Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead:
Georgia Theater Conference images
The Georgia Theater Conference took place in Athens this season, in fact just six blocks from our playhouse. The RAGAD cast got together to perform Act 1 as our entry in the community theater "festival" (a competitive event). We took a reduced version of the set; the revolve (tree/pillar) didn't make the cut, and of course the barrels and sea chest from Act 3 didn't enter the picture (or the bollard either). No one knew at registration time what a luxury it would be to have a hometown venue; we brought a cast of over a dozen, which wouldn't have been feasible in Columbus or Augusta. On the same grounds, it was good to learn that the production would not be going on to the next level of competition; T&G came in second. Mike and Derek, in the leads, received a double award as best actors in the festival.
On the minus side, Dina had to call the cast and crew for 7:00 in the morning; the performance began at 8. The photo below shows Mike's wristwatch at 7:35. Marvel of marvels, it also shows Mike at 7:35 a.m. Few have seen him awake before noon, even. (That's Derek in the bobble hat.)
It took pretty much the whole hour for the cast to get down enough coffee and donuts to hold them for the six-block journey. Some of them turned out to be morning people, so that all of their photos were just blurs. The pictures that are in focus are mostly of night people like Leigh (left, as the Queen), Stephen (the King) and of course Smitty as Rosenstern, who tended to remain inert for long stretches. Oh, yes, they all did travel through Athens in costume and makeup.
As it came time to proceed to the Seney-Stovall Chapel, a harsh gaiety prevailed. I doubt that anybody in the group had ever performed at 8 a.m., and more than a couple of them were wondering whether it could be done at all. Grim little jokes and shots were the order of the day. At right, Stephen and Leigh have told Mike some macabre tale. Maybe they were running the old decaf switch on him.
The next page presents some photos made at the chapel.
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