Grace McCune Makes Her Directorial Debut

by Lin McNulty

Our Town opens Thursday at Orcas Center's OffCenter Stage.

From singing, to acting, to now directing for the first time, Grace McCune jumps with gusto into her many roles. When approached by Orcas Center’s Deborah Sparks about directing the Thornton Wilder play Our Town, McCune says she was at first excited; then became a bit nervous as she thought about it.

A full resumé from her work in local productions such as Gypsy and Beauty and the Beast, and directing a children’s choir, has served her well, however.

She and her cast of 16 students (and one adult) has pulled together what promises to be an exciting production of this perennial, popular play. They have been in rehearsal since September.

Our Town is set in a 1930s theater, and depicts America’s unfolding history through the everyday lives of the small town citizens of Grover’s Corners.

The play is narrated by the Stage Manager (played by Antoinette Botsford). McCune says that role is normally played by a male actor, but that the local production is lucky to have Botsford, a consummate storyteller herself, in that role.

Cast members are: Sky Bear Aguilar, Sabrina Bailey, Antoinette Botsford, Kellen Comrie, Brigid Ehrmantraut, Stormy Hildreth, Sorrel Hughes, Alanna Lago, Cierra Lutz, Clarabeth Smith, Nate Smith, Olivia Smith, Violet Sturk, Tori Sturk, Maggie Thomas, Evelyn Thurman and Meg Waage.

The play opens at the OffCenter Stage on Thursday, following a week of dress rehearsals when McCune says it will be great to see the kids fully lit on stage and in costume

Our Town will be presented in the OffCenter Stage,  January 19 — 21, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $11 for students ($2 off for Orcas Center members) To purchase tickets or find out more about this production, call Orcas Center at 376-2281 or go to www.orcascenter.org.