"Talking With," a play written in 1981 by Jane Martin, consists of a group of monologues delivered by actors who are all women.
The Centralia College performances of "Talking With" will be held at 8 p.m. today through Saturday and Nov. 18-20, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. All performances will take place at the Studio Theatre at a cost of $10 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens.
Director Brian Tyrrell said, " 'Talk-ing With' is 10 wonderfully different, sometimes sad stories about their (the women's) lives.
"Doing monologues is a bit more challenging for players but it's what an actor does to make a living — having at one's disposal two working monologues for auditions.
"We've never been down this road before," said Tyrrell, agreeing that doing monologues is a bit more intimidating for actors and, as the song goes, "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do."
Being on stage with the actors they're playing to night after night is comforting, said Tyrrell. In this performance, the people they're playing to are in the audience, sitting in the dark, and different night after night.
According to www.tntech.edu, "Talking With," Martin's first play, serves as a witty vehicle for actresses to work their skills directly on an audience. It was written as a lively collage of 11 women's experiences and personalities. Tyrrell's group will do only 10 of the 11 monologues.
Kurt Eisen wrote, "Indeed, to call these 'monologues' is a bit misleading since so many of them feel like dialogues where one person happens to be doing all the talking. The audience is amused, seduced, challenged, sometimes shocked into a kind of participation — you can't just sit watching passively in the dark."
Martin has been part of a mystery that has confounded the theater community for more than two decades. The mystery? Who is Jane Martin?
She is credited with having produced more than 10 full-length plays, six one-acts and numerous shorts. She has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, and won the American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award twice.
Yet, according to www.hartnell.cc.ca.us, she has not made one public appearance. There are no interviews. No pictures. No sightings. Nothing.
In her absence, retired Actors Theatre of Louisville artistic director Jon Jory has accepted her awards and served as her spokesman, bringing countless theatrical sleuths to believe that Jory is actually Jane Martin.
"I'm not going to talk about that," is Jory's usual response when asked about the subject.
Throughout the years, he has remained adamant in his denial despite a mountain of circumstantial evidence that suggests the contrary.
Tyrrell is a big fan of Jory's, and took a sabbatical last fall for what he calls an "observership" at the University of Washington, where Jory is now in his fourth year of teaching graduate students.
Tyrrell felt lucky to watch Jory work as a director and teacher, and said, "I'm a big fan of his, and knowing that Jane Martin has written a number of plays for women, I decided to do one of her plays which are incredibly accessible to actresses of all ages and abilities."
Although he wanted to, Tyrrell never asked Jory if he is, indeed, Jane Martin. Although Jory treated Tyrrell like a son, the Centralia College associate professor said he didn't relish the thought of being disowned.
The following is a list of players and directors for Centralia College's version of "Talking With."
Jamie Baker as Scraps; Katherine Bratz as Twirler; Robyn Heian, director; Janson Holloway, stage manager; Crystal Love, as Clear Glass Marbles; Katie Medford as Rodeo; Karen Naughton as Lamps; Laura Norton as Fifteen Minutes; Norma Rogers as French Fries; Kaaren Spanski as Audition; Jana Tyrrell, director; Elizabeth Ullery as Handler and Abby Wells as Supreme Light.
