58 | APRIL 11 • 2024
J
N
I
n her acting career portraying
many characters, Amanda
Buchalter has taken on roles
that have included a mouse and
a human with wolfish tenden-
cies. This season, she gets to be a
squirrel in a play that tells a story
as animals depict human issues
through a cast numbering eight.
The Michigan premiere of The
Squirrels presents a dark comedy
by Robert Askins, who wrote
the Tony Award-nominated play
Hand to God.
“This is a really unique play
in that it’s about squirrels not
letting little differences get in the
way of kindness and taking care
of each other,
” said Buchalter, in
her first appearance, now-May 5,
for the Tipping Point Theatre in
Northville.
“I have a really interesting role
because I’m also assistant stage
manager while being one of the
ensemble squirrels. I’ll be on and
off stage quite a lot. You’ll see the
cast in pants and skirts, shirts and
scarves. We’ll have tails and things
like that, but we’re not in a full fur
suit.
“Our faces are going to be front
and center as we communicate.
”
The production, directed by
Tipping Point artistic director
Julia Glander and intended for
mature audiences, introduces a
head squirrel who has collected
enough nuts to last 10 winters
and is begged to share them by a
group of starving squirrels.
Animosity turns into war as
issues addressed are described
as good and evil, power and
tribalism. The difficulties posed
by climate change enter into the
production.
“I think it’s fun being a squir-
rel,
” Buchalter said. “It’s kind of
refreshing because there’s so much
energy and you have to be really
present when you’re playing an
animal. It’s necessary to think
about how you’re carrying your-
self, and with a squirrel, there’s so
much in the moment.
”
Buchalter, 28 and single, started
thinking about an acting career
when she was 8 years old and
her mother took her to see a
professional production of the
musical Oliver at the Fox Theatre
in Detroit. As cast openings later
became available in a local presen-
tation of Oliver by the Spotlight
Players in Canton, Buchalter was
chosen for a part.
“I remember finishing the
opening number, ‘Food, Glorious
Food,
’ and sliding on my knees
to the very end of the stage,
”
Buchalter said. “We had a very full
house, and they broke into huge
applause. It was so rewarding see-
ing that. I wanted to act forever.
There was nothing else like this.
”
Buchalter, who appeared
in productions at Salem High
School in Canton, where she still
lives, went on to earn a theater
degree from Eastern Michigan
University. Among the many
productions that have included
her are The Winter Wolf at Penny
Seats Theatre Company in Ann
Arbor, Maestro at the Roustabout
Theatre Troupe in Ypsilanti and
Romeo and Juliet for the Michigan
Shakespeare Festival Interstate
Tour.
Amid her many theater com-
mitments, including stage manag-
ing, Buchalter took time to go on
a trip to Israel with a Birthright
group, which was starting up
again after isolation brought on to
fight COVID.
Although she wanted to see
theater in that county, the tight
schedule of the group did not
allow for that experience. She
was able to see theater in anoth-
er country when she visited
Germany last year. The actress
was in the audience for a produc-
tion of Cabaret.
Buchalter’s early years, includ-
ing preparation for her bat
mitzvah, were based on studies
at a since-discontinued Reform
congregation in Canton, which
shared space with a Methodist
community.
With stage oppor-tunities lim-
ited because of COVID, Buchalter
worked as a part-time admin-
istrative assistant for Autumn
Insurance & Benefits in Novi and
is thinking of transitioning to full-
time work there as she pursues
acting interests also expressed
through film and podcast projects.
“
Among my goals, I would love
to support myself with my art, but
my biggest goal is finding ways
to tell stories that bring people
together and create a sense of
community and comfort with
each other,
” Buchalter said. “That’s
what I hope to do whether work-
ing on stage or backstage.
“I think The Squirrels has a
story for right now and a story
that we all potentially can take
from. The Squirrels does an excel-
lent job of balancing the ridicu-
lous with the things that need to
be taken seriously.
”
ARTS&LIFE
THEATER
Amanda Buchalter takes on the role
of a squirrel in this dark comedy
presented by the Tipping Point Theatre.
A Nutty Role
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS BY TRACY SPADAL
Amanda
Buchalter
The Cast of
The Squirrels
Details
The Squirrels will be
presented now-May
5 at the Tipping Point
Theatre, 361 E. Cady St.,
Northville. Tickets start
at $32. In collaboration
with the Northville Tree
Champions, there will
be a free pre-glow
at 5 p.m. April 13 for
ticket holders on that
day. (248) 347-0003.
tippingpointtheatre.com.