Vaudeville’s Community Theater Director
– Fair Haven, NJ – A top-notch director is community theater’s most valuable resource and the serious theatergoer’s best friend. Before the curtain or lights go up, such a director has already set the production’s course and often won half the staging battle. The cast selected and guided by that director-and crew take it from there.
John R. Dunnell has directed several performances up and down the East coast and as far west as the Mississippi. This week he is directing a Vaudevillian Theatre production with the plot being about The Players Club in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of what is now called the Shrewsbury River Yacht Club in Fair Haven, NJ and of which John is a past commodore.
“Many times especially in the real community theatre, the club types of things, they’re doing it just for the fun of it. So they can have parties afterwards or have social gatherings. How well they do the play sometimes isn’t, unfortunately, the main thing. However casting this production with current members of the SRYC was a pleasure ” said Dunnell. ”This SRYC cast is dedicated, enthusiastic and have put together a great show!”
“The key to directing in non-professional theater is to motivate people….Since they’re doing it for the fun of it, experienced actors want to have starring roles, big parts, and the rest of the cast fill the smaller roles and my job is to keep those people motivated.”
“If I dedicated myself to anything, it was to make sure the play was as good as it could ever possibly be. So that… I wouldn’t be ashamed of it, the people in it wouldn’t be ashamed of it and the audience wouldn’t think they were being ripped off, because they have to pay money.”
For Dunnell, staging a play meant “almost always” at least 20 rehearsals, more for musicals. It means getting the cast’s respect. Parts are cast in the director’s mind before the tryout. Such a procedure may even be necessary to ensure the play is castable. He said. ”I had no idea who would particapate from the club and I have met some people I would never have met that are members and are very talented. Great voices and wonderful dancers.”
“I’ve been very fortunate, I think, to work with not only some fine actors but some wonderful people.” And in this production it is true as well, “I don’t care how well I know them, how good a friend they are, they know when they come to the three hours worth of rehearsal that I’m the director and for those three hours they’re going to listen to me. Even my beautiful wife Liz can a test to that!”
“Not that I don’t allow them to bring their own ideas. I want them to bring their own ideas.” He added “But it’s give and take and give and take, but the final analysis, whether they like it or not, is my decision”.
“The true fun” he added later, is that wonderful feeling that after the first performance and after every other performance, you can say, “My God, I’ve done a fine job”.
The show this weekend will include musical numbers of the Vaudeville genre, as well as dance and comedy skits. It will be presented on Friday and Saturday, September 24 and 25 for members of the community as guests of the Club. It will begin each evening at 7:00 PM with refreshments available, followed by the show starting at 7:30 PM. Show tickets are $10.00. Reservations can be made by calling 732-747-9873 and asking for Lee or leaving a message.
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