Brick Monkey Theater Ensemble – Free Play Reading
Series
In her professional
acting career, Shelley Delaney has portrayed Joan of Arc and Lady Macbeth. But
there was always one person she wanted to tackle: Tammy Faye Bakker. Most
people know Tammy Faye as the wife of disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker and
for her extravagant makeup. But Tammy Faye had a way of staying in front of the
camera throughout her life; her final appearance on Larry King Live in 2007 took
place hours before her death from colon cancer.
“I had always been
fascinated by Tammy Faye Bakker, even in graduate school when I stumbled onto
the PTL club quite by accident,” Ms. Delaney explained. “The theatricality,
seeming innocence, and lack of irony riveted me. But it wasn’t until her final
interview with Larry King that I got the notion I wanted to explore (as an
actor) what made her tick as a human being.”
Ms. Delaney had worked
with playwright Merri Biechler in the past, directing her play “An Appalachian
Christmas Carol” and acting in her play “Confessions of a Reluctant Caregiver.”
But Ms. Biechler had never written a role specifically for Ms. Delaney. “We’re
good friends, and I trust her theatrical instincts completely. When she said
she wanted to play Tammy Faye, I said okay! Then the real work began of digging
through documents and hours of video research to find the story beneath the
façade.”
Ms. Delaney agrees.
“I’m struck with Tammy Faye’s apparent authenticity, her unflappable nature,
and of course the mask of makeup. What's behind it all? I’m only beginning to
have a hint, which is what makes it so appealing and challenging.”
A first draft of the
play entitled “Tammy Faye’s Final Audition” will be presented as part of Brick
Monkey Theater Ensemble’s Free Play Reading Series at 8pm on Tuesday, May 20,
2014, at ARTS/West, 132 W. State Street, Athens, OH. Admission is free. The
reading is directed by Dennis Lee Delaney and features Shelley Delaney in the
title role and David Haugen as multiple roles including Jim Bakker. The play is
supported by an Ohio University College of Fine Arts Creative Research
Award.
“Brick Monkey audiences
are very supportive of new play development,” Ms. Biechler explained. “Our audience gets the chance to see this very
early draft and have the opportunity to watch two talented actors craft their
roles. It’s an exciting process!”
Brick Monkey Theater
Ensemble is generously supported by the Ohio Arts Council, the Kleinpenny
Educational Fund, the Athens Foundation, the O’Bleness Foundation, and the
Athens County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
