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Is Honolulu facing a shortage of male actors able to perform serious nonmusical theater? David Starr thinks it is. Starr, who is directing the Actors Group production of "Rain" at the Yellow Brick Studio, says he had no problem finding enough talented women to cover the female roles, but talented men were at a premium despite the material's quality and the male characters' depth. Director makes do with less
By John Berger
jberger@starbulletin.comThe production features four "great parts I'd have been happy to audition for," he said, had he not been directing.
Local theater participation usually requires a tremendous commitment in time and energy. A few lucky participants get paid nominal stipends, but for many local stage performers, theater is a labor of love that they must fit around the demands of job and family responsibilities.
"I think there are more women who are pursuing a career in theater than men," Starr said. "I'm not sure why that is, but that's been a problem a lot of directors have cited when casting shows. A lot of women come to auditions, but not enough men."
Starr's solution was to combine some roles and cast others on a gender-neutral basis so he could bring "Rain" to the Yellow Brick Studio. The drama is based on "Miss Thompson," a steamy short story by W. Somerset Maugham.
Melinda Maltby is cast as Sadie Thompson, a Honolulu prostitute who flees the islands only to find herself quarantined with two missionaries, a doctor and his wife.
"In the play as written, there was the guy who runs the hotel -- a guy ... who came to "Paradise" to get away from the hustle and bustle and married a Samoan woman. In the (original) play she has a very limited grasp of the English language, but I've known Samoans and Hawaiians who had a very good grasp of the English language, and by combining those two characters, she has all his lines, too, and (the character) will be able to go back and forth (between pidgin and fluent English)," Starr said.
Ironically, Starr cast a male in a role he envisioned as female.
"My cast just fell into place -- an eclectic group of people with varying levels of experience. Some have never done a show before, and others have years of experience, but they are all supportive of each other. When there is that (support), then it is exciting to watch. I think that makes the difference in the quality of a show."
The process of assembling a cast is a new experience for Starr, a stage actor since 1988.
Presented by the Actors Group "Rain"
When: Opens Wednesday, running 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 4 p.m. Sundays through June 2
Where: Yellow Brick Studio, 625 Keawe St.
Tickets: $10
Call: 591-7999
"It feels very natural (to try directing). I kept being guided into it, and they say that happens when there's something that you really want to do. I found there was a lot more to it than I had realized -- I was kind of innocent, I guess -- but for all the stuff I realized I needed to do, there were people there to help me along. It's exciting to feel your idea being realized."
And as for the timing, there's nothing like letting people know that you passionately want to try something new.
"('Rain') had been a show that I had always been interested in, and when I was doing "Kiss Me Kate" with Brad Powell, I told him that I had a show I was interested in doing. He said it was very possible I could do it ... with TAG.
"One of the wonderful things about TAG is that it provides this space for people to do something that's a labor of love and an expression of their heart. It's a small space, but that's an asset when you're starting out. (TAG) doesn't make a whole lot of money, so I guess it has less to lose, and yet people are coming to see shows there more and more because of the exciting, cutting-edge kind of shows (that are) more from the heart than from the pocketbook."
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