It was a surreal experience for DeeAnn Macomson.
The play she's been working on for the past 15 years was being featured right before her eyes. This time, though, she wasn't directly involved. She was in the audience, watching her work come to fruition.
"The Harvest" started as a play in New York and two years ago made its way to Wilson as a concert reading.
Earlier this month, "The Harvest" went to another level. The workshop production was presented by the Valley Torah Girls High School near Los Angeles.
"It's sort of an odd detachment you feel sitting in the audience watching it all," Macomson said.
Play organizers flew Macomson, who lives in Wilson, and playwright Jennie Staniloff-Redling to California for the two performances.
"It felt great," Macomson said. "I thought we had found the perfect audience and the perfect cast to do it."
Director Lisa Robin was looking for Jewish-themed plays on the Internet, and she came across Redling's Web site. "The Harvest" tells the story of a young woman's personal and political transformation in the midst of Stalin's rule and Germany's invasion in Russia in the 1940s.
Since they were still in re-writes, Macomson said, it took several months to get Robin all the components she needed to stage the play.
Once they did, Robin held auditions and started working on the production. Valley Torah is an all-girls Jewish Orthodox high school, so there were girls playing male roles.
They pulled it off, Macomson said. She was impressed from start to finish.
"The acting and singing was phenomenal," she said.
The play was seen by 800-1,000 women. Due to modesty, no men were allowed in the audience.
"The parents told us they were happy with the theme," Macomson said. "They wanted the girls to have that history."
The idea to write "The Harvest" first came to Redling when she uncovered photographs of a Russian heroine. She was unnamed in the photo, never given proper recognition due to her Jewish origin and the climate of anti-Semitism in Byelorussia.
The injustices inspired Redling to research and develop a play based on what she discovered about the life of the woman, later identified as Masha Bruskina.
Redling originally presented "The Harvest" at the Mint Theater in New York City.
About 15 years ago, she approached Macomson about turning it into a musical. She jumped at the chance.
In April 2006, "The Harvest" was presented at First Baptist Church in Wilson as a concert reading, not a fully staged play.
The purpose of the concert reading, Macomson said, was to give her and the playwright an opportunity to evaluate what changes they need to make to take the production to the next level.
"It's one thing to read it on paper, but it does so much to see it performed," Macomson said. "Some things work on paper and not on stage."
After seeing the play in California, there are a few minor changes Macomson and Redling want to make to "The Harvest." They hope the next step is a full production in New York.
In the meantime, Macomson is organizing another intensive theater boot camp this summer.
Last year she had a good turnout, but she is hoping to attract more budding actors and actresses interested in honing their skills and pursuing roles in area plays.
Macomson said the aim of the boot camp is to expose the youth in Wilson to an intense and focused theater experience conducted by people who tend to perform in New York.
Instructors from New York will help the students in areas such as improvisational skills, scene study and audition techniques.
Anyone interested should e-mail Macomson at dmacomson@aol.com.
heather@wilsontimes.com | 265-7811