THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511100058
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
NORFOLK ACTOR Ethan Marten has this little saying he uses for those occasional bouts of stage trepidation.
``When on the edge of an acting cliff, don't be pushed off. Dive off,'' Marten said.
``In this case, it's a swan dive.''
Marten stars in Elizabeth Egloff's ``The Swan,'' about a thrice-divorced woman who's having an affair with a married milkman. The woman - Dora, a nurse - is played by Marten's fiancee, Pam Good.
The bittersweet comedy is on the boards at Generic Theater through Dec. 3.
Marten's part really isn't so challenging. He only has to make the audience believe he's a swan, and that he turns into a man. He only has to be nude on stage for two minutes.
Being naked on stage isn't so bad, he said. ``Honestly, I've been so nervous about the monologues, that's been the least of my fears.''
In the show, the swan crashes into Dora's window. Prodded by the presence of this swan, Dora eventually must choose ``between freeing herself, allowing herself to love and be loved, or to remain in this relationship with the milkman,'' portrayed by Frank McCaffery, he said.
Though Marten and Good are often on area stages, they rarely perform together. ``Pam is explosive. She blows me off the stage. Her work ethic is stupendous. Always so focused.
``I tend to need to be roped in a little bit.''
The Generic is at 912 W. 21st St. in Norfolk. ``The Swan'' continues through Dec. 3, with shows at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Bob Nelson directs. Call 441-2160.
YOU THINK DORA HAS PROBLEMS? She should try being Emily Dickinson for a few days.
Poor Emily. She's a great poet, but nobody knows it. She stays holed up in the family home in Amherst, Mass. Unlike her sister, she's considered homely and unmarriagable.
Worse than that, she's weird. She takes to wearing all white every day - like some haunted bride left at the altar. She hides when people visit.
WILLIAM LUCE'S ``THE BELLE OF AMHERST'' - produced by the Virginia Stage Company - is a one-woman show that takes us through Emily's youth up to age 53. The show is on the boards through Nov. 19 at the Governor's School for the Arts Theater, 254 Granby St. in Norfolk. Jeff Lindquist directs; he last directed ``Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill.''
Deborah Mayo portrays the great American poet, born in 1830. For Mayo, it's yet another portrayal of an independent woman struggling to balance her desire for expressive freedom and a close relationship with a man.
On the same stage, Mayo portrayed painter Georgia O'Keeffe.
``The Belle of Amherst'' is a tour de force role, taking actress and audience on an emotional merry-go-round.
While her life was disappointing enough, she saw the most hope in the legacy of her writing. From Emily: ``The poet lights the lamp, and then goes out himself. But the light goes on and on.''
``The Belle of Amherst'' will be performed at 8 tonight, Sunday at 2 p.m., Wednesday through next Saturday at 8 p.m., and Nov. 19 at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 to $18. Call 627-1234 for reservations.
HOW'D YOU LIKE TO SEE SOME TAP-DANCING NUNS? Would you like one to sit on your lap?
Don't be shy. Just boldly buy your ticket to ``Nunsense,'' Dan Goggin's wacky musical comedy about four sisters and a reverend mother.
See, they have this little problem. A bunch of nuns died from some poisoned soup, and they haven't enough funds to bury them all. They become inspired - divinely, of course - to put on a glitzy benefit production.
``Catholics find this show absolutely hysterical,'' said Susan Browney-Moyer, director and choreographer for this Actors' Theater production featuring veteran local actresses. So would anyone who loves nonsense, audience participation and silly nun sequitors.
``Nunsense'' opens tonight at 8 and continues Sunday at 2 p.m. at Kempsville Playhouse, 1800 Monmouth Drive, Virginia Beach. It travels to Cape Henry Collegiate in Virginia Beach Nov. 17 and 18, then returns to the Playhouse for shows Nov. 24 through Dec. 17. In January, ``Nunsense'' gets revived at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake.
Tickets are $15; $10, students; $5, kids. Call 557-0397 for reservations. by CNB