‘Standby Lear’ continues for two more weekends at Black Box Theatre

“The Standby Lear,” by John Lowell, continues for two more weekends of live performances at Black Box Theatre (BBT), 430 N. Main St. Downtown.

Remaining performances are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 13-14 and 20-21; 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 15 and 22; and 7 p.m. Thursday, May 19.

Tickets are $15 regular admission, $12 for students and seniors over age 65 and $10 for all seats for the Thursday, May 19 performance only.

The play, directed by Ceil Herman, has two characters, Augie Davidson, played by Ed Montes, and Augie’s wife, Anna Davidson, played by Nancy Clein Tafoya.

Augie is an actor who has recently been playing only small parts and is the understudy for the role of King Lear in what is perhaps Shakespeare’s most revered tragedy.

When the play opens, Augie is carefully rehearsing his lines, although he has had no opportunity to take over for the current actor – or at least that’s what he thinks.

The play combines rehearsing Shakespeare with the reality of what happens when the understudy gets the opportunity to perform one of theater’s most revered roles.

“’The Standby Lear’ is a play that explores marriage, relationships, communication and the vagaries of growing older,” said Montes, recently seen in BBT’s “Animal Tales” and Las Cruces Community Theatre’s “Harvey.”

The play “is presented in the context of a married couple, both of whom are actors, but it could be about any older couple who are facing an important event of uncertain outcome without the benefit of full disclosure from either member,” Montes said. “The challenge has been to find a way of portraying the waning confidence of an aging actor whose talent may be diminishing, while at the same time looking for a way of portraying his need to hide his fears from his very observant and determined wife. The playwright has filled this piece with an abundance of mood changes that challenge the actors to ride an emotional wave and carry the audience with them,” Montes said.

Anna is also an actor but has stopped playing major roles to be an encouraging and supportive spouse, BBT said.

“I suspect anyone over the age of 50 has said that getting old beats the alternative to themselves and/or their significant other every time a bone creaks, or their back aches, or someone forgot to pick up something at the store,” said Tafoya, who was recently seen in BBT’s "Radium Girls" and "Animal Tales."

Tafoya said playing Anna “has allowed me to explore some of these fears of aging with a bit of humor and fun and even deeper love and respect for my partner-in-life/‘unindicted co-conspirator.’ A bit of Shakespeare thrown into the dialogue gives the show some depth and highlights the commitment of the actors to each other and their craft.”

Light and scenic design for “The Standby Lear” is by Peter Herman, costume design by Autumn Gieb and the light and sound board operators are Bekah Taulbee, Casi Galban, and Karen Buerdsell.

Call BBT at 575-523-1223 to reserve tickets. Visit http://no-strings.org/ to buy tickets online.