Listen & Be Heard Weekly Archives

I recently filled a vacancy for a community theatre group that had lost some actors during rehearsals. I had two weeks to learn my lines which were, fortunately, not many. I could write about how another layer of Teflon is added with every passing year so that new information rarely sticks as easily as it once did, but that would be another article. Suffice to say it was a challenge for me. It was also a good reminder of why theatre is so special, and why so many ?amateurs? want to participate in it. Simply put, it?s fun. Who wouldn?t find it entertaining to shed an everyday self and become another person in another time and place and get laughter or applause for doing so?

I understand the fun factor of being in [tag]community theatre[/tag]. Coming from the perspective of a director, however, I also feel strongly about the quality of the product that is produced. I was probably a real pain in the backside to work with. It is really hard to stop looking at the big picture and just be an actor, at least it is for me. But the big picture is the important thing. Theatre is a very ephemeral form of artistic expression. In addition it is very labor intensive. Wrap all that up in a very expensive price-tag and you have a typical theatrical venture.

I come from a background of thinking that anything worth doing is worth doing well. It has been my experience as a director that most volunteers (amateurs, if you will) want to produce an excellent product too. Tapping into that desire for excellence is part of what separates the good (sometimes excellent) from the mediocre. The desire for excellence is more than just self-satisfaction. Without excellence, the audience is cheated. There is so much that gets in the way of community theatre. Television, professional productions, movies and any number of other entertainment forums are competing for the audience. Without excellence, and a reputation for giving the audience bang for their buck, the theatre is bare. Sure, all of the relatives and friends of the cast come, but is that really enough? I don?t think so.

Theatre is a special art form in that it cannot exist without an audience. The audience is both the reason-to-be and the other half of what makes live theatre special. Nothing is more frustrating to an actor than being on stage and playing to an audience that is either sparse or un-responsive. The theatre actor lives for the feedback that is generated from the audience. The shared experience of actor, writer, and audience is what makes live theatre the special art that it is. It is a communal experience where the story told onstage touches the lives of the audience who in turn give back to the actors a response in tears, laughter or shared understanding. This sharing is what makes it special and what makes pale imitations of the art such a disappointment. People want to make that emotional connection. Without it, the theatre will die.

The immediacy of theatre is what I find most compelling. An actor that is truly in the moment can bring the audience along on an emotional journey that is exhilarating and is totally unique. For that moment in time, there is a unique collection of actors and audience; what happens can never be duplicated. It is a gem of rare worth. Special. Like a snowflake.

With that in mind, it is imperative that the community theatre strive to be the best that it can be. It is not enough to be average or mediocre. An audience will forgive a multitude of ?almosts? because of a lack of funding, but they won?t forgive a show that fails to tell the story, entertain, or give them excellence in spite of challenges. Only a show that touches the audience in a way that makes it worth missing the current episode of CSI or 60 Minutes will suffice. That requires vision, dedication, and a determination to exceed mediocrity. It deserves the best that can be achieved because, without that, it is not art. Only something that is worthwhile will draw an audience. And, without an audience, live theatre is dead.

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