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Continued from Page 6 the old building and in the new building. “We did some demanding work and did really good. We had a really loyal following. Unfortunately a lot of our loyal patrons have died off, so we are having to rebuild our audience,” Cheney said and laughed. “We are still up to do it.” One of Cheney’s favorite plays was a challenge for the backstage workers. “I fully enjoyed doing the play ‘Supporting Cast.’ There were four women and one man. Some of the backstage work was a lot of fun. There was a lot of humor. In one scene — according to the plot — was fire, a landslide — it took place in California — and an earthquake. We actually figured out a way with the help of the stage manager to make it look as if we were having a real earthquake on that stage,” Cheney said and chuckled. “We had props and all they (the backstage crew) had to do is push a button and all would fall to the ground. Us
sitting there on stage would wiggle the chairs and the tables.” Cheney became a director after being an assistant director oneand-a-half times. The second time as assistant director, the director had to quit because of private reasons, she said. With the help of the RCLT board, she continued as a director. As a director you need to see the big picture in a play. “Costumes and looks are very important for the setting,” Cheney said. “I made sure that in an elegant setting, that the ties of the men were tight, the shirts were right, the coats and buttons, everything and the shoes are polished. If they don’t pay attention what their shoes look like, people will notice that. Little details polish up a performance. Speaking properly, learning your lines properly, learning your cues when to go on or off stage. That is important. Some people coming to work don’t recognize how important those oddball details are.” Talking to Cheney, you can tell her love for
Submitted Photo Ribbon cutting at the new Roswell Community Little Theatre, Jan. 20, 2012.
theater and how creative she is in choosing actors. “In one play a rather unorthodox teacher had to be cast,” Cheney said. “She would fry eggs on the sidewalk and it was about the dog days of summer. We even had a dress for her with dogs. One of the ladies who tried out was absolutely stunned. I told them, ‘You got to be able to convince me that you are right for the part. You got to get from that desk and I want you to howl like a dog.’ The person who did it the best got the part and she really threw herself into it. There was a lot of humor. Those actors really worked their butts off. It was a great play. It had comedy, pathos and slapstick. It was my favorite to direct.” “I appreciate all the people I met and worked with and I enjoyed knowing some of the early people,” Cheney said. Cheney said she hopes the theater continues to bring humor to stage and not smutty shows. “Back in the ‘30s, when the Depression happened, people went to the comedies because they wanted to forget about how bad life was. There is so much stuff that is happening in our world today — a whole different world, but it’s a parallel. We like to give them comedies and musicals to let them totally forget and thoroughly enjoy themselves and not be embarrassed to bring their children,” she said. Bignell is the public relations person for RCLT and if the Vision editor has questions or needs material, she is
always at hand. Bignell has been performing the same length of time at RCLT as Cheney did. Acting and public relations isn’t Bignell’s only talent. “I love the behind-the-scenes at RCLT,” she said. “Advertising, promoting and working on the board of directors. Jim (Jim Bignell, her husband) loves acting and directing and has been involved in it since high school. His first play at RCLT was ‘Everything in the Garden,’ season 78-79. “Jim played Eumaeus in ‘Home is the Hunter’ in 1980. He had crazy face makeup, building up lumps and bumps and that had to be pealed off every night. I am in awe of someone willing to become their part so completely that they devote skin to it,” Carol Bignell said. “He (Jim Bignell) taught drama at Goddard and our entire family was in ‘Brigadoon.’ Perhaps that’s why I love to see families come be a part of live theater. “I wanted to add Earl Morris to the list of people important to RCLT,” Carol Bignell said. “He never set a foot on stage but he made a huge difference. RCLT leadership had gotten distracted about planning ahead. Earl encouraged us to develop a season brochure again and he encouraged us to seek play sponsorships. He did not call them sponsorships but thawas what they were. The Roswell Daily Record sponsored many of our plays, so does Xcel Energy. RCLT had been saving to purchase a theater space, but we were not gathering enough money to get ahead of inflation, so he became our fundrais-
er. He brought Branson On The Road to Roswell for us and a one-woman-show about Georgia O’Keeffe as fundraisers. When we signed the contract for our current building it had a ‘mustpay-by’ clause. When the ‘must pay’ came due and we didn’t have enough money to cover it, Earl reached into his deep pockets and covered us. That enabled
us to focus on the remodel, which gave us this wonderful theater. Mike Bozeman did the contracting and Pattie Stacy was president when we moved in and oversaw the completion of that challenge.” “All in all, RCLT is indeed a community theater,” Bignell said. “Many people are lifetime members because see RCLT on page 13
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Vision Magazine |
Thursday, July 26, 2018
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