Reader’s Theatre
The Reader’s Theatre was a short-lived program that appears to have begun in 2000. Most likely, it was an attempt to fill the ‘dead space’ from January to April, after the December show had closed and before activity for the summer season started up again. It was probably the first step in making Wayside a year-round organization, which was actually done in 2003. Information on Reader’s Theatre is sparse and what has been found is inconsistent, therefore information for this section is limited.
For clarification: Reader’s Theatre, also called Staged Readings, is when a play is performed before an audience with the actors reading from scripts, using minimal staging and physical movement.
Even though the first Reader’s Theatre event took place in 2000, there is evidence that an interest in such an idea had been considered earlier. An undated document quotes Slavet as suggesting, at some point in his Wayside years, that he hoped to have a “children’s theatre, and a reader’s theatre, where young playwrights may have their work considered for production, and educational programs to be held in conjunction with Northern Virginia area schools” (Jewish Historical Society. Undated). If Slavet expanded on this idea, there is no record of it. But, it does indicate that the idea of having actors read plays before an audience was an idea for a possible performance experience.
It is also thought that the idea for a Reader’s Theatre at Wayside was an experiment to see how audiences would respond to performances scheduled during the January through March bloc. There would be five readings of a single title performed over the course of a week, either on the main stage or in the Curtain Call. The cast for these readings would include Wayside staff, Wayside Board members, and local actors. This coincides with the change of focus for Wayside as being a year-round operation. These readings took place during the 2000, 2001, and 2002 seasons. To date, there are no programs in the files from any of these staged readings. It has also been hinted that one of the plays, read during the 2001 season, was also part of the WTOT schedule. But, this cannot be verified (C. Place. Undated conversation).
Crocker states that the performance of staged readings is “an attempt to get more local people involved in local theater and breathe some life into the historic building during the off months. This is a time of year that Wayside has not traditionally had a lot of action. We wanted to do something that would get as many people as possible involved” (Fontes. “Women Take the Stage.” TWS. 25 Feb. 2000). According to one listing of the 2000 schedule, the readings took place over a weekend with a reading on Friday, two on Saturday, and the final one on Sunday afternoon. There is no information regarding rehearsals for the readings.
The listing below gives the titles and dates of the titles presented as staged readings.
2000
Same Time Next Year by Bernard Slade. Jan. 28 – 30. 2000.
A Life of Honor by Nick Nerangis, (based on writings of Clarence A. Johnson). Feb. 4 - 6,
2000.
Love Letters by A. R. Gurney. Feb. 11 – 13, 2000 (performed in the Curtain Call).
The Little Prince, adapted by Rick Cummins and John Scoullar. March 17 – 19, 2000.
The Women by Clare Booth. March 25 – 27, 2000.
A note about the latter title states: The Wayside Theatre’s reading of The Women will feature local women from the surrounding community to be cast from an audition held in early February. Another source indicates this reading took place Feb. 25 - 27, 2000.
The readers for The Women included:
Sandy Andrick of Berryville; Elizabeth Bagely and Carol Westervelt of White
Post; Alexandra Cheff and Sharon Gochenour of Woodstock; Elizabeth Truesdale
of Strasburg; Dee Dee Mains of Linden; Cheyanne Racey of Fishers Hill; Belinda
Pugh of Front Royal. The following names are from Winchester/Frederick County:
Laurie Morrison, Rebecca Morrison, Kristin Joy Van Guilder, Paula Ann Gould, Kitty Zuckerman, Cephe Place, Susan Galbraith, Sean Finnerty, Eva Hoover, Boddé Bauer, LaRita Jacobs, Jeannie Wright, Selma Harter, Sharon Carson, Thomasin Savaiano,
Susan O’Kelley, and Darla Guevremont.
Another source lists the titles and dates for the readings in 2000 as follows:
Same Time Next Year by Bernard Slade. Jan. 28 -30, 2000.
A Life of Honor by Nick Nerangis. Feb. 4 - 6, 2000.
Love Letters by A. R. Gurney. Feb. 11 - 13, 2000.
The Women by Clare Booth. Feb. 25 - 27, 2000.
Animal Farm. March 10 - 12, 2000.
The Little Prince adapted by Rick Cummins and John Scollar. March, 17 - 19, 2000.
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry. March 31, April 1, 2; 7 - 9, 2000.
2001
Most likely, five titles were read during this season, but there are two different versions of the list of titles for this bloc of time. One list indicates:
Cabaret. Jan. 26, 27, 2001. An evening of cabaret songs and show-tunes held in the
Curtain Call.
Pickett’s Charge and a Life of Honor. Feb. 2 - 3, 2001. Read by Bill Young & Nick
Nerangis.
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee. Feb. 16 - 18, 2001.
The Weir by Conor McPherson. March 23 - April 2, 2001. Cast included: Robert Branch,
Jason Bruffy, Richard Follett, and Thomasin Savaiano. Performed in the Curtain Call.
Ladies Night at the Turkish Bath by Charlton Andrews. April 27 - 29, 2001. Cast
included: Sandy Andrick, Betsy Blauvelt, Jason Bruffy, Bill Diggle, Tammy Mills, Lauri
Morrison, Susan Nesson, Scott Ruble, Doug Saffell, Carol Westervelt
Another list for these readings gives the following information and schedule:
A Cabaret-type performance held in the Curtain Call. Jan. 26 - 27, 2001.
Pickett’s Charge and a Life of Honor. Feb. 2 - 3, 2001. Read by Bill Young and Nick
Nerangis.
Inherit the Wind. Feb. 16 - 28, 2001.
Ancestral Voices by A. R. Gurney. Feb. 23 - 25, 2001. The readers included: Betsy
Blauvelt, Rob Branch, Vicky Ryles, Jason Bruffy, Doug Saffell. In addition to the
Wayside performance, this was also read at assisted living facilities in Fairfax and
Manassas.
And Then They Came for Me. April 4 - 8, 2001.
Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath -- concert reading. April 27, 28, 29, 2001.
Some listings include the announcement that a concert by the FDO Swing orchestra was to take place at Lord Fairfax Community College on April 21. Other listings for the pre-June events mention a performance of Cinderella that was scheduled for May 10 – 13. To date, no information on these titles has surfaced.
2002
The titles suggested for this year were:
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee. Feb. 16, 17, 18, 2002.
This reading was done by two local lawyers, Ian Williams and Richard deBerg.
Animal Farm by George Orwell, adapted by Nelson Bond. March 2, 3, 4, 2002.
The readers included: Jason Bruffy, Scott Ruble, Sarah Blackwell, Susan Nielsen.
According to Sarah Blackwell, this production was also taken on tour.
There are no indications of any Reader’s Theatre performances taking place after 2002. Wayside expanded its season into a year-round operation in 2003, so it might have been thought that there was no need for this type of activity.