Candles to the Sun

A dear friend once said to me, "I'll take mediocre Tennessee Williams over the best of just about anyone else." I couldn't agree more. I don't think there are many who would argue the statement that Tennessee Williams is the greatest American playwright, and could easily fall within the category of the top five playwrights working in English. And of all playwrights, there are few who capture the dynamics between the male and female, from the female point of view, better than Williams.

So, keeping all of that in mind, you can imagine how excited I was to be asked if I'd be interested in shooting Candles to the Sun. Candles is Williams's recognized first full-length play. While it's not a masterpiece of stage literature, it is a pretty darn good script. In it you can already see Williams's recurring themes. In some ways it's like watching adolescent versions all of his greatest characters beginning to work themselves out, to stretch and introduce themselves to the world.

As I usually do with production shoots, I ask to sit in on a run thru before doing the actual shoot. I want to be able to make relatively informed suggestions for shots and I want to understand how the actors are relating to the space. The Eclipse cast was working in the Strawdog rehearsal space and I arrived a minute late. The huge cast was milling around, and I was afraid they had been waiting for me, so I tucked myself in an out-of-the-way corner and opened my notebook.

For an actor there is one terrifying point when the stage manager stands up and says, "Tonight if you call for line, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself. I won't be giving them." This was that rehearsal. However, this can also be the most exciting rehearsal because without the crutch of the script, or the safety net of someone on book, this is the first rehearsal when the characters have a chance to come to life. And for Candles to the Sun, come to life they did. In this cluttered rehearsal room, with only a table and a few chairs, these actors and this playwright made me forget I was watching a rehearsal. I became completely lost in the play and had to remind myself to take notes. It would be grossly unfair to single out one actor for superlatives. They were all that good. The direction is first rate, and the technical support is flawless.

The Eclipse Theatre Company is clearly entering its prime, and this is one production that simply cannot be missed. The shot above is one that was selected by Nat Swift for the press packet. Unfortunately, the press require nice, bright pictures, so I had to edit the final version for publication, but as a photographer I greatly prefer the version above.

See all of the publicity shots at http://www.archetypeimages.com/

Candles to the Wind, written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Steven Fedoruk, features Julie Daley, CeCe Klinger (pictured), Sorin Brouwers, Ariel Brenner, Stephen Dale, Nora Fiffer, Barbara Harris, John Milewski, Nina O'Keefe, JP Pierson, Rebecca Prescott, Kevin Scott, Chuck Spencer, Ross Travis, Josh Venditti, and Bubba Weiler.