Authenticity is goal of play set in the Himalayas
Even the thermostat is turned down at Queensbury Theatre when the audience watches “K2,” which traps two climbers on an icy ledge of the world’s second-highest mountain.
“We’re telling everyone to wear their coats,” said Rebecca “Becky” Page, the theater’s interim executive director.
“It will be pretty cool in there,” added Stuart Purdy, who directed the show on the Queensbury’s intimate “black box” stage, which will play through Feb. 21.
For the show’s two actors, L. Robert Westeen and Trevor B. Cone, it is hot regardless, as they are costumed realistically for the frozen Himalayas, where the 1983 Broadway play by Patrick Meyers takes place.
“At the end of the night, my T-shirt is soaking wet,” said Westeen. “I throw it against a wall and it sticks.”
Both actors trained for two and a half weeks with a Houston climbing instructor, JP Cashiola, so their actions would appear realistic.
“That really made all the difference for us,” said Cone. “We were faking our way through it. Wewere not tying knots correctly. He introduced us to the gear, the rope, the harness, and before we had a set, we went out to Texas Rock Gym on Campbell Road and practiced one Saturday.”
Famed set designer Ming Cho Lee won a Tony Award for recreating a portion of the mountain in Pakistan on the huge stage of the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City, but at the Queensbury,
said Purdy, the playing area is only 4 by 8 feet.
However, Cone explained, “It’s seven feet above the audience, and it keeps going up 10 feet, past the pipes and light grid. I have never felt nervous suspended above the floor, but from the audience, it looks terrifying.
“It’s definitely not a big white mountain,” Cone added, “but it is the third character in the show. You relate to the other actor and you relate to this mystical object you’re hanging onto.”
Purdy and his creative team, including Thom Guthrie, set design, Claremarie Verheyen, costumes, and Alex Worthington, sound/lights, draped the 60-seat auditorium in black so the audience would feel the dilemma of “two men with only enough rope for one to go down, and one has a brokenleg,” said the director.
“This is their little world, a ledge in space, but there will also be snowand an avalanche,” said Purdy.
Cone’s character has the broken leg, “so I don’t move,” he said.
However, he trained with Westeen on physical activities such as rappelling “because, what I learned from JP is that you don’t climb alone.”
“Only one person is actually scaling the wall, but I am responsible for his safety,” said Cone. “I have to watch him to know when he needs my assistance, if you will.”
“One wrong move could injure one of our guys,” added Purdy, “so we have gone to a great deal of trouble lining the drop area with mattresses, and checking, double-checking and triple-tried everything.”
Onstage, said Westeen, “We have to keep hydrated, so if one of us is feeling parched, we both take a drink from the canteen full of water even if it’s not in the script, purely for our safety.”
Cone, who lives in the Energy Corridor, is 46 and designs and sells energy management systems.
Westeen, 39, is a paralegal who recently moved from the Galleria area to Spring Branch. In October, he was married on the Queensbury stage.
The actors hope that people knowledgeable about mountain climbing will appreciate their attempts at authenticity, but one possible critic they won’t have to worry about is Cashiola.
“He left for Mexico to climb a mountain,” said Purdy. “He won’t even get to see the show.”