In The 39 Steps a bored man meets a mysterious woman with a thick accent. When he takes her home, she tells him a fantastic story of spies and espionage secrets before she is suddenly murdered. Soon he's on the run from the police and villains alike, meeting a whole host of oddball characters, all while trying to stop an important military secret from getting out of the country and, of course, falling in love.
An epic story like this is made even more epic on stage, with all of the characters portrayed by only four actors: a leading man, one actress who plays three women, and two other men who play everyone--and everything!--else.
Director Ben Taylor is a veteran TLT performer and volunteer. You may have seen him before in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Rumors, and Black Coffee. He brings with him a lifelong love of performing and a wealth of theater experience.
First, tell us a little about yourself and what you do when you're not involved at TLT?I am a native Floridian who was born and raised in Gotha, Florida, just west of Orlando. I had a wonderful introduction to theater at the Civic Theatre of Central Florida, which I will always consider my theatrical "home," even though that company no longer exists. I graduated from FSU's School of Theatre in 1983 and worked in theaters in Connecticut, Georgia and Orlando, mostly as a stage manager. I love musical theater and have enjoyed singing and acting in some really wonderful productions. But as the realities of a steady paycheck became necessary, I started working in the "corporate entertainment industry," better known as theme parks. For 17 years I worked at all of the major theme parks in Orlando as both a performer and technician/stage manager, but I found myself doing less and less stage work, my real love, because of the schedule required at the parks. My brother, who lives here in Tallahassee, offered me an opportunity to start working "bankers hours" if I came to Tallahassee, so I took a chance on a new career and location. I am now the accounts receivables manager for Auto DataDirect, Inc., a company which I co-founded with my brother in 1999, shortly after moving back to Tallahassee.
When did you first get involved at TLT?
I don't remember which came first... stepping in two weeks before opening as a Muleteer in Man of LaMancha, or working with Millie Seckel on a fund-raising show called CineMagic... both were in 1999, I believe.
What was the last show you directed and where?
I directed a play by William Mastrosimone (author of Extremities and The Woolgatherer) called Cat's Paw back in 1986, in a black-box theater of the Civic Theatre of Central Florida, which was very similar to our Coffeehouse space. It was a play that was a bit ahead of its time, as it dealt with an eco-terrorism group who kidnap a television news reporter so that they can tell their side of the story. About the only similarity that it has with The 39 Steps is that both shows only have four performers...
What drew you to directing The 39 Steps?
I love unique theatrical "experiences" and I had read the reviews for this show in the winter of 2008, when it opened in New York, with many raves about its creative staging and energetic comedy style. It sounded like my kind of show! My partner and I took my niece to New York City as a high-school graduation gift that June and the first night we were in town, we dropped her and her best friend off at Spring Awakening and we walked two blocks down to see The 39 Steps.
It was such a great evening of comedy, creativity and truly theatrical fun. The story is all there, but the elements of a Carol Burnett or Monty Python comedic sketches made it an even more delightful evening. I immediately felt that it would be a great show for Tallahassee audiences and I hoped that TLT would be able to be the first to present it here, which we are!
Patrick Campbell, our lighting designer for The 39 Steps, was the first to point out to me how this play is structured more like a musical than a typical comedy. My background and experience is much more heavily inclined toward musical theatre, so it made sense to me that it would be another reason why I was drawn to the show.
It was such a great evening of comedy, creativity and truly theatrical fun. The story is all there, but the elements of a Carol Burnett or Monty Python comedic sketches made it an even more delightful evening. I immediately felt that it would be a great show for Tallahassee audiences and I hoped that TLT would be able to be the first to present it here, which we are!
Patrick Campbell, our lighting designer for The 39 Steps, was the first to point out to me how this play is structured more like a musical than a typical comedy. My background and experience is much more heavily inclined toward musical theatre, so it made sense to me that it would be another reason why I was drawn to the show.
What would you say is your biggest challenge on this show?
Having been onstage more than behind the scenes in the past 15 years, I had forgotten things about directing that aren't as obvious when you are a performer... for an example, my actors haven't lived with this script for six months like I have! During pre-production, before casting, a director reads and re-reads and dissects and hears line readings in his or her head. Once I cast the show and started rehearsals, I had to repeatedly remind myself that the actors are reading this for maybe the second or third time. I need to give them the latitude to find the characters and discover how their character would say something. It is my job to steer them in the direction I am wanting it to go, especially in a show like The 39 Steps, that is quite stylized and somewhat dependent on precise characterizations. But I have 6 weeks to get them there... it doesn't have to be there the first week.
And there are a LOT of questions to answer and issues to resolve besides just staging and characterizations! It is tough to have a full-time job and keep up with everything that needs to happen to make the show work. (I know, that's two challenges, but I couldn't decide which is bigger.)
And there are a LOT of questions to answer and issues to resolve besides just staging and characterizations! It is tough to have a full-time job and keep up with everything that needs to happen to make the show work. (I know, that's two challenges, but I couldn't decide which is bigger.)
How has TLT changed your life?
It has provided me the creative opportunities that I may not have been privy to in Orlando or larger cities. The work we do here is terrific and the people are dedicated, which I did not expect when I moved to Tallahassee almost 14 years ago. It has been my theatrical home-away-from-home. As I prepare to leave Tallahassee at the end of 2012 (my partner has been reassigned to St. Petersburg, so we will be moving there later this year), I will certainly miss this group of people and the fun we have had in crafting good, fun theatre! I hope I don't wait 26 years before I put my foot into the directing pool again!
Why should people come to see The 39 Steps?
It is fantabulously funny, ferociously frenetic and full of fearless fun! Audiences who enjoy fast-paced comedy, espionage mysteries, Alfred Hitchcock movies, and the "theatrics" of live theatre will all love this show. For ages 9 to 99, it is the type of show that doesn't work on a movie screen... it is what makes live theatre such a true delight!
The 39 Steps opens August 16th and runs through Sept. 2nd. Tickets go on sale to the general public on August 6th. Season ticket holders get their seats sooner. The cost for season tickets is $80 for adults, $60 for seniors and government employees, and $40 for students.
You can purchase your season tickets today by calling 850-224-8474.
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