If you have never seen A Streetcar Named Desire on stage, Carmel Community Players (CCP) are giving you two weeks to indulge in this American classic at The Cat, 254 Veterans Way, Carmel.
According to Director Brent Wooldridge, staging a play that has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama presents an interesting set of challenges.
“It’s challenging because the set is kind of a beast and the Cat is a small venue,” Wooldridge said. “But we are very positive about it and I like the intimacy of The Cat. I think the intimacy of the set is going to work to our advantage to make the show more powerful.”
Another challenge is that this play is an actors’ piece with a rather large cast.
“There are so many different layers to these characters that we have spent hours and hours working on character development,” Wooldridge told The Reporter. “We are still discovering things about these characters. It’s overwhelming to the leads – Blanche and Stanley – but the smaller characters also have their moments to shine and have some depth to convey.”
Wooldridge has directed for Carmel Community Players before, including other classics. He told The Reporter Streetcar has been one of the shows on his bucket list as a director.
Wooldridge has been involved in community theater for over 25 years and with CCP for the last seven years.
“I started out as an actor when I was in high school,” Wooldridge said. “I worked my way up to director. I have also produced. I’ve run the lights and sound. I’ve been a stage manager. I once helped to start my own theater group. I’ve even cleaned the toilets – not my favorite job!”
Wooldridge stressed that this production has been a team effort both on stage and off.
“A lot of times in community theater you just see one or two people or maybe just a handful of people working on a show,” Wooldridge said. “But on this show, I feel like it has been a true community theater team effort. It would not have been possible without everybody in that cast and everybody who has worked so hard behind the scenes. In this show everybody has worked together as a team. That’s what I am most proud of in this production.”
You can see A Streetcar Named Desire for two weekends at The Cat. Tickets are available online at carmelplayers.org or by calling (317) 815-9387.
Photos provided