Cue the orchestra! Bring up the lights! Start the slide show! Commonwealth has … actors!
Actors? In an orchestra?
In keeping with heightening the entertainment values of the orchestra by following a variety show format, we have bought on two actors to add to the fun as well as the depth of our goal to challenge some of our deeply mired ideas about what an orchestra should be and to help change attitudes toward classical music.
Dramatic Tension No. 36 is a bit of silent movie music by Julian Andino that dates back to around 1920 — the height of the silent movie period. As I orchestrated the music, it occurred to me that allowing it to be played as a backdrop as it was originally intended would then beg for visuals. So the concept of a vignette was born, with two actors performing a short scene from Daily Life. But silent movies are … silent. So no spoken dialogue could be heard — the titles are there to provide that context. But there was still one problem — we were not in the position to try and recreate a real silent movie — so live actors it had to be. And actually, the cognitive disconnect suits the artistic purpose of the scene, after all, we are a variety show with live music, right? And I love what the actors are doing with their pantomimed take on the the doomed conversation between Dré and Gail.
Ana Coffey, plays the role of Gail, the hapless newlywed who cannot seem to get across a very important query to her husband about an important financial decision in their lives together.
The performing arts have been a central focus of Ana’s life since she was a child. She is a proud graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Acting Program (BFA). Ana has performed in Equity and semi-professional theatres from New York City to Portland, OR. Favorite productions include Holidazed as Luna (Artists Repertory Theatre, World Premiere), Great Falls as Bitch (Profile Theatre Company, West Coast Premiere), Macbeth as First Witch (NYC Fringe Festival), Hair as Crissy (Emelin Theatre), A Christmas Carol as Ghost of Christmas Past, and The Huntsmen as Marie (both at Portland Center Stage). Ana discovered her love of teaching in New York City Public Schools where she taught ESL and drama to adults and children. She also taught drama in Portland, OR Public Schools, primarily in drop-out prevention programs for middle and high school age students. She is currently loving her work as the 6th Grade Class Teacher at the Waldorf School at Moraine Farm, and is a graduate of Antioch University New England’s M.Ed. in Waldorf Education program.
Ana also has a strong music background. She sings with Billy D & The Rock-its Doo Wop Show Band- a nine piece group of talented and dedicated full harmony singers and musicians performing some of the greatest doo wop hits from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The group has recently performed at The Topsfield Fair, Newburyport’s Cruisin’ the 50’s Classic Car Show, and for the New England Doo Wop Society. Her musical sensibility and timing give her a strong presence in COOP’s send-up of the silent movie era, Dramatic Tension No. 36.
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Evan Coffey is the perfect foil for the hysterical Gail in his role as Dré, the beleaguered husband in Dramatic Tension No. 36. While there may be an upside to not being able to hear your wife’s insistent requests, there is no benefit to having to sacrifice aural capacity to the efficiency of daily responsibilities. You’ll really feel for the poor man being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Evan is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where he earned a BA in Theatre Studies with a focus in directing. He lives in New Hampshire where he was born and raised. When Evan is not at work, he is concocting delicious meals for his family, playing with Olive the dog, improving his home, and eating apple pie whenever possible.
~Lucinda Ellert
Commonwealth Orchestra Outreach Project 