C. Evans Kirk's Director Notes (Cantorial)

     I was first introduced to the works of Ira Levin in fourth grade through a cousin who loved

horror novels. Rosemary’s Baby was a must read. You can only imagine the letter home

to my parents from the school concerning my choice of reading. My mom’s response was,

“You mean he’s actually reading a book!”

     Having directed area productions of Stephen King’s Misery, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting

of Hill House and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I was excited at the prospect of adding a work

by Levin to my résumé. And as I read Cantorial for the first time, I kept turning the page

waiting for that moment like Rosemary walking down the long hallway to see her baby

for the first time.

     I don’t think I’m giving anything away by stating that the moment never came! From the

mastermind behind Rosemary’s Baby (and its unfortunate sequel), The Stepford Wives,

Deathtrap and The Boys from Brazil is this realistic story. Yes, a “ghost story,” but only

because there’s a ghost in it. Instead of horror, suspense or espionage, Levin has given

us a personal journey…a story of an adopted boy searching for his missing link.

The world we live in is enchanted and mysterious. It is not a symbol or a metaphor.

However, we often make up symbols and metaphors to explain the unknown. In fiction,

it may be hard to believe in vampires and time travel, so it becomes a work of horror and

science fiction. But what if they were real? Do you believe in angels and miracles? If so,

do you actually see them, and are they a part of your everyday life? In magical realism,

writers write the ordinary as miraculous and the miraculous as ordinary. As Freud might

have said, “Sometime a ghost is just a ghost.” In short, there is no answer; you just believe.

I hope you enjoy this production of Cantorial as much as I have enjoyed working on it.

Don’t be afraid to believe. You may just discover something new or missing in your own life.

C. Evans Kirk (Director/Set Designer for Cantorial) joined LTA in 1978 as a student in Helen Todd’s junior acting class. Over the years, he has taken classes and been a teacher; has been onstage,

backstage and in the front of the house; and has worked in the business office and served

on the board. Chris is always excited to return to his favorite role, director. Chris directed

Widdershins for LTA two seasons ago and with his team won LTA’s Outstanding Production

of the Year, along with Best Director and several other awards. Special thanks to a creative

cast and crew, especially Jamie, Eileen and Becky, for departing on this “spiritual journey.”