PowPAC’s ‘The Dining Room’ is a multi-age acting challenge

Having on the persona of a character in a perform really various from themselves can be hard for actors.

But picture having to keep in mind the nuances for eight to 10 characters, all of whom are very distinct, span in age from 4 many years previous to someone in their 70s or 80s and then switching among these people inside of seconds.

That is the obstacle for the six actors in PowPAC’s “The Dining Area.”

The two-hour participate in penned by A.R. Gurney and billed as a “comedy of manners” is opening at PowPAC on Friday night. It can be viewed through June 12.

Presented in 18 vignettes, each and every takes spot in the same dining room in excess of the program of 5 a long time — from the 1930s to mid-1970s.

Director Brent Stringfield stated he selected the participate in for quite a few good reasons. He is a fan of Gurney’s functions that incorporate the Pulitzer Prize-nominated “Love Letters.” He also directed this play 10 many years ago in Chicago and reported it is “an acting and directing challenge.”

Only slight costume alterations happen so successful portrayals for the varying ages are due to the actors’ abilities and not costuming, he stated.

“It offers them the independence to discover through human body language, vocally — like a youngster is a bigger pitch than an adult — and the way they sit at the eating area table,” Stringfield explained. “Their instrument is their human body, working with their faces to produce illusion, and they are doing it rather productively.”

Julie Clemmons, 53, who portrays characters ages 4 to 70, reported she finds the engage in entertaining and complicated for the reason that she can make every single character her own.

“I am a youngster at heart, so it is not challenging to faucet my interior baby,” Clemmons claimed. “I experienced a blast. It was exhausting in the scene (playing a 4 12 months previous) … at a birthday celebration. It was very significant energy exactly where the mom has to relaxed us down.”

In contrast, when participating in a 70-12 months-aged maid, Clemmons stated she had to “put physicality into my human body, I could not go that rapid.”

Clemmons explained Stringfield wished her to portray the maid with a Greek accent.

“She’s a maid, so there’s a large amount of ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir.’ But she’s unquestionably an intricate portion of the loved ones and invested in the scene and reacting,” she reported.

Clemmons explained she also portrays a 14 12 months outdated and two girls in their mid-40s. For people she had to give them distinctive actual physical actions to make them distinctive.

Jamie Pendry, 27, explained his figures span from 16 to 75 a long time outdated. This is the 2nd time he has performed in “The Dining Area.” The first time was a decade in the past when his superior university in Salina, Kansas put it on and he portrayed four figures.

“It was fascinating to revisit it 10 many years afterwards,” Pendry reported. “There is additional that I noticed that I did not in large college. Themes I did not recognize when 17. It shows the progression of the northeast American life style about a long time and the environment modifying.

“In a lot of of the scenes it exhibits the spouse and children becoming fractured for worst and better,” Pendry extra.

“I approached it with a a lot more skilled thoughts-set,” he stated. “All the figures I performed then were being older than me. That is nonetheless fairly real now … but it is very interesting to find out how to bodily alter my general performance for every single age.

“If more mature, I move as if worn down, move with slower footsteps that are major,” Pendry said. “When a youthful character I am mild on my ft.”

Pendry mentioned he enjoys participating in both finishes of the age spectrum.

“There is a vary and my comprehending of the characters goes off my earlier activities,” he reported. “None are my age. They are possibly younger or drastically more mature.

“The more mature are a lot more intriguing … for the reason that I have to think about what I glimpse forward to in my lifestyle and some others lives and how that afflicted me,” he added.

Stringfield explained Gurney’s performs generally give commentary on societal modifications. What a eating space suggests to a spouse and children in the 1930s is very diverse than its that means and use in the 1970s. For this rationale he mentioned the play will probable be nostalgic for older audience users and insightful for more youthful generations who probable did not expand up with a formal dining place.

“The scenes are not chronological based mostly on decades,” he mentioned. “What the playwright has brilliantly performed is present a working day in the dining home, setting up in early morning and ending at meal. … You see unique moments in its history, 1 Thanksgiving, a child’s birthday, a college day breakfast.”

With its combine of comedy and drama, “The Eating Room” is “the truest definition of a perform,” Stringfield claimed.

This is the fourth PowPAC present for Clemmons, a Poway resident of 15 a long time who to start with appeared at PowPAC over 7 decades in the past. She portrayed a number of figures at the time right before, when PowPAC place on a radio clearly show-design engage in. There she played more than 20 figures. The big difference to now, she claimed, was that radio present actors utilised scripts on stage so she only experienced to use her voice to make the characters distinct. Some only had a couple words far too.

“This clearly show is far more actual, likely from comedy to drama,” mentioned Clemmons, who started out performing as a kid at The Old World. “There is a great deal of emotion for me, in 10 diverse roles of varying ages.”

She mentioned staying properly-directed by Stringfield helps and “the cast is actually astounding.” By way of talent, follow and muscle mass memory she keeps the characters individual, she explained.

Pendry, a Scripps Ranch resident, reported he has been carrying out with PowPAC given that 2018, following going to the place.

“My dad is listed here and I wished to examination the waters by living in this article and checking it out considering the fact that it has much more of a theater and performing scene,” he explained.

Acting is additional of a passion for him now due to the fact he is targeted on writing a novel, plays and screenplays, he claimed.

Pendry reported he desired to do this display due to the fact it was an option to operate with Stringfield and revisit “The Eating Place.”

“I’ve under no circumstances experienced a likelihood to be in a demonstrate twice,” he said. “This participate in is additional for older people than a substantial university audience. … I hope people today come see the show. It is a fantastic display … it is an awesome experience.”