Director Says Rumors at the Barn Theatre Could "Bring the House Down Every Night"

Tom Blewitt has been working in theatre for the past 10 years as an actor, producer and director and on September 10, he will make his Barn Theatre directorial début with Rumors.

According to Blewitt, the theatre and its community present his production with an opportunity not always afforded to local theatres: a full house.

"I'm used to working in boxes," he said. "Sometimes, you put all this time and effort in to a play only to have, like, eight people show up. You still give your best to those people, but it can be disheartening. Here' I've been told that most of the matinee performances are booked. At this place, every seat is usually pretty much full. It's exciting, something to look forward to. "

Blewitt praised the Barn Theatre organization and the local theatre community in the area, characterizing it as particularly strong.

"The [Barn Theatre] organization has been great," he said. "There's been a large outpouring of volunteers. There is a lot of resources, a lot of talent. We want for nothing here."

Blewitt was impressed with the local theatre community from the production's outset, when over 70 people showed up to audition for a play with only 10 roles.

The biggest turnout I've seen for a show in the past few season was 15 or 20 people," he said. "A lot of these people were younger, too. Sadly, younger people aren't really right for this show, but it was positive to see such a young turnout. It's nice to think that theatre is still alive and attracting new people."

Rumors marks Blewiit's second full-length directorial endeavor. He has been a producer and director for the past four years, mostly on smaller-scale projects and one-act plays. He feels his experience as an actor helps him as a director, which he likes for the sense of authorship it provides.

"A lot of directing is about management and people skills," he said. "There are 10 people in this play, and another 10 to 15 working on the production end, so a lot of it is learning about personalities and how to approach people in the best way. Some people you can be blunt with, some have to be approached a more passive way. Acting, you really only have to worry about yourself. A director has to focus on everyone's performance, all the twists and turns of the production."

According to Blewitt, his interpretation will be close to the original script, written by Neil Simon.

"When I read this play, it's all on the page," he said. "There isn't too much there to interperate. I set this play in the late 80s, because a lot of it wouldn't work today. The humor of the play is based on miscommunication, and now, you'd just used a cell phone or send a text and there would be no story, so we set it in the 80s."

Blewitt says that the time period also ties into the theme of the play, which is, in his eyes, about the decline of high society.

"The late 80s was when that whole yuppie lifestyle was coming to an end," he said. "This high life-style comes crashing down."

He says that, if the play is done correctly, it should provide people with a light-hearted comedy that he hopes will take people's minds off difficult times.

"This play is what I'd call a 'door-slammer'," he said. "It's a farce, straight up. Everything today is so grim, people just want to lose themselves for a bit and have a laugh, you know? The humor is based a lot in the speed of the dialogue, and if we do it right, we have the potential to bring the house down every night, to do a really unstoppable show. "

"The [Barn Theatre] organization has been great," he said. "There's been a large outpouring of volunteers. There is a lot of resources, a lot of talent. We want for nothing here."

Rumors opens at the Barn Theatre on September 10 and runs until September 25.