{"id":20450,"date":"2016-09-02T00:26:28","date_gmt":"2016-09-02T07:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=20450"},"modified":"2016-08-31T14:09:38","modified_gmt":"2016-08-31T21:09:38","slug":"hope-amid-dysfunction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2016\/09\/02\/hope-amid-dysfunction\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope amid dysfunction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jewish community members Gina Leon (above) and Michael Germant are both co-producers, as well as actors, in Island Productions\u2019 The Glass Menagerie<\/em>. (photo from\u00a0Gina Leon)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Tennessee Williams is one of the giants of the American theatre. His 1944 four-actor play The Glass Menagerie<\/em>, which catapulted him to fame, is about to open in Vancouver, produced by local theatrical troupe Island Productions.<\/p>\n

Island Productions is an international ensemble and includes, among others, director Mel Tuck and Jewish actors and co-producers Gina Leon and Michael Germant. Although the three come from different places and backgrounds, they are united in their reverence for Williams and his writing.<\/p>\n

Leon was born in Johannesburg. She moved to Canada with her family when she was 7. \u201cI spent my childhood in costume, always played something,\u201d she recalled, \u201cbut, in high school, I painted a lot. My mother and grandfather were artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torn between visual arts and theatre, Leon studied both, theatre and art history at the University of Toronto, visual art at the College of Art and Design in Sydney and acting at the New School for Drama in New York. Now, she divides her time between acting and painting. \u201cThey feed into each other,\u201d she said. \u201cArt develops imagination, which is necessary for an actor. They are both telling a story.\u201d<\/p>\n

In The Glass Menagerie<\/em>, Leon plays Laura, a young woman with physical disabilities who is mentally fragile. \u201cThe play is autobiographical for Williams, and the role of Laura is based on his own beloved sister,\u201d Leon said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTennessee Williams is one of my favorite playwrights, maybe the favorite,\u201d she added. \u201cHe has a knack for telling stories that are very personal to him but also universal. The Glass Menagerie<\/em> happens during the Depression, but everything in the story is relevant now. Because of his timeless appeal, Williams can reach a wide audience. I love his language, too. It is poetic and profound.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Leon, while the play is the story of a dysfunctional family, \u201cit\u2019s also a story of hope. Laura plays with her glass figurines, polishes them in the play. They represent her hope, the connections she sometimes lacks in real life. Her glass menagerie has another meaning, too: it\u2019s her safe refuge. She needs an escape from the harsh reality of life in the 1930s because she is so sensitive and vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo
Michael Germant\u00a0(photo from Michael Germant)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leon\u2019s co-producer and fellow community member, Germant, spent his early childhood in Moscow. His family moved to Montreal when he was 6.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a kid, I wanted to be a veterinarian, then I wanted to be a spy,\u201d he joked. \u201cWhen I went to university in Montreal to study French, I was miserable. I started taking acting classes and liked it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He began thinking of a theatrical career and later studied at the Montreal School for Performing Arts and the Vancouver Film School.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we lived in Moscow, my mother was a stage manager at a children\u2019s theatre,\u201d he said. \u201cAlthough she didn\u2019t work in theatre after we immigrated, she supported my decision of a career in the performing arts. Seven years ago, I moved to Vancouver to study with Mel Tuck. In 2013, when we organized our Island Productions company, Mel became the director.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the show, Germant plays Jim, a guest at the house of Laura, her mother and brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cJim is Laura\u2019s final hope,\u201d Germant explained. \u201cHis colleague Tom invited him home to meet his mother and sister, but Tom didn\u2019t tell Jim about Laura. When Jim meets Laura, he is drawn to her, to her imaginary world, to her dreamy personality, but this attraction can\u2019t go anywhere. Jim is already engaged to another woman, but Tom didn\u2019t know that. The entire play is a series of miscommunications. There is sadness there but there is also humor. Like many Williams\u2019 plays, this one is funny but it is also poignant, heartfelt.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuck confirmed the play\u2019s controversial elements and its sophisticated treatment of emotions and ideas, comedy interwoven with bleakness. He knows it from personal experience, having played Laura\u2019s brother Tom in a production of The Glass Menagerie <\/em>long ago. \u201cThere is another connection, too,\u201d he said. \u201cLynne Griffin, the wonderful actress who plays Amanda, Laura\u2019s mother, in this production, long ago played Laura.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuck\u2019s theatre career spans more than five decades. According to his bio online, he has founded nine theatre companies and directed more than 300 plays; he has taught at institutions across the country and many of his students have become successful and award-winning actors. He still teaches at his studio in Gastown, while also acting himself and, of course, directing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play takes place during the Depression era and we set it as a period play, but its themes are still relevant now,\u201d he said. \u201cWe all move forward with our lives, but how much do we sacrifice?… Williams was always compassionate towards his characters, and this play is a plea to understand them all, with their faults and their vulnerabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Glass Menagerie<\/em> runs Sept. 6-25 at PAL Studio Theatre, 581 Cardero St. For tickets and more information, visit glassmenagerie.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Olga Livshin<\/strong> is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at olgagodim@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jewish community members Gina Leon (above) and Michael Germant are both co-producers, as well as actors, in Island Productions\u2019 The Glass Menagerie. (photo from\u00a0Gina Leon) Tennessee Williams is one of the giants of the American theatre. His 1944 four-actor play The Glass Menagerie, which catapulted him to fame, is about to open in Vancouver, produced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[907,6239,6240,906,6238,6208],"class_list":["post-20450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-gina-leon","tag-glass-menagerie","tag-mel-tuck","tag-michael-germant","tag-tennesee-williams","tag-theatre"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}