The voice belonging to Little Voice isn’t little at all.
Finding comfort in her beloved late father’s record collection, the young woman called “LV” secludes herself in her bedroom where she mimics quite remarkably the singing of Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Dolly Parton and others.
English playwright Jim Cartwright’s “The Rise & Fall of Little Voice” requires an actor who can believably do the same. Backyard Renaissance Theatre, which is staging Cartwright’s family drama this month, has one: Megan Carmitchel.
Megan Carmitchel stars as LV in Backyard Renaissance Theatre’s “The Rise & Fall of Little Voice.” (Megan Carmitchel)
“This is so different from anything I’ve ever done,” said Carmitchel. “When I’m singing in a musical I find my way in by acting my way through the song, and by song interpretation. With this I have to be so precise. I’m thinking about the vocalist’s vowel sounds and phrasing, things like that.
“I’ve been basically living on YouTube and watching their mouths while they sing, getting a sense of their vowel shapes. I’m living and breathing it.”
Of the withdrawn LV she plays, Carmitchel said: “This is her way of finding her voice and she almost uses it as a way to talk to her father. What she really wants is to be heard through who she is.”
Anthony Methvin is the director of Backyard Renaissance Theatre’s “The Rise & Fall of Little Voice.” (Anthony Methvin)
Backyard Renaissance Producing Director Anthony Methvin is directing “Little Voice,” the second show in the company’s 11th season.
Methvin said that though he’s worked with Carmitchel several times before, including two years ago in Backyard’s production of Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned To Drive,” he found during auditions for “Little Voice” another of Carmitchel’s gifts.
“I had no idea she could sing the impressions,” he said. “She didn’t know she could do them either. Leave it to Megan to unleash this incredible talent she didn’t even know she had.”
“The Rise & Fall of Little Voice” is set in a small town in northern England. It premiered in 1992 in London with Jane Horrocks as LV. Horrocks, who is recalled by many as Edina Monsoon’s daffy personal assistant on TV’s “Absolutely Fabulous,” reprised her LV role in a 1998 film adaptation of the play that also starred Brenda Blethyn, Michael Caine and Ewan McGregor.
At Backyard Renaissance, Jessica John is portraying LV’s uncaring, alcoholic mother Mari, with Francis Gercke playing Mari’s disreputable agent boyfriend, Ray, who looks to capitalize on her daughter’s uncanny talents.
Mother and daughter “have different desires,” Carmitchel explained. “Mari wants Ray because she wants to be rescued by a man. When LV first meets Ray she thinks she’s being seen by a father figure, so maybe this is finally the person who will see her for who she is. Both Mari and LV think this person will change her life.”
The cast of Backyard Renaissance Theatre’s “The Rise and Fall of Little Voice,” from left, Francis Gercke, Jessica John, Megan Carmitchel, Daren Scott, Teri Brown and Layth Haddad. (Backyard Renaissance Theatre)
For technical help with the vocally demanding role of LV, Carmitchel said she reached out to actor-singer and voice teacher Nancy Snow Carr.
“She’s at San Diego State teaching, and working there it’s all vocal pedagogy. I asked her for some really specific warmups, things like blowing into a straw in a cup of water. I warm up and cool down after every rehearsal.”
Methvin said Carmitchel’s vocal versatility is only part of what she brings to this production of a play that he’s loved “for a long time.”
“The role not only asks for someone who can do all these vocal impressions but who can play a young woman who’s had a challenging life that has gotten her to retreat into herself,” Methvin said. “In order to have someone who can portray that, but also hit the back of a theater wall is a big ask. We need 100 people in that theater to hear you and fall in love with you and care for you. Megan’s earned every inch of that role.”
Though the LV character can impersonate many famous voices, “This (show) isn’t a Vegas act,” Methvin said. “It’s two hours about a family and about finding your voice.”
‘The Rise & Fall of Little Voice’
When: Now in previews through June 19. Opens June 20 and runs through July 3. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays
Where: Backyard Renaissance Theatre at the 10th Avenue Arts Center, 930 Tenth Ave., downtown
Tickets: $15-$50
Phone: 760-975-7189
Online: backyardrenaissance.com