The Puzzle Runs Amok

In today's post, actress Laine Satterfield describes audience reaction so far to Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes at the Firehouse Theatre. The play runs through Nov. 21. More information and tickets are available at the Firehouse Web site.
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We're halfway through the run of Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes, and what is so fascinating is the audience reaction.

It's the last piece of a puzzle in the theatre world, and one never knows where that piece might ultimately fit. I love hearing the different reactions: love it or hate it or some combination in-between.

This is How it Goes certainly isn't a black and white play, as far as the audiences go. We get laughs some nights in places I find horrifying, silences some nights when things are truly funny, a largely unattended talkback juxtaposed with a lively one, full of fascinating conversation. Some people who saw it two weeks ago are still talking, and that, I think, is a good sign. Some people aren't talking to me about it at all, which I find equally fascinating. Some people hate the play but love what was done with it.

I keep trying to find a pattern in the dichotomy from the demographics side: age, education, white, black, open, closed, but it doesn't seem to make any kind of sense, like a puzzle that cannot be solved. I rely on the honesty of my friends and family, and even within that close-knit group, I am befuddled.

So, I say to you as potential audience members, come and see the play, give us honest feedback. We, as actors, aren't in the business of analyzing so much as trying to tell a story. This is the story that Neil Labute wrote and that Bill Patton spearheaded. This is how it plays out this night, whatever night, and we would love for you to tell us how it affects you. This is the stuff that makes a run interesting. This is why we delve into the electronic world to gain insight and information and opinions.

So bring it on - your attendance, your reactions, your part in it. You're the missing piece of the puzzle. Thank you to all who have come to see this play and expressed an opinion about it, no matter what side of the puzzle you land on. It's a fascinating process, and I feel blessed to be a part of yet another puzzling portrayal of our flawed humanity.

Laine Satterfield
Belinda in Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes

Dark Corners of the Human Psyche

In today's post, Scenic Assistant Vivian Buzzard explains how being a part of Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes has reinforced her perception of the Firehouse Theatre. The play runs through Nov. 21. More information and tickets are available at the Firehouse Web site.
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This Is How it Goes is yet another great example of why I love the Firehouse Theatre Project so much. The play is thought-provoking and challenging, while at the same time engaging and quite entertaining.

That is typical of a Firehouse Theatre experience. In a cozy, casual, and intimate space, a story unfolds that yanks my comfort zone from beneath me as director Bill Patton shines a light into the dark corners of the human psyche with honesty, compassion, and love. Once again, I leave the Firehouse with a lot to think about, a lot to talk about, but without despair, which is to me the magic of the Firehouse, why an evening there is a rich and vibrant experience that follows me from the theatre.

This Is How it Goes is a play about the attitudes and assumptions that lie in the shadows of our minds, that cause us to act, speak, and think in ways that are destructive to ourselves or others because we keep those assumptions in the shadows, unexamined. The play addresses the issue of racial prejudice from both sides as a black character and a white character struggle with prejudice each perceives in the other. Yet, as true motives are revealed, the content of each person's character, not the color of his skin, is the litmus test by which we are asked to judge the actions of both.

And the acting is simply terrific. The characters are so believable. Fred Iacovo is endearing as "The Man," as he steps forward and confides his hopes and distress to the audience. Tyhm Kennedy's Cody is powerful and compelling. Laine Satterfield, as Cody's wife Belinda, is lonely and sweet, trying to grapple with the conflict between what she needs and the reality of her life in an unhappy marriage.

Call Me "The Man"

In today's post, actor Fred Iacovo describes his preparation for the demanding role of "The Man" in Neil LaBute's This is How it Goes. The play runs through Nov. 21. More information and tickets are available at the Firehouse Web site.
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Before I agreed to be a part of This Is How It Goes, I hadn’t been on stage for two years. That was when I had taken the role of Ross in Spinning into Butter, which also played at the Firehouse. It was a nice part but I swore that if I were to do another show, I would have to be the lead. Plays take up a ton of time and keep me from being able to travel. That means I can’t do any on-camera work, and that is how I pay my bills.

Well, be careful what you wish for. The part of “Man” has been the most demanding role I have ever taken on. I didn’t realize exactly how many lines I would have to sink into memory until everything had been highlighted. When completed, I realized that was almost the whole play, or close enough. The script never left my hand for two months.

Director Bill Patton wanted the actors off book before rehearsals started. Although I didn’t quite get there, I was pretty damn close. When I would go the gym to work out, I would mumble to myself through the whole workout. I received many a strange look. The good thing about that though, not many people want to be around a crazy person, so I was always left alone to focus on my lines and my workout.

I also lost quite a bit of sleep. I couldn’t stop running lines constantly in my head. It would wake me in the middle of the night and I would have to get out of bed walking throughout the house with script in hand going over my lines. My wife finally had me stop going to get-togethers with friends because I couldn’t relax, I knew I should be studying my lines. It was a tough couple of months.

Once I got into rehearsals, things didn’t get any easier. This is a very emotional and exhausting show. Fortunately, I was blessed to be working with two wonderful actors in Laine Satterfield and Tyhm Kennedy. Their energy and talent, along with Bill’s direction, enabled us to explore and come up with a very gripping show.

But the best part about this whole process, is that when my friends talk about the show, the have to refer to me as “The Man.”