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Drew & Sherman Fracher. Photo by Mick Jeffries
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Drew Fracher directs his wife Sherman Fracher, in the role of Martha, and Cincinnati actor Brian Mulholland as George in this month’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The play takes place Feb. 7-24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo by Mick Jeffries
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Drew Fracher directs his wife Sherman Fracher, in the role of Martha, and Cincinnati actor Brian Mulholland as George in this month’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The play takes place Feb. 7-24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo by Mick Jeffries
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Drew Fracher directs his wife Sherman Fracher, in the role of Martha, and Cincinnati actor Brian Mulholland as George in this month’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The play takes place Feb. 7-24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo by Mick Jeffries
This month, AthensWest Theatre Company will debut its production of Edward Albee’s classic 1962 play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” which famously plumbs the depths of the troubled relationship between the long-married couple George and Martha as they host a younger married couple at their home for drinks following a university faculty party. Rich with snappy dialogue, the production dives deep into George and Martha’s neuroses and the cracks in their relationship over the course of one booze-fueled evening.
The story became a hit on the stage and the screen as well, when it was adapted in 1966 into a film by Mike Nichols starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton – a real-life couple at the time, in a famously tumultuous marriage. And this month’s AthensWest production, opening Feb. 8 at the Downtown Black Box Theatre, will have its own interesting share of unique, indisputable chemistry: Director Drew Fracher and leading actress Sherman Fracher have been working together professionally for 30 years – and married for 24.
Fortunately, they’ve managed to circumvent the discord that plagues George and Martha’s relationship.
“We’ve had a great working relationship,” Sherman said, when asked how the couple’s personal relationship plays out when working together onstage. “We trust each other and really enjoy the challenge of telling great stories. It’s like working a living puzzle together.”
Dividing their time between their work in the performing arts and running a small farm near Harrodsburg, where they raise chickens and a large garden, the Frachers have chosen paths that some may view as a hard row to hoe, with a lifestyle and careers that both depend on such fickle factors as ticket sales or the whims of Mother Nature. But Sherman and Drew choose to view their life as an adventure that carries over to both work and home.
The opportunity to collaborate on such a well-written, visceral ensemble production as “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” is a notable addition to that adventure.
“It’s thrilling,” Sherman said of the opportunity to play Martha. “I’m usually a pretty warm person, but here is my chance to inhabit the skin of a woman who doesn’t know how to deal with life except through her cruel wit.”
Calling on a potent mix of life experiences, keen observations, imagination and passion, the Frachers said their aims with the production are to connect with the writing, assemble a great cast and bring to the audience a great and memorable night at the theater – something that AthensWest fans have come to expect.
Much like the volatile seasons and difficulties of farming, it’s a challenge that the Frachers relish.
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Actor Brian Mulholland plays George in this month’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The play takes place Feb. 7-24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo by Mick Jeffries
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Actor Brian Mulholland plays George in this month’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The play takes place Feb. 7-24 at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Photo by Mick Jeffries
“Creative Types” writer Celeste Lewis recently had the opportunity to chat with Sherman Fracher on topics ranging from creative inspiration to life on the farm and in the theater.
CL: In what ways does living and working on a farm teach you and inform your creative work?
SF: The land is real. There are no ulterior motives in the weather, in how the soil reacts to our working of it. It’s truly an honest interaction. I’m very aware of the seasons, each one’s gift and challenge. Living this way has made me spiritually stronger – when times get hard, there’s nothing for it but to work through the hardship. I think I’ve grown more as a human in the years I’ve spent on the farm than at any other time in my life.
CL: What experiences did you have when you were younger that led to or inspired your career choice now?
Actress Sherman Fracher. Photo by Mick Jeffries
SF: I found acting when I was a senior in high school. At the time, I wasn’t exactly comfortable with myself, and I thrilled at the chance to portray other people, to try them on like clothing, to understand how other psyches work. I’m a pretty empathetic person, and I just loved understanding the choices that other people have made.
CL: Is there anything specific about the theatrical arts that you wish more people knew?
SF: I’d like people to know that we sure don’t go into it for the glory! The work is hard and unglamorous. The money is minimal. But when the conditions are right – when the script, cast, direction and production values all come together – it’s like flying in a different atmosphere. It’s taxing and satisfying and can’t be duplicated.
CL: What are some of the surprises, successes and challenges of this particular project?
SF: One thing that has surprised me is how much humor there is in the way George and Martha speak. They have a really great time with language; they’re both very smart and get pleasure out of throwing words around. One of the challenges, to me, is how to craft a relationship between them that isn’t purely hateful. They have a very deep-seated need for each other; they tickle each other; they love playing the games with each other. I don’t believe that they only want to tear each other down. They get a kick out of challenging each other.
CL: What’s a dream project you vow you are going to take on someday?
SF: ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’ is right up there! And I’d love to do Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts.”
CL: What’s your favorite invention in the past 100 years?
SF: The pneumatic log splitter.
CL: What’s the best piece of career advice you have gotten?
SF: To not let anyone denigrate the work that you are doing. Folks tend to enjoy looking down on others, but it’s never my business to listen to that kind of talk.
If You Go:
AthensWest presents “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
Black Box Theatre at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center
141 E. Main St.
Feb. 8-10, 14-17, 21-24
8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat.; 2 p.m. Sun.
www.athenswest.net