David Bunce is not a big fan of mysteries. He doesn’t like having to pay extra close attention, trying to pick up all the subtle clues that will solve the mystery.
Thrillers, though, are a different story. He likes the way thrillers are driven by the idea, Let’s find out who done it or we’re all going to die.
`Now it’s about saving yourself,` Bunce said with a laugh.
`And Then There Were None,` Bunce’s directorial debut at the New York State Theater Institute, is decidedly a thriller. Based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same name, the story revolves around 10 people who are invited to a remote island off England for a holiday. Upon arriving, the guests realize that none of them has ever met their hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Owens. Even more unsettling is a recorded message from Mr. Owens accusing them all of murder and sentencing them to death. One by one, the guests are killed off.
The novel was Christie’s best-selling book, with more than 1 million sold. It has also proved a hit for NYSTI, earning a place as one of the theater’s most popular shows.
So, when NYSTI founder Patricia Snyder asked Bunce, a veteran actor with the theater, if he ever wanted to direct, she suggested `And Then There Were None` when he said yes.
`After 26 years of doing a little bit of everything, I had a real strong interest in seeing if I could put all the ideas together,` Bunce said of his motivation for trying his hand as a director.
Bunce isn’t the only one fulfilling a long-standing wish in this production. Guest artist Tim Dugin, who plays Phillip Lombard, is a drama teacher at Schenectady High School. For 12 years, he has taken students to see shows at NYSTI, and he’s a huge admirer of the work done there.
`I always wanted to work at NYSTI,` he said. `This institution represents the pinnacle of the local theater scene.`
Dugin got his chance to join the institution when Bunce was casting for the play and thought of Dugin for the role of Lombard, which Bunce himself played in NYSTI’s 1984 production of `And Then There Were None.`
To make it happen, Dugin took a six-week leave from his teaching job, noting that the Schenectady City School District was `very generous.`
`I couldn’t be more pleased,` he said. `When you get a great job like this, it’s something to savor.`
Dugin remembers that on his first day on the job, Bunce gathered the actors to talk to them about the story. `He described it as a real roller coaster,` Dugin said.
That goes beyond the stress and fear the characters feel as murders keep happening. Bunce said one of the things he really likes about `And Then There Were None` is that the characters undergo a transformation. In fact, on that first day, when he called the actors together, he suggested they all look at their characters and recognize the changes they go through, then bring that to their parts.
Mary Jane Hansen, who plays Vera, the Owens’ secretary, said that at the outset, her character was very accommodating. `I could really connect with that, being a pleaser,` Hansen said.
As the play progresses, Vera `goes a lot of places emotionally,` which proved to be fun for Hansen.
`It’s a real chance to just let it go,` she said. `There’s a lot of screaming and crying.`
There’s also some romance, as Lombard is `smitten with Vera,` according to Dugin. A `man of action, kind of a gun for hire,` Lombard enjoys a `tremendous arc` over the course of the story, Dugin said.
As for Dugin, performing at NYSTI has exceeded his high expectations.
`It’s been a real joy,` he said. `I can’t tell you how much I get out of watching them all.`
Bunce has found equal amounts of joy serving as director.
`It’s keeping my interest immensely,` he said.
Recommended for ages 11 and older, `And Then There Were None` runs through Feb. 12 on the campus of Russell Sage College in Troy. Showtimes are as follows:
Saturday, Jan. 30, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 31, 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 5, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 6, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 7, 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb.12, 8 p.m.
Jan. 29, Feb. 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11 at 10 a.m.
Tickets are $20 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and students and $10 for children 12 and younger. They can be purchased by calling 274-3256 or visiting www.nysti.org.“