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Exclusive Interview: Tiffany Stano of Pontiac IV Theatre's 'The Cottage' · The BSB Podcast

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  On the surface, the cottage feels charming and refined, but beneath the calm exterior lies a comedy bursting with mischief and momentum.
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  Today we have the pleasure of speaking with the director of Pontiac IV Theaters Production of Sandy Rustin's play, Tiffany Stano.
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  Thank you so much for joining me today.
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  Thank you for having me Brian, I appreciate it.
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  We are so excited to talk about the show.
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  I've seen it once before and this is just one of those shows that you can't help but the energy is like so addictive.
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  How has it been so far directing the show for you?
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  It has been fantastic.
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  I have a great group of actors and actresses who have really taken this on with the fact that it is a little bit crazy, a little bit uncomfortable at times, and it really pushes
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  their acting abilities and their abilities to kind of laugh at themselves, which has been super fun as a director.
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  Yeah, because you do really have to kind of be able to join in on the laughter, would assume, as an actor in the show, because it is just, it's like the most farcical farce
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  show that you're ever going to be a part of.
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  absolutely, if you look at the reviews of when it was on Broadway, they ah knock it down because of that because it is, it can be very very campy and I think you need to lean into
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  that because otherwise if you try to be anything other than campy it just ends up being a miss.
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  Absolutely.
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  So for people who maybe don't know what the story of the cottage is about, without spoiling too much, can you kind of tell us what's going on in the show?
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  Well, you start out by finding out that Sylvia and Beau have had their yearly rendezvous and they've been doing this for seven years, once a year, and they have their little
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  meetup.
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  And then Sylvia decides she wants a little bit more.
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  So she contacts her husband and Beau's wife via telegram to say that she wants more out of him.
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  And then they end up coming up to the cottage and they're actually relieved because the two of them had also been having an affair.
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  So he's sleeping with her, he's sleeping with her, and then
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  ah As that goes on, they learn about some of the inner dynamics of what has been happening, only to find out that Beau has a third woman and she shows up with her
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  murderous ex-husband.
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  It is one of those, there's just so many pieces to this show that like when you kind of lay it out like that, you know, having seen the show, it kind of plays out a little bit
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  slower, but like when you lay it like that, I'm like, yeah, there's a lot of stuff going on in the cottage.
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  is, and there's a lot of funny moments and a lot of opportunities for the audience to really laugh and I think kind of escape how heavy the world is right now.
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  And I think that's what I've been enjoying about it is there is silliness, there is depth to that, but there's also, there's lust, there's betrayal, there's feminism in there.
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  And I love the fact that within the constructs of this being a 1920s play, you can also lean on playing it a little bit more modern, but also exploring that.
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  feminist view as well.
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  I also love this from Sandy Rustin because she also wrote Clue the stage musical and you can see some of that same kind of energy.
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  You you can see the same energy, the same themes kind of.
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  ah So it's cool to have this show because this show is just it's in my opinion, it's even better than Clue that this is just one of those ones that like you're given the spoonful
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  of sugar with those messages.
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  Yes, nothing really beats Clue.
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  It's one of my best friends, one of her favorite movies, plays, et cetera.
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  So I've seen that many a time and she's actually my assistant director.
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  So as we've gone through it, we've relied heavily on some of those aspects as well because of the fact that Sandy Rustin wrote both of them.
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  So you were familiar with the cottage prior to working on this production then?
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  Actually, as a director, I tend to lean towards finding projects that I'm most interested in the story versus sticking with one theater.
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  So I've been in a few theaters directing and as I was looking for this season, what I wanted to propose, I found it because it was on their season to present for last year.
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  So I hadn't known much about it prior to this.
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  Okay, so then what immediately stood out to you about this when you kind of first were reading through the script for the cottage?
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  I tend to like to have things that are funny.
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  It's a lot more fun to direct a funny play because my theory as a director is I am here to facilitate the actors.
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  I'm not there to micromanage them.
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  So when I find some really great actors, I let them play and I watch them play.
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  And I saw a lot of opportunity as I was reading through the script for actors to play and really lean into how they want the characters to develop in their own eyes.
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  So I always tell them,
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  Play as hard as you want.
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  I'll reel you in if you need to, but I've yet to find an actor that I've really had to reel in.
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  Especially with a show like this, right?
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  You're like, let them kind of go and see what happens.
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  Yes, they quite frequently will say to me like, hey, do you mind if I try this out or how about if I throw myself down here?
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  And I'm like, if your body can take it, go for it.
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  So your approach to directing is kind of like, so you're kind of overseeing it, but you take a step back and kind of let them do what they're like, they're the actors, you're
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  kind of let them work with the art.
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  Is that correct?
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  What is that like then for you to like, as you're steering the boat here?
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  I give them the vision of what I anticipate the show to be like, but I tell them that I want them to make it their own because as an actor myself prior to directing, when things
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  didn't feel natural, it was a lot harder to buy into the character.
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  So we spend a lot of time at the beginning with character development, playing around with what they think their character is going to look like with me fine tuning it a little bit,
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  but ultimately making sure that the movement and the action is comfortable for them as an actor so then that way it comes to life.
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  in a really authentic sort of way.
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  And makes sense.
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  And this is a show that is, even though again, it's a farce and sometimes it's bigger than life, these are like authentic instances here.
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  There's relationships, there's hearts breaking, there's, you know, so you really want the authenticity of these characters in this play.
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  Absolutely.
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  There's some heartbreaking moments towards the end and I really feel it with one of my characters without telling you too much, but...
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  I think I know what you're talking about.
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  I'm sure you do if you've seen this.
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  So with this particular production at Pontiac IV Theatre, was there a challenges to bring it to life in the space?
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  Because, you know, this is a very big show.
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  There's sometimes is interaction with audiences.
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  There's a lot of jumping around.
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  Was there challenges to like staging and stuff like that when it came to the show?
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  Well, Pontiac Theatre IV uses All Saints Episcopal Church as their staging area.
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  So given the fact that we're sharing a space with the church and they're, you know, as a director, you want to build it as big as you can and make it as amazing as you can.
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  And of course, there's scheduling issues and they have a pretty fantastically big stage, but within the restraints of knowing that they have a homeless breakfast that goes on on
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  days that we're doing the show and having to monitor some of those sorts of things, it was a bit of a challenge.
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  But then again, working with Pontiac Theatre IV it is truly a community.
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  You can rely heavily on the membership and you the president of the theater has been helping with building the set and set design and you know, anything I happen to need,
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  there's people in place that have worked this area and worked this space before that have made it feel like home and feel comfortable.
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  could understand why there'd be a challenge though when you're kind of sharing the space because then it doesn't ever truly feel kind of like yours until the day comes where the
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  show's coming out.
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  Yes, yeah, yesterday was our tech Sunday and it was the first time running everything and I think everyone's head was spinning by the end of the night, but it's going to be great
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  by Friday.
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  Absolutely.
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  oh So what has been the most exciting thing about working with this cast then?
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  I think we have such a diverse cast, various levels of experience in theater, uh various levels of physicality, and that I think in and of itself has made these characters really
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  be part of my heart and be part of the interwoven essence of the show.
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  We've got so many fantastic actors.
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  A lot of them have never worked together.
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  About half of them haven't even worked with Pontiac Theater before.
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  it becomes a family at that point where it's not just
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  in some theaters, these are all the people that always get cast.
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  It's not like that.
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  We picked people who I know people I didn't know.
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  There were some people that we even cast where I hadn't even met them before.
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  And it's really turned into a really nice story.
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  That's awesome.
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  And it just shows you how community, it's not just the people you know, but it's the community and bringing in people who are both talented, but also who want to be a part of
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  that community so much.
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  Absolutely, and I think fate played a little bit of a part in there and that the universe directed me to have the right people in the right parts for this show.
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  That is so awesome.
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  So were there moments within this comedy that required more careful shaping and rehearsal than others?
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  There is an entire scene that revolves around a fart that we had to spend three hours choreographing a fart and when I told people that they just looked at me like I was
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  insane.
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  But I think that that's one of those moments where taking the time to pay attention to that very small detail is gonna pay off in the end.
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  For sure.
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  mean, that's an important scene.
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  ah So then just one final question for you.
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  And I really appreciate you being here to talk with us.
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  But just what are you hoping audiences take away from this production of The Cottage?
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  I hope that the audience sees a little bit of themselves in at least one of the characters.
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  I think we all as humans have had moments where we've had to betray people or had to hide a lie.
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  Even though, Mom, you don't want to hear me say that, but I think we've all had that kind of experience where we've been hiding something and it's come to light and you don't
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  always know how it's going to turn out, but in the end it usually turns out all right.
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  So I want the audience to be able to first escape the heaviness of the world right now, but also to see and relate to the characters that are in the show.
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  I think that's a brilliant balance of the show.
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  Like, yeah, escapism is very important right now.
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  The world is very heavy.
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  But also, there's...
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  Not that I want to say that it all comes together with a nice little bow at the end, but it does show you that there is happiness after a lot of heaviness.
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  Absolutely.
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  sometimes the resolution isn't the most comfortable thing, but it's the best for all parties involved.
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  Absolutely.
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  Well, thank you so much for being here, Tiffany.
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  It's been such a pleasure talking with you.
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  And again, we are so excited for this production to arrive.
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  Thank you, I look forward to seeing you there.
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  So the cottage arrives at Pontiac Theatre IV on January 23rd and runs through February 1st.
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  So get your tickets now and we'll see you at the show.
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  See ya!