Our friend is a professional actress and was a tour de force in the role of Mama Rose. We knew that she'd be phenomenal. She always is, and that's why we make the effort to see her perform as often as we can (the same way we make the effort to see several of our friends who perform).
So it wasn't surprising that she was good. We were, however, surprised by the quality of the production. The sets, the costumes, the theatre space itself were all very impressive. Not at all what we expected from a community theatre in "the sticks". Despite knowing that they had enough of a budget to hire a professional to play the lead. I guess that should have been the tip-off right there. Sure, not every performer was exceptional, but it was a very enjoyable evening. So great production, great actress. If you're in the Central Florida area, it's worth the trip to Winter Haven to see it.
But it got me to thinking. I've lived in some small towns, and I've lived in some big cities. In every situation, the community somehow provides an outlet for live performance. Usually, fairly decent quality too.
It's no surprise to me that community theatre can be really really good. For the three years that we ran the Phoenix Theatre in Lubbock, Texas we churned out some very high quality productions that remain among some of my proudest achievements. And we had a hell of a good time doing it. And we were one of THREE community theatre organizations. In addition to the fledgling semi-professional theatre company that was trying to get off the ground, the Texas Tech theatre department, and a very highly regarded community theatre only 30 minutes away.
Pretty much everywhere you go. You can find SOMEBODY doing live theatre. Big cities, small towns, churches, schools, community groups, and professionals of various degrees. Not always the same way, not always with huge audiences, rarely with huge budgets.
And this, despite the warnings that continually come that movies, television, and the Internet are the death knell of live performance.
It fascinates me. This human need to create art. Specifically the need to create live performance. It goes on in times of plenty, and in times of hardship. I believe it speaks to a human need to connect on a level that is more intimate that broadcast media, but less personal than conversation. The symbiotic relationship between performer and audience is an interesting dynamic. Performers needing the audience, who in turn need the performers; and yet separated by a wall of convention.
Not sure where this is going. Nobody ever promised you that reading my blog would make any sense. Sometimes I ramble. This is one of those times.
I do wonder though. Is art a necessity? or a luxury? The government tells us that it's a luxury, easily jettisoned when finances are low. But experience tells us that it's a necessity. That for all of recorded history, art has fed a hunger within the human soul. And despite all attempts to regulate it, legislate it, eliminate it from curricula, and marginalize it; it goes on.
Which is how it should be.
Yes, arts organizations are closing all over the country, and government spending is criminally insufficient (that's a rant for another time); but part of me is very interested to see what springs up to take the place of what's been lost. Because something surely will. It seems that it has to.
At least I hope so.
I think art in some form is a necessity and always has been. From time around a fire acting out the day's events, we all need to be taken out of ourselves, and live theatre is all about the immediacy and the connections. It's vital.
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