Perfectly Normel People: Flying Props & Paul Whitty

Guest Grit post by Judy Heath (#4 in series: Read #1 here, #2 here, and #3 here)

So, tonight is our second to the last show of the run and it is sold out! Time to schlep all our props and wardrobe back to The Players Theatre. We are an unusual play for this festival, as we are in no way minimalists. When I talk to other directors about our characters eating French toast and peeling fruit on stage, I can see them trying to resist looking appalled. Most shows have small casts and few props, but “Perfectly Normel People” doesn’t like to do things normally. We like to bring as much shit and actors on stage as we can possibly manage in 15 minutes!

As in all productions, there have been some funny unscripted moments on stage. One night, after a scene when the Blessed Mother supposedly appeared to Frankie Normellino, the dish rack moved for no apparent reason. Bronson Taylor (Hadley) had the presence of mind to feign horror and the audience reacted as though it had all been planned. Another night when our consummate Italian/American mother Connie (Vicki Kelly), launched a loaf of Irish Soda bread at wise-cracking sister-in-law, Margaret (Jaqualine Helmer), it actually hit her in the back and broke in two!

Some cast and crew members took in the sights at The Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on a non-performance day. Gorgeous weather and dining al fresco under the trees that really do grow in Brooklyn.

A few of us caught Paul Whitty at the Broadway show “Once” last night; a beautiful show and great performance by one of our own hometown actors.

Theatre Mania

{ Judy Heath recently co-authored two full-length plays with husband Thomas, the second of which, "Perfectly Normel People," was invited to New York for its off-Broadway premiere at The New York International Fringe Festival. She's best known as a psychotherapist and bereavement specialist who has authored two books in her field, but her interest in theater has been ongoing. In fact, she and husband Thomas met acting in New York. “There is a natural correlation between theatre and psychology,” she explains, “One must understand human nature to develop believable characters.” }