The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘All can experience live theater’
Valley Shakespeare Festival offers affordable, high-quality theater
SHELTON — Valley Shakespeare Festival will again bring theater to the Valley, but with a twist — no Shakespeare.
Valley Shakespeare Festival, under the guidance of creator and director Tom Simonetti, will present Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” from July 13 to 16 at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Shelton and July 20 to 23 at Oxford’s Quarry Walk. Shows start at 7 p.m.
Tickets are free with a suggested $10 donation.
“The coming together to experience theater, and taking the monetary piece of it away, ensures that all can experience live theater,” Simonetti said. “The interaction of the audience and actors is extremely important.”
Although this show is not a Shakespearean classic, Simonetti does not feel the company is stepping away from William Shakespeare.
“Wilde uses wordplay and mannerisms in his writing that is based on Shakespeare’s work,” said Simonetti.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” focuses on the escape of social obligations through marriage, conscience and double lives. This “trivial comedy for serious people” follows Jack Worthing as he escapes the city under the faux representation of “Ernest,” according to the company.
He seeks to marry Gwendolen, but the main antagonist, Lady Bracknell, refuses his hand for her. After discovering his deception, Algernon, Gwendolen’s cousin, travels to Jack’s country estate with a second identity.
“To get to do this play is a gift,” said Matt Mancuso, a VSF veteran who will portray Algernon. “It is one of the greats, so when I learned that VSF was going to do it, I had to audition and I am grateful to be with all these amazingly talented artists.”
Mancuso said VSF is “like my home now.”
Working himself into this witty comedy, Simonetti will also be portraying the role of Lady Bracknell.
“It’s not easy. (Directing and acting) is a balancing act,” said Simonetti. “You have to make sure you’re with the actors as a director and as a fellow actor. There are times when it gets confusing.”
Mancuso said community theater groups, such as VSF, help to further foster the arts.
“The arts have always been at the center of every community, even if it is a song that is passed down through generations,” Mancuso said. “It connects people to others and gives them the opportunity to learn and grow.”
Gary Harger, an actor-singer who will be playing Dr. Chasuble, calls VSF a theater for the community rather than community theater.
“By that I mean Simonetti skillfully casts and blends professional actors from Connecticut and New York City, along with up-and-coming younger performers, plus some very talented local people,” Harger said. “This is important to note, because VSF establishes a professional presence while bringing people together — both on stage and with the audience.”
The performers say that, for the past 11 years, VSF has helped enrich the Valley community and bring people together, which is important after many turbulent years.
“Theater can be so expensive, especially when you compare it to the cost of sitting on your couch and turning on your TV, so an audience member might feel a lot of pressure for the performance to be utterly amazing or somehow worth the money instead of just showing up and being open to what happens,” said Jordan Kaplan, who will play Jack Worthing. “I find that most of the time if I don’t feel pressured to ratchet up my expectations that I am happier in the end with the experience.”
Alexandra Fortin, who will be portraying Gwendolen, said community theater is more important than ever in today’s political and economic climate.
“Ticket prices, for quality productions, are astronomical,” Fortin said. “At VSF, audiences can experience professional actors and quality productions for free but at the same time, all of the actors and production team are being compensated for and well taken care of.”
Kendall Segovia is the assistant director, with Kristen Kingsley production stage manager; Cayleigh Cummings, assistant stage manager; Ivy Swinski, costume designer; and Matt Durland, music director.
“It feels like coming home every summer. It’s a welcoming, entertaining and fun environment,” said Kingsley. “The theater kid comes out of me when I’m watching the actors create.”
The cast of “The Importance of Being Earnest” features new and old actors of the Valley Shakespeare Festival. The mostly Actor’s Equity cast also includes Siena D’Addario as Cecily, Christie Maturo as Miss Prism and Stephen Kalpin as Lane/Merriman.
“We are continuing Oscar Wilde’s legacy. We are speaking his language. This show didn’t get its full run,” said Mancuso. “It’s a fun show. No one cannot have fun in Valley Shakespeare.”
Fortin said this is her first year with VSF and she would feel lucky to return.
“I knew I would decide to work for VSF the moment I realized Tom had integrated a huge educational side (into) VSF,” Fortin said. “He welcomes his aspiring high school students to sit in on everything from auditions to set design meetings. Some of the seniors are doing their senior projects around this whole show. I think having passionate and hardworking students around is invaluable to all involved.”
The behind-the-scenes aspect of the show is primarily executed by high school and college students. Valley Shakespeare Festival provides this opportunity so students interested in the theater arts can learn the ins and outs of a production with the help of professional actors and tech team.
The run crew is made up of Hannah Semrow, Connor Doughney, Evan Moore, Alyssa Gillies, and Celia Misuraca. Costuming is executed with the help of Maile Booth and Gwen Niles. Publicity is done by Hannah Mudry. Set design is completed by Claire Cummings.
Kaplan, in his second season with VSF, said he returned because Simonetti is so supportive of the cast’s well-being, and he also knows how to take good care of the audience.
“Tom … knows very well what the audience wants, and he is great at captaining the ship towards that end,” Kaplan said. “The biggest goal is to have fun with the show and let that fun spill into the audience. Theater can often lean towards the high-brow or be overly technical, so to be in a show with the intention of having a good time first and foremost is a lot of fun for an actor.”
Simonetti said choosing this specific production was in response to last year’s run of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale.”
“We wanted a really bonafide comedy,” Simonetti said, “But, what I love is that Oscar Wilde loves to poke at Victorian social norms and was very much ahead of his time. He poked fun of groups banning what people can and should read, views on marriage, women’s rights, and roles in society. As a cast, we have found in our research that not much has changed. Also, nothing like a bunch of rich people behaving badly...that is always fun to stage.”