By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Co-directors Tonya Rave and Matt Trgovac both described the script for Neil Simon’s play The Dinner as poignant, and each said that is why they were drawn to direct it. Carmel Community Players will stage The Dinner Party at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel, starting April 26.
The Reporter spoke to both directors about The Dinner Party and their connections to the it.
“I like to call it a poignant comedy,” Trgovac said. “It’s about three divorced couples – six people – who are all invited to a dinner party. They don’t know that they’re all invited until they show up and realize that their ex-spouses are there. The goal of the dinner party really is just to see if there’s any sparks left in these marriages. There’s some funny moments in it, but there’s also some bits of poignancy and seriousness in it as well.”
Trgovac and Rave both said they appreciate the comedy and the message, as both are drawn to plays that offer a bit of each element to audiences.
“I’m always the type of person that likes to do a show that has some sort of message behind it,” Trgovac said. “When I read this script, I realized that there was a lot of potential to it because it has some fun parts, but I also prefer to have some sort of message or seriousness behind it as well.”
Rave acted in this play nine years ago, in the role of Mariette, under the direction of the late Wil Pullins.
“I like to say that every production, even if it’s the same script, even every performance is different,” Rave said. “That’s the beauty of live theater. It’s really been a joy for me to watch not only the actress who is currently developing the character of Mariette as well as the other actors to see their portrayals. Matt and I feel very passionately about character development. We’ve spent a lot of time on that with our actors. And I think that’s been well received. I think the characters are very dynamic. Our actors should be commended on the beautiful work that they’ve done in creating these characters and developing the storyline.”
Trgovac told The Reporter he is proud of the cast for making the characters into believable people.
That cast had to be chosen from a pool of what both directors called one of the largest turnouts either has ever seen in community theater.
“We had we had a fantastic turnout,” Trgovac said. “We had a total of 42 people audition for six roles. Out of those 42 people, I believe 30 were women and 12 for men. So we had to pick out three men and three women from that large group of people that auditioned.”
Trgovac and Rave did their casting by couples, choosing each set based on the characters, the talents of each actor, on how each couple would work together, and even on how they would look on stage. They said they even took height into account for this cast.
In the community theater world, co-directors are rare. There are musicals with one director for the story and another for music. There are directors with assistants. But there are not often true partners in the directing role.
In this instance, it works because Trgovac and Rave not only complement one another, but they also have tastes in theater that are well-aligned.
“I’ve never had a co-director before, but I really enjoyed working with Tonya,” Trgovac said. “She complements me well. She’s very detail-oriented and I’m not so much. I’m more of a big picture type of guy. She’s able to point out things that I don’t see and I’m able to find different moments and things like that. I can put my opinion in and make sure that we’re having the right picture come together.”
Rave agreed.
“I think that we complement one another very well,” Rave said. “I am a minute detail person. That comes from a lot of my background. I’ve worked as an editor, proofreader, and I was an English major. So sometimes I get caught up in minutiae, but I also can see the big picture. I think Matt and I do a really nice job of grounding one another. And I feel like our vision and the passions that we bring to the directing are so well aligned. We both love shows that have a nice blend of both dramatic and comedic elements to them. I love the word ‘poignant.’ I would use that as my adjective to describe this show, too. And I would use that as my adjective to describe my favorite shows either to direct or to act in. I just feel like we went in with just an aligned vision. And I feel like our respective skill sets have really allowed that to come to fruition.”
Rave encourages audiences to come see a less well-known Neil Simon play, but one that deserves their attention.
“I don’t think that this particular script is as well-known as some of his others, some of which have been recently done in other community theaters, some of which have been done in Hamilton County,” Rave said. “I’m a fan of Neil Simon, but I’m a fan of this one because I feel like it’s not overdone and I feel like it has a good story to tell.”
It is a play that John Ritter and Henry Winkler played in when it was on Broadway. You can see Carmel Community Players take on The Dinner Party starting Friday, April 26.
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