For her first major directorial project, Caitlin Cashin could have chosen something simple.
“Usually students direct – and are taught to direct – straightforward theater with blocking and sets, etcetera,” the Sweet Briar College senior and Montclair, Va. resident said. “While my show will have all those things, all the actors really have to perform with is their voices. I’m very excited to be presented with such a challenge.”
Director Caitlin Cashin The “challenge” Cashin refers to is “The Old Maid and the Thief,” an opera to be performed at 7:30 p.m. on March 30 and 31 in the Babcock Studio Theater at Sweet Briar College.
Written by the late Italian-born composer Gian Carlo Menotti, “The Old Maid and the Thief” was the first opera commissioned specifically for the radio. It premiered on NBC radio in 1939 and was first performed on stage in 1941.
The 14-scene, one-act opera tells the story of an old maid and her housekeeper who take in an attractive and mysterious young man who may or may not be a fugitive thief and murderer. In this comedic tale, the women struggle with the idea of “whether or not it’s better to be possibly murdered by a man than to live without one,” Cashin said.
Jonathan Green, dean of the College and a music professor, said “The Old Maid and the Thief” will be a “particularly enlightening experience” for those who have never experienced opera.
“It is a human-sized opera with real characters we might actually know,” he said. “What’s even better is that it is filled with truly beautiful and accessible music. Caitlin has come up with some clever ways of presenting this piece in the confines of our Studio Theater.”
Directing “The Old Maid and the Thief” not only combines Cashin’s love of music and theater, it also has given the Montclair, Va., resident the opportunity to explore a genre that has always interested her.
A self-described “behind-the-scenes junkie,” Cashin said the idea of staging an opera as a radio broadcast was attractive on a couple of levels. “I’ve always been fascinated by footage of actors doing voice work and the unique ‘inside look’ you can get from watching someone acting into a microphone,” she said.
“Because the actors, or singers, aren’t memorizing their scripts when they’re doing voice work, there is a certain spontaneity and freshness that other forms of theater often have to fight to maintain.”
Appearing in the show will be adjunct music instructor Marcia Thom as Miss Todd, the old maid, with Erin Rogers ’08 as understudy. Katy Johnstone ’10 will play Laetitia the housekeeper.
The cast of 'The Old Maid and the Thief' rehearses.Sweet Briar senior Rosanna Hawkins is cast as Miss Todd’s friend, Miss Pinkerton, and Jared Anderson, a local performer and frequent cast member in Sweet Briar shows, will play Bob, the thief.
Cashin’s past experience includes working last fall as assistant director and assistant stage manager for Opera on the James’ production of “Cosi Fan Tutte,” a fact that has led to some pre-show anxiety.
“Collecting props and taking down notes for someone else is a far cry from actually being responsible for a production,” she said.
According to Dean Green, Cashin’s apprehension is not off base. “Mounting an opera production is a remarkable undertaking, no matter who is doing it,” he said. “What is so remarkable about Caitlin’s effort is that she is, in effect, producing and directing.”
The challenge hasn’t scared her off, though. She plans to do more directing in the future. “There are a million things I’d love to direct, and I doubt that this will be the last of my directorial undertakings,” she said.
“The Old Maid and the Thief” is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Shelbie Filson, Sweet Briar box office manager, at 381-6228 or
sfilson@sbc.edu.
— By
Suzanne Ramsey,
SBC staff writer
