Friday, June 09, 2006
Jenn Thompson in NHT's Search for Signs: one woman, twelve characters
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Jenn Thompson portrays twelve characters from all walks of life in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which opens June 9 and runs through June 25 at The New Harmony Theatre. Wagner is an Emmy Award-winning writer and long-time collaborator of Lily Tomlin, for whom she wrote the play. When it opened on Broadway in 1986, Tomlin won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. When it returned to Broadway in 2001, it won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play. The central character is Trudy, a New York bag lady who tries to help aliens better understand humankind. Trudy describes herself as a “typical visionary who has flashes of insight but can’t get anyone to listen to ‘em ‘cause their insights make ‘em sound so crazy!” These flashes of insights include such jewels as: "The human mind is kind of like a piñata. When it breaks open, there’s lots of surprises inside. Once you get the piñata perspective, you see that losing your mind can be a peak experience." Trudy’s universe also is inhabited by Agnus Angst, a 15-year-old punk performance artist; Agnus’s grandparents, both of whom “look like Don Knotts, only plumper”; Kate, a jaded socialite; Paul, a health nut/drug addict; Edie and Marge, a pair of ‘70s-era feminists; and many others. The Washington Post called the play a “compendium of pop history, a living anthropological exhibit. That makes it funny, grab-your-sides funny. But it also is a chronicle of the human heart, trying to mend its bruises, and ease its disappointments. And that makes it sublime – catch-your-breath sublime.” Thompson has been acting professionally since she was seven years old, but she is not immune to the pressure of being the sole actor in a one-woman play. The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe is her first one-woman show – as well as the first performed at NHT. “I think it helps to be doing this play in New Harmony, where I have a huge comfort level and am not a newcomer to the audience. I’ve gotten to play some wonderful roles here, and really established trust with the audience. If I was somewhere I’d never been before, the pressure would be greater.” She had roles in New Harmony Theatre productions of Anna Christie, Eccentricities of a Nightingale, and Sylvia. In addition to her history with the theatre, she said the fact that the play reunites her with artistic director Scot LaFeber has made all the difference. “Scott and I have such a solid working relationship and a huge amount of trust. We’ve been figuring this play out together, and it’s been incredibly challenging and rewarding so far.” She said her favorite character changes from day to day. “I think that’s great, and a good indication of what it will be like to do the show. My biggest connection was to Trudy at first, but that keeps coming up with the other characters – my fondness is switching around. The play is revealing itself to me incrementally as these characters begin to take shape.” The daughter of professional actors, Thompson grew up in theatre, film, and television. On Broadway, she performed in Tony Award-winning productions of Ah, Wilderness!, The Heiress and Annie. She had roles in the films The Out of Towners, Bash, Little Darlings, Honky Tonk Freeway, and Two Weeks Notice. Her television appearances include guest-starring roles on Law & Order, Ed, Law & Order S.V.U., Third Watch, and other leading roles in The Renegade, the acclaimed PBS series 3-2-1-Contact, and Harper Valley P.T.A. She is a member of River Rep Theatre Company in Connecticut, along with her parents, Evan Thompson and Joan Shepard, who will make their New Harmony Theatre debuts in The Subject Was Roses, the next production in the NHT season. Later this summer, Thompson will direct the world premiere of Richard Thompson’s play Big Doolie at The New York International Fringe Festival. |
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