Photos: SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS At The Sauk

“Small Mouth Sounds,” a play by Bess Wohl, is coming to The Sauk in Jonesville this weekend. Check out photos from the production!

In the overwhelming quiet of the woods, six runaways from city life embark on a silent retreat. As these strangers confront internal demons both profound and absurd, their vows of silence collide with the achingly human need to connect. Filled with awkward humor, this strange and compassionate new play asks how we address life’s biggest questions when words fail us.

The Sauk cast consists of Tiffany Thatcher as Joan, Summer Housler as Judy, Ashley Price as Alicia, Josh Hall as Ned, Josh Lightner as Rodney, Morgan Francis as Jan and Nathan Johnson as the Teacher.

“The play offers our actors a number of challenges,” Bird said. “Not only are these complicated and complex characters with deep backstories, but large sections of the play are done in complete silence. The storytelling has to be so compelling to keep the audience’s attention. They are up to the challenge.”

Bird said the play offers an intimate look into the lives of the characters. Because of this, a professional intimacy director was hired to be part of the production team.

“We want our actors to be comfortable at all times while on stage,” Bird said. “This felt like the perfect first production for us to use an intimacy director. The strategies we have learned will continue to be used all future productions.”

According to the American Association of Community Theatre, “intimacy direction involves working with the entire team to develop a culture of consent in the production and assessing each actor's level of comfort with different possibilities of a scene prior to exploring, then meticulously choreographing, each movement, and ensuring that it is repeated exactly as planned throughout the run of the show.”

“The show does include some intimate moments that may not be comfortable for all audiences,” Bird added. “This play is part of our SaukSeconds season, which is designed for productions that may be more challenging. We hope audiences are willing to join us on the journey of these characters and take a chance on a lesser-known show. We do recommend teen audiences and older.”

The Sauk’s production of “Small Mouth Sounds” is directed by Bruce Crews with stage management by Mandee Leigh Howard. The design team includes Meaghan Bryant (costumes), Bird (lighting), Tim Ambrose (sound) and Cyndi Baldermann (properties).

Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday with a 3 p.m. Sunday matinee. All other performances, all tickets are $10. Tickets can be purchased for those performances at www.thesauk.org or by calling 517-849-9100.

Photo Credit: Joyous Journey Photography

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