West Suburban Theatre Blog [WSTB] asked Actor Mary-Carol Riehs a few questions about the role of Madame Arcati in the upcoming production of Blithe Spirit as well as her perspective on acting in Community Theatre.
Mary-Carol Riehs grew up in Illinois and attended Northwestern University to study theatre. She performed with several small theatre companies in the Chicago area, and lived near Los Angeles for 5 years in the early 2000s. While she was in California, she worked at The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor Shakespeare theatre in Topanga. She was a company member and performed in The Winter’s Tale, and managed their youth programs including a summer camp for a hundred 8–14-year-olds.
She earned two masters degrees – an MA in Theatre from Northwestern in which she concentrated on children’s theatre and creative drama, and an MLIS in Library and Information Science from Dominican University.
The Role of Madame Arcati
WSTB: What specifically drew you to audition for this particular role in the Blithe Spirit production?
Riehs: The role is iconic and classic and such fun to play! I’ve never been in a full production of this play before, but I’ve seen it at least 3 times, including a Broadway revival, and I adore it. We worked on Coward plays for several weeks in college acting class, and I enjoy performing his style of writing.
WSTB: Can you describe your approach to character development? How do you go about preparing for the role of Madame Arcati ?
Riehs: I read some background material about the play and Coward’s friend Clemence Dane, also an author, who was one of his inspirations for writing Madame Arcati. I also read some articles about the interest in spiritualism and seances the 1930s and 1940s, the time of the play. I did read about other productions, but I tried not to watch any films or recordings of the plays so that I didn’t copy anyone else’s mannerisms or interpretation.
WSTB: Can you describe any similarities or differences between yourself and the Madame Arcati and how you use those to your advantage in portraying the character?
Riehs: When I was in graduate school I happened to see that my faculty advisor had noted in my file that I was “rather eccentric” which I thought was unusual as this was the theatre department where everyone reveled in their uniqueness! Most of her clothes are mine, though I don’t normally wear all those pieces together. I believe I am getting more like her as I grow older – I’m finding I commit more time to doing things I enjoy, and less on people-pleasing activities that don’t give me joy.
WSTB: Do you anticipate using period-appropriate language and mannerisms for the play’s time period and location?
Riehs: Oh, yes. But what’s nice about Coward is that the way the lines are crafted they help you speak them. They roll off the tongue easier when spoken in the RP English accent. I did a lot of work with dialects and speech production classes in my actor training. And living in London for a year with my family when I was a teenager didn’t hurt!
WSTB: How do you handle building relationships with the other cast members in and out of character?
Riehs: We started the rehearsal period with some time to talk about ourselves and our backgrounds, what other shows we’ve been, what else we do. I’ve worked with some people in the cast before, so that has helped with being comfortable working together. Some cast members met outside of rehearsals a few times to work on dialect, but I wasn’t able to take part in that because of my work schedule. Everyone in this cast is very friendly and supportive; it is just a delight to come to rehearsals! I shall miss these people when the show closes.
WSTB: Costumes and makeup are essential for creating a convincing character. What are some wardrobe and makeup requirements for the Madame Arcati role?
Riehs: Some fashion stylists advise taking off one piece of jewelry before walking out the door to obtain an air of sophistication. Madame Arcati subscribes to the philosophy of More is More, and tends to wear all the shiny beads and bobs that catch her eye in the moment. I think that her wardrobe is very fun and sets her apart from the more stiff and formal characters in the play.
WSTB: How do you balance conveying emotions while staying true to the Madame Arcati character?
Riehs: Again, it’s the marvelous writing. She’s very transparent – when she’s excited, she says so. When she’s annoyed, she says so. When her feelings are hurt, she says so. That’s very helpful – both for portraying the character, and in real life.
WSTB: Lastly, what do you believe is the most important aspect of bringing the Madame Arcati character to life on stage, and how do you plan to achieve it?
Riehs: Blithe Spirit is a comedy, and I think Madame Arcati is so funny because she doesn’t know that she is. By playing her sincerely as a character, and not a caricature, just makes everything more amusing. It’s a fine line, but I’ve enjoyed learning to walk it.
Acting in Community Theatre
WSTB: Do you read the script and familiarize yourself with the character before the audition? Do you look for the most interesting or challenging aspects of that character?
Riehs: I did read the script before the audition, and I was fairly familiar with it from having performed scenes from it in acting classes. I pay particular attention to the scenes that will be used as the audition pieces to see where they fall within the play – what has happened before, and what this scene will lead into. It helps to see the scene in context, and to make choices about the character based on that.
WSTB: Can you share an example of a challenging role or scene you’ve played in the past and how you approached it?
Riehs: Long ago I was in a play that traveled to different venues for performances, like park district buildings, churches, schools. There were very general requirements of the space that would be needed, but every place was different. That was very challenging – not knowing before we arrived what the playing area would be like! We would arrive extra early so we could spend some time in the space and trying out different scenes until we were comfortable moving in the playing area. We had to have a lot of trust in each other, and in our understanding of the roles in order to allow ourselves the freedom to be flexible with the staging.
WSTB: How do you handle questions or concerns about a role or a production?
Riehs: I always want everyone associated with the play to feel that I am eager to be a collaborator and that involves questions and discussions so that we can gain understanding. I try to ask questions respectfully and I commit to trying whatever is asked of me. Unless it’s something that is dangerous, without proper safety protocols! I do remember at a rehearsal once when it was late and I was tired, I just blurted out, “Why am I moving over there?” and the director said, “Well, mostly to get you out of the way of the door that’s going to open!” and we all laughed.
WSTB: How do you handle conflicts with scheduled rehearsals and performances during the production run?
Riehs: I’m very fortunate to have a job that has some flexibility in it, and a supervisor and coworkers who are supportive. The director was supportive, too, and when I had to work some evenings he was able to schedule rehearsals those nights to work on scenes that I am not in. I don’t audition for shows if I know that I will have too many conflicts with the rehearsal and production schedule because it impacts so many other people. The runs are short and we don’t have understudies, so it is imperative that actors clear their schedules of everything else during the performances. Community theatre is voluntary, but if you don’t approach the work with professionalism, then it isn’t fun and rewarding for anyone.
West Suburban Theatre Blog thanks Actor Mary-Carol Riehs for sharing her perspective of Madame Arcati role and her insights as a community theatre supporting actor.