Recreating Civil War Mayhem

Re-enactment picture coming into focus

Rich Rodriguez has written the script for and will direct and narrate St. Albans Raid re-enactments.

ST. ALBANS — The script is written, backdrops are being designed, actors are being chosen, and in just a little more than nine weeks everything will be in place for the most sophisticated local re-enactments of the St. Albans Raid ever.

A planning session for the St. Albans Raid 150th Anniversary Commemoration re-enactments (set for Sept. 20 and 21) was held July 8 at Twiggs downtown, also the home of upcoming auditions and on-going rehearsals.

That night’s meeting included Mike Dunn, production manager for Vermont PBS, which will have its sophisticated equipment and crew on hand to video the re-enactments and to broadcast them live on a giant TV screen as they happen in Taylor Park.

“Our role is to bring everyone closer to what’s happening on the stage,” said Dunn, who on Wednesday confirmed that Vermont PBS would be present for a camera, sound and logistics check just prior to the first re-enactment scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21.

There is a lot of work to be done before show time, however.

Rick Cummings, who is St. Albans Raid Commemoration Committee (SARCC) raid re-enactment chair, already has reported that carpenters and Jill Snapp, a local scenic designer, will create five building facades to represent locations that were central to the original raid by Confederates disguised as civilians on Oct. 19, 1864.

Running from south to north along the park (situated in the correct order in which they actually stood in 1864) they are: First National Bank, American House and Franklin County Bank, St. Albans Bank, Tremont House, and Miss Beatties Millinery Shop (where the raid’s single fatality occurred).

Actors, the number still to be determined but somewhere between 14 and 20 (in addition to a about dozen re-enactors on horseback), will be situated on or near the ground-level facades lining Taylor Park along Main Street. This stage area sits directly west of the Civil War Memorial where there will be seating area for dignitaries and guests including descendants of actual raid participants.

In between the war memorial and the stage is room for an estimated 5,000 people. The elevation in the park naturally rises about 15 feet from west to east. The giant screen, which will be delivered on a 16-foot trailer, will be situated on the south edge of the audience, about halfway between the stage and monument. Since the show is free, meaning there are no tickets to count, there will be no way to determine how many people actually plan to attend.

As for what happens on stage, that falls to director Rich Rodriguez and assistant director Kathleen Hoffman. Rodriguez has written the script using actual accounts of the raid in which three banks were robbed, one man killed, and the about 20 Confederates were chased into Canada by local armed posses.

Rodriguez said he had already received calls inquiring about auditions to be held on July 22 from 7 to 8 p.m. at Twiggs.

Also, he was now of a mind to expand the size of the cast. “This is a big stage area,’ said Rodriguez, a map of the park with raid-required additions situated on the table in front of him.
“Movement and the rhythm of movement are going to be crucial,” added the director.

Having begun with a maximum of seven to 10 actors in mind, Rodriguez said he had now determined that each scene must represent a “greater physicality.” In other words, more people than anticipated will be necessary to tell the story.

And, he added, the speaking parts in the production might not be the strongest roles. All of the actors, some of who will remain mute, will have to give voice to the impact of the original raid via their very stage presence, sense of timing, and skill.

Rodriguez, who also will narrate the re-enactments, has worked for some two months with a core group of actors. They are blocking out the raid play and the next task is to sync the action with the Vermont PBS cameras.

Dunn who will be inside the PBS broadcast truck, said his team has done a lot of similar community production work but in many cases those have involved fixed cameras for events such as commencements, or less rigorous environments, such as music venues.

The raid re-enactment will require coordination of three cameras with the movement of the play itself and the added dynamic of as many as 12 actors wearing sensitive lapel microphones to capture the dialogue.

While it all seems complicated, Dunn said his crew would visit rehearsals, adding, “The sticking points will be rather apparent as we go.”

Sound technician for the project, Troy Pudvah, of St. Albans, will be situated on a raised platform behind the dignitaries. From there he’ll manipulate the sound coming from each actor’s microphone. It’s a task that must take into account the level of each actor’s speaking voice.

Speakers will be placed at either end of the stage, an area wider than 100 feet and 45 feet deep.

A split rail fence will divide the audience from the camera personnel and stage. The mounted Confederates, with the posse on its heals, will exit the stage area to the north before lining up with other others on Church Street for a post-re-enactment Heritage Review both days of the show.

Re-enactment discussions this week were about matters dealing with stage direction, crowd control, and management of a limited space in which to accomplish so much.

These are the types of issues that SARCC co-chairs Warren Hamm and Bill Cioffi have been most concerned with over the past few weeks. They have held numerous meetings with subcommittee chairs and volunteers regarding every aspect of the raid anniversary commemoration.

By GARY RUTKOWSKI
Messenger Staff