Entry 28: Theater From The Outside in Much Ado About Nothing
- Feb. 1, 2025, 3:24 a.m.
- |
- Public
It is a particularly interesting perspective sitting in the audience of this particular theater around the beginning of February. Last year and the year before, I would be up on that stage. This theater has challenged me to do my best work; and every time I have performed here, I could honestly feel myself growing as an actor, a performer, and as a person. This theater is in a protected historic site which gives it a smell and a spirit that is wholly unique to it. The first show I saw here… I missed all of those things. I had never worked the stage or spent time in the wings to know. Now, returning as an observer rather than a participant- it truly feels like returning home but not being permitted to enter. Watching from the outside, but not in a bitter or sad way. Simply, happy to be back home in any way I can be.
And, uniquely, despite over 20 years in theater- this is the first time I will be seeing an EX on stage. Oh, younger me had all these rules. No dating within the theater, I didn’t want to taint the process or mistake feelings generated for the performance for the real thing. No dating within the acting community. If you remember, that was a particular concern of mine when beginning to date Hermia. And while I won’t make it a rule per se; I will surely be slow to consider dating anyone else in the theater from here on. But that adds something strange to my experience. I am returning home, but cannot enter, but am honestly hoping my Ex enjoys her time there and does well.
I must give proper credit where it is due. One reason this stage always feels more like home than the other one is The Set. WCP tends to do “open sets” which means no doors, no walls, merely what is on stage to establish a WHERE. That’s certainly all well and good and has its place. But a SET… one with doors and windows and wallpaper and furniture… that’s how it should be. Creating a world and inviting people to watch as the people of that world experience what they will. It really goes a long way for the audience and the actor to have that “contained world” feeling. One of the many reasons why this space constantly brings out my best work. Without meaning to be insulting… WCP feels like doing Kids Theater… partially because thay is what they specialize in. But CFCT feels like it is almost professional. Not quite, of course. We’re still working on shoe string budgets relying on tape and prayer to keep everything together… but if you close your eyes and choose to believe, it isn’t that much of a stretch. And isn’t that what the magic of theater has always been about? If you look closely, you can see the mic tape and you can tell that it tool an extra beat from flipping the switch on the wall before the lighting crew actually brought up the lights… but if you close your eyes for a minute and choose to believe in the magic of the theatre- it will come alive for you.
It is good to get audience experience to remember the important parts of theatre. Maybe if I went to more shows in my early 20s, I wouldn’t have waited so long to return.
PS: While I have to admit I did not like the character Hermia was playing and wasn’t thrilled with how she did it… that is strictly technical. It is a hard character to do and is written to be odd to the point of “hard to believe.” I only write specifically about it because this is something to celebrate. She finally got to play a character that wasn’t blind. Not just “wasn’t blind” but wasn’t “turned blind to accommodate the actor.” She finally got to play a sighted role. And that is what she most wanted. So… I can be happy for her that she got that opportunity.
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