The cast of The Glass Menagerie
Photo credit: Maddy Lamb
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Letter from the Director of The Glass Menagerie
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Tennessee Williams’s Glass Menagerie is one of those plays. Its language is beautifully crafted. Its characters are interesting and complex. Its pretext—a play that is a memory told to the audience by a narrator named Tom— encourages a fantastic blend of realism and a long list of non-realisms. It’s about a family in an apartment in a tenement building in St Louis, Missouri in the fall of 1936 and the spring of 1937. But it’s also a memory, and about remembering, and about the danger and comfort that remembering affords. It’s about individuals and the societies that produced them. It’s about a lot, yet constructed with elegant simplicity.
One of the things I love about this play is the portrait the playwright paints. In this portrait Williams offers us a family struggling to maintain its integrity even as the world presses in around it. They stew in a cauldron of economic instability, set on a hearth of worldwide conflagration. A world lit by lightning, as Tom describes it. As Tom looks forward to what the world will become, the characters in Menagerie also look back at what was. Therein Williams unearths a dynamic source of dramatic tension. Conflict in Glass often centers on the collision between what was and what will be: Tom’s antagonism with Amanda; Amanda’s exertions to direct Laura’s future; Laura’s lingering wounds from childhood; Jim’s longing for the status he enjoyed as a high school super star. For the Wingfields, the past is clear crystal; the future is obscure and ominous; the present is thoroughly unexamined and left to wither to dust.
Perhaps this is the lesson Williams offers us. While he gives us tragedy in The Glass Menagerie, its moments of joy and hope, fleeting to be sure, illuminate our condition nonetheless. Joy twinkles into focus when these characters exist in the present, open their eyes, and see what is before them. When they do not, they find themselves unable to complete the circuit and the lights go out on them all. The world is a scary place, even more so when one is sitting alone in the dark.
Nearly eight decades have passed since Williams wrote this play. Yet we find ourselves in a world of war, absence, loss, uncertainty, and ever-present doom.
How does one surmount these challenges? For some, a retreat into the glorious past provides respite, purpose, and instructions for living. Others slip into the shadowed, velour seating of late-night movie houses (or Netflix binges), or blend against the back wall of dancehalls and night clubs to watch others living their lives. A few plunge into fantasies of their own creation, building narratives around twinkling yet still inanimate items that mesmerize the eye and occupy the imagination. Of course, none find what they need in these things. As Williams depicts, it is imminently possible to be lonely while surrounded by others. To lack amid over abundance. Perhaps the lesson Williams invites us to understand is that we should look for the light in the people around us. See them, as wondrously fragile as they are, and care for them. Because those exquisitely unique creatures that we so frequently discount as “weird” or “just not right,” might in the end allow us to kindle a flame when the world grows dim.
Marcus McQuirter
Director
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poster design by dreux carpenter
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The Austin Community College Drama Department is happy to announce our production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams!
Performances will be April 14th - 24th
Thursdays-Saturdays 7:30 PM
Sunday 2:00 PM
NO EASTER SUNDAY PERFORMANCE
Audiences limited to 50 per performance.
If you would like to attend a performance of The Glass Menagerie, please contact Marcus McQuirter at mmcquirt@austincc.edu for a ticket.
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
FAITH TRAPANE
Interview by Jamie Rogers
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Where are you from?
I'm from Marble Falls, just outside of Austin.
Were you involved in theatre when you were in high school? Any past theatre experience on stage or behind the scenes?
Yes, I did all four years of high school theatre. I have most experience on stage, usually playing a comedic character. However, the theatre department made sure we had experience in both fields. A good handful of my behind the scenes experience was directing and stage managing experience.
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What were the reasons you decided to enroll at Austin Community College?
I moved to Austin to have more acting opportunities. I enrolled to earn my associate's and to earn more acting credits.
Any favorite classes in the Drama Department and why? Important things you have learned so far?
Marcus McQuirter's "Voice For The Actor" has been a really cool class. We are learning phonetics and how the voice portrays different accents. Coming from a singing background, its been interesting to see the differences of talking mechanics versus singing mechanics of the voice.
You are currently cast in our spring 2022 production of The Glass Menagerie. Can you tell us a bit about the character you play? And what the rehearsal/performance process was like?
I play Laura Wingfield. She is terribly anxious and shy. She's faced with her family's situation as her mother has her own ideas for Laura's future. The rehearsal process has been the most professional rehearsal process that I have ever been a part of so far. Outside of high school before this, I had only done a local production of a musical.
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Faith Trapane and Nick Ivons rehearsing a scene from The Glass Menagerie
Set Design: Tomas Salas
Lighting Design: Rachel Atkinson
Props: Joe Kelley
photo credit: Marcus Speed
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Do you attend school and have outside employment? If so, how do you find a balance between work and drama department involvement?
I do not.
Any overall advice to give to current Drama Majors on ways to get them involved in the Department?
Audition, audition, audition. As performers in any field, the way to get involved is to audition, check for tech jobs, and stay up to date on what's coming up next.
What does the future hold?
At the moment, I am planning on doing background film work while auditioning for professional theatre roles.
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AAS STUDENT SPOTLIGHT:
NICOLE GREEN
Interview by Jamie Rogers
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Where are you from?
I’m originally from Bangor, Maine! I moved to Texas in 2013, I’ve been in Round Rock ever since.
Were you involved in theatre when you were in high school? Any past theatre experience on stage or behind the scenes?
My first ever theatre experience was actually in church as a kid, when I competed with a
dramatic monologue for “Star Search.” I was also in a play in middle school, with a very minor part (I don’t even remember what the show was called at this point.) After that, I took theatre for half a year when I moved to Texas, but at the time it didn’t stick. Then I joined tech theatre my junior year of high school, six years ago. It was the coolest thing ever. While I do enjoy being on stage, tech felt right. I volunteered to be a dresser for Grease that year, and I’ve never looked back. Since then, I’ve worked on 16 shows in school and internships!
Why did you decide to pursue a career in Costume/Makeup Design?
Getting to see the costumes I’ve worked on finalized on stage under the lights and with the set is such an amazing experience. I remember the first time I was in charge of costumes and one day getting to actually sit in the audience for a run, and it felt like my heart was exploding with pride for all the hard work I’d put into the show. It’s also nice to be able to hang out with the cast while you’re working with so many different individuals, getting to figure out how things work for each person. I also love the makeup process, it’s so fun. I definitely want to work with prosthetics more once I get the chance, because the possibilities are endless when you make an entire piece or look from scratch.
Can you tell us a bit about your design process?
I start out by reading the script of the show I’m working on so that I can understand what exactly is going on. Then, research, research, research! It can be tricky to find image examples sometimes, depending on the time period you’re working in. Once I’ve gathered up research and gotten everything approved, I can begin sketching out pieces and making notes on what I’m thinking about. Once sketches are finalized and approved, I begin the hunt for materials and/or pieces I can use and start building the looks!
What were the reasons you decided to enroll in the AAS Degree program at Austin
Community College?
When I started at ACC, I genuinely had no clue what I was doing. I started out by taking the basics to get them out of the way, then figuring out what I wanted to do. When I took Intro to Theatre with Jamie Rogers, I then knew I wanted to be involved in things behind the scenes.
Any favorite classes in the Drama Department and why? Important things you have
learned so far?
I’d say my favorite classes have definitely been the makeup classes with Stephanie. You get to come up with things on your own and create some pretty cool looks, including a character and storyline as to why you look the way you do. My favorite was probably gore; I created a shark bite on my arm and my character was a surfer who, clearly, didn’t have the best day. Getting to the whole process on yourself is so cool, and I’d love to do it to other people for shows at some point!
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Makeup Designs for The Glass Menagerie
Makeup Designer: Nicole Green
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What designs have you been currently working on in class this semester?
This semester, I’ve been working on the hair and makeup designs for The Glass Menagerie! They’re much less extensive than costume designs, but it’s still been really fun!
You are currently the Makeup Designer for our upcoming production of The Glass Menagerie; what has the design process been like?
As mentioned before, this process has seemingly been much easier for me. The hardest part was finding the wigs we wanted to order. I’ve just begun styling one wig, and it’s been a bit tricky, but I know I can get it done!
Do you attend school and have outside employment? If so, how do you find a balance between work and drama department involvement?
Currently, I don’t work anywhere. I used to work at a coffee shop, and had to leave due to scheduling conflicts between work and school. It’s always been a rule in my family that school takes priority, so that’s what I’m doing. I loved the coffee shop, and they were always very flexible with schedules, making it so that I had days or nights off for school related things, whether it was class or a rehearsal/performance.
Any overall advice to give to current Drama Majors on ways to get them involved in the Department?
Reach out! Don’t be afraid to talk to any of the students or professors. I definitely was at first, which made it harder for myself to get involved. Everyone in this program is incredibly welcoming and accepting, and it’s a great place to be.
What does the future hold?
After graduation this spring, my plan is to move to Massachusetts with my older sister and begin finding theatre jobs, eventually working my way up to New York. I’ll more than likely work a day job as well, but that won’t be a problem with school not being a factor anymore. I’m definitely not against going back to school, but I’m glad I get to take a break and begin my career.
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MARCUS MCQUIRTER directed She Kills Monsters last fall (Nov 2021) at Southwestern University and Adrienne Dawes's not this white woman (Jan 2021) for Hyde Park Theater.
Marcus will be directing Jarrett King's War of the Worlds for Penfold Theater Company in June 2022 & then directing Christina Hoang's Romeo and Katrina for Color Arc Productions in Sept 2022.
JAMIE ROGERS is currently directing 3 casts in Into The Woods Jr at Georgetown Palace Theatre Education. Performances run May 14th and May 15th.
GREG ROMERO's full-length project, Radio Ghosts, has been selected for the 2022 Valdez Theater Conference, in Valdez, Alaska.
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CALLING ALL ACC DRAMA ALUMNI!
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Be sure to join the ACC Alumni Network!
The ACC Alumni Network is open to all former students who have earned an associate degree or certificate, or completed at least 20 credit hours at ACC. Our mission is to promote and support our alumni and students in their educational, social and professional endeavors, and to foster a spirit of loyalty and lifelong connections to Austin Community College.
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