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Actor Spotlight: Jamie Stout

This week marks the last two chances to see Towngate’s season opener, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.

The cast is superb, and Towngate Theatre and our local community are fortunate to have talented people who give their time to the arts and enrich our lives with their gifts.

Jamie Stout is one of those people, and she is sharing her talent with us. Originally from Moundsville, Jamie is making her debut performance on the Towngate Stage in The Glass Menagerie. She plays the role of Laura, an excruciatingly shy woman with a slight physical handicap.

Jamie is a 2015 graduate of Mount Vernon Nazarene University where she studied music and theater. During her studies, she read The Glass Menagerie. Her familiarity and appreciation of the play influenced her decision to audition for Towngate’s production.

“I wanted to do this play because I love it so much,” Jamie said. “I read it for one of my theater classes, and I was just struck by how incredible the writing was. There’s a reason Tennessee Williams is considered one of the greatest playwrights of all time.”

Towngate Theatre presents "The Glass Menagerie"
Jamie Stout as Laura and Michael Wylie as Jim in “The Glass Menagerie.”

Jamie said that she thinks that modern audiences can still relate to the play, through its emotional core and humor.

“I love that despite all the drama of the The Glass Menagerie, it’s a play that can still make audiences laugh,” Jamie said.

In addition to Jamie playing the role of Laura, three other fantastic actors round out the cast.  Brendan Sheehan plays Tom, Laura’s brother (Click here for a Spotlight on Brendan). Cathie Spencer plays Amanda, Laura and Tom’s overbearing mother. And Michael Wylie plays the role of Jim O’Connor.
Jamie said that the character of Laura is someone with whom she can relate.

“I relate to Laura on a ridiculous level,” Jamie said. “My first year or so at college, I developed a really crippling social anxiety that I’d never had before. I could not talk to anyone except for maybe two or three girls I felt comfortable with.”

It was through Jamie’s work in theater that helped her with the anxiety.

“I decided to audition for a play my junior year, and I got cast as kind of the school floozy,” Jamie said. “So of course, I had to go around flirting with all the guys in the cast, which brought my social confidence way, way up. My social anxiety is still something I’m working on today, but I’m so happy to be in a much better place. Maybe Amanda just needs to force poor Laura to audition for a play.”

GET TICKETS

You, too, can experience The Glass Menagerie, one of the most famous plays of modern theater at Towngate.

There are two performances left, September 23-24. Tickets are on sale now. Purchase in advance at OIonline.com or by calling 304-242-7700. You can buy tickets at the door, too. Admission is $12.50/$11 OI members.

ACTOR SPOTLIGHT: BRENDAN SHEEHAN

ACTOR SPOTLIGHT: BRENDAN SHEEHAN

The Ohio Valley is full of talented people who give their time to the arts and enrich our lives with their gifts. At Towngate Theatre, we are lucky to have a large number of these talented people share their creative skills with us. People of all ages and backgrounds gather here to create and experience art onstage.

Towngate’s season opener, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, brings just such talent.

One of the actors in the production is Brendan Sheehan. A Wheeling native, Brendan is making his debut performance on the Towngate Stage in The Glass Menagerie. He plays the role of Tom.

Brendan Sheehan in Towngate's "The Glass Menagerie"
Brendan Sheehan as Tom, who supports his family but wishes he could escape his life.

Brendan previously played the role of Caliban in Ohio University Eastern’s production of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

A postal worker during the day, Brendan said that he was drawn to auditioning for The Glass Menagerie.

“It is a play that I have always enjoyed,” Brendan said.

Brendan noted that he feels connected to the characters, especially the role he is playing, Tom. Tom is an artist who supports his family but dreams of better things.

“Being at the age that I am now, the character of Tom, his difficulties with his family and desire to leave, and the pressure to stay is sometimes very present in my own life,” Brendan said.

In addition to Brendan playing the role of Tom, three other fantastic actors round out the cast. Jamie Stout plays Laura, Tom’s excruciatingly shy daughter who has withdrawn from the outside world. Cathie Spencer plays Amanda, Laura and Tom’s overbearing mother. And Michael Wylie plays the role of Jim O’Connor.

While The Glass Menagerie premiered on Broadway in 1945, the play and its universal themes have tremendous relevance in today’s world.

“I have a lot of sympathy for these characters. And I feel that the play remains present and important even though it is an older work,” Brendan said.

You too can experience The Glass Menagerie, one of the most famous plays of modern theater at Towngate.

Get Tickets

The show will be staged September 16-18 and 23-24. Tickets are on sale now. Purchase in advance at OIonline.com or by calling 304-242-7700. You can buy tickets at the door, too. Admission is $12.50/$11 OI members.