Guest Bloggers on The 39 Steps: Emily Carlsen

Here at the Rep, we’re proud to be part of the thriving theatre and arts community that Seattle is known for. In the interest of adding to the dialogue about the work we produce, we’ve invited several theatre artists from the Seattle area to be among the first to see our production of The 39 Steps and offer their responses to the show on our blog.

Since The 39 Steps features fast paced costume changes and is designed to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages, our first guest blogger is elementary school teacher and freelance costume designer Emily Carlsen.

The Seattle Rep’s The 39 Steps is an enjoyable caper into the world of Alfred Hitchcock, a world which is very much aware, and sure to remind you, of its Hitchcockian influences. The team of four actors (Claire Brownell, Ted Deasy , Eric Hisson and Scott Parkinson) take on many a character to tell the tale of Suspense with a capital ‘S’. The ensemble cast is strong and cohesive; the four seem to be of one mind with their clear, stylized physicality. They keep the pace of the show moving, and it is clear they are having a blast doing it. The action on stage is supported by spot on, period costumes and flexible set design by Peter Mckintosh that is simple yet effective. It takes great acting to completely switch character simply by adding a hat, but you might as well have a great hat while you’re at it.

The 39 Steps is a great vehicle to introduce young theatre goers to physical comedy akin to the old vaudevillian talents, skills decidedly absent from venues in modern pop culture. Sitcoms, blockbuster movies and reality TV shows are not about watching what people can create, but what they have and can blow up. When you can go to the theatre and witness tightly orchestrated scenes, with more recognizable characters than actors present, these are the skills that truly celebrate what live theatre is all about.

Who doesn’t chuckle at a good Scottish accent joke, flying spittle and all? And everybody loves shadow puppets. The tween next to me was totally laughing, like, really hard. When actors occasionally wink to the audience and acknowledge their ridiculousness you can’t help but smile at the connection, and you can’t get that from Youtube.