Episode 51: Two One Act Play Interviews  

This week we look back at two podcast interviews before TFP ever existed. It's two one act play interviews: Ruth Wareham shares her production experience with Emotional Baggage and Billy Houck talks with his students about performing two plays from A Box of Puppies.

Show Notes

A Box of Puppies Emotional Baggage

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Episode Transcript

Welcome to TFP, The Theatrefolk Podcast. I am Lindsay Price, resident playwright for Theatrefolk, coming at you from in front of a little foam box.

Hello! I hope you're well. Thanks for listening.

Today, it’s a blast from the past. Theatrefolk podcasting before there ever was a TFP.

Episode Fifty-One

So, for the next two weeks, we’re going to be opening the vault as it were to the Theatrefolk podcasting past and this week is from the way, way past – way back, man! I’d like you to know that I just made double V-signs of the microphone. So, both these interviews are over five-years-old. And why would we post interviews that are over five-years-old? Well, they both involve one-act plays of ours and they both share interesting production experiences. They both talk about what it was like to perform these plays – one from a director’s experience and one from a cast actor’s experience. And I know that, for our customers, they – you – when you’re looking at a play, you want to know just what it’s like to read a play or see a play, but also, you want to know the experiences of others that can help in how you visualize and how you take in the play.

And so, the first interview is with Ruth Wareham who directed a production of Emotional Baggage and had quite the interesting – and I use that word with fully gritted – adjudication experience. Lindsay: Hello there, podcast listeners. This is Lindsay Price at the International Thespians Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska. And I am with…

Ruth: Ruth Wareham.

Lindsay: Ruth Wareham. And Ruth came up to our table the other day and introduced herself as the director of Emotional Baggage which I’m always glad to meet directors who do this play because it has varying reactions.

Tell us about why you chose it?

Ruth: I definitely wanted something different. I wanted something that would challenge my students, especially with being required to go to District One at competitions, who are always looking for something that’s a little unique, that would, you know, take people by surprise. It definitely did that and I’m very focused on the process of doing a play, not just the final outcome, and I thought that this would be something that would be a very fun, creative process to be a part of with my students.

Lindsay: It’s a very different play. Tell people why.

Ruth: Well, first of all, there’s no dialogue which makes it unique. The story is done through pantomime with the suggestion of use of music.

Lindsay: When you saw the script for the first time, did it freak you out?

Ruth: Well, I had read a summary about it so I knew what I was getting into. I definitely had to read it a few times. It’s not something that’s obvious, that’s self-explanatory. And, you know, when you have the dialogue there, things just kind of pop into your head, obviously. So, I could tell it was something different. I wouldn’t say I was, like, scared. I was really, actually, it intrigued me.

Lindsay: That’s good. That’s a good way to be.

Ruth: Yeah, and I come from a dance background so I thought this would be a neat opportunity to do some creative movement.

Lindsay: And what did the students think?

Ruth: They were so excited about it. Even when I tried to give a synopsis of what our show’s going to be for the next season at the previous into the school year and I could even just see the interest on their face when I said we were going to do that show. So, they were very excited about it,