Only one more day until the ladies of Calendar Girls bare–well, almost bare–it all on their official opening night! Leading up to the triumphant moment, we sat down to chat with director Rachel Ditor about staging the “less clothed” scenes and how women compare to sunflowers. You’ll also get a first peek below at shots from the show!
The cast of Calendar Girls. Photo by David Cooper.
Have you seen the film Calendar Girls? Do you think an audience will expect a great deal of similarity between the film and the play? As the director, how will you differentiate the play from the film?
A: I have seen the film and I loved it. The two mediums are so different and the script for the play takes that into consideration. For example, there are far fewer locations in the play than there are in the film, which cuts down on transitions. And the play features monologues for each of the characters. In film you can always do a close-up to get a sense of a character’s private feelings. You can’t do close-ups in theatre, so the script has created other opportunities for the audience to get to know the women.
Q: How do you negotiate between the tragic undertones of the play and its many lighter moments?
A: Plays that require this balance are always challenging, and I’ve found that rehearsing for the truth rather than for laughs keeps the play grounded in real people and honest reactions to situations. Once we’re in previews the audience helps tell us what’s funny by their responses. At that stage in the process we’re ready for that information; in fact we need it to help us finish shaping the play.
Q: Our society can treat aging women in a dismissive way. Does Calendar Girls present an opportunity to question this view?
A: Absolutely. There’s a great line in the play where the women are likened to flowers where “the last phase is always the most glorious.” There’s no question that what the women accomplish publicly and overcome in their private lives really speaks to the strength that comes with age and experience. What’s really beautiful is their bravery, their willingness to shake up their lives and take risks, and the rewards that come back to them, and others in their lives.
Wendy Noel and Anna Galvin. Photo by David Cooper.
Q: The original West End production of Calendar Girls was directed by a man, despite the play centring on women and their relationships. Does being female afford you a different understanding of the play?
A: Being a woman directing this play I come to it with some firsthand experiences of how women can behave in groups, and certain anxieties about physical beauty and aging, the balance of home and career. But the story is universal and the script’s challenges are going to be answered by directors, no matter their gender, by the influences of their personal taste and style and experience.
Q: How do you go about casting six women who will come together as an ensemble to convey the chumminess of the script?
A: Casting is the most important choice you make as a director. So finding actors that have the right temperament and qualities of the characters is critical. But once you’re in rehearsals chumminess isn’t hard to cultivate. Especially when it’s clear to everyone that a good onstage rapport is necessary, then everyone, in their own way, works toward a level of comfort and trust in the rehearsal room that will manifest onstage.
The cast (and set). Photo by David Cooper.
Staging the nude scenes discreetly will take some sleight of hand; how will you direct these?
Carefully!
