2008 Woodie Awards
Live radio play provides laughter, entertainment - and a dash of holiday spirit
Nasimeh Easton
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Features
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It's on the Time magazine list of the best movies ever made, it's #1 on the American Film Institute's list of the most inspirational American films, and generally regarded as a holiday classic loved by all. Any way you look at it, Frank Capra's 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life" is a success.
The question is, how well does that success translate to a different medium - the stage?
The Guilford community got a chance to answer that question on Nov. 26-28, when Dana Auditorium was host to a live radio play version of the tale. Produced by the North Carolina Stage Company (NCSC) and the Immediate Theatre Project (ITP), the play is set in the studios of a fictional radio station on Dec. 24, 1946.
Entering Dana, you really did feel like you'd stepped back in time to a Christmas Eve taping of a radio play. Festive decorations adorned every set piece - from the two microphones at the front of the stage to the large table, topped with all sorts of noise-making devices, in the middle. There were even announcements over the speakers at 15, 10, and five minutes until the show began, calling the characters to their places.
When the characters traipsed onto the stage and the show began, there were some surprisingly familiar faces shining among the set's red berries and holly leaves. Four of the five actors in the show were Guilford alumi - Lauren Fortuna '00, Hans Meyer '99, Willie Repoley '00, and Kathryn Temple '96.
Two of the alumni were not only in the play, but also were the founding forces behind ITP. Meyer and Repoley created ITP in 2004, following years of collaboration on various theatre projects. Not long afterward, Fortuna joined the Asheville- based company's staff.
"It's not a coincidence that the entire production staff (of ITP) is alums," Repoley said. "There's something about how we learned to think here. It's about not falling by the wayside. It's about paying attention to everything, not just the things that seem important on the outside."
The question is, how well does that success translate to a different medium - the stage?
The Guilford community got a chance to answer that question on Nov. 26-28, when Dana Auditorium was host to a live radio play version of the tale. Produced by the North Carolina Stage Company (NCSC) and the Immediate Theatre Project (ITP), the play is set in the studios of a fictional radio station on Dec. 24, 1946.
Entering Dana, you really did feel like you'd stepped back in time to a Christmas Eve taping of a radio play. Festive decorations adorned every set piece - from the two microphones at the front of the stage to the large table, topped with all sorts of noise-making devices, in the middle. There were even announcements over the speakers at 15, 10, and five minutes until the show began, calling the characters to their places.
When the characters traipsed onto the stage and the show began, there were some surprisingly familiar faces shining among the set's red berries and holly leaves. Four of the five actors in the show were Guilford alumi - Lauren Fortuna '00, Hans Meyer '99, Willie Repoley '00, and Kathryn Temple '96.
Two of the alumni were not only in the play, but also were the founding forces behind ITP. Meyer and Repoley created ITP in 2004, following years of collaboration on various theatre projects. Not long afterward, Fortuna joined the Asheville- based company's staff.
"It's not a coincidence that the entire production staff (of ITP) is alums," Repoley said. "There's something about how we learned to think here. It's about not falling by the wayside. It's about paying attention to everything, not just the things that seem important on the outside."
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