Patch Talk: Greg Summerall on Acting, Directing, Sondheim and 'Assassins'

In two succinct sentences, community theater Greg Summerall sums up his interest in directing the latest Village Players production, "Assassins," which ends its three-weekend run with stagings Sept. 16 and 17 at the James McCabe Theater in Valrico.

“Anyone can grow up to be president and anyone can grow up to shoot a president,” Summerall said. "It all comes down to the choices you make.”

“Assassins” is Summerall’s 12th outing as a director. Starting as an actor in Brandon High School, and throughout his early years in community theater, Summerall credits his former Brandon High teacher, James Rayfield, and Village Players stalwarth, James McCabe, with being among his early mentors.

“As Jim McCabe used to tell us, you have to be committed to the story,” Summerall said. "If you are not, it will show on stage.”

In an interview at the theater named posthumously for McCabe, following the Sept.  staging of “Assassins,” Summerall took a moment to talk about his craft and his passion:

BRANDON PATCH: Why did you choose to direct “Assassins” at the James McCabe Theater?

• SUMMERALL: First and foremost, it’s by [Stephen] Sondheim, and his music is so integrated into the story. It’s hard to pull his songs out of a show and perform them on their own. The book most lead a show, everything in a musical has to follow behind that. That’s Sondheim talking. He’s very much a teacher.

BRANDON PATCH: And, secondly . . .

• SUMMERALL: Second, it’s a show that’s not done all the time in this area. It’s something new, something everybody can relate to. Everybody knows John Wilkes Booth [the American stage actor who assassinated President Lincoln]. A lot of our audience, if they’re around 50, they remember where they were when Kennedy got shot. As I told the cast two- and a-half months ago, something motivated nine people, from among the masses of people over some 145 years, to pick up a gun, point it at a president and pull the trigger. And that’s very interesting to me.

BRANDON PATCH: What’s your approach to directing a show?

• SUMMERALL: I read a script many times. I try to visualize inside my head what I would like the eye to see on stage. From that point on it becomes an actor’s responsibility to bring a character to life under whatever parameters I have set for him or her.

BRANDON PATCH: Do you prefer a musical or a play?

• SUMMERALL: It’s harder to do a musical because there are so many variables.

BRANDON PATCH: Such as?

• SUMMERALL: Such as? Not just singing and dancing and music, but other technical issues are heightened, such as lighting, sound and stage management.

BRANDON PATCH: What do you like better, a musical or a play?

• SUMMERALL: I get a little more fulfillment from musicals but I’ve gotten about the same fulfillment from every play I’ve chosen to direct.

BRANDON PATCH: Does it ever become routine?

• SUMMERALL: You always have to learn, as a director. Every production you direct and every production you see should enhance your ability to tackle your next project.

BRANDON PATCH: Do you prefer acting or directing?

• SUMMERALL: I’m devoted to both, passionately, so it depends on the project I want to do.

BRANDON PATCH: Does acting make you a better director or does directing make you a better actor?

• SUMMERALL: I think acting makes you a better director more than directing makes you a better actor, but if you really pay attention, and you get a really good director, you can easily learn the basics.

BRANDON PATCH: To what would you compare directing?

• SUMMERALL: I would compare directing to raising a child. To take a show from birth, your early concepts of it, from idea to the crew you decide to work with, all the way to casting it, rehearsing it and performing it until it closes, I would compare [that process of] directing, in some respects, to raising a child, even though I’m not a parent. You always want to do well but you accept the faults that lie within it.

BRANDON PATCH: Overall, what do you like best about your experiences “parenting” the show, “Assassins?”

• SUMMERALL: A myriad of things. I waited four or five years to do the show. I was so fortunate to get a great cast, a great crew, a great orchestra, and for all those elements to fall into place, it’s really, for me, a dream show.

SHOW SYNOPSIS

With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and book by John Weidman, “Assassins” uses the premise of a murderous carnival game to produce a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or otherwise) to assassinate United States presidents. The music varies to reflect the popular music of the eras depicted.

AWARDS

The musical first opened Off-Broadway in 1990; the 2004 Broadway production won five Tony Awards.

VILLAGE PLAYERS PRODUCTION

The James McCabe Theater is at 506 5th St., Valrico. Show dates are: Sept. 3, 9, 10, 16 and 17. The show starts at 7:30 and runs to 10:30 p.m.