SPOTLIGHT: Rowan & Orlo — Stepping Into the Shoes of Emily and George

​This month, our Merc spotlight falls on two shining young performers who have truly grown up under The Merc’s lights. Rowan and Orlo bring tenderness and spirit to Emily Webb and George Gibbs in Our Town, embodying the play’s reminder to cherish life’s simplest moments. For both of them, when their families first arrived in the Methow Valley, The Merc became more than a stage — it became a home, a community, and a circle of friends. Now, between rehearsals and school days, they reflect on what this story — and this theater — mean to them.

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Narrator:
During a lull in rehearsal one evening at The Merc Playhouse, with backstage humming as actors polished cues and caught up with friends, we met Rowan Kelley (Emily Webb) and Orlo Parkinson (George Gibbs). With one young actor grabbing a quick yogurt, we talked about the joys and challenges of bringing Our Town to life.

Getting to Know Emily Webb
Narrator: What do you like most about playing Emily?
Rowan: Emily’s such a nuanced character. She isn’t loud or flashy — she’s subtle. I like exploring that quiet depth and finding the little shifts in how she behaves. It’s different from the bigger, broader characters I normally play.
Narrator: When you say “different from normal,” do you mean only as an actor, or also personally?
Rowan: Both, probably. I usually get cast as the motherly type — which Emily sort of is — but she’s younger and living in another time. Still, there are similarities between us, which helps. It would be hard to play her if we had nothing in common.
Narrator: In what ways are you alike?
Rowan: We’re both ambitious, and we share this sense of wonder about the world — how things work, how beautiful ordinary life can be. Emily doesn’t see that at first, but by the end she really does, and I relate to that part of her. She’s a good person at heart.
Narrator: And how are you different from her?
Rowan: She’s a little arrogant. Not in a braggy way, but she thinks she’s smarter than everyone else. And she’s more emotional — less steady — than I am. I like to think I’m a bit more grounded.
Narrator: What do you do to make her feel real — more than just a character on the page?
Rowan: Whenever I play someone, I think about what they truly want out of life — their “super-objective.” Then I break it down into small goals in each scene. What does she want right now? What’s driving her? People always want something, and that’s what makes them real. I also build a backstory — little details like adjectives that describe her or even what color her hair is. The more you know, the more three-dimensional she becomes, and the more real I can make her.
Narrator: Is there a line of hers that really speaks to you?
Rowan: Yes. In Act 2, when she says, “Well, you might as well know right now that I’m not perfect,” I love that moment of honesty. And of course her speech at the end — when she says goodbye to clocks ticking and mama’s sunflowers and food and coffee and new ironed dresses and hot baths and sleeping and waking up — it’s so full of love for the ordinary. That scene always gets me.

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Becoming George Gibbs
Narrator: What’s the most fun part about playing your role?
Orlo: George is just such an optimist. He’s happy, enthusiastic, kind of carefree — especially in the first two acts. It’s fun to step into that, because real life can get stressful. I’ve got homework, responsibilities… George doesn’t. Being him lets me relax for a bit.
Narrator: What parts of George do you see in yourself?
Orlo: I try to be optimistic like he is. I complain sometimes, but underneath it all I believe things will work out. George lives in the moment, and I admire that. I think we share that quality.
Narrator: If you could give George advice, what would you tell him?
Orlo: Don’t get too focused on one thing. In Act 2, he gets wrapped up in baseball and forgets everything else. I’d tell him to keep the big picture — to remember there’s more to life than whatever’s right in front of you.
Narrator: How do you get into character?
Orlo: I don’t have a ritual or anything. It just kind of clicks. My first line is “Yes, Pa,” from offstage, and once I say it, I’m in George’s head. It’s like starting an engine — you might step out for a second, but it’s still running in the background.
Narrator: Would George fit in at school today?
Orlo: I think he would. He’s athletic, but not a jerk about it. He’s kind, and he tries to be a good person. People would like him.
Narrator: What’s been the hardest scene to master?
Orlo: The wedding, definitely — I’ve never been married, so that’s weird to imagine! And the Act 2 confrontation, when Emily tells George he’s been kind of a jerk and needs to be better. It’s tricky to find the right emotion there without making it awkward.

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Onstage Chemistry
Narrator: You’ve worked together before, right?
Orlo: Yeah, but this is the first time our characters really interact much. It’s been great.
Rowan: Definitely — it’s different when you actually need to build a relationship onstage instead of simply being in the same production but not interacting. We’ve become even closer friends.
Narrator: Do you ever make each other laugh when you shouldn’t?
Rowan: Oh, absolutely. During the wedding scene I sometimes make faces at him. And he doesn’t mean to, but he makes this funny expression back that breaks me every time.
Orlo: And my shoes hurt when I kneel down in the last scene, so I take them off — she’s always thrown off when she sees that.

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Lessons from Our Town
Narrator: What have you learned from this show?
Rowan: It’s such an interesting play. It reminds me how valuable small-town life is and how lucky we are to have a place like The Merc where we can do theater and connect with the community. When I moved here, joining The Merc introduced me to the valley, to amazing people, and to acting itself. I might not have discovered how much I love it without that.
Orlo: For me, the play really teaches you to appreciate life while you’re living it. I want to carry that lesson with me. And being in this show — and in theater in general — has helped me with confidence and social skills. The Merc is a kind of escape for me; it’s a place I feel comfortable and supported.
Narrator: Do you think Our Town will connect with people your age?
Rowan: Maybe not in the same way it does with adults. It’s written for people who have lived a little more, who can look back and reflect. But younger people can still take things from it — about relationships, noticing the small stuff, caring about the moments that matter.
Orlo: Yeah. Even if you don’t relate to every situation, you can feel what the story’s saying.

Narrator:
As we finished chatting and they gathered their things — scripts, the empty yogurt cup, laughter — the director called for the actors to return to rehearsal. As they reentered Grover’s Corners, their voices carried that special mix of youth and wisdom that Thornton Wilder must have loved: bright, curious, and full of heart.
And right there, between rehearsal and real life, Emily Webb and George Gibbs stepped quietly back into the world, reminding the rest of us to notice it while we can. 

—End Scene.