Actress enjoys real feel of ‘Time’ conversations

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Buell

At times in Donald Margulies’ 2010 play, “Time Stands Still,” the action gets really real, according to Allison Tebbano.

“The dialogue has people cutting off other people and talking over other people,” said Tebbano, who plays Mandy in the Curtain Call production of Margulies’ Tony Award-nominated work. “It’s very interesting. We all do it. It’s what happens all the time during the normal course of everyday conversation.”

In the play, Mandy is a perky event planner who, along with her older boyfriend, Richard, played by Chris Foster, spends an evening with Sarah, played by Amy Lane, and her boyfriend, James, played by Tom Templeton. Sarah is a photographer who has returned to the U.S. after being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Most of the action, directed by Carol Max, takes place in Sarah’s apartment.

“It’s a bit of a shock for Sarah and James to meet Richard’s new girlfriend, who is much younger than the rest of them,” said Tebbano. “She’s kind of a happy-go-lucky character and the lightness in the dark of the show. I very much enjoyed playing her.”

Niskayuna graduate

Tebbano is a 2005 graduate of Niskayuna High School and earned her acting degree from Marymount Manhattan in 2009. She spent four years in Los Angeles pursuing an acting career, but moved back to the area in 2013.

‘Time Stands Still’

WHERE: Curtain Call, 210 Old Loudon Road, Latham

WHEN: Opens Friday and runs through Oct. 15; performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. Sunday; there will be an additional Saturday show at 3 p.m. on Sept. 24

HOW MUCH: $24

MORE INFO: 877-7529, www.curtaincalltheatre.com

“It was a really good experience and I definitely enjoyed some success,” she said. “But there are a lot of people in LA pursuing a career as an actor. I loved living there, but I ended up getting into a long-distance relationship with a guy, and my life is a little more portable than his so I moved back to the area. But it’s been great being back here. I never realized what a great theater community we have in this area.”

Tebbano had a day job in the public relations field in Los Angeles and she continues to work for that company in her Delmar home. Her only other local theater performance since returning to the Capital Region came in March of this year in “Living on Love.”

“As long as people are willing to cast me, I’m willing to do it,” she said of performing. “I’ll probably act as often as possible, especially if it’s a good show. I just loved the content of this show when I first read it. I think people will connect with it and the various characters. The subject matter is different. A lot of different generations will appreciate the message of this show.”

Templeton also enjoyed the weighty dialogue in the script, and was anxious to share the stage with Tebbano, Foster and Lane.

“I was very excited to work with Allison, and then how do you say no to working with Chris Foster and Amy Lane,” he said. “The play is very dialogue-driven, and every word and action has place and meaning. Margulies’ style reminded me of Aaron Sorkin’s, although maybe not as acerbic. But it’s a very tight script, and it’s one of those plays that would make a very good staged reading.”

“Time Stands Still” debuted on Broadway in 2009. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actress (Laura Linney).

Reach Gazette reporter Bill Buell at 395-3190 or [email protected]