COMPANY

Playing Amy in

COMPANY Playing Amy in

Show Summary

Company by Steven Sondheim and George Furth

Sondheim's musical examines the pros and cons of marriage, the challenges of commitment, and the search for happiness and fulfillment in relationships, both romantic and platonic. The musical follows Bobbie on her 35th birthday as she remembers past interactions with her married friends and partners, and ultimately underlines the need for human connection.

Promotional poster for a production titled 'Company' featuring city skyline graphics, with text crediting music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and the book by George Furth.
Group of actors on stage performing a play, some kneeling and some standing, with expressive facial emotions; a woman at center dressed in purple and a man in a gray suit holding her hand.

Playing Amy

Navigating a Challenging Part

I was cast as Amy! I was so excited to get to play someone who struggles with anxiety and is still such a loving person. Also, singing Getting Married Today was so exciting.

Characterization-

Text excerpt saying 'FRANTIC AND TOUCHING AS AMY'
Partial text reading "TENDER AND SILLY AS AMY,"
Close-up of a letter with the text 'CRAZY AMY,' at the top.

Some of the first choices I made were in relation to her physical and vocal life. Things like, the only thing that moves faster than her brain is her mouth. She talks with a nasally voice and has a head lead that goes a little backwards and she hinges at the knees not the hips.

As I went, I found more and more things that made me love her.

Her and Paul’s story and the love that they have for each other. Through the good times, and the days where Amy is breaking down or Paul isn’t admitting he needs support.

A group of diverse actors on stage waving to the audience during a theatrical performance, with a cityscape silhouette lit in blue above them.
Text from a comic or script about weather and marriage, mentioning thunder, an umbrella, and a person named Paul.

The last piece that fell into place was Amy’s anxiety and the connection to her self-loathing. Amy goes into anxiety spirals a lot. In the show, we see her worst one as her thoughts are sung aloud during Getting Married Today. This happens because she thinks she is going to ruin Paul if she marries him.

The lovely thing about this show is that we find out that she has what it takes to support Paul. As someone who has struggled with anxiety, I love getting to show that you can be deeply affected by anxiety and still care for others. So often, anxiety is shown as a character flaw. Amy shows you can still be working on managing your anxiety while being in a happy and supportive relationship on both sides.

A young woman on stage, smiling widely, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a closed umbrella in the other, wearing a light blue suit.

Tackling Getting Married Today-

Figuring out who Amy is wasn’t a challenge; she is someone who is very near and dear to me. The challenge was doing her justice through her song.

If you don’t know anything about the song Getting Married Today here is a quick run down.

  1. It is FAST, like 6.5 words per second fast.

  2. It is a manifestation of all her anxiety about getting married. Like ruining the wonderful Paul because she thinks that she isn’t equipped to do the things a wife should do.

A man and woman dressed in business attire holding hands and facing each other on stage, engaged in a serious conversation.
A man and a woman hugging and smiling on stage with purple lighting, surrounded by other people.

The first thing to do was to figure out the diction and the breath support.

For diction, I started working the song slowly with a metronome and built up speed over time. Once I was up to speed, I focused on the ending consonants and hitting important words.

For breath support, I started running the song while doing cardio. Over time, it allowed me to do longer and longer sections without needing a breath.

With 25 hours of work, the song was finally where it needed to be so that people could understand it.

Then I added the acting, figuring adding Amy’s fear and need to escape into the song.

Performance-

With the hours of work done, I finally got to perform it in front of an audience. Here is a short clip.

Four women and one man standing indoors, smiling and holding bouquets of flowers, celebrating together in a warmly lit room with wooden walls and posters on the background.

The Awesome Cast!

  • A woman with dark hair and makeup, wearing a purple blazer and black shirt, looks upward against a dark background with cityscape silhouettes.

    Bobbie- Marisa DiBennardi

  • Joanne- Kelli Clevenger

    Joanne- Kelli Clevenger

  • Man in a plaid blazer and red shirt smiling while holding a glass of whiskey, with a woman beside him holding a martini glass with a green drink.

    Larry- Dan Collins

  • Close-up of a smiling young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a white collared shirt and a red and yellow argyle sweater vest, against a pink background.

    Amy- Rae G. Watkins

  • Close-up portrait of a young man with fair skin, dark brown hair, and slight facial hair, wearing a black sweater against a neutral background.

    Paul- Jacob Alexander

  • Portrait of a woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, smiling, wearing a checkered shirt, against a pink background.

    Sarah- Elizabeth Bushell

  • Head and shoulders portrait of a young man with short dark hair, light skin, and facial hair, wearing a black shirt and a denim jacket, against a green background.

    Harry- Jake Gartung

  • Group of actors performing on stage, all making a similar hand gesture with palms facing outward and fingers spread, against a blue background with chairs suspended overhead.

    Jenny- Carlie Merola

  • Smiling man with curly hair wearing a white shirt and a dark argyle vest.

    David- Jordan Jael Thompson

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with blonde wavy hair, blue eyes, wearing earrings and a red top.

    Susan- Katherine Abel

    Bobby U/S

  • A group of ten diverse actors on stage, performing in a play with hands raised, in front of a blue abstract set background.

    Peter- Jack DiDomenic

  • A young man with long curly red hair, a light beard, and earrings, looking at the camera with a neutral expression, wearing a black top against a plain background.

    Andy- Nikolai Sorokin

  • Woman with dark wavy hair and purple highlights, wearing a red leather dress, smiling and gesturing with her arms out to the sides.

    Marta- Nina Dolan

  • Close-up of a young man with a big smile, wearing hoop earrings, dark hair, and a plaid shirt, standing against a light green background.

    Kaleb- Jacob Merschel

  • Ensemble- Ryan Adams (Sorrow/US Harry)

    Ensemeble- Ryan Adams

    Sorrow/US Harry

  • A group of actors in theatrical costumes and makeup pose on stage, with one man being carried by others, in front of a dark blue backdrop.

    Ensemble- Tucker DeBolt

    Anxiety/US Peter/US Paul

  • Close-up portrait of a smiling young woman with short brown hair against a dark gray background.

    Ensemble- Nicholas Ian

    Anxiety/US Amy

  • Close-up of a smiling young man with short light brown hair, blue eyes, wearing a denim jacket, against a yellow background.

    Ensemble- Thomas Ferro

    Joy/US David/US Kaleb

  • A man with dark curly hair and a beard, wearing a purple shirt, looking surprised against a pink background.

    Ensemble- Darrow Richmond

    Anger/US Larry/US Andy

  • Group of actors on stage dressed in theatrical costumes with exaggerated makeup, posed for a theatrical production.

    Ensemble- Mia Skaliotis

    Sorrow/US Susan/US Marta

  • Group of actors in colorful costumes and face paint on stage, some kneeling, some standing, posing for a picture with a dark blue background.

    Ensemble- Rebecca Vnuk

    Anger/US Sarah/US Joanne/US Officiant

  • Close-up of a smiling woman with long brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a blue top, against a brown background.

    Ensemble- Emmarie Wilson

    Joy/Officiant/US Jenny

  • Production Team

    Director / Intimacy & Violence Choreographer / Sound Designer- Krista Hansen

    Musical Director- David Fiorello

    Choreographer- Dyanna Daniels

    Assistant Director- Bailey O'Neil

    Assistant Music Director- Meghan Kessel