Mrs. Cage by Nancy Barr. Opening Saturday November 14 at NoHo Actors’ Studio, 5215 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood. Runs Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:00 pm through December 20. Mrs. Cage is part of Women Over the Edge, a two-play collection; the sister show, The Menopause “Crack-Up,” written and performed by Judith E. and directed by Kaz Matamura runs Fridays at 8:00 pm, November 13 through December 18.
Barbara Bain, the director of Mrs. Cage, is best known for her memorable role on TV’s Mission Impossible which garnered her three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe nomination. She continues to be very active in the theatre, film and television communities.
LA Stage catches up with her to talk about the production:
“We have always been interested in each other and each other’s stories whether told in a cave, around a fire, in an amphitheatre, an arena or on a stage–or as we in Los Angeles have enjoyed for some time now in the most unremarkable locales strewn all across our city. Writers need to write, actors need to act and audiences need to have the occasion of experiencing each other’s stories and so we prevail.
“I have had so many wonderful experiences as an actress, director and audience member in these ever challenging venues. Sometimes air-conditioning broken or none at all, difficult sight lines, less than comfortable all around and yet there it is the magic of something made out of our personal and collective imaginations. A gift of life as understood by a group of courageous artists in pursuit of the playwright’s vision always seeking a crumb of behavior that might illuminate something about the human condition I am continually moved by an actor’s willingness to try everything, even to appear foolish if need be in this somewhat ephemeral pursuit.
“Mrs. Cage began in a master class I teach and, for me, that is the optimum way for a project to begin. Although much seems to be known about me, few may be aware that Mission Impossible was born in a similar workshop. I was in an acting class in Los Angeles with actors and a number of writers including Bruce Geller, who eventually conceived and wrote Mission: Impossible. The writers were there to benefit from the experience of being the actor on stage and hopefully enrich the writing process. And, so began my role of a lifetime as Cinnamon Carter.
“I hope you will come to be with us for our production of Mrs. Cage, written by Nancy Barr, performed by Katelyn Ann Clark and David Ross Paterson. Robbery, mayhem and murder take centerstage in the supermarket parking lot as Mrs. Cage, the nice lady next door, is driven over the edge as she finds her secret life exposed and destroyed on this fateful day.”
