Marina Vrahnos of Plainsboro was determined to produce “The Tiger,” Murray Schisgal’s one-act play about a housewife and a postman, as soon as she read it. “I am familiar with the playwright and have a book of his plays,” says Vrahnos. “I thought it would be great to see the play come alive on stage to see what can come out of these characters.”
She also realized that she could relate to the female character in the play and wanted to portray the woman in the two-person play. “In my life right now I am going through a parallel life of what she is going through,” says Vrahnos. “I am really excited about being in it.”
She had taken acting classes with Jody Wood of JW Actors Studio in Forrestal Village, Plainsboro, and asked him to direct the play. They found the second actor, Danny Siegel of Princeton, through an audition notice in the opportunities section in U.S. 1. She is renting the performance space from the Arts Council of Princeton.
Vrahnos, born and raised in England, taught yoga for 12 years, and does therapeutic massage work. Always passionate about acting, she took classes in New York. “The theater has been a part of my life on and off since I was a little girl,” she told The News in 2008. “My mother wanted me to go to acting school when I was four but I did not become involved with school and community theater groups until high school.”
Her husband, Stavros, owns a business in Hightstown focusing on pre-paid phone cards. Their son, Dimitri, 18, a senior at High School South, will attend Salisbury University in Maryland to study exercise science. Captain of the varsity tennis team, he has been the top player on the team for two years. “He is very interested in sports, health, and nutrition so it is a really good choice for him,” says Vrahnos.
Vrahnos is looking for the new chapter in her life. She recently visited Costa Rica to look for land to buy. “I have always been drawn to mountains, oceans, and climate,” she says. She also visited her mother in England and her father in Spain.
The second part of the evening will be an hour of improv performed by Wood’s students. “The studio is for students to learn the skills to enhance their presentations, build confidence, or become better listeners and communicators,” Wood told The News in 2008. Wood, who lives in Hopewell, wants to “bring New York and Hollywood to central New Jersey.” He has worked off Broadway, on television, and in films.
“My journey into the world of acting and directing began with a true love for both comedy and drama,” says Wood. “I knew that when I was always finding myself in hot water with the dear nuns of St. Paul School on Staten Island, New York that my comedic abilities were being well received.”
“I bring my passion for acting to every work and I am working toward building both a professional acting company and comedy improv troupe with the students.” This is the debut performance of that group. The members of the Far and in Between Improv Comedy Troupe include Gerry Martin, Matthew Kann, Judy DeClement, Nicole D’Onofrio, Julianne Bell, and Danny Siegel.
Bill Bauer, a musician from Plainsboro opens the show and performs during intermission. “It’s an original jazz composition that features improvisation,” says Bauer. “There’s a hidden meaning to the music. People who recognize the tune will get it.”
He has been composing and performing music for close to 35 years — since he was in high school. His first incidental music was for a production of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Bauer teaches music theory and musicianship, jazz and classical music, improvisation and composition at CUNY’s Graduate Center and College of Staten Island. Bauer is also working on a book for Scarecrow Press about Louis Armstrong’s distinctive approach to singing.
Bauer has lived in Plainsboro for two years with his wife, Fumiko, who also composes, performs, and teaches music, and their 3 1/2 year old son Kentaro, who is already showing an interest in music.
“In creating incidental music for ‘The Tiger,’ I’m returning to my roots in the theater,” says Bauer. “In a short time, this remarkable play moves through an incredible range of emotions. It’s exciting to be taking part in this wonderful production, which brings those emotions to the surface and makes them real.” — Lynn Miller
JW Actors Studio, Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon Street. Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13. $15. 609-924-8777. www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.
