The Trip To Bountiful
by Horton Foote
Directed by Katy Brown
Barter Theatre
Smith Stage
September 20th - November 2nd, 2024
Production Team:
Scenic Design: Derek Smith
Costume Design: Ashley Campos
Lighting Design: Sage Green
Sound Design & Original Music: Brandon Reed
About The Play
Carrie Watts is an elderly widow who lives in a rundown and cramped Houston apartment with her hard-luck middle-aged son Ludie and his bossy and vain wife Jessie. The year is 1947, and it has not been a good year for this family.
Ludie feels guilty about not having earned enough money to live in a better place. Jessie can't abide her mother-in-law's hymn singing or her constant pouting when she is criticized. Carrie dreams of visiting Bountiful, the Gulf Coast town where she grew up and raised her own family. She hasn't been back to the farmstead for 20 years.
Despite her pleas, Carrie realizes that Ludie will never take her home again. So with her pension check, she heads off to the bus depot. Thanks to the kindness of strangers, her odyssey isn't a total tragedy. On the bus, she is befriended by Thelma, a young soldier's wife; a helpful stationmaster tracks down the purse she left on the bus; and a considerate sheriff drives Carrie to the old farmstead, which is now rundown and overgrown with weeds.
Eventually, Ludie and Jessie arrive to retrieve Carrie. By then, she has made her peace with the land, retraced some of her fondest memories, and come to the conclusion, "When you've outlived your house and your family, you've lived too long." The trip's dividend is that Carrie, Ludie, and Jessie realize they must all be more tolerant and understanding of each other. The land is played out in Bountiful but not the love that binds these three together.
Finally embracing her decision to leave, once Carrie is alone in the apartment, she sneaks out and makes her way to the bus station in Houston to find a way to Bountiful. We hear the cast sing another variation of “No Not One,” but this time with just oohs and umms. This starts in the house right vom before filling the stage as Carrie gains courage. As the environment around her changes the soundscape of a busy bus station fades in.
Arriving to Bountiful
Finally, we have arrived to Bountiful! We hear an angelic rendition of “Shall We Gather,” reverberating around the theatre, as we hear a lush soundscape. Birds chirp in the distance as we hear cicadas and feel we are in the middle of a hot summer day in rural Texas. As Carrie takes in the sights she hears a Redbird call out to her twice. As she finds her old home, she gets sentimental and we hear a call back to the melodic transition back at the beginning of the play. She has come first circle.
Photos provided courtesy of Barter Theatre
From my first conversation with our director Katy, it was important that the sound design had a clear distinction between the hustle and bustle of Houston to the beautiful rural landscape of Bountiful. We needed to hear the aural difference between the two. We also wanted the audience to connect with Carrie both spiritually and emotionally. Music would play a big role in pivotal plot points to help the audience better connect with Carrie’s journey.
For the first role, I did intensive research on the type of landscapes we would hear throughout. For Houston, I wanted it to always have as much background noise as possible, this combined with the acting on stage, should help Carrie feel trapped and small. What did cars sound like at this time? How busy was the climate back in the 1950s? For her journey through Texas, we decided that although Bountiful didn’t exist in reality, we placed it somewhere between Beaumont and Longview. I did a lot of research on birds and insects in this region of Texas. Once Carrie leaves Houston, the soundscape shifts to being more calm and accurate to making us feel like we are in the countryside of Texas.
For the musical side of the production, we knew that we wanted to connect with Carrie’s religious background. It’s unclear what denomination she associated with, but in the end we decided on Baptist based on Katy’s request. From here, I did a lot of research on Baptist Hymns, and the different ways they were structured musically. Afterwards I shared my research with Katy, we decided on which Hymns we wanted to use in the show. With the help of a local choir director, we taught the cast the music and recorded them. From there I took the recordings and manipulated them to how we needed. Everything else was composed by myself based off of southern musical instrumentation prevalent in the area.
Top Of Show
From the moment the play begins, we hear the hymn that Carrie often sings to herself all the time, “No Not One.” As we bring lights up on their cramped, Houston apartment, the hymn reverberates and fills the space as the bustling cityscape fades in. We get a sense right away how cramped and imprisoned she feels in her home. Surrounded by noise and unable to express herself.
The Sound Design
Preparing To Leave
After day dreaming and begging her son to let her go to Bountiful, Carrie has decided to hide her pension from her daughter-in-law and pack up her things to try and run away in the morning. As she prepares she questions whether what she is doing is right for her family. Before ultimately decided to go through with her plan.
This is a musical piece I composed with a melancholic piano layered with two synth pads that convey a longing and sincerity. As night shifts to day we hear the streets become more alive. Further amplifying the isolation and trapped feeling. Carrie’s emotions come to a boiling point. As finishes packing, a single piano note buttons and takes us into the next scene.
Houston Bus Stop
Bus Transition
Coming out of Intermission we see that Carrie is finally on a bus to a city that is near Bountiful. She plans to walk the reminder of the way. She’s optimistic and gleeful. She sits next to a woman on the bus who happens to also be going through her own emotional turmoil. She tries to spread her own joy to those around her and offer wisdom.
We hear the cast sing “Come Thou Font.” As the cast gets the scenery in place, eventually the singing reverberates out and fills the house before fading out and bringing in the soundscape of the bus in motion. We hear cars passing as we are on the move.
Harrison Bus Station
Reaching the end of her bus’s journey, Carrie has arrived to Harrison, Texas, a small town just a little bit away from Bountiful. She is so close to reaching the end of her journey. She decides to rest at the station before continuing her journey, thanks to the kind assistance from the station’s attendant.
We hear the cast singing, “It Is Well,” as the song ends, we hear the crickets of rural Texas, followed by the bus arriving, dropping Carrie and the passengers off before it drives off.
End Of Show
Having finally seen her old home and what has become of it, Carrie is now at peace. She decides from this point forward she will support her son and will foster love and compassion to what’s left of her family.
We hear the soundscape of Bountiful as time passes. As her son and daughter-in-law have found her, he tries to persuade her to come home. We hear the car honk in the distance from daughter-in-law telling them to hurry up. As they discuss what to do with their life, we hear a second one agitating them. Finally she has approached them and they all have a discussion and agree to better support one another, we hear the red bird call out to Carrie one last time before flying off. A final hymn is heard as lighting isolates on her and we fade to black.