MANSFIELD — Kanashay Grayeagle said she began her tenure at the Mansfield Playhouse by following behind artistic director Doug Wertz with a clipboard in her hand.
Fast-forward 10 years and the Mansfield woman makes her directorial debut Friday night in the comedy “Cheatin'” on the Second Stage at the historic Third Street community theater.
After years of working backstage, stage managing and acting herself, Grayeagle was ready for a turn as director — as far as she could tell.
“I never saw myself directing,” she said Monday evening with a laugh. “What’s funny is you don’t know it. You don’t know what you don’t know.
Story behind ‘Cheatin’
Set in the west Texas watering hole of Lowake, gossip is the town’s major pastime. This time, the gossip ignites a blaze of infidelity that engulfs three couples with the zany precision of a Feydeau farce.
The clan includes Bo Bob, the dimwitted mailman, and Clarence, local stud and mechanic who’s been messin’ with Ovella since high school.
His faithful girl is Sara Lee Turnover, the beautician. The cast includes Teddy Joe, Ovella’s wronged husband, who is more brawn than brain; Maybelline, the overweight waitress who wants to be in love; and Sid, a narrator/story teller/singer who doubles as a psychic and believes in happy endings.
The comedy is fast-paced and touching with a sense of authentic Texas humor.
“Cheatin’” opens Friday, May 8 and runs for two weekends, May 8, 9, 15, and 16 at 8 p.m.
Get tickets now online at www.mansfieldplayhouse.com or by calling the box office at 419-522-2883.
“When I started (directing), it was like, ‘Oh, wait a minute. I have done this before … or have I?'” she said.
Grayeagle admitted directing has stretched her theater experiences.
“It’s a lot. It’s everything I’ve done and bringing it all together. But once I was in it … once I said yes … I had to do it.
“It was stressful and I was scared and I was very nervous. But I’m pretty proud of myself now,” she said.
“So far, so good.”
Picking the right seven actors for the comedy’s cast was the first challenge. Grayeagle said she has watched Wertz always pick the right people for the right parts at the Playhouse.
“He has this thing … it’s like he just knows who to put in his shows,” she said.
“When I did it (conducted auditions), it just happened. Sometimes the character just walks through the door. Sometimes, you don’t even have to think about it.
“It’s like that character walks in the door and you go, ‘Oh, wow, that’s that person.’ You can see it in your head,” Grayeagle said.
Once the cast was selected, Grayeagle — assisted by stage manager Mary Kettering — worked to make sure the cast was comfortable in the cozy confines of the Second Stage space.
With the cast ranging in age from 21 to 75, creating a fun environment was crucial, she said.
“It actually did come together as a family. That was one of the things that I wanted. I let them know at the beginning, we have to be close.
“The show’s called ‘Cheatin.’ You have got to be close. You have got to be friends. You have got to be family. It turned into something that made me, ‘Oh, my God, we did this.’ Without (this cast), I honestly couldn’t have done this,” Grayeagle said.
“The camaraderie among the actors themselves, I think, is something that’s going to come across (to the audiences). I am so proud of that.”
(Below are photos Monday night from a dress rehearsal of ‘Cheatin'” on the Second Stage at the Mansfield Playhouse. The story continues below the images.)
Grayeagle’s efforts were not lost on David Kitzler, long-time local attorney and Richland County Juvenile Court magistrate.
The 75-year-old Kitzler, who last performed on stage nearly a decade ago in the former “Town Roasts” at the Renaissance Theatre, said he could not have known Grayeagle was making her debut as a director.
“Only because she told us. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spotted that,” said Kitzler, who plays Sid, the play’s narrator/story teller/singer who doubles as a psychic and believes in happy endings.
“She has a great instinct for theater. The (rehearsal) nights when you feel you can’t do anymore, she gets you up with her enthusiasm,” Kitzler said.
Kitzler said he plans to retire next year after a 50-year legal career. He plans to become more involved in local theater after he retires and came to auditions for “Cheatin'”to help him prepare for that time.
“I decided I’m going to go down there and do a cold read. I won’t get cast, but it’d be good practice for later. Sure enough, Kanashay called me two days later and said I got the narrator part.
“It has been a rush back into what I used to do. It’s coming along, but boy, it’s rougher than I thought,” he said with a laugh.
Younger cast members have helped out Kitzler during rehearsals.
“This is an energetic group. I call them kids because I’m 75, but this is an energetic young cast and you got to keep up with them. Keeping up with them drives you a little bit and they are great to work with,” he said.
One of those younger cast members is Mia Huttleston, who plays Maybelline Cartwright, a waitress who wants to be in love.
Huttleston, a 34-year-old Plymouth High School graduate, moved back to Shiloh from the state of Washington a few years ago to help with her ill father. She makes her Mansfield Playhouse debut in “Cheatin.'”
“I work from home 100 percent of the time (as an) insurance underwriter and operations analyst. I’m at my desk a lot and I needed something to get me out of the house and meet some people around here,” she said.
“My father passed away a few years ago and so we were kind of just finding some community here again and it seemed like a fun way to do that,” Huttleston said.
“I have really liked working with Kanashay. It’s been really fun doing some set design. That was something I didn’t really expect to do coming in. I like just seeing how everything runs in the background.
“We threw (shows) together in high school, but it was nothing like this. Getting to see the actual behind-the-scenes, that was really cool, something I really enjoyed,” Huttleston said.
She said memorizing lines has been a challenge.
“And then just balancing full-time work with, with a part that’s, it’s pretty demanding. We’re in here four nights a week and so they’re long days, but it’s been worth it,” Huttleston said.
She said her character knows more than she lets on.
“She’s really insightful. I don’t think a lot of people give her credit right off the bat. She is the town gossip. She’s got a little information, but she also knows what to do with it and gives really good advice.
“I think that’s a, a fun side of her. She’s pretty feisty as well,” Huttleston said.
“Cheatin'” written by Del Shores
The Cast
David Kitzler — Sid Crawford
Lynn Aldrich Sr. — Bo Bob Jasper
Jeffery Hutchison — Clarence Hopkins
Amy Sharp — Sara Lee Turnover
Jodi McCall — Overall Parsons-Wilks
Samuel Hergatt — Teddy Joe Wilks
Mia Huttleston — Maybelline Cartwright
The show is directed by Kanashay Grayeagle. The stage manager is Mary Kettering.
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