Monroe County Civic Theater's "And Then There Were None” opened on March 14 at the John Waldron Arts Center and will run until March 23.
The play is an adaption of the book of the same name by Agatha Christie. The play is directed by Becky Stapf, and the production of this play is supported by an “Open Stages Grant” from Constellation Stage and Screen and the city of Bloomington. MCCT is Bloomington’s only all volunteer nonprofit theater company.
Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” is set on a fictional, isolated island off the coast of Devon, England. The story begins with 10 strangers receiving mysterious invitations for a vacation to the island by Mr. and Mrs. Owen, the hosts of the vacation. The guests realise the hosts are absent and what follows is a mysterious and thrilling trail of events wherein the guests get murdered, based to a nursery rhyme hinting their demise.
Maryann Iaria, the stage manager for the play and MCCT board member, said she was thrilled to be a part of the play’s production. After hosting an open dress rehearsal for family and friends, she said the team received a positive response.
“The play is classical literature that we aren't much familiar with today, so it's kind of great to look back about how it was 100 years ago, how people lived and conspired against each other,” Iaria said.
The play's static set, depicting the hotel where the guests stay, is designed with antique decor and vintage furniture, to immerse the audience in the ambiance of a 1930s British lodge. Iaria said Stapf created the set design. While not being formally trained in set design, Stapf said her creative team provided a collaborative environment in which her vision came to life.
Part of Stapf’s process of designing the set stemmed from her love of theater. Stapf said she was a longtime theater fanatic and collected a lot of antique furniture pieces to use for future plays. Not all pieces in the show were from Stapf’s collection; she said the owners of Loren Wood Builders volunteered to build some pieces of furniture for free, and the Cascades Inn also supported the group by letting them use one of their conference rooms for play rehearsals.
Stapf said the timeline of the play was short as the MCCT had a musical running until Thanksgiving. Preparations for the play did not start until after Christmas, leaving her team with a short time frame to conduct auditions, finalize casting and rehearse the play.
Despite the thriller revolving around 10 murders, Stapf said she and the cast found an underlying humor in the play. This humor, Stapf said, gave audiences a fresh take on the classic Christie story.
“When I read this play, my memory of this story was just a real scary show, but when we started breaking down the play parts, the scenes, we saw a lot of comedy,” Stapf said.
Amongst all characters the cast played, characters Fred Narracott and Anthony Marston were the most quirky and comic ones, which got the most laughs from the audience because of the events from the story that revolved around both the characters.
Ryan Eller, who plays Fred Narracott and Anthony Marston in the play, made his MCCT debut with “And Then There Were None.” Eller said he began his acting career in high school and fell in love with the craft since, finding a community in the storytellers and artists.
“My colleague from where I work told me last minute about this audition, they needed people to come in and audition for the play,” Eller said. “I went to the public library and auditioned. It was very fun working with everyone over the past two months.”
Eller appreciated all artists in the cast and said he enjoyed working with them.
Eller shared he began his acting process for the play by focusing on perfecting the Narrocott’s cockney accent. For Marston, he developed character traits of a wealthy, spoiled playboy, enjoying the challenge of portraying a character the audience would like to despise. Comedy is tough genre to perform in stage arts, Eller and Staph said was a challenge for all cast members.
Eller said discovering and breaking the bits for comic timing was fun. However, the bits took structure after rehearsals.
“But over the course of those two months, though, doing the bits repeatedly, you kind of get self-conscious, and it's not funny to you anymore,” Eller said. “This was the first time performing with a great audience and it was good feedback, which is what's hard with comedy. Sometimes you really don't think it's that funny, but you just keep up with it.”
The play’s next performance will be at 7:30 p.m. March 21 and 22. MCCT will also perform it at 2:30 p.m. March 16 and 23 at the John Waldron Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased on the MCCT’s official ticket website.
