On December 13 and 14 at 7:00 p.m., the Montana Actors’ Theater (MAT) organization will be holding auditions for The Harvest. With roles for men and women in their mid-20s-60s, this show offers a range of creative opportunity as well as a theme relevant to North Central Montana.

Auditions will take place at the MAT Theater on the campus of Montana State University—Northern. With staged performances planned for February 2-26 and March 3-5 and 10-12, the show will be directed by Audrey Barger. Barger hopes that a few inexperienced actors from the farming community will show up to audition. From her perspective, “having that variable will actually add to the presentation.”

Written by MAT’s Executive Director, Jay Pyette, the script explores the struggles of a farming family in North Central Montana. Because the patriarch of the family is in poor health, the children return to help bring in the crop. In the process, they are forced to confront the changes in their relationships and some conflicts from the past.

“The inspiration for this story really came simply from living in this area,” Pyette explained. He admits that the story contains certain elements of his own family life, but it also reflects the lives of so many others who call the Hi-Line their home.

“Watching the area—and the whole state for that matter—change over time drove the story I wanted to tell. Although the family in the story is fictional, they could be any family in this area. I've seen the things that happen to this family happen over and over to people all across this region. So, honestly, I had the best source material in the world: all those who farm in this area. I sincerely believe that most of the people of this area who see the play will recognize every one of the characters.”

In order for the script to meet MAT’s mission, to “educate, entertain and enlighten,” it went through response groups of a sort. As various readers read the script aloud to help refine it, they would often comment about its familiar feel. Carefully considering the feedback he received and revising the script based on many of the suggestions, Pyette credits a “team of MATers” in helping him to get this script polished for production.

When asked what the plot’s conflicts and resolution might provide in the way of lessons or morals for the audience, Pyette responded: “I don’t really write with a sense of ‘lessons’ or ‘morals.’ I like to give the audience a situation and let them draw their own conclusions. I sincerely believe that each person should leave the show with questions to which they have to decide on their own answers. I think that makes the entire experience more personal. The ‘resolution’ also isn't always a true resolution. Things end, but they may not end the way we all want them to. So really, what I’m trying to say is that I wanted to create a real family in real circumstances in which things aren’t neat and tidy, and by the end of the story, the audience will have seen something that they may recognize and relate to and to which they will have an emotional reaction. What that reaction is, though, I can’t dictate.”

With The Harvest, Pyette’s aim was to tell the story of many local families and the conflict that sometimes surfaces between an older generation and a younger one. Often in that dynamic, parents have a desire to pass on the family farm to adult children who may not want it. Under the influence of Pyette’s pen, the children may not have the same need to hold onto the land as their parents. As one character puts it, “He does love this place. But he also needs an identity. Something besides just James Carthege’s son who works on the farm.”

“As is more and more common, the younger generation moves on to other things in their lives. They also recognize the futility of trying to make a living on a small-sized farm in today’s ag world. This disassociation with a traditional, rural way of life is one of the themes, but it really plays into the larger theme of family and responsibility. Responsibility to parents who are aging, to the past, to each other, and to themselves. The question becomes: how do they come to terms with the life they had on the farm and their childhoods compared to who they are now and what they want out of life? They have, like so many adult siblings, judgments and grievances and preconceived notions about each other. So while this story is about the family farm, it is really about the family that lives on the farm and who they've become.”

Pyette expressed pleasure about the show’s director. “Audrey Barger (Judge Barger, to many) has great insight. She is truly a formidable director, and her attention to detail is impressive.”

Barger contributed her views on Pyette’s work: “Jay is such a talented word smith. He can achieve a certain feel or reaction just by changing a word or two. For this script, Jay has written very real characters, and the threads that weave them—from parental expectations to self-actualization—are intricate while being carefully balanced. This is not just a one issue play. It might be about a farm family, but the issues they deal with are the issues that many of us face. With its broad appeal and relatability, this is a show that will impact any audience.”

About the script and its evolution to staging and performance, Pyette said, “I'm nervous as hell, but also very excited.”