There is no dearth of wonderful actors working in Milwaukee.
And perhaps even more importantly, there is no dearth of actors in Milwaukee willing to take creative risks. One of them, Deb Staples, is celebrating 20 years with the Milwaukee Rep this year. And tonight she opens a one-woman show called The Amish Project that is nothing if not risky.
The play, in which Staples will play seven characters ranging from young girls to middle aged men, is based on the true story of the 2006 Nickel Mines shooting, when a lone gunman burst into an Old Order Amish one room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania and killed 5 girls. But the play is not a factual retelling of that incident but rather an exploration of what it means to forgive.
Deb Staples and director Leda Hoffman joined Lake Effect's Bonnie North in the studio to share their experiences in working together so closely on a challenging play that shows so many perspectives through one actor.
"You get to play roles that you never get to play, and you get to practice your craft and your art in a way that you don't normally get to. And it's a great honor and it's a great joy, and it's also absolutely terrifying," says Staples.
With just an actor and a director working together and exploring the story, Hoffman says there was a lot of room for development and changes in order to best portray each character and story in a way that other outlets could not replicate.
"I'm so happy to be working on a play that really needs to be a play. This story is very specifically told in theatrical conventions. The fact that we have all these characters housed in one person means their common humanity shines through."
The Amish Project opens tonight at the Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Theatre and will run until March 22nd.
