Griffith Theatre Company performed their fall production of "I Remember Mama" in Griffith High School Auditorium this November. The play by John Van Druten and takes a peek into the lives of a Norwegian immigrant family in 1910 San Francisco, narrated by aspiring writer and eldest daughter Katrin Hanson. Katrin lives with her parents and three siblings and deals with death, poverty, and growing up while learning to become a great writer by watching her selfless mother, Marta, aka Mama.
This production stood out for me because we haven't ever done a serious piece prior to this one,” said Griffith Theatre Company director Jenna Parker. “It's the most dramatic story we've told in the last five years for the GTC.”
Production began in September with auditions. Sophomore Isabella Aranda won the part of Mama/Marta, while junior Kyle Rassel was cast as Uncle Chris, senior Jesse Miller as Papa/Lars, and sophomore Abby Morrison as Katrin. Junior Aseret Bast, junior Katelynn Bilka, and freshman Ashley Taylor played the aunts Jenny, Sigrid, and Trina, with senior Tyler Smith as Katrin’s brother Nels, freshman Destiny Stokes-Magn as her sister Christine, and sophomore Gabrielle Fink as her baby sister Dagmar.
“It was very different, yet it reminded me of a role based on my own life,” said Aranda (Mama). “I don’t know what it’s like to have kids, but it reminded me of my mother, whom I based my character off of.” The actors initially found it difficult to memorize countless lines of dialogue while perfecting a Norwegian accent, but Aranda said the accent was her favorite part of the role.
According to lights, sound, and stage director Jim Graff, the technical part of the play was relatively simple since all of the scenes took place indoors.
“Whenever I build any set, I consult with Ms. Parker, and she draws out her vision, and I go from there. The set for this year was rather easy to build since it was inside a house from 1910. We used flats, premade four-by-eight giant canvas panels that we can screw onto rollers and paint whatever color we want.”
The drama department’s soundboard wore out, but a drama parent who works in sound engineering lent them his soundboard. Costumes and makeup were designed to resemble the 1910s, with long skirts, vintage trousers, and braids for the girls.
“Last year, Madame had told me about this show,” said Parker. “After I read it, I really liked the story. I thought our actors could really relate to it too. I felt it had a lot of elements to it: humor, poignant moments, kindness, self-sacrifice. It really resonated with me and the idea of family being the most important thing.”
Griffith Theatre Company will be attending Indiana Thespians Regional Conference on November 23 and State Conference on January 24-26. Middle School Drama Night auditions begin in December. In April, Griffith Theatre Company will show their spring musical, South Pacific, the classic musical by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers.