March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Acting called `re-learning spontaneity and imagination of childhood’

“People forget how to be themselves,” says Wendy Chapin, guest director for the Theater of the Enchanted Forest production “The Tingalary Bird.”

For Chapin, re-learning the spontaneity and imagination of childhood is the crux of learning to act. We lose these qualities along the way of life, according to Chapin who also teaches at Trinity Repertory Theater in Providence, R.I.

“There’s not enough play in our society, and acting is a way to get people back to enjoying themselves,” said Chapin.

Getting back to enjoying oneself is the message of “The Tingalary Bird,” the story of a bickering couple whose chaotic world is transformed into equilibrium by a mysterious bird. The story falls somewhere between a folktale and a made-for-TV melodrama on dysfunctional marriage.

The setting for the story is an English cottage inn that hasn’t seen any visitors for a long time. We learn that the “mean old woman” has driven all the guests away, and the “poor old man” is forlorn and powerless to the demands of his domineering wife.

With the help of the tingalary bird, the two begin to work toward balancing their roles. The world is not completely unproblematic by the end of the show, but there’s hope for the recovery of a good life.

The story is poignant, contemporary, and comic, according to the director.

“The old man is like a spoiled kid and the woman is like a nagging mother. She nags him; he bugs her,” said Chapin. “The tone of the play is not at all moralistic, but it does teach you’re not going to lose everything when you lose your fear. The bird is a kind of shaman that says don’t be afraid of what’s new and different.”

“The Tingalary Bird” will be performed by the Theater of the Enchanted Forest at 7 p.m. June 15, 16, 22, and 23; 10 a.m. June 16 and 23, and 2 p.m. June 17 and 24. Signed performances for the hearing impaired 7 p.m. June 15 and 10 a.m. June 16. Fathers accompanied by a child get in free June 17. For tickets, call 581-1755.


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