What makes it all work?
By Jessica Sage
As Rogue Theater Company’s production of “Ripcord” nears the end of its run, we take a look at the inner workings of a cast with a question we hear often in various forms: How do you make it work?
For this column (and the next), I probed the actors’ experience both in general and specific to their work on “Ripcord.” Following are responses from three of the production’s cast members. Other cast members’ responses to this question will follow in the next installment of Sage on Stage.
Nancy Carlin: Ensembles do take time to build. That’s why ongoing acting companies do much of the best work, since that trust has already been built before the first rehearsal. Working with new people adds that bit of getting-to-know-you time, but what I’ve found in working on “Ripcord” is that even the actors I’d never met before felt familiar, comfortable to me. Since we’ve all worked at Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) at some point in our careers.
We are all “that” kind of actor: versatile, well-trained enough to handle all sizes of stages and all kinds of scripts, including verse! Most of all, trust, generosity, patience, and a good sense of humor make the best ingredients, and I have felt all of that with these fellow artists.
Stephen Michael Spencer: They call it a play for a reason! It works best when we as actors get to do just that. Play is essential to ensemble. Not just in comedy, but storytelling in general.
When you have a group of actors who know each other and trust each other, you are able to bring a certain level of play into the mix that creates the most compelling stories! It’s a beautiful thing when you see a group of actors together on stage playing and having fun, because that kind of theater makes you lean in and want to be a part of the mischief. And with this group and this play, there is a ton of mischief!
Emilie Talbot: First and foremost, you must be able to actively trust one another. You need to have confidence that you can jump and be caught, and that you can and will catch your colleagues. It requires active listening and hearing, flexibility and understanding. It also requires letting go of ego and fear. Which can be hard, so you have to trust and to be trusted.
How do you build that? Sometimes it is through familiarity, a long working relationship, or an understanding that you have worked in the same way before. That is one of the nice things about RTC — even though we have not necessarily worked together, we understand that we have worked on the same stages at some point and the demands those stages make.
Henry Woronicz, the director, made an analogy at our opening talkback to playing on a sports team. It is very much like that — we have all played together at some point, or on the same team, so we understand how to run the plays. Conversely, if you get someone who does not play with the team or runs without listening actively — well, then, that is just no fun at all.
Theater lovers, what would you like to know about theater, acting, stagecraft, etc.? Send your questions to [email protected]. In the meantime, let’s bring up the houselights and have some fun!
Jessica Sage is the producing artistic director of Rogue Theater Company. RTC’s 2025 season opened in February and is ending its run of its current production, David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Ripcord,” on August 3. The final production of this season, Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” runs October 15 through November 2. For more information about the entire season — and the theater company — see roguetheatercompany.com
