Three Sisters

THEATER 20
-fall 1988
Back at WCU for my third year, i finally declared my major...theater. Fall auditions were held for a Chekov drama, directed by Jay. I read it, and within a year had read every play Chekov wrote. I had been starting to believe that Jay didn't like me. But surprise, i got cast. I played Kulygin, the cuckolded husband of Masha, the central sister. The talented John Biehle had returned to finish his degree, and was cast as Masha's lover. Troy Wenger played the doctor, Chebutykin, and was excellent as always. Colleen Corbett played Masha, and delivered a powerhouse performance. A new transfer, Andy Green, played one of the officers, and became a friend. Katie and Stephanie Lord played the other sisters. It was my first play with Stephanie, a talented sophomore with whom i maintained a mildly adversarial relationship for three and a half years, which wouldn't change until our last few days, when we learned that we had both been intimidated and attracted all along. Katie opined one night that all actors must know their niche, and that mine was selling oatmeal. Hmf. Lou played the brother, and his unsympathetic wife was played by Diane DeNoble, a senior with a teensy forehead who was lusted after by many, including myself a bit. My fake sideburns became the object of cast and crew mirthful derision. They were described as two broom-ends stuck to my face. It was during this time, at Katie and Colleen's prompting at a party, that Lou finally talked about why he had hated me all these years. He was evasive, but when they pushed, he talked about me getting the senior lead in high school. He admitted that i wasn't really that bad. We didn't run into each other's arms, but respect began to replace the enmity. When an actress dropped out, longtime tech Caitlin was pressed into service as Anfisa, the aging maid. Her performance was curious, and the funniest graffiti i've ever known appeared on the toilet wall of the men's dressing room, stating simply "Anfisa was here". Those three words entertained a room of men for weeks on end. One of the most surreal stage moments i've ever been around involved freshman actor Mike who went into insulin shock onstage, and kept repeating the phrase "Balzac was married in Berdichev", until someone got him sugar. Biehle was great onstage and in the dressing room, where he would lead riffs on alternate Russian names like Jakmiov and Scrachminutz, and would walk into a room declaiming how it smelled like unwiped buttock. Onstage, the show gave me some of the most beautiful audience response i'd ever experienced. My character is aware of his wife's infidelity, but maintains a happy face. On some nights i could feel the audience gasp as one during some of the scenes between Colleen and i. In one review, my work was written of as the best of the show. It felt great, particularly when i got the impression that Jay wasn't happy i had been praised so.