The Autumn Garden

My first scene in my first acting class was from Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine. I hated the play. Combine that with The Children's Hour, which it seemed every third high-school girl did at drama competitions, and I had almost no use for Hellman. Then I watched Jane Fonda in Julia and I was completely finished with Hellman. Even though she is considered one of America's premiere playwrights, I could not be convinced. America has been wrong before.

Then, about a decade ago, some friends and I were discussing film actors. We were trying to decide who was the greatest film actor of all time and although I'm not sure we fully resolved that riddle, we decided that somewhere near the list of top ten was Bette Davis. We resolved that once a month we get together and watch every Davis film we could get our hands on. On either end of her career there are some real howlers, although Davis is always riveting. But in the middle of her career, particularly from 1939 to about 1951, from Jezebel to All About Eve no one could touch Bette Davis. Man or woman, there was simply not a more fearless actor working in Hollywood. Davis would try anything, and while she wasn't always successful, you could never take your eyes off her.

Late one Saturday evening we sat down to watch The Little Foxes. It had been a long day, and simply stretched out on the floor, ready to drift of to sleep. I was convinced that even the great Bette Davis couldn't keep me awake for Hellman's story and words. I was wrong. Davis is, of course, brilliant. But more important, Davis reintroduced me to Lillian Hellman. From that viewing I realized my mistake. Hellman is a brilliant playwright.

Hellman's brilliance, from an actor's point of view, is that there are no throw-away characters. If there's a character on the stage or the page, he's fully realized. Even the ones who are clearly plot devices are filled with human wants, needs, flaws, and love. Her work gives credence to the old saw that there are no small parts, only small actors.

So, when Nat Swift asked me to do the pre-production shoot for The Autumn Garden I was thrilled. Eclipse Theater is a great group, and I love working with them. The casts that I've shot have always been perfectly constructed. But the real gem of the assignment was having to sit down and re-read The Autumn Garden. I don't like to shoot a play that I'm not familiar with. I need to have an understanding of the characters, the mood, and the moment that we're trying to capture. I like to read the play and if possible see a run. And with The Autumn Garden I fell in love with Hellman all over again.

The story is sort of a 1949 Big Chill (that's a gross reduction - barely adequate) set in an old, Louisiana mansion at the end of a summer. For the pre-production shoot, we used one of the houses that has been surrounded by the DePaul campus. This was the first time that some of the cast members actually met one another, and each and every one of them was clearly over the moon about playing his or her role. The shoot was fun and it's clear to see that this is going to be a crackling production, and one of the more important ones of the current season.

The Autumn Garden opens in November at the Victory Gardens Green House. This is a must-see show, that is rarely produced. Don't miss it!