Interview #2 - the Director of "The Princess of Rome, Ohio"

   Here's the second in our interviews with the cast and crew of the play The Princess of Rome, Ohio, which opens tonight at the Alban Arts and Conference Center in St. Albans. The play was written by Huntington's own Jonathan Joy.

   This time around, let's hear from the director, Tara Pauley:

Q: Why did you want to direct The Princess of Rome, Ohio? 

Tara: I actually graduated from Marshall's theater program with Jon Joy. A few years ago I also had the privilege of performing a monologue he submitted to WV Words and Music. I've always known Jon to have a very natural flow in his acting style and was not surprised to find his writing to follow in the same style. I had seen this play as a work in progress at the Clay Center a few years back. Even then you could set these wonderful full characters. This is a show that, although it had humor, it takes you thru the very real ups and downs of the lives of these people. They are people and don't fall into the trap of turning into caricatures. It's a show that offers actors a chance to really grow. As a director I love watching the process of actors finding the meat of the character and filling it in and when needed guiding them on that journey.

Q: Tell us about the story.

Tara: The short synopsis is the story is about various dysfunctional relationships and a girl who tries (often without the best planning) to try to get attention she had been lacking for so long and to get everyone to actually attempt to communicate with each other.

Q: What's the biggest challenge to this show?

Tara: The biggest challenges I faced - having to recast two actors after rehearsal had already began. That and I have a good many actors that are new to the stage or that I hadn't worked with before. So sometimes I needed to stop and remind myself certain basics needed to be taught and sometimes I had to experiment until I found how to find the best way to help an actor to find parts of a character. To help the actor find the style that connected best for them.

Q: Why would you recommend this show to our reader? 

Tara: It needs to be noted that their is language and adult content in the show. Of course that is part of what makes these characters so real. I would suggest that people come se the show because it's about realisticly developed people. It's a great example of how to tell a story by fully developing it and not relying on special effects or wowing people with sets and costumes. And it's a story that anyone should be able to recognize from some part of their life (personally, family, neighbors).

Q: When and where will the show be presented?

Tara: Performances are June 28, 29 at 8 p.m., June 30 at 2 p.m., July 5,6 at 8 p.m. and July 7 at 2 p.m. at The Alban Arts and Conference Center in St Albans. They have both a website and Facebook page.

    Thanks, Tara!