The life of Emily Webb

THAT WEBB GIRL: Maia Ingoe plays Emily Webb in Evolution Theatre Company’s first production, Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town which opens tomorrow. Picture supplied

Among the lives of the Gibbs and Webb families we follow over 12 years in the Evolution Theatre Company’s production of Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town is that of young Emily Webb. Played by Maia Ingoe, Emily’s courtship with George Gibbs (Will Toon) is described as hugely significant not only to the play’s events but to its themes.

“In the first act Emily is like a normal teenage girl,” says Maia.

“She has a crush on George who lives next door.”

George is the archetypal all-American boy — a local baseball star and the president of his senior class in high school.

“Emily thinks highly of herself,” says Maia. “She’s fun to play in that way — but she can get self conscious like any other teenage girl.

“I think she’s relateable.”

Writing her character’s backstory, and how she relates to and interacts with other characters and how she feels about those characters and what they’re saying was a great tool, says Maia.

“My favourite scene is in act two. It’s a nice scene — I hope it touches the audience.”

Emily eventually emerges as the primary articulator of the play’s themes (we’re trying hard not to give much away) and a poignant change of her circumstances underlines the play’s most important theme.

“Do any human beings ever realise life while they live it?” she says towards the end of the show. “Every, every minute?”

As director Dinna Meyers says, Wilder’s Pulitzer prize-winning play tells the story of a small town.

“For our purposes, this small town will be our very own Gisborne, as this is really the story of every town, the whole world over.”

Our Town is Evolution Theatre Company’s first production in our town. Support the company and its actors by getting along to the show at 75 Disraeli Street, October 12-27 at 7.30pm. Matineee performances will be held on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets: adults $32, youth (17 and under) $22. For more information and to book online, go to http://www.evolutiontheatre.org.nz/our-town