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| Briana Templeton (left) and Gwynne Phillips aka The Templeton Philharmonic photo courtesy of SummerWorks |
Gwynne Phillips: Of course! Grey Gardens is a 1975
American documentary about two reclusive upper class women,
a mother and daughter named Edith and Edie Beale, who lived in a decaying
mansion in East Hampton. They were the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis.
We were very much inspired by their story and relationship, and our venue fit
the aesthetic perfectly. The Surrealist Ball was hosted by socialite Helene de
Rothschild in 1972, and was essentially an elaborate star-studded ball with
celebrities like Salvador Dali to Audrey Hepburn in attendance. Look it up
online you will not be disappointed!
dg: Briana, how would describe May?
She's a fairly narcissistic person...
She's always been very materialistic, and has a really brassy, loud veneer
which she uses to hide her inner pain. Through out the play she is less and less
successful! BT
GP: The character of June exists in two different
timeframes; her life before her sister died, and her life afterward. During the
play she simultaneously lives both, replaying the night of the party over and
over again in her mind - hoping that maybe one time her sister will survive.
She lives out her days alone, trying to remember the good times they had
together. But on a more surface level, she is just a manipulative flirt who
claims to love parties and fashion.
dg: How did you decide who would play which character?
GP: We often write a dynamic which involves my
character being haunted or plagued by Briana in some way. We're not really sure
why, it just seems to always turn out that way.
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| photo by donna g |
dg: What was it about Thom Stoneman that
made you cast him as the manservant?
GP: We have known Thom Stoneman for many
years and have worked on several different plays together. We had originally
wanted him to just be the bartender for this show, but we thought it would be
more interesting to expand his character to be part of the narrative. Also, he
looks the part.
dg: I loved the 1970s set décor and
your costumes. Could you please share your team’s process in creating this
world?
BT: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Gwynne and I knew we
wanted to create something from that era - and throw in touches of surrealism.
While we were writing and developing the look of the show, we watched a lot of
movies from the era - like "Valley of the Dolls" and "Grey
Gardens". Then, we scoured thrift shops in Toronto and New York to find
things that fit the look! Pretty fun. I think co-designing the set informed the
script a lot too. Also, our stage manager Vanessa Purdy found some GREAT 70's
self help books for the set.
dg: An Evening in July, is staged indoors and out at St. George the Martyr Anglican Church (Music Gallery). How have you been dealing with the challenges of various weather conditions?
GP: This is the second time we have produced this show.
The first time was for the Toronto Fringe Festival last year. In over 20
performances in this space, we have never been rained out. If it's a rainy day,
the skies somehow clear right before be performance. It's very eerie!
dg: With this play being interactive, you
have to rely and adapt to audience response. What has that been like for you?
For example, you had a matinee and evening performance last Saturday.
Could you please share how your audiences differed, and how you
dealt mentally with such a quick turnaround in performance?
BT: We developed a lot of the script through improv
originally, so we feel very comfortable improvising as May and June which
helps. The audiences each night can really change the feel of the show.
Sometimes it can feel like a pure drama, and sometimes people laugh the whole
time! That was our intention-the malleability is really exciting as actors, and
our audiences seem to like it too... You never know what's going to happen.
dg: Do you have any projects lined up after
SummerWorks, or will you be sitting back and sipping martinis once you've
shrugged off the polyester?
GP: Ha! We do love martinis. But we also have a few
excited things coming up this fall! We are creating an art installation for
Scotiabank's Nuit Blanche entitled, "Lillian" in October, as well as
taking part in an exciting charity event called The Generator hosted by Chris
Hadfield on Oct 28th at Massey Hall!
An Evening in July (Final Performance)
Sunday, August 16, 8:00 PM
St. George the Martyr AnglicanChurch (Music Gallery)
197 John Street (north of Queen, behind the Art Gallery of Ontario)
Tickets $15
No latecomers
Find out more about The Templeton Philharmonic at http://templetonphilharmonic.com/
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