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Novawest Properties
is hosting pre-show receptions at the

Langley
Garden
Bungalows

Sunday
June 13
12pm - 2pm

Sunday
June 20
12pm - 2 pm

Please stop in for some refreshments and take a tour of the available bungalows!

The Langley Garden Bungalows is a collection of handcrafted homes in Langley's walkable cottage community.  The bungalows offer all the attributes of a pocket neighborhood: smart use of space, shared common areas, proximity and yet private. In this unique environment, community takes on a personal meaning

Learn more HERE

On Golden Pond - The Essays.

Ed Cornachio

The Backstory, an Actor’s Requisite: The WHY of Norman Thayer
When preparing for a role, I start by reading the script several times to get a feel for the overall action of the play and the relationships between the characters. Not surprisingly, I pay particular attention to my character, noting everything that the author reveals about his physical, psychological, and emotional traits. Regarding Norman Thayer, for instance, I’m told that he’s eighty years old, that he lives in Wilmington , Delaware , that he’s a baseball fan, and that he retired as Professor of English from the University of Pennsylvania . From the script, I also know that he and Ethel (ten years his junior) have been married for some fifty years, and, for the last 48 years,  have spent each summer in their cottage on Golden Pond, in Maine. They enjoy a loving, if sometimes quarrelsome, relationship. They have a 42 year-old daughter, Chelsea, whom they haven’t seen in eight years, and who, apparently, is no small source of disenchantment to Norman . Essential to Norman ’s character, given to me by the script, is the fact that he’s experiencing the onset of dementia, and is constantly aware of his mortality, two aspects that affect him deeply.

Those are just some of the facts of the script, some of the basics from which I begin to flesh out the character of Norman Thayer. But beyond what is given me by the playwright, I need to know much more about the man I intend to become on stage. I need to create a backstory, an informal,  biography of this thorny and fascinating character. I need to dig a little into his past and try to understand the WHY of Norman Thayer.

In the script, Ernest Thompson implies that a long-standing conflict exists between Norman and his daughter, Chelsea. But he doesn’t tell me why. What happened in their past that strained the relationship between father and daughter?  “I didn’t realize we were mad,” Norman says to her at one point, “I thought we just didn’t like each other.” Why don’t they like each other? What events in the past led to their estrangement?  As an actor I need to know.  But the answer is not in the script. It’s in my created backstory. Knowing something of Norman ’s past allows me to portray his present more credibly. You, the audience, don’t have to know much about Norman ’s history, but I certainly do -- at least the essential parts of it that relate to the script. It’s vital that I know why Norman and Chelsea have a strained relationship. Only then can I act accordingly.

The script tells me that Norman is preoccupied with his pending demise, sometimes jokingly, but often somewhat seriously, much to Ethel’s consternation. Again, why? And why does Norman delight in provoking both Bill and Charlie, and sometimes even Ethel? When Norman talks to Charlie about Jews, Negroes, and Puerto Ricans, is he showing us that he’s a bigot? A reading of the script would lead one to think so, but my backstory gives me the rationale to accept “no” as the answer. In the scene with Chelsea ’s fiance, why does Norman finally accept Bill as a “nice person,” after berating him for more than four pages of script. That answer, too, resides in my backstory. Without knowing Norman ’s rationale, I couldn’t convincingly finish that scene with Bill, and more importantly, there’d be little likelihood of my future, buoyant relationship with the younger Billy.

Most of my backstory is for me alone. No one else needs to know, not even my fellow actors, and certainly not the audience.  But there are exceptions of course. Tim and I discussed and shared various aspects of my backstory to make sure it coincides with his directorial vision of the script. And Shelley and I had to agree on at least one aspect of Ethel and Norman ’s past -- the death of their four year-old son, who died before Chelsea was born. Purely hypothetical, entirely divorced from the script, it’s just one example where two fabricated backstories needed to mesh, to be shared and agreed upon by both actors. However subtly, that little piece of tragedy weaves its influence into the cloth of the play.

In any play that I’ve done, creating my character’s backstory is as essential to me as memorizing my lines. Without it, I can’t become this other persona.

Parting note to Norman :  It’s been a real privilege getting to know you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
And, as we say in Italian, “Cent’anni!”

Shelley Hartle

Through a Glass, Darkly
One of the most intriguing aspects of theater is how it holds up a mirror to us as human beings—looking at the best and the worst of what makes us “us.” And, let’s face it—we’re fascinated with ourselves. Too often, we’re only guessing where our decisions or our relationships will take us. We can’t see clearly where we’re going or what the results of our actions might be. We see through a glass, darkly.

And then one night we sit in a theater and watch a play illuminate our lives in some small way--perhaps remind us of who we are or what we could be. We dare to look at ourselves more clearly, to try to understand one another better.

Whether it’s an epic such as The Kentucky Cycle, or a small slice of life such as On Golden Pond, the audience is called to witness parts of our collective lives. It’s that shared recognition that enables the actors and the audience to reach out across the transparent “fourth wall” night after night and connect. Neither is complete without the other, a reminder that we’re all in this together. We are our stories.

When you’re the actor who’s designated to bring the message, it becomes very personal. And it’s not about ego. It’s about being a good messenger. What does the author want the audience to see and feel? Actors and their directors spend numerous rehearsal hours choosing ways to interpret an author’s intentions and to send them, as honestly as they can, across the footlights—to hold up that mirror, to tell that story.

On Golden Pond, to me, has become a story about how to say goodbye: to our youth, to a previous way of life, to friends and family, to the summer of our lives. It takes courage to be hopeful as age claims us and infirmities and disappointments encircle us. I look at my community and take heart because of the strength I see in its people, and the stories I’m privileged to share. I am so very fortunate, and that strength and resilience is what I hope the audiences will take with them as they leave the theater.

Many thanks to Director Tim Rarick and Assistant Director Leah Green for their insights and astute understanding of the Thayer family. They have made working on Pond a challenge and a delight.

Gail Liston

Where to begin? I’ve done a lot of plays, but On Golden Pond has earned a spot on my very short list of favorites. Take a lovely, funny, intelligent script, add a fabulous, creative, organized director, and throw in some of the best actors I’ve ever been privileged to work with, and there you go.

Much as I love the script, it’s not without its acting challenges. The writing is very spare and concise, asking the actor to reach these incredibly intense emotional levels in only a few short lines. Yikes! This has forced me to search for “triggers” in the subtext -- those instant realizations that will provoke an intense emotional response in one beat -- not an easy task, but an interesting one. There are so many questions to ask and answer -- “Why am I so pissy in this scene?” “How do I go from crying to laughing in about 20 seconds of stage time?” “Why do I shift from saying something kind and loving one moment, to suddenly being terse and cutting—almost cruel?” Where do these changes come from? What am I seeing or thinking or remembering in that instant? What are the triggers that provoke these ups and downs? Finding the answers can take time, and the first answer may not be the best one. Creating an interesting character involves making choices that not only fit the play, but intrigue the audience.

On Golden Pond has been a joy. The characters are rich, real people with good and bad qualities. The script is witty, poignant, honest, and uplifting. The cast and crew are simply wonderful. I feel very lucky to be able to bring this play to our audiences.

Susan Melman

Ernest Thompson was born in Bellows Falls , Vermont . He spent his early years in Massachusetts , New Hampshire , and Maine , moving to Maryland as a junior high school student. He attended the University of Maryland and The Catholic University of America, graduating cum laude from American University in 1971. American theater welcomed a new star into the firmament. Born November 6, 1949, Ernest Thompson would write his way to fame through his award winning scripts for stage and screen. Best known for writing the play On Golden Pond (1979) Ernest Thompson has come to be known as playwright, actor, screenwriter, director, producer, mentor and family man.

On Golden Pond, which he wrote at age twenty-eight, opened off-off-Broadway in 1978, and starred Tom Aldredge ad Frances Sternhagen. A great success at the Kennedy Center , it opened at the New Apollo Theater on Broadway February 28, 1979. The show ran for more than 400 performances. It went on to become a hit in the 1981 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1982, as well as awards from the Golden Globes and the Writers Guild of America.

Thompson’s second popular play, The West Side Waltz, opened on Broadway Starring Katharine Hepburn on November 19, 1981. Thompson wrote and directed a television version based on the play, premiering on CBS Thanksgiving night 1995, starring Shirley MacLaine, Liza Minnelli, Kathy Bates and Jennifer Grey.

As an actor, Thompson’s only Broadway appearance was as drifter Hal Carter in Summer Brave, William Inge’s revised version of his play Picnic. He portrayed Ranger Matt Harper on NBC’s 1974 series Sierra and Dr. Phil Parker on ABC‘s Westside Medical. Out of college, he appeared on the NBC soap opera Somerset as Tony Cooper #2 and in the television films The Rimers of Eldritch and F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Last of the Belles. Other acting credits include roles in the Bob Fosse move Star 80 and Next Stop Wonderland, directed by Brad Anderson.

Thompson wrote the screenplay for the feature film Sweet Hearts Dance, directed by Robert Greenwald and starring Susan Sarandon and Don Johnson. He directed 1969, starring Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Downey, Jr., and Winona Ryder. In the 1990’s he wrote the television film Take Me Home Again and co-wrote and directed the Showtime movie Out of Time.

In 2000, Thompson directed his 12 short plays, The Penis Responds which ran off-off-Broadway. Then in 2001, he directed his own TV version of On Golden Pond, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. His play White People Christmas played at the Zephyr Theatre in Los Angeles , directed by Thompson.

Now divorced, Thompson lives most of the year in New Hampshire (very close to where On Golden Pond was filmed), where with co-producers Morgan and Lori Murphy, created a company, Whitebridge Farm Productions, whose first movie will be Elysian Farm, written and directed by Thompson.

Brian Plebanek

When I accepted Tim’s offer to play the role of Bill, I knew that my entire work would be done in one scene. I had recent knowledge of the part as we saw the movie shortly after the season was announced last year. I remembered Dabney Coleman’s work as Bill Ray and had that in the back of my mind as I read the script. As a stage actor, I did not re-visit the movie again as it is a good practice to develop one’s personal interpretation of a role than to try to imitate someone else’s from a movie.

In the early rehearsals of On Golden Pond, Gail and I had the task of developing our own back-story as a couple and I had decisions to make about who Bill was. The script provides a portion of that story as Bill is a Dentist in the L.A. area, divorced for a while now from Billy’s mother and has recently won full custody of his 13-year-old son. He also met and fell in love with Chelsea Thayer Wayne, whom he is about to wed. I made some early choices about Bill and ran them by Gail as we compared notes and began to create the story of our relationship.  We met as a couple (Chelsea and Bill) with Director Tim and he asked us a number of questions about our relationship. It gave Tim the back-story of our character’s lives and it then became Tim’s task to see our stories come to life as we progressed through the rehearsal process.  The decisions made outside of the scripted words have an influence on the characterization choices of the actor. They drive my movement, attitude, the way in which the words are delivered and dramatically affect my relationships with my cast mates.

We also had decisions to make involving our trip to Europe . Bill has this dilemma about bringing his 13-year-old son as far across the country as one can be (California to Maine) after recently winning custody of him from a mother that didn’t want him any longer and then deciding to drop him off with Ethel and Normal Thayer, whom I haven’t met but have heard many stories of from Chelsea. Then we’d take off for Europe for a month to get married and honeymoon. One can just imagine what would be going through Bill’s head about whether or not this is a good idea at all. I decided that the decision to stay in Maine with the Thayers or to go to Europe with Bill and Chelsea was going to be made by my son, Billy. That is, after Bill meets Ethel and Norman and is comfortable with leaving him there with them.

Finally, there is the one-on-one that Bill has with Norman . There is so much that happens from the moment they are alone to the end of the scene that it makes the head spin. A great deal is done in sub-text and non-verbally.  However, when one has a Director as experienced  and prepared as Tim Rarick and an actor as giving and as flexible as Ed Cornachio, whom  this role seems to be made for, the resulting choices and interaction were a joy to discover and perfect. We’ve all had moments in our lives where we’ve been faced with some “make or break” decisions. Sometimes during those moments, we realize that we may be risking, well, everything!  It would be easy to throw up one’s arms and storm out and shout, “Forget it!!   NO WAY !”  It is much harder to stay, face the uncomfortable situation and try to resolve while all the while knowing that the risk is huge.  You’ll see Chelsea and Ethel try hard to avoid leaving Bill and Norman alone; however, Bill (for his reason) and Norman (for his own reason) know that this one-on-one must take place.  Both have completely different motives.  For Norman , he wants to know if Bill is yet another in a long line of milk-toast disappointments that Chelsea has brought before him.   For Bill, he’s testing to see if he is comfortable leaving his son with them while facing that “meeting the girlfriend’s father” awkwardness we’ve all experienced.

This play has been a joy to be a part of. The entire cast, crew and creative teams are all “rowing the boat in the same direction” under the expert guidance of Tim Rarick. I hope you enjoy our version of this wonderful story and find how it reflects moments in your own lives.

Adam Shults

I've has this script for a while now. Six months or something. At first, I didn’t know what to think of it. The character appeared strange and part of me wondered why he was even in the play at all. Much of the dialogue seemed odd to me and I was not even sure how to say it. Especially the stuff in Act 2. Then there was the accent but I got that right away. Once I heard someone speak it, I remembered how it sounds. Before we met as a cast, Tim (Rarick) and I met twice to have coffee and discuss what we were going to do with Charlie. The first time I had a lot of questions and Tim gave me some good ideas, which we both seemed to agree on. The second time we met he was the one with all the questions and that was when it became apparent to me that the character was more important was more important than I had realized and Thompson had good reason to put him in the play. At first, some of these questions seemed irrelevant to me or too hypothetical but after a week or two of reflecting on them found that those discussions were an incredible help to me.

When I met the rest of the cast it was over at Leah's (Green) house and we were all going to sit down and read the thing. At first, the play seemed boring and the first couple of rehearsals were boring too. There was a lot of sitting around and watching the other actors figure out what they were going to do. I already knew that though. My blocking is very simple and only needed a couple small adjustments. After the first two weeks, things began to change for me and I began to really enjoy Act 1. Up until then I was still uncomfortable with the character because he's so weird. Especially all this laughing stuff. I still don't think I know anyone like this guy. Maybe I've met someone similar and I just don't remember. Hopefully he comes across well and he appears believable. That's what's most important to me. Thank you for coming and I hope you enjoy the show.







The Creative Team

Tim Rarick (Director), Leah Green (Assistant Director), Carrie Whitney (Costume Design), David Maloney (Sound Design), Rob Scott (Production Stage Manager)

The Cast

Norman Thayer, Jr. (Ed Cornachio), Ethel Thayer (Shelley Hartle), Charlie Martin (Adam Schults), Chelsea Thayer Wayne (Gail Liston), Billy Ray (Jack Hood), Bill Ray (Brian Plebanek)

The Crew

Assistant Stage Managers
Zora Lungren
Daniela Rose

Sound Board Operator
Chris Turpen

Light Board Operator
Noelle Weiner

Scenic Painters/Builders
Elain Anderson, Cally Beers, David Beers, Dale Boose, Karen Leeds, AJ Mietus, Terry Parker, Ed Severinghaus, Jim Troxel

Costume Lead
Leah Green

Seamstress
Valerie Johnson

Technical Intern
Jamesan Gavac

AmeriCorps Intern
Caitlin Goldbaum





Special Thanks
Community Thrift, Deb Crocker, Sam Estill, The Everett Herald, Gemkow Construction, Caitlin Goldbaum, Good Cheer, Jack Green, Sue Frause, Langley Clock and Gallery, Michael McVay, Susan Melman, David Ossman, Sound Publishing, South Whidbey School District, Star Store, The Whidbey Daily, Whidbey Marketplace and News, Mathew and Suzanne Wilson

(we sincerely apologize for any omissions)