Local director prepares for upcoming auditions
By Angela Greiner Community Reporter

PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Hudson - The River's Edge Players group is holding auditions Tuesday Jan. 29 and Wednesday Jan. 30 for an upcoming community theater performance of "Rumors," a comedy by Tony- and Academy- Award-winning playwright Neil Simon. Hudson native Lynne Johnson will direct.

Johnson first became involved with performing arts in grade school.

"I loved it when I was a kid," she said, "but through middle school and high school I was too shy to become involved."

Several years out of high school, Johnson found herself looking for a creative outlet, which led her back to the theater.

"[At that point,] I was bitten by the theater bug," she said. "It is one thing that envelops you, and I was doing show after show."

Yet, it was not until Johnson began to direct plays and run summer theater workshops at Hudson High School that she began her professional directing career.

"I loved theater so much and I wished that back when I was in high school that I had the self-esteem to be more involved," Johnson said.

Because of her own struggles, Johnson said, as a director of children and adults, she is more dedicated to drawing out the shy and less confident actors and actresses and building their confidence on stage.

Johnson sees that developing the art of getting up and speaking in front of people is a skill that will infiltrate anyone's daily life and help enhance a career, prepare for a college interview or just build selfconfidence.

The value of practicing public speaking in the theater is that at first you get to speak in front of audiences by acting like someone else, Johnson said, and once that is mastered, it is easier to take the stage as oneself.

Johnson, who is the associate director of education at the Huntington Theater Company in Boston, spent 17 years in the Hudson school system. She holds a degree in theater education from Regis College and was one of the founding directors of the Hudson Summer Drama Workshop, which has now become the Arts Alliance summer drama program.

"I can't wait to direct the upcoming show," Johnson.

"Rumors" is a fast-paced comedy that is set in contemporary times in a home in New York City. The cast consists of upper-middleclass couples, including political candidates, a psychiatrist and a television cooking show host with back pain. There are parts for five men and five women over the age of 17.

The theater company also extends an invitation to anyone in the community interested in working backstage on sets, costumes, lighting, make-up, props or in any other way.

Auditions will run from 7 to 9 p.m. in room F101 at Hudson High School.