Lark Eden breaks down the chick only barrier
Melissa Foulger is currently directing Aurora Theatre’s production of Lark Eden (May 2-26). A southern play about three women’s lives and friendships to one another. Though about women, and solely made up of a cast of women, the play goes beyond gender and enters a realm of situations, personalities and life lessons that all can appreciate and relate to. Below Foulger talked to Busking at the Seams about why this play is not just for chicks, the amazing process of working with an all female team, and why home really was where the heart is.
Q. Lark Eden is now running at Aurora Theatre. The production follows the lives of three female friends, yet it isn’t just a “chick play”. What makes this play relatable and enjoyable for all audiences?
A. More than a “chick play”, Lark Eden is about lifelong friendships and the highs and lows that we go through at different ages of our lives. We all have had times of great joy and great sorrow – and we are all aging. We laugh, cry and share about each of these things regardless of our gender, race or anything else that makes us different from the three women that you see onstage. Each audience member will most likely see a bit of themselves in the personalities of one of the women or relate to certain moments that these women are going through that might not be much different from their own experiences. Beyond that, it is a funny and heartwarming production that tugs at your heartstrings. Who doesn’t love that?
Q. The cast consists only of three women: Naima Carter Russel, Minka Wiltz, and Rachel Garner. Did this pose any challenges or advantages?
A. One of the things that intrigued me about this production was that the cast was three women. Not coincidentally, the intention for the production was to have the entire design team be comprised of women as well. It’s rare in theatre to have a full team of women working together on a production and this was an amazing opportunity to work with a talented all-female cast and crew.
As for the actresses, there was no challenge to working with these three amazing women. They are consummate professionals and engaged themselves in the process of working with such an unusual piece. They were willing to go on the journey with me to take these letters from the page to the stage through their love for the piece. Having taken this journey through rehearsals, they are now an ensemble of great friends themselves, which only deepens the production.
Q. Lark Eden is set in the smallest town in Georgia. What influences did setting have on your production choices?
A. The play was originally intended to be done in concert style with the actresses standing in front of music stands and “reading” from the script. When I read the script, what jumped out for me was the importance of not just place, but home for these women. It seemed important to show the place that is “not much, but is everything to us” as Emily says. Taking from that, we created the world of the play. For me, this play is quintessentially southern. It was important to acknowledge the time period, but more importantly, this is a play about storytelling and how do we do that in the South? We sit on a front porch on a hot day with our cold sweet tea telling stories about our lives and our friends. This was the jumping off point for the production choices.
Q. Do you think that just like in film, theater faces obstacles when it comes to producing all female casts and finding receptive audiences?
A. Like most perceived “chick flicks”, theater does face the obstacle of having men look at an all female cast and think that the play might not be for them. The show is immediately gendered as a woman’s play that doesn’t offer anything to others. However, like most theatre pieces, “chick” theatre challenges the audience to look beyond who is onstage and to find the connection to the deeper themes of a piece. This is something that theatre has done for years through the use of color-blind casting as well as casting across gender. The story is the foundation on which the play stands regardless of who is playing the role. We are asking the audience to look beyond what you see onstage and find a deeper meaning for themselves.
Q. What is the one thread that you focused on throughout directing Lark Eden?
A. As we worked on the show, we wanted to be very true to the epistolary nature of the play and to transition from letter to letter and year to year in such a way that the audience would not get lost in time. While we did spend a great deal of time on the meat of the material, we spent equal time looking at the transitions. You can’t move through 80 years of these women’s lives without knowing where you are in time and how you got there.
