Saturday, February 29, 2020, was the last time Stage Coach Players opened its doors to the public for a live show. The production, a trio of radio comedies, was struck after its single performance and the actors, techies and audience left that evening not realizing that over a year later, Stage Coach Players would still have not produced another play.
Our members are noticeably anxious to return to the stage, the light booth, the director’s chair, running props and costumes or to simply being a part of the organization and theatre family they treasure so much. We look at what some of our fellow community thespians been doing to fill the hours that we’d normally be spending at the theatre or working on what is now a year’s worth of shows. This week we turn our attention to Wendy Tritt.
Tritt was born into Stage Coach Players in the musical, Annie Get Your Gun in 2007. Like Andee Larson, she has worn many hats for the organization in that time, both on and off stage. Along with stage performance, one thing she has done quite a bit of is designing sets.
Many memories of her last live production, Calendar Girls nearly two years ago, linger in her mind.
“Several times during the show I had to ‘fake play’ the organ and sing, which entailed making sure I tapped the correct song on my iPhone and didn’t make it obvious,” Tritt said.
There were more stressful moments during the production, including when her character had to drop her robe to have a ‘nude’ photo taken without letting audience members see anything unintentionally!
Since the pandemic hit and safety measures were put in place, many of her evenings and weekends are filled with yoga, which she teaches at Bent Dog, reading books, and Netflix!
“The Great British Bake Off is always in heavy rotation!”
She has also managed to participate in zoom calls and have small, outdoor fireside gatherings with friends.
Like many of her Stage Coach Players family, Tritt misses everyone at the theatre, and what she calls ‘unrealized theatre adventures.’
“I look forward to the entire process of being part of a show,” she said, “I can only imagine the shenanigans on the set of The Red Velvet Cake War,” a comedy she was cast in which was originally to have been produced in the fall of 2020. It is currently scheduled for the fall of 2021.
As for now, Tritt is hoping to bring some of the 2021 season to life. Her fingers and toes are crossed, a process helped made possible by her years of yoga training.
