I’m writing from the steps of the Kitsap Forest Theater, watching our choreographer extraordinaire Guy Caridi sketch the beginnings of Oklahoma’s famous Dream Ballet. All of us (and my laptop) are grateful that, though gray, the skies over Seabeck are dry today. Just in case, however, we’ve got rain coats, plastic sheeting to save scripts from ruin and a watertight roof over our intrepid pianist, Debbie, who has fingerless gloves, a space heater and lots of hot drinks to ward off the cold.
Though we all grumble and burrow deeper into our Gore-Tex jackets when it starts to precipitate, we know that rain now means hillsides carpeted with rhododendron and dotted with trillium blossoms come May. It also fosters hardy actors and strong relationships among cast members; we have to become friends so we can share body heat! It’s a delight to watch this group of talented individuals start to work as a unit and support each other through the unique challenges of working in the Kitsap Forest Theater.
We’re also enjoying learning how to walk like cowboys, pronounce place names like “Catoosie” and “Quapaw” and embrace the exuberant energy of this classic American play. The play on which Oklahoma! is based, Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, is an elegy and a love song to the Indian Territory of the author’s childhood. His affection for the landscape, the speech and the song of the community in which he grew up infuses every word of his writing and informs Rodgers and Hammerstein’s big-souled musical adaptation. We’ll keep working to capture this spirit of optimism in every aspect of the production!
And to stay warm.
Yee-haw!
Jenny Estill
Director
(Here's an album of photos from the April 3 Rehearsal by fabulous cast member Lani Smith)