Vashon Repertory Theatre to put on radio plays in October
The newly formed Vashon Repertory Theatre (VRT) is putting the theater experience on radio.
For its inaugural fall season, the group will put on a series of shows that listeners can experience virtually.
Attending in-person performances have been put on hold due to COVID-19. The October shows will be available for free, though the group has a GoFundMe set up for those wishing to show support.
The VRT have been recording all the plays which will be then broadcast later. The broadcasts will be on the Voice of Vashon and can be streamed via the Vashon Center for the Arts YouTube channel.
The first show is “Home” and consists of a series of seven short plays about places we call home. The theme was chosen to capture the feeling of being at home for extended periods. It will be streamed Oct. 8 at 7:30. p.m.
One of the actors in one of the shorts, Mik Kuhlman, spoke to The News Tribune about the work that went into the show.
“Everybody is kind of Zoom rehearsing,” Kuhlman said. “The beauty of doing radio is that we’re on book so you don’t have to have as much rehearsal.”
“On book” means being able to have lines in front of you rather then having them memorized, which isn’t necessary to do when the audience can’t see you. Kuhlman said doing a radio play creates a fundamentally different relationship between the performers and the audience.
“Radio theater allows you to be in your own world. You can experience it individually,” Kuhlman said. “They can listen and absorb it more. They don’t have to feed the actors. We don’t get fed through their response, we just present it.”
The second show is a rebroadcast of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds,’‘ which will be performed and recorded using local actors. It is directed by the company’s founder and producing artistic director, Charlotte Tiencken.
It will take place in October at a date to be determined. More information can be found on the group’s website.
“VRT’s mission is to produce exceptional theater that is thought-provoking, intimate, story-driven and brings to light issues that are meaningful to our time and place on earth. We are a group of artists who strive to make a difference in our community and the world,” Tiencken said in a news release.
In a phone interview, Tiencken explained the inspiration that went into the creation of the group and how there is a hope to have the stories intersect with current issues.
“I’ve been working in the theater for a long, long time, and I really feel like it’s time for us to do work on Vashon that is really relevant — that is talking about the issues we are facing right now,” Tiencken said. “Issues of race, issues of gender, issues of change and how the world is changing. Social justice issues. My goal is to do that kind of work on the island.”
One of shows to tackle those issues is “The Exonerated,” which tells the true stories of six people sentenced to death row for crimes they didn’t commit.
The show is not set to go on until February 2021, though it is something Tiencken is looking forward to putting on as it tackles an important topic that talented performers can bring to life.
“The system failed people, especially people of color and people who don’t have enough money to hire a good lawyer,” Tiencken said. “It’s a really powerful play about what happens in our system when somebody gets caught up in it.
“We have a lot of really talented artists who live here on Vashon and so its time for us to start using their talents.”
This story was originally published September 28, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
