Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thoughts about Theatre

Since we're moving from The Goon Squad to The Crucible, I thought it'd be good to share some thoughts on why I think live theatre is such a good experience to have. I think live theatre is such a different experience from anything else. Of course there are concerts, and other live performances, and those have their own pros, but live theatre is this entirely unique experience. As Bobby and Mr. Heidkamp said in class, each performance in live theatre is different. This is true both when new companies/actors are performing, and also night to night performances. Joanna Gleason (the original "Baker's Wife" in Into the Woods) actually said that she keeps a secret with her every show, and the secret changes with each performance. This isn't something that every actor does, or even necessarily something every actor should do, but it's a good way to show that even with the same exact lines, dialogue, blocking, songs, etc, each performance is entirely unique to the audience and the cast. (Side note, if you haven't already seen Into the Woods, I highly suggest it, they're making a movie of it that comes out on the 25th of December).

In my experience, whenever I am performing onstage, I feed off of the audience. Sometimes that can be a really good thing. For example, if it's a comedy, and people are laughing, it sends a positive vibe, which helps with the energy of the show. Sometimes it may be less helpful, again if you are performing a comedy and nobody laughs, it's sometimes tricky to keep energy levels up. This also goes for drama, mystery, etc. The audience and the performer have a very interesting relationship. They play off of one another, and need one another to have a successful performance.






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