It is rare to see a production that is played entirely by women, even though there are usually more women than men in theater said Ashley Corbett.

The senior theatre arts and journalism major’s sentiment of frustration is one often expressed by actresses everywhere, so many great plays lack the amount of female parts necessary to meet demand.

One play that bucks this tradition is “The Women” performed by the Charleston Community Theatre at the Tarble Arts Center. The play opens at 7:30 p.m. today and is directed by Monica Mazzaro and produced by Kathryn Stewart.

Clare Boothe Luce wrote “The Women” in 1936. Her intention for the play was not merely to fulfil a niche for actresses; she strove to tell a story of female friendships.

One of the ways she made sure to cover such a large topic was by making a huge volume of characters. There are over 40 in the play.

The Charleston Community Theatre‘s presentation of the play has 22 actresses filling the 40 plus roles.

Among the cast is long-time Charleston actress Judi Vaughn, who has been acting for the Charleston Community Theatre and the Charleston Alley Theatre since the late 1970s.

Vaughn has nothing but praise for the cast.

“We have a good group of people,” Vaughn said. “Some who have never acted before and some who have. It has been a hoot!”

The two theatre organizations are often mistaken for the other. The reason for this confusion is understandable. They have similar names and produce high-quality plays with local actors and actresses, primarily from Charleston and Mattoon.

“We are so lucky that we can pick people from each other, ” said Vaughn, describing the relationship between the two companies.

Also among the cast is Rachel Fisher, an Eastern employee in the Student Life Office.

Fisher has been impressed by the theme of the play.

“It is such an interesting concept to me,” Fisher said. “A play with just women talking about their lives… It is a human story, both happy and sad. (The play says that) at the end of the day you have your friends.”

Crucial to any play is the variety and strength of its characters.

Vaughn plays Countess de Lage, who is a larger than life presence on the stage.

“I’ve never played a role like this before both in CAT and CTT,” said Vaughn. “(Countess de Lage) has been married five times, she is a bit self absorbed I think.”

Countess de Lage would be an example of a character that playwright Luce uses to mock the ways of the wicked women of her day.

Another character who embodies an element of women is Edith, who is portrayed by Fisher.

“Edith is a woman who loves to have babies,” Fisher said. “At the beginning of the play I have four babies and by the end I have six. Edith is a wonderful comedic relief who complains about being pregnant because she loves the attention her complaints get.”

Corbett is a perfect example of the kind of person Vaughn described. This is her first play with CCT after several productions with CAT. She has taken full advantage of the opportunities offered by community theatre.

“It gives you a different variety,” Corbett said. “Acting at Eastern you get to act with pretty much the same people but in my community experience it has been very beneficial to act with others.”

Corbett will be playing the part of Olga, the gossipy manicurist who blabs to the main character that her husband is cheating on her.

Other Eastern students in the play are Brenna Correll, a junior English major, and Alexis Evans, a freshman undecided major.

Because of the surplus of characters, there is an opportunity to portray almost every personality type.

“I challenge the viewer to find the character in the play that they can relate with, because there will be at least one,” Fisher said.

Rachel Z. Fisher, Kathryn Stewart and Heather Holley rehearse ‘The Women,’ a play by Claire Boothe Luce. The play will be performed in the Tarble Arts Center this weekend. (Cari Wafford/The Daily Eastern News)

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