New theater troupe stages dramedy ‘Shermer,’ about grief and nostalgia

“Shermer” has secrets.

The new play, by a Eugene playwright and premiering this week, is named for the fictional Illinois town where director John Hughes set many of his ’80s teen flicks, including “The Breakfast Club,” “Sixteen Candles” and ”Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.”

But “Shermer’” is anything but a teenage idyll: It centers on a couple experiencing a loss who retreat into nostalgia, and Hughes is only one pop culture touchstone within the play. 

That premise is only the starting layer of the play, which weaves together grief, nostalgia and straight comedy. The show is different from how it was first written, thanks to actors improvising dialogue during rehearsals and redefining what the show was actually about, leading to a renewed focus on a mother-daughter bond.

The production is the brainchild of Capital T Theatre, a new theater company co-founded by Eugene Opera executive director Kari Welch and local actor and playwright Russell Dyball. The original play premieres Friday, July 25, at Oregon Contemporary Theatre.

Dyball, who wrote “Shermer” and also plays the husband character, Cameron, said he doesn’t “hold any illusions” that the play will be published and see Broadway fame, but he said makes it that much more special to see.

“It’s written for these three people here,” Dyball said of himself, Welch and co-star Sabrina Gross, all fixtures of their previous productions. “Once we do it, unless the public demands it, it’s gone.”

The first big swing

As a new theater company, not having a permanent space meant getting creative: The first table reads of “Shermer” took place at a pingpong table in the common space of the office building where Dyball works. Later rehearsals were at the OCT.

“Shermer” is the first “big swing” of Capital T Theater, Welch said. 

Capital T started during the pandemic as the “Virtual Little Theater,” COVID-era virtual and socially distanced performances under the umbrella of Eugene’s Very Little Theater, and did later performances under the umbrella of Springfield’s Pegasus Playhouse. The company officially changed its name to Capital T Theatre in 2023, and is in the process of incorporating as a nonprofit.

For Gross, who acted in those previous productions leading up to “Shermer,” Dyball and Welch are such trusted peers that saying yes to this role was easy.

“They could have come to me and said, you know, ‘We would like to dress up as chickens and do an interpretive dance,’” she said. “And I probably would have said yes.”

That trust flows the other way. In rehearsals, two pivotal scenes were not written word for word by Dyball, but instead taken from improvised dialogue from Gross and Welch as they felt out how their characters would respond in the moment. That process, Dyball said, refocused the play on the bond between the mother and daughter characters, making it richer emotional terrain.

Welch said those improvised scenes give more of a peek into who she is as a person than a typical theater role, where she would put on a character.

“This is a little more vulnerable,” she said. “Even though it’s a comedy, we go to some pretty deep places and an exploration of identity and who these people are. That’s a little scary at times.”

“Shermer” being Capital T’s first big outing exemplifies the company’s intent when it comes to contributing to Eugene’s theater ecosystem. The company, while welcoming original work, is not only focused on launching new plays.

Next summer’s project is a production of the Tony-winning play “Jerusalem,” by the British playwright Jez Butterworth, at the Very Little Theatre’s mainstage.

“Our focus is local,” Welch said. “It’s also on theater that you might not see other places. Not that it’s edgy or different, but there’s so much great material out there and everybody tends to do the same things, the same musicals. We want to do theater that you probably won’t see anywhere else in town.”

How to see ‘Shermer’

Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 25-26, with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. July 27.

Shows are at Oregon Contemporary Theatre, 194 W. Broadway, Eugene. The play has runs two hours and 15 minutes, including an intermission.

Tickets cost $21, plus a $4 fee.