Chazare’ Riley

Theater Appreciation

Dr. Huddleston

5 April 2011

Aunt Dan and Lemon

By Wallace Shawn

Directed by Dr. Farley Richmond

I’ll begin by saying that I really enjoyed the production. It wasn’t at all what I expected, but I left

the Cellar Theatre thoroughly entertained. I included the director’s name in the heading because they

guide the actors beyond the script. My paper focuses mainly on the acting of Paige Pulaski and Jennifer

Schottstadt, who played the characters Lemon and Aunt Dan respectively. It was their portrayal of

Lemon and Dan that made the show. Paige and Jennifer used their voices and bodies to become what I

believe Wallace Shawn hoped Dan and Lemon would be when he wrote the play.

Before the play even officially started Paige was already on stage in the character of Lemon. The

theatre doors were open, and the main lights were still on, but she came out anyway. It was creepy at

first because she was just staring out into the audience, blinking hard, rocking, and looking sickly. When

the production did actually begin, it became clear through Lemon’s monologue that she was extremely

unwell, so Paige’s body language was on point. Every time she blinked it was in Lemon fashion which for

some reason was uncharacteristically hard, but she didn’t let that falter. Paige’s physical movement was

also key when she acted out her childhood memories. She sat cross-legged on the table and floor. She

also put her head in the adults’ laps and let them stroke her hair. If Paige used the Stanislavski or

American method to act childlike, she just had to think about how she acted with her own parents when

she was younger.

Paige’s voice control was another amazing thing to watch altogether. Lemon was half British on

her mother’s side, so Paige had to do the accent for hours. She did not let that falter either, and she had

several lengthy monologues. She said everything in basically the same manor whether it was humorous,

sad or serious. Even when the audience reacted, she didn’t. Paige’s voice didn’t portray the emotions

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the audience collectively assumed Lemon felt.

Before Jennifer spoke a line, I correctly assumed Dan was bisexual or lesbian. I don’t know if

Jennifer studied them for the role, but she walked decidedly masculine. Maybe she used the Stanislavski

method. Dan had an extremely lively personality which matches the fact that Jennifer couldn’t seem to

sit still during dialogue. She would fidget, switch seating positions or get up and walk around. Her facial

expressions and voice were the opposite of Paige/Lemon’s. Jennifer/Dan’s emotions were clear in

Jennifer’s body language and the way she spoke her lines. When she was old, she moved like my

grandmother does with her walker.

The scenes where Paige and Jennifer acted together were the best. The thought that Dan and

Lemon had feelings for one another was a little disturbing, but it was definitely clear before Lemon said

it aloud. Their nightly talks in the garden were so uniform. It was like they really did it all the time. The

childlike Lemon seemed to perfectly understand the complex discussions about politics that she had

with Dan. Their dialogue was so clean and honest, and although that’s how it was written, that doesn’t

mean Paige and Jennifer could not have ruined it, but I don’t think they did.

I’m not going to completely neglect the other performers in the production: Chelsey Horn,

Matthew Bowdren, Spencer Tootle, Jase Wingate and Nathan Reese Edmondson. The show literally

couldn’t have gone on without them. Chelsey, Matthew and Jase all had to play multiple characters, so

they had to be in multiple mindsets throughout the play, and I don’t take that lightly or for granted. I’m

sure it was difficult whether they employed acting methods or not because they had to switch personas.

Coincidentally my favorite scene in the play didn’t really include Paige or Jennifer. It was when Mindy

killed Raimondo; Spencer did an excellent job of looking deranged, and Nathan’s asphyxiation was

awesome. He didn’t die unrealistically fast, and he appeared dead the rest of the scene.

I don’t know if Paige or Jennifer or any of the other actors actually took the time out to do either

the American or Stanislavski method, but they both could have been easily employed unconsciously. It

would not take much for them to use past memories or study the actions of others to come up with how

they’d portray their characters, although it was ultimately up to Dr. Richmond, the director. Either way

Jennifer and Paige did Dan and Lemon justice by physically portraying them with their voices and bodies

which had to take some sort of mental preparation.

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