Anderson woman directs play

Taking notes:
Theatre director Maria Spencer-Drake, of Anderson, takes notes during a rehearsal of Agatha Christie’s play "And Then There Were None," at Riverfront Playhouse.

Director Maria Spencer-Drake of Anderson had difficulty taking notes while laughing at actors' hammy improv during rehearsal. Whether the improv was born from an actor's sense of mischief or as a playful cover-up to a missed line, the onstage anarchy kept percolating throughout practice.

As the community theater's director of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," a play that opens Saturday, March 21, at the Riverfront Playhouse in Redding, Spencer Drake said conducting rehearsals successfully involves a balance of having fun and being a mother.

"I'm glad you're all so comfortable with your lines that you're ad-libbing," she told the actors between scenes, later confirming that her statement was indeed sarcasm. "You have to gently remind [the actors], give notes, tear them down and build them back up . . . I'm amazed how much it's like being a mother."

However, Spencer-Drake said having fun was still the most important aspect to theater work.

"You've got to make it fun because nobody gets paid," she said, including herself as well as the actors in that remark. "I always tell the actors, 'If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.'"

After 17 years of working at the Riverfront Playhouse, Spencer-Drake worked her way through sound, lighting, and stage managing before the theatre's board of directors asked her to direct a Christmas play six years ago. As an 18-year veteran hair dresser currently working at Final Touch in Anderson, Spencer-Drake had taken the lead in hair styling at the playhouse for much of that time.

When she started directing, she said she had trouble communicating what she wanted from actors.

"People are always telling me what they want, how they want their hair done," Spencer-Drake said. "I never had it turned around."

After the Christmas play, "Little Christmas Spirit," she directed "Noises Off," which she said was a tribute to her late husband, Joe Spencer, a Riverfront Playhouse actor.

"We loved that movie," she said. "He wanted to be in it, and I wanted to direct it."

During her next play, "Cut to the Chase," she met her current husband, Randall Drake, though not in association with the play itself.

She added that "And Then There Were None" was the first play that Spencer had acted in.

The play runs March 21 through April 18 at Riverfront Playhouse, 1620 East Cypress. For ticket information, call 241-4278.