally reflect the society that these characters live in?

MW — ABSOLUTLEY!

… and if you want to know more, well, you’ll just have to see it for yourself! 

Marion has designed productions all of the country, and in Europe, and is part of the “all girl rock band” responsible for the stunning design of The Gaming Table. Learn more about Marion and her work at www.marionwilliamsdesign.com.

This matching game is actually somewhat similar to the way Basset (the card game featured in The Gaming Table) works: It’s pure chance! (provided, of course, that you don’t have personal knowledge of all the actors individually, and their Game Night tendencies).

We as “rational beings” (as my character Valeria would say) attempt to create patterns and strategies to feel like we have some control over the outcome when playing a game like Basset, Roulette, the Lottery, or, in this case, a Matching game where there is no particular trick or pattern. We have lucky numbers, blow on our dice, pick a “book of hearts,” or always bet on black. But the reality is Lady Luck is always at the wheel for these kind of games, with fuzzy dice hanging from her rear view mirror, no doubt.

So, without further explanation or ado, the game choices of the cast/characters of The Gaming Table:

Julie Jesneck a.k.a. Lady Reveller – Settlers of Catan

Emily Townley a.k.a. Alpiew -  Celebrity

Marcus Kyd a.k.a. Lord Worthy – Chess

Katie deBuys a.k.a. Lady Lucy – Scrabble

Darius Pierce a.k.a. Mr. Sago – Risk

Michael Willis a.k.a. Sir Plainman – Texas Hold ‘Em

Emily Trask a.k.a. Valeria – Spoons

Michael Milligan a.k.a. Sir James Courtly – Axis and Allies

Tonya Beckman Ross a.k.a. Mrs. Sago – Hangman

Robbie Gay a.k.a. Ensign Lovely – Black Jack

Ashley Ivey a.k.a. Buckle – Chutes and Ladders

Michael Glenn a.k.a. Captain Hearty – Liar’s Dice

Although a few of you had some valiant matches, it seems The House Wins this round. But don’t worry! There will be more chances to win tickets—either on the blog or on the Folger Theatre Facebook page in the coming weeks.

Cheers!

“my favorite is chess… but I’m sure Worthy’s is solitaire” – Marcus Kyd

I recently asked the cast for some one-word answers describing a few things in the play, and what I got was sort of like those one-word refrigerator magnet sets that you can jumble up to make strange sentences. When asked to describe the overriding SUPER-OBJECTIVE of each of their characters, I was told: to Win (by 3 different folks), Understanding (by 2 different actors), Sir Courtly (hmmm… Sir Courtly is an interesting objective), Fun/Shore Leave, Control, Marriage, to Please, Matchmaking, and Enjoyment.

To describe the one most dominant EMOTION of their character, cast members said: Desire, Intrigue, Delight, Passion, Mirth, Pissy, Love (2 actors chose this), Tickled, Lust, Ennui, and Frustration.

And, my favorite group of answers, which might go a little way to explaining a bit about our show, when asked to describe in one-word the overall ENERGY of the piece, cast members said: Pressured, Flitting, Swish, Spritely, Lunacy, Extreme, Constant, Frothy, Ridiculous, Quicksilver, Gaiety, and Burst-y (thanks to Marcus Kyd for that one!)

So without further ado, here’s our “Burst-y” video!

Clear, now? Um… probably not. So, in the words of Inigo Montoya, “let me sum up” – Lord Worthy pines for Lady Reveller who secretly  loves him back but will never capitulate; Courtly pines for Lucy who secretly loves him back but will also never capitulate (stubborn women!); Valeria and Lovely love each other but are being kept apart by Valeria’s father, Sir Plainman, who wishes to marry her off to a man of higher rank and status; Mr. Sago loves his wife, Mrs. Sago, who in turn loves to gamble away her husband’s money at Lady Reveller’s nightly card games; Alpiew, the lady’s maid, and Buckle, the serving man, may possibly love each other but really enjoy a good laugh and intrigue even more; and Captain Hearty, the sea captain, “hates the French….and enjoys a Good Bowl o’ Punch.” Hope that helps!

(And check out this little candid photo I took yesterday of some behind-the-scenes action of a few of the cast members doing backstage gaming research during their down time. Yeah, that’s it… research)

Discounted preview performances begin Tuesday, January 24. Get your tickets today and join us!

Talk to you soon!

We’re deep into the heart of rehearsals here at the Folger and will be starting technical rehearsals very soon. The set is incredible, the costumes unbelievable, and everyone is rightfully excited to get this skit up and running! But like any tech process worth its salt, it will take some serious time, focus, and finesse to get all these awesome pieces working together. Meaning there’s a bit of down time to be had backstage for the actors who are not in the scene that’s currently being “teched.” In fact, I knew an actor who had been in the military, and he said a tech process in the theatre was akin to his time in the army in that, “It’s all ‘Hurry up… and wait’.”

So while the designers, stage manager, and director are literally working their magic, those of us backstage fill the waiting in many different ways. Some read, some knit, some do crossword puzzles, some write blogs (ahem)… but many times you’ll find actors playing games. Typically it’s a card game, sometimes a board game. But regardless of whether it involves dice or jokers (and trust me, there’s a joker in every cast), the whole idea seemed a little too wonderfully “meta” not to mention while doing a play called The Gaming Table.  

It also got me curious what kind of “gamers” we had in this cast. So I asked my fellow actors to ‘fess up about their favorite games—anything from poker, to Twister, to Yahtzee—and I decided to use their answers to turn this blog entry into a GAME ITSELF. Mind blown? I thought so.

But seriously.

Here’s how to play: 

• Match the Gaming Table cast member with his or her favorite game in the chart below.
• Post your answers in the comments section below (ex. Julie Jesneck - Game 1; Emily Trask - Game 2; etc.). Be sure to include your name with the entry.
• The first person to correctly matching all of the actors with their favorite game WINS! 

“Win what?!” you ask?

A COMPLEMENTARY PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE GAMING TABLE

AND A FOLGER THEATRE WATER BOTTLE!!!!!

I will reveal the correct matches and the winner on the day of our first preview performance on January 24^th.

GAME ON!!!

To make it easier, copy and paste from the lists below:

ACTOR
Katie deBuys
Robbie Gay
Michael Glenn
Ashley Ivey
Julie Jesneck
Marcus Kyd
Michael Milligan
Darius Pierce
Tonya Beckman Ross
Emily Townley
Emily Trask
Michael Willis
GAME
Axis & Allies
Blackjack
Celebrity
Chess
Chutes and Ladders
Hangman
Liar’s Dice
Risk
Scrabble
The Settlers of Catan
Spoons
Texas Hold ‘Em

Emily Townley

Well, hello blog-friends! It’s the other Emily T. here, Emily Townley. I am very happily deep in rehearsals, beginning Week Three, with Emily Trask and the rest of the wonderful cast of The Gaming Table.

A Quick Rundown of “Alpiew”

I play one of the two main servants represented on stage, Mrs. Alpiew, lady’s maid, close companion, and Gal Friday to the very lovely Lady Reveller, played by the very lovely Julie Jesneck. (The other servant in the show is Buckle, played by Ashley Ivey. Poor, comical, put-upon Buckle! We, as a cast, have decided that the actual title of this play should be The Gaming Table, or the Tragedy of Buckle… but more on that later! ) The “Mrs.” in front of my name is a bit confusing. My character is most definitely unmarried and happy to stay that way! But “Mrs.” was a common address for a female servant in the 18^th century, and in this case might also be a small way of paying respect. Lady’s Maid, Cook, and Housekeeper were the three upper echelon positions in the hierarchy of female servants in a typical household. And in The Gaming Table my close relationship with my Mistress, Lady Reveller, positions me as a sort of gate-keeper for potential paramours, who tip me handsomely for access to my Lady.( A tip then was referred to as a “vail” and it was estimated that a well-positioned and valuable servant could double her yearly income with vails.)

The Down and Dirty About This Play

ACT I. (Four in the morning)

Porter: How long have you lived with your Lady?

Footman: A Month – too long by thirty Days. If this be her way of living, I shall be dead before the Year’s out; she Games all Night, and Sleeps all Day.

Which brings me to the basic thrust of The Gaming Table—MONEY! And, of course, sex! Money and sex are the primary threads running through all Restoration comedies, plays that celebrate materialism and sexual license as a reaction against Puritanism after Oliver Cromwell’s interregnum in the late 17^th century. (H. L. Mencken said that “Puritanism is the haunting fear that somewhere, somehow, someone is enjoying himself.”) Restoration works show society’s concerted drive towards what had been denied before: pleasure and profit.

And, boy, is this a play a perfect example of its type! EVERY character in this play is driven by need for one of those two things, sex or money. Sir Plainman wishes to secure a wealthy match for his daughter to ensure his place in society, Lady Reveller games constantly at the Basset table (see Emily Trask’s recent blog entry!) she’s created in Plainman’s house to alleviate her boredom and supply herself with an adrenaline rush, Mrs. Sago addictively gambles away her husband’s fortune, etc. Not only was gaming in the early 18^th century—a period in England’s history when the passion for gaming was at its greatest height—an addiction of avarice and idleness, but conspicuous expenditure became something of a necessary cultural spectacle. Social rank was generally linked to one’s personal wealth, and the ability to publicly gamble away a fortune secured the gambler’s social status.

Really, not much has changed! Only now, gambling is not a way to secure status but a recognized addiction similar to chemical addiction. It has been seen that, compared to “normal” gamblers, some pathological gamblers have lower levels of the chemical norepinephrine in their brain. Norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their chemical deficiency. And according to Hans Breiter, MD, co-director of the Motivation and Emotion Neuroscience Centre at the Massachusetts General Hospital, “Monetary reward in a gambling-like experiment produces brain activation very similar to that observed in a cocaine addict receiving an infusion of cocaine.”

ACT II.

Buckle: I- in love! No, the Devil take me if ever I shall be infected with that Madness.

And sex, the other great addiction in this play! The characters not obsessed by play and money are obsessed by sex instead! Lord Worthy pines for Lady Reveller, who delights in torturing him. Valeria and Ensign Lovely are enthralled with each other, and Lady Lucy and Sir James Courtly continually spar. All these lovers compulsively chase each other like squirrels chasing each other around a tree! While modern experts disagree about whether sex addiction is a form of chemical addiction analogous to a drug or alcohol addiction or whether it’s a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, anyone who has ever experienced extreme heartbreak or extreme passion can testify to the obsessive, all-consuming nature of either.

I thought maybe I’d dig up some interesting dirt on this group of artists and get them to talk a little about their personal addictions and perhaps post the findings (anonymously, of course!). Alas, I gotta say, we’re a pretty tame group. I, myself, have a teensy-weensy blackjack problem (I’ve been known to sit at a blackjack table in Vegas for 6 hours straight—don’t tell anyone!) and Eleanor Holdridge, our director, has a fondness for poker. But the answers I got to the question “What’s your modern addiction?” went something like this – Cold Case files on TV (the gorier the better), mac ‘n’ cheese, personal electronics, turtle figurines (Darius Pierce, “Mr. Sago”—there, I said it!), Diet Coke, buying and reading comic books, Alabama football… and… ”Gosh, I dunno. I’m really just addicted to work.” (Julie Jesneck, could you be more boring??) ; )

So, it seems that the characters in The Gaming Table have a lot more difficulty controlling their impulses than the actors playing them!

The Lowdown on Me

I was born in Southampton, UK but have spent most of my life in the Washington, DC area. (It breaks my heart to say this, but “Go, Skins!”) I received my BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and, aside from a brief 7-year out-of-town absence, have been lucky enough to work pretty steadily in this amazing theatre community for the last 20 years. I’m a very proud Company Member at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. In addition to a number of plays for Woolly Mammoth and a previous appearance here at the Folger, I’ve also been seen in performances at the Kennedy Center, Round House Theatre, MetroStage, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, and The Studio Theatre. I lead a pretty quiet life (cross stitch, crossword puzzles, and playing classical music are hobbies), and aside from the afore-mentioned blackjack problem, I also enjoy a very bad game of golf occasionally, a pretty good game of pool, and a nice glass of scotch. I’m thrilled to be working with this warm, generous. and über-talented group of Gaming Table folks!

Why Basset, you ask? And why did Susanna Centlivre write a play centered around the game? I was wondering the same thing myself.

Turns out Basset was in its heyday at the beginning of the 18^th century when Centlivre was writing our play, and it was quite a controversial pastime.

In fact, in France there was a royal edict against the Common populace playing Basset at more than a 10 penny bank, since loses and gains at this particular game could, and regularly did, ruin entire families. In England, Basset was such a costly and risky game it had a hard time catching on outside of Court circles. After a few years of popularity so many players had bankrupted their families that Parliament enacted a prohibition with severe penalties against its play.

Sounds like makings for a great Friday night, right?

Well, we thoughts so.

So, with poker chips in place of Guineas, and our fearless leader, assistant dramaturg Alex Calvin, showing us the ropes, we learned (and caught on relatively quickly) to this High-Stakes, Highly-Entertaining, and Highly-Addictive card game that is at the heart of our play.

I will now shamelessly steal what I learned and pass it on to you, in case you feel like venturing a Basset game of your own. I highly recommend it.

What you will need:

• A large (preferably round) table
• Personal Banks of Gold (or poker chips for those of us of the “Common Populace” ) for each player (a.k.a. punters)
• A Bank of Gold (again, poker chips will do) for the Talliere (a.k.a. Dealer)
• 1 primary deck of cards for the Talliere
• A varying number of additional decks depending on number of punters (a.k.a.players): use 1 deck for 2 to 3 players, 2 decks for 4 to 7 players, 3 decks for 8 to 11 players,  etc.

To begin, the decks are divided into their suits—13 cards in all—and referred to as a “book”:

Bring me a Book of Hearts

Lady Reveller, pg 50, ln 7

A punter may request a particular suit/book. However, the suit of the cards has no actual relevance in play. The Talliere has her own, complete deck.

Each punter then decides which of her own cards she would like to play and places them face up on the table. A bet is made by placing the wager on top of the upturned card. Any and all cards in the book may be bet on in a turn, and the punter can wager any amount on any card.

With me so far? Good. ‘Cause here we go.

Once all bets have been made the Talliere turns over one card, face up, from the bottom of their full deck. The Talliere wins all bets placed on cards that match this card’s rank.

The Talliere then deals two cards off the top of the deck, and we’re off!

First card wins, second card loses.

The punter loses all bets that match the rank of the second card turned. Their wager goes to the Talliere, and that card is taken out of play for the next round.

However, if the punter’s card matches the rank of the first card turned, the Talliere pays out a match of what the punter wagered. At this point, the player has a choice: She may a) keep the wager won and retire the card for the next round or b) leave the card and wager (the original amount only) in play. Kinda like double or nothing—or the bonus round at the end of Cash Cab.

To signify that a winning card and bet is left in play, a corner of the card is turned up. This is referred to as a Peroli or Alpiew—hmmmm… sounds exactly like the name of one of the primary characters in The Gaming Table.

Tip: if you don’t want to bend your cards you can use some other sort of marking device to place on the corner of the card to signify a Peroli—like a bolt or a Goldfish Cracker (which I find preferrable, since then even if you lose a Peroli you can still enjoy a snack).

The Talliere continues to turn two cards each round, with the first losing and second winning. The punter is able to adjust which cards they bet on and the amount wagered between each round. If a card a punter has bet on neither wins nor loses in a round it may be left in play, withdrawn, or she may raise/”mace” her bet.

Now for the really tricky… I mean… fun stuff.

If a card is Perolied and it loses, the dealer gets the original bet on the card (only), and the card is then taken out of play for the next round. But, if a card is Perolied and it wins again, it is paid off at 7 times the original bet. This is called winning a Sept & Leva.

A card that has won a Sept & Leva can be taken out of play or left in play, with the original bet on it. To signify that a Sept & Leva winning card and bet is left in play, two corners of the card are turned up (or two Goldfish Crackers are placed on its corners. And yes. I am sticking to the Goldfish suggestion.).

A punter can Peroli a winning card up to four times (since a playing card has four corners). Each time a winning card is left in play the amount the punter may collect on their initial bet multiplies.

As mentioned, winning on the first Peroli is a Sept & Leva—meaning seven times the initial wager is paid out if won.

The second Peroli is Quinze & Leva—15 times the initial wager.

The third Peroli is Trente & Leva—30 times the initial wager.

The fourth and final Peroli is Soixante & Leva—60 times the initial wager.

If the Perolied card loses at any of these stages, the punter only loses the amount of the initial wager.

The Talliere’s final solo card is “losing” card and, and if a punter’s remaining bet matches the rank on the final card, the wager goes to the Talliere’s bank, thus book ending the game with “losing” cards being paid to the Talliere.

P.S.  Punters can make side bets on if other punter’s card will lose in the next round. That’s where the real dirt comes in.

Got it?

Now, although this seems a bit complicated, once the game gets rolling it’s actually quite simple, a blast, and is very easy to get sucked into!

However, the very nature of the game causes most punters to exceed their bank quickly and it is set up in favor of the Talliere/The Bank.

Thus the royal edicts and ruined families and general bad rap for Basset, causing Sir Richard Plainman to say to his niece Lady Reveller:

…my House shall no longer bear the Scandalous Name of a Basset Table: Husbands shall no more have cause to date their Ruin from my Door, nor cry ‘there, there my Wife Gamed my Estate away’ …

—a cry that may escape from our Mr. Sago’s lips all too soon.

Cheers!