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"The Prairie", by Rea Redifer
"There was a time not too long ago when families gathered in their back yards
on summer evenings and wove the myths of their past. They were tribal tales,
raveled and unraveled from memory: composed of speculation, myth and down right
lies; tales of births and death across the great prairie."
These were the opening lines of Rea Redifer's evocation of one hundred years of
American history.
"And listening there I could never get a grip on old distant cousin Wesley in
my mind - could never seem to feel the musket in his hands or see him sweating
and swearing, lice ridden, up and down those choked roads of distant Maryland,
or smell the mornings or hear the birds or taste the bitter coffee out of an old
tin cup. No he came to me like some vague ghost in a gilt frame set upon the
table in the waning light of the afternoon."
Rea Redifer
Rehearsal and performance photos
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Rea and Gary
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Phil Calabrese (Music director and composer)
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Kirk and Joe
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Maria
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Tom
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The DeSoto Car
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Ken Mumma and the ensemble
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The DeSoto on stage
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Anne
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Clarke
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Tom, Lisa, Joe and Amanda
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Jude
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Kirk and Joe
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Joe with authentic 1863 musket
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Ken and Maria
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The Theatre
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The pep talk
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Joe at the sound and lighting board
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MaryBeth (our prompt), Claire, Ken and Jude
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...finally, Rea.
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Performance photos
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Setting the stage
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Clarke, Jarvis and Joe rig the lights and set the sound levels
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Set construction is thirsty work
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Jarvis, The Lighting Designer
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The author
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Everything is set
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Steve Warner of the Kennett Square Inn cooks the picnic
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Between 7pm and 8pm the audience can picnic
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Clarke Green, Tom McDonald, Lorraine Andersen
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Front of House
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The crowd gathers
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Jude, Amanda & Emily
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Pre-performance cake
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Director and author cut the first slice
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Carol Buckwalter, the Makeup Designer
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Joe Young, Sound Designer
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We had 266 audience members over two nights - a new record.
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Act 2
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Joe and Jarvis
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Act2
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And the band plays on...
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Striking the set
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Rehearsal Photos
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Rea Redifer
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Rachel Carson and Phil Calabrese
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Lorraine Andersen and Emily Coons
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Lisa Teixeira and Lorraine
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Kirk Fetters and Lisa
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Ken Mumma
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Jude Nalls
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Gene Daunno, The Crew Chief
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Emily, Joe Finn and Ann Einstein
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Emily and Diane Teig, the Costume Designer
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Lisa and Caroline Smith, Theater Administration
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Lorraine and Maria Fidanza
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Tom McDonald, Betsy Benner and Gerry Teig
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The Director
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Checking the sight lines
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Nancy McDonald, Bridget McDonald and Caroline check the sight lines
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Phil, Rea and Gary
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Rehearsing the final curtain
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Photo credits (Gary Smith, Caroline Smith, Clarke Green, Gerry Teig 2005)
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