SHOW NOTES

The Battle of Elsenorift features an all female cast and female director in honor of our VIP guest, Marilyn Olsen who is a Board Member of The Lipstick Project (CT) that serves the purpose of supporting women artists especially in Theater.

Olivia Wadsworth and Jandi Hanna reprise their roles as Ava and Evelyn and conducted an interview with our guest in the same way that they conducted the interview with Nancy Sasso Janis in episode 11.

Jandi Hanna was an assistant director during a show I acted in (Twelve Angry Jurors in Goshen). Jandi stepped into the role of director and did a wonderful job working with our actors who had a wide range of theater experience.

Jandi also portrayed the Queen and Olivia portrayed the part of Barbaria. When Olivia put on her voice of a slightly stuffy nosed (pretend cold) Barbaria we all cracked up. It worked so perfectly and I wasn’t expecting it.

 

For some background I had the enormous pleasure of seeing a production of Master Class about the life of Maria Callas starring Marilyn Olsen and which featured Deborah Goodman in a wonderful role as a student.   This episode was a marvelous opportunity to reunite these actors.

I had just interviewed Marilyn for the Nutmeg CHATTER program where she discussed the Lipstick Project (CT) and asked her if she’d be interested in doing the Junction program. Fortunately she said YES!

Deborah Goodman was on board and immediately “got” the Python-esque feel to some of the repartee between her character and Marilyn’s “Valkyria”.

Poet Patricia Martin was also a newcomer to the Junction team but she has an extensive resume of vocal work especially as an author/poet and the creator of the Speak-easy poetry reading series.  So I had her character as “The Scribe” but it was almost unfair as her character has to set up the entire backstory with, as a hallmark of our show, some ridiculous words and phrases to say but with Jandi’s direction and with Patricia’s professionalism it worked out well and Jandi and Patricia had a nice ad-lib moment which made it into the final cut of the show.

Shannon Sniffin joined us as The Page and made remarkable work of a character who might have just slipped into the background in lesser hands. Her deadpan style of answering “I shall not tarry, my liege” was a better delivery than my script deserved. I enjoyed her work in Landmark Community Theatre’s production of “The Game’s Afoot” and it was great to have her join us and there will be more opportunities for Shannon and for all of the wonderful actors who worked on the show.

It was an honor to be in the room as they worked on this show and I thought how wonderful it would be if others could be there to see the show performed live for it was a rare treat.

I will absolutely ask each actor to come back and certainly, if they work together that theatrical alchemy that was created will be magical once again.

CREDITS

EPISODE 14: THE BATTLE OF ELSENORIFT (c) 2018

written, created, produced by J. TIMOTHY QUIRK

NUTMEG JUNCTION THEME MUSIC BY ROBERT C. FULLERTON (C)2018

STARRING

MARILYN OLSEN as VALKYRIA and as herself

DEBORAH GOODMAN as SUSAN

JANDI HANNA as THE QUEEN/EVELYN

OLIVIA WADSWORTH as BARARIA/AVA

PATRICIA MARTIN as SAGOPAZ

SHANNON SNIFFIN as THE PAGE

DIRECTED BY JANDI HANNA

Additional foley and music by YOUTUBE royalty free music or otherwise found in the field by J. Timothy Quirk

All characters and situations are completely fictional. Any similarities between anyone living or dead is completely coincidental.