Arts association to present The Hammerstone

Victor, left, portrayed by Len Schlientz, and Murray, portrayed by Paul Browning, play Indian poker in a scene from The Hammerstone. Each of them takes a card and places it in his war bonnet. Each bets against the other’s cards. Instead of playing with poker chips, they play with coins.
Victor, left, portrayed by Len Schlientz, and Murray, portrayed by Paul Browning, play Indian poker in a scene from The Hammerstone. Each of them takes a card and places it in his war bonnet. Each bets against the other’s cards. Instead of playing with poker chips, they play with coins.

CONWAY — With their upcoming presentation of The Hammerstone, by Jon Tuttle, the Conway Community Arts Association and the Lantern Theatre are giving teachers a nod.

While the play may poke fun at modern education, “We are very excited to be able to pay a respect to teachers,” director Ashley Carnahan said.

“We have had many teachers, both on our board and involved with our productions,” she said. “In a three-college town, how can you not have teachers involved in the community?

“This play is a respect to teachers.”

The Hammerstone will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and again April 23, 24 and 25 and at 2:30 p.m. April 19 and 26 at the Lantern Theatre, 1021 Van Ronkle St. in downtown Conway. The play will be presented in two acts with a 10-minute intermission.

The Vic Quinn Memorial Garden will be dedicated during intermission on Friday. Quinn, who died Nov. 22, 2014, was a

supporter of the community theater for

many years.

The comedy/drama tells the story of two professors who are polar opposites of each other.

“Both are at different stages of burnout,” Carnahan said.

“Victor, sarcastic and dour, can barely tolerate his students, insulting them, having totally lost passion for teaching and for life itself,” she said.

“Murray still believes in what he does as an educator,” Carnahan said. “He still cares about his students but is childishly distracted by Kristi. Victor’s actions begin to weigh on Murray and cause him to doubt himself as a teacher and the system as a whole.”

Carnahan said The Hammerstone is about “these two opposite professors and how they deal with their wacky students.”

“It pokes fun at teaching, but it is also about what it means to have to get up there and reinvest yourself in these students year after year. It’s not just about how to reach them with subject matter, but how to reach them on a human level as well.

“It reveals what it’s really like to be a teacher.”

Carnahan said the name of the play, The Hammerstone, is a reference to anthropology and archaeology. A hammerstone is a stone tool often used as a hammer in prehistoric times. In the play, Victor, who is a professor of anthropology, displays a prehistoric skull in his office.

This is the fourth show Carnahan has directed for CCAA. The most recent previous one was Mrs. Mannerly, presented in June 2014.

Carnahan is also an actor, appearing most recently in the CCAA production of These Shining Lives.

She works in the accounting department at Landers McLarty Honda in Little Rock. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway in 2001 with a degree in theater.

The cast of The Hammerstone includes the following:

• Len Schlientz of Conway appears as Victor Ransom, a professor of anthropology.

When asked if he identifies with his character, Schlientz said, indignantly, “I hope not. He’s pretty bitter.

“[Victor] has had it with teaching,” Schlientz said of his character. “He’s been in academia long enough. He wrote a famous book 30 years ago and is still living on his laurels.”

Schlientz said The Hammerstone “is a terrific play.”

“It’s funny and dark. It’s very layered. I am real interested to see what the audience will get out of it. I think it has a happy ending.”

Schlientz is a longtime player with Conway Community Arts. His most recent endeavors included roles in The Last Romance in January 2014 and in On Golden Pond in September 2014.

Schlientz works for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the Standardized Patient Program, in which he portrays patients with certain symptoms or illnesses so medical students can “practice” their skills.

• Paul Bowling of North Little Rock portrays Murray Stone, professor of English.

Bowling is making his second appearance with the local theater troupe. He first appeared in Pvt. Wars in December 2014.

“I had never heard of this play,” Bowling said of The Hammerstone, “but it’s great fun. It’s complicated and different from the one I did before.

“The character I played in Pvt. Wars was a dour character. In this play, Murray is a very gregarious character.”

Bowling is a design engineer for Dassault Falcon Jet in Little Rock.

“I train people to design interiors for corporate jets,” he said. “I can see myself a little in Murray. We have some similarities. We are both teachers and both have a high regard for producing and teaching and how it’s done.”

• Miguel Castillo of Conway plays Woody Drum.

Castillo is also making his second appearance with the Conway Community Arts Association. He first appeared in These Shining Lives in February.

“I play Woody, who is a baseball jock at the college,” Castillo said. “He’s not very bright. He is smart, but just a little slow.

“He’s seeking to get a B from the professor so he can stay on the baseball team. He wants to get the grade, but he’s distracted. His father has died, and he is trying to keep focused.”

Castillo is a 2006 graduate of Conway High School. He attends the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton, where he is taking general-education courses. He hopes to transfer to the University of Central Arkansas and wants to be a football coach.

• Ashley Breanna Wagner of Conway portrays Kristy.

Wagner is making her debut with the Conway Community Arts Association. She is a graduate of Marion High School, where she was involved in theater. She also appeared in productions by the Little Theatre of Crittenden County in West Memphis.

She was a theater major at the University of Central Arkansas but is “taking a hiatus” from college, she said.

“I am a stay-at-home housewife,” she said.

Wagner said she is enjoying being in the play.

“My character, Kristy, is a double-edged sword,” she said with a laugh. “You see her in the first act as a figment of Murray’s imagination.

“Then in the second act, you see her for who she really is. She could care less about Murray. She likes Woody.

“It’s like playing two different characters. It’s a lot of fun.”

• Jeannie Denniston of Morrilton plays Grace Berger.

Denniston, who is a longtime actor with the Rialto Players in Morrilton, first appeared in a CCAA production when she had a role in Mrs. Mannerly.

“My character in this play is an older lady,” Denniston said. “She likes to audit classes to keep her mind active. She takes a real interest in her professors. She brings them food.

“She prattles. She talks endlessly. I think that reflects on how alone she is. She has stories to tell, and she wants the professors to be interested in her stories. I think she’s flirting with the professors.

“I am enjoying the play.”

Denniston is a part-time district judge and a part-time attorney in Conway County.

As an aside to the play, Denniston and Schlientz are engaged to be married. They will exchange wedding vows May 2 at the Rialto Theatre in Morrilton.

“We’re a ‘show-mance,’” Denniston said smiling, referring to their recent romance. They met last summer during auditions at the Lantern Theatre.

• Rachel Loveless of Conway portrays Dotty Dunbar.

“My character is an assistant teacher,” Loveless said. “She is a nemesis to Victor.

“She’s a funny character. I always seem to play nervous parts. That’s not very different from me.”

Loveless said she normally works as a costumer for the CCAA productions. She has had acting roles in Mrs. Mannerly and Rabbit Hole, which was a Late Night at the Lantern production.

Loveless is a 2009 graduate of Conway High School and a senior at UCA, where she is majoring in theater and English.

Jordan Goodeye, a student at UCA majoring in film and English, serves as stage manager for the play, which is sponsored by Premier Windows in Conway.

Tickets are $15 each, and reservations are encouraged. For reservations, email

ConwayLanternTheatre@gmail.com.

For more information on the Conway Community Arts Association and the Lantern Theatre, visit www.conwayarts.org.

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