Longtime Oak Park resident Jeannie Affelder is featured in a key role in an upcoming and highly unusual production of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya.” Opening on Jan. 9, the play will be performed in a titanium parts factory on Chicago’s northside.
“I’ve acted in many spaces over the course of my career, but never one quite like this,” Affelder said.
The cast will present Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker’s adaptation of the Chekhov classic, a version which brings colloquial language to the famed tale of resentment and yearning. Baker’s adaptation was created to be as familiar to the contemporary American ear as the original was to Russians in the provinces during the play’s first productions in 1898.
“There’s nothing heightened about the language,” Affelder said. “It feels very relatable and modern.”
The show, which is directed by Spencer Huffman, is taking place at Servi-Sure, a factory that specializes in manufacturing titanium anodizing racks. Factory employees will be among the first to see the play at a private dress rehearsal on Jan. 8, the day before the show opens to the public.
“It’s not your usual theater space,” Affelder said.” It’s a working factory, so it’s not clean and tidy.”
In her role, Affelder plays Maria, Uncle Vanya’s mother. Her character is the widow of the owner of the rural Russian estate where the play takes place. Affelder said she does not have as many lines as the other eight members of the cast, but she spends a lot of time on stage watching or reading pamphlets about women’s liberation.
“Am I really reading or am I listening?” Affelder said. “That’s a question that I’m exploring in rehearsal right now.”
Affelder said it’s very important to her character, Maria, that everybody knows she can speak French.
“Maria is very proud of speaking French, which was some sort of status symbol in Russia at this time, so I get to throw in a French word every now and then,” Affelder said.
With only 35 seats per show, the production will offer an intimate experience for audience members. During each performance, there will be two rows of folding chairs on either side of the stage.
“Little details that would be lost on a big stage are really important in a small space,” Affelder said. “As an actor, that’s just delicious because you can play with detail.”
Although the play was originally performed in 1898, Affelder said it deals with themes and issues that are still very relevant in today’s world.
“This is an extraordinary play about desire and upheaval, about what happens when your life does not allow the vision you had for it to ever be realized,” Affelder said. “Every actor dreams of doing Chekhov, and I’m thrilled to be part of this production.”
A Cleveland native, Affelder started taking acting classes on Saturday mornings at the Cleveland Play House when she was in second grade. She continued to take classes there through high school and then attended college at Harvard University. Although she was a political science major, Affelder performed in many shows during her time at Harvard.
“I spent four years running between the library and theater,” Affelder said.
Affelder moved to Chicago in 1986 and has been a member of the vibrant local theater community ever since. Throughout the last 30 years, she has appeared in productions at Steppenwolf Theatre, TimeLine Theatre, Oak Park Festival Theatre and many others.
Although Affelder has enjoyed playing roles on television shows like NBC’s Chicago Med and Chicago PD, she said she prefers performing in front of a live audience.
“When it works, there is nothing like it,” she said. “When it works, it is both human and magical. The thrill of creating a character that can move an audience is like nothing else.”
Uncle Vanya will be presented at Servi-Sure, 2020 W. Rascher Street, Chicago. The sold-out show runs through Feb. 1. To join the waitlist for tickets, visit https://unclevanya.my.canva.site