Meet the Cast - Ted Bushman as Signor Naccarelli

by Kristen Leinbach, Dramaturg

One of the most important relationships in this life is that between a family. In The Light in the Piazza we have the opportunity to experience the love and relationships found between many different types of families. Signor Naccarelli is the head of the Naccarelli's household and Fabrizio father. In BYU's production of Piazza Teb Bushman is portraying Signor Naccarelli and he shared the following,

"My name is Ted Bushman. I am a Senior MDT major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and by night I am a playwright and composer too. My favorite stuff I've done while at BYU includes putting on my first play, Fontanelle, which Scott Eckern directed, and composing a score for The Monster of Dr. Frankenstein in 2009, in which I also played the Monster. I loved the experimental, creative nature of those things, and that's a lot of what I love in real life. Apart from music and theatre, I like chicken of all varieties, artful video games, choral music & Daft Punk (usually back to back) and my family.

I play Signor Naccarelli, and for the life of me I can't find a first name for the guy. What I really like about playing him is how different he is from me. I didn't live in the fifties, I have nothing like an Italian temperament, I am not fashionable, whereas Signor Naccarelli is a patriarch of this Italian family, was involved in liaisons during WWII, is possessed of a great dignity and a great temper, and owns a tie shop.

One of my favorite stage directions in the play comes in a scene with Signor and Margaret, where it says "He shines his warmth on her." I love that, and it's something I understand about him. Signor Naccarelli feels very in charge of his world. In general, he knows what he wants and knows how to get it, and for other things he wants to make everyone feel happy and at home.

The best part about this journey of doing The Light in the Piazza is working with the cast and crew. I have never been involved in a production where such a spirit of focus and mutual compassion lives. It is particularly delightful to work with Kim Bunker, as our characters have a special relationship--we have too much fun and we hope Scott doesn't find out and stop it. It's also great to work with Michael Milkanin and Becca Petersen, who are so talented and so hard-working.

My last thought about Signor Naccarelli comes from one of his lines, where he rather poetically says that "the human heart is mysterious and sometimes also dangerous." I think more than anyone, Signor N. understands the complications of love, which are the center of this show."

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Light In The Piazza

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Last week, A Midsummer Night’s Dream opened in the Nelke Theatre and it was a great success! Eric and I were pleased to be a part of the opening night and celebrate not only the opening night of the production, but also the 40th anniversary of the Brigham Young University Young Company. In order to set the tone of the evening, patrons were encouraged to check out the lobby display that Eric and I had created for the show. We chose to do a puppet making station, aptly named “The Mechanicals Puppet Making Station” where guests and participants could make their own puppet out of a sock or paper bag. Other craft supplies were provided for the participants—allowing them to use their imagination and create a unique puppet that they could take home. Creating such a lobby display, we hoped to provide patrons, and especially children, with an opportunity to use their imagination and create something special, as well as connect with the style of the production before seeing the show. The role of puppetry is crucial to this adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream—and we wanted to capture this and incorporate it whatever lobby display we chose. The actor’s hard work and rehearsal, as well as that of the production team, paid off—they did a marvelous job in telling the story of these loopy lovers and the adventures that take place in the magical forest. The puppetry skills and acting chops of the actors, the enchanting costumes, simple set design, and energy from the whole cast was thoroughly enjoyed by the very diverse and supportive audience. It was a packed house: if not sold out, very close. And this definitely contributed to the energetic feeling that pervaded the evening. Perhaps it was the presence of so many alumni from the Young Company that had come to support the production and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the formation of Young Company. Among the guests at the premier were Harold Oaks, founder of the BYU Young Company. Following the play, a presentation was made outlining and honoring the history and legacy of Young Company. Young Company has done an outstanding job for the last 40 years in providing quality theatre (adaptations and original works alike) for children that may not be exposed to the performing arts. A wonderful reception followed the presentation and was well enjoyed by cast and crew alike. A Midsummer Night’s Dream closes at BYU this Saturday, the 14th. Make sure to get your tickets soon and catch this unique production while you can! It will then go on tour throughout Northern Utah, presenting its whimsical and humorous message to elementary school children. Following are some images from the Opening Night Gala!

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376"] Margaret Roper[/caption] Margaret More Roper: Scholar and Daughter by Adam White, dramaturg Thomas More was a family man; he was married twice and had four children with his first wife, Jane Colt. After being married for six years, Jane Colt More died, leaving More with four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily and John. However, More quickly remarried to the widow Dame Alice Middleton, marrying her within a month of his wife’s death. While many of his friends resisted the rapid nature of the arrangement, More went through with it. Thomas and Alice More would raise the four children Thomas More had with Jane, as well as Alice’s daughter from her previous marriage and a foster daughter. Certainly, More valued his family and the welfare of his children. More also valued the power of education. He insisted that his daughters be educated through rigorous schooling, and this was unusual in 16th-century England, as society at large believed women unfit for scholarly pursuits. Despite cultural and institutional norms, Margaret More, the eldest of the More children (and More’s favorite, some would argue), would grow to become one of the most educated people in all of England, a woman of great scholarly knowledge. Margaret More Roper was tutored at home and became well-known for her studies, particularly for her adeptness in Greek and Latin. Her skill in writing and speaking Latin would impress the clergy of England. This specialty is reflected in a scene in Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons where Margaret and King Henry VIII engage in a bit of Latin language sparring. She would also become the first woman who was not of royal birth to publish a translated book. In October 1524, Roper published an English translation of a book called ‘Precatio dominica’ written by Thomas More’s good friend Erasmus. This book was based on the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of translating the book directly from Latin to English, Roper would use her extensive knowledge of both languages to construct the themes and the meanings Erasmus had written in to the treatise with her own words. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="291"] Erasmus, Dutch humanist and good friend to Thomas More[/caption] It was Margaret who would visit the imprisoned Thomas More the most often. They were very close, writing letters to one another regularly the duration of their relationship. It was in a letter to Margaret that Thomas More confided, “I do nobody harm, I say none harm, I thinke none harm, but wish everybody good. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live.” We have good reason to believe that Margaret More Roper very well understood what would be her father’s fate. After Thomas More’s execution, Margaret More Roper and her husband William Roper would continue to carry on his legacy in their own ways. William Roper would write the first biography of Thomas More, a glowing and gracious document that would influence our understanding of More’s personality for hundreds of years to come. Margaret More Roper actually kept her father’s head after his beheading, pickling it to preserve it from decay. While many of us may find that historical tidbit a tad macabre, I would like to believe that Margaret More Roper had deep admiration for her father; perhaps it was out of this feeling she kept his head. Please stay tuned to the 4th Wall Dramaturgy Blog to catch clips of my interview with Mallory Gee, the actress who will portray Margaret More Roper in BYU’s A Man for All Seasons. Bibliography: Abernathy, Susan. "Margaret Roper, Daughter of Sir Thomas More." Early Modern England. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. Duerden, Richard. "A Man for All Seasons." Telephone interview. 31 Jan. 2014. "Margaret Roper." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. "Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations." Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations. Luminarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Meet the Cast - Ted Bushman as Signor Naccarelli

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