OUR TOWN Q&A with Joan D. Saunders (playing Professor Willard--local historian)
1. If you were making a time capsule of your life to put in a cornerstone, which 3 items would you include?
My round wire-rimmed glasses (so representative of the early 1970s, plus they were practically glued to my face, I wore them so much). I don't actually have these anymore.A photo album with pictures of every car I've had (would should both a timeline of cars over several decades and my personality).
My BlackBerry (would represent technology of a certain era, plus the contact list, photos, etc. would provide clues about me).
2. You're sitting at Mr. Morgan's drugstore counter. What would you order for an old-time-y treat?
I would get a real malt, chocolate, emphasis on "real." I might conisder an ice cream soda, but I'm sure I'd end up with the malt. Side story: I grew up in a relatively small town in North Dakota (well, actually, the third-largest city in the state, at 36,000), and my grandfather was a pharmacist. He had a drugstore with a soda fountain (Saunders Drug). I was at the north end of Main Street, and when I was a little girl, I would go there with friends and we would all sit at the soda fountain.
3. What birthday would you most like to re-live, and why?
The birthday I had last year (2011). There's not need to specify a number, but it's obvious I've had a lot of birthdays--so why this one? Because it was the most fun birthday I've ever had. I was in a play, Shakespeare, and after our performances in NYC, we flew to London and performed it outdoors in Hyde Park. When we flew out of JFK, I was one age, and when we landed in Heathrow in the morning, I was a year older. We celebrated way above the Atlantic when the date changed, then that night in London, the whole cast went to a pub to celebrate my birthday.
The stereotype Professor Willard is very male, very pompous, and very boring. Think Arthur Allen in the 1940 film.
ReplyDeleteSo when a woman walked out, I was floored.
This Professor Willard is like Flo from Progressive, so perky! She could sell Pleistocene granite in New Hampshire.
The tension in the time-conscious Stage Manager and the oblivion of the professor was really well done and felt in the audience, and very funny. I laughed out loud, and turned 49 heads in that tiny theater, but I didn't care!
This was a truly innovative interpretation.