theatrevault.com

by Bob Weesner

In the Spring of this year I was invited by Theatre Vault to submit an article listing areas and directions where Columbus Community Theatre (in a general sense) could stand improvement.

I responded, pointing out my favorite picky details that have slightly dented a 55-year love affair with good and great theatrical experiences.

Apparently my article was acceptable to the regular readers of Theatre Vault. (Nobody was breathing heavily at my front door.) And, a few weeks ago, the Editor of the TV website invited me to submit another article along the same lines.

This time I hesitated. For one thing, I felt I had adequately covered the subject the first time around. There’s a fine line between constructive criticism and theatre bashing, and I’ve been on the receiving end of spurious attack enough times to not wish to inflict that on anybody else.

But I changed my mind. In response to a recent less than glowing review of mine, a reader pointedly reminded me that I was “reviewing a community theatre production, and not Broadway’s latest and greatest.” (see article here)

I found this comment to be demeaning, not only to the theatre group he supports, but also to the community of non-professional theatres as a whole.

And I’ve heard it before. “It’s just community theatre.” To imply that one standard should or does exist for professional theatre and a lower one exists for community theatre is to suggest that the many incredibly gifted performers in community theatre are not good enough to stand equal to their paid brothers and sisters.

In fact, almost the opposite is true. There are over 40 theatrical organizations in Columbus, all fighting for the same dollars and patrons. No group is going to survive without constantly challenging the others to improve. Furthermore, many years ago Columbus went off the “A” list for professional touring companies, simply because they knew they couldn’t compete with both the quality and quantity of local presentations. Only in the areas of elaborately staged large musicals will you see much in the way of professional theatre in Columbus, and even these groups don’t always make a profit.

The bottom line is simply this; there’s only one standard. As an audience member, if you like a show, it’s good. If you don’t, it isn’t. It’s as simple as that. Your judgment is based solely on taste and experience, without qualifications. If you are working on a show, and have the mind set that it’s “just community theatre,” the show is dead already. Make it the best it can possibly be, and settle for nothing less. Invite – even dare – comparisons to anybody. A positive, rather than defensive, attitude is everything.

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For most of his career, Bob was employed as a television director, working for stations from Los Angeles to Columbus. During this same time period he wrote and directed plays for theatres all over the Midwest. For several years he was the drama critic for the Spectator newspaper chain and for channel 6 here in Columbus. Bob has won numerous awards, including two Emmy awards, A Freedom’s foundation award, and two recent awards from the National Writers Digest Playwriting Competition.

Theatre Vault continues our new occasional series where we invite reviewers to air out their theatrical pet peeves. Of course, our knees are quaking a bit, as we expect to receive a little hate mail… But that’s the way we roll, living on the edge!
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by Tahrea Maynard

Over the years, I have found a true love for the theatre and all things theatrical. It takes up a great portion of my life. Therefore, it should not come as any surprise that I have come to realize the various nuances of theatre, good and bad, backstage, on stage, or in the audience. I have also acquired a few theatre-related pet peeves. Stick around a few community theatres for a few years and you’ll find something that really gets your eye twitching. It happens to us all. To really share my theatre peeves, I’d like to address a couple of groups that are quite important to the theatre scene: Audience Members, Directors, and Actors. Let us begin.

Audience Members

Hey there. First off, thank you for supporting the Arts and supporting the theatre scene in Ohio. We theatre folk appreciate it. Nice shirt, by the way. Um, when you come to see a show, expect to see a show. Expect to see actors saying their lines. Some might be verbatim. Some may completely flops. We’re all human. Don’t expect the show to start a little late due to the traffic or all the other audience members who decided to dawdle. Expect the show to start on time, not waiting for you because you couldn’t figure out what to wear to the theatre… since everyone at the theatre didn’t come to see the actual play; they came to judge your clothing. Expect to sit close to strangers. Expect to sit REALLY close to someone you don’t know. And that person may reek of stale White Diamonds… or a barn. It is a tragic inevitability.

Directors

Oh, darling directors. You are the ones who truly hold the vision for your shows. You are the ones who lead the actors through the fantastic journey known as The Rehearsal Process. You allow the actors to create their own characters, and yet guide the actors toward your goals for their characters. You help your actors embrace the artistic value of your theatre and of your particular production. You are the nucleus of the production crew. Or… maybe not. Maybe you phone it in. Maybe you’re the person who just doesn’t get it. You don’t really help the actors along; you just assume they know what they’re doing. You’re the guy who wants to put on a British comedy and casts sub par actors. You know, the ones who can’t do a British accent, or any accent for that matter. And yet, you ask them to do so. As a result, your production is poo-pooed because the audience can’t stomach the on-again, off-again accents. Or the accent that makes certain actors sound as if they stuffed caramel covered cotton in their mouths before entering stage right.

On top of this epic failure, you may also be the kind of director who decides to throw all you’ve learned about blocking out the window. Maybe you never properly learned it. Whatever the case, come opening night, your actors are finding a certain pain in their necks from craning over one shoulder all night because you don’t grasp the concept of upstaging. Maybe you are THAT director.

Maybe your actors are able to do Shakespeare justice with their ability to sound like Sir Anthony Hopkins. And maybe your actors aren’t sporting neck brace the second weekend of your run. Maybe you’re the kind of director who decided to cast a boisterous, lusty 30-year-old woman as a boisterous, lusty 30-year-old woman. It’s perfect! You don’t have to stretch your imagination and there is no need to worry about helping your actors mold themselves into their characters. Go typecasting!

Actors

Fellow Thespians, lend me your ears! Perhaps you are a seasoned veteran of the stage or have just found your dramatic muse for the first time. You embrace your talents and you soak in the well-deserved compliments and adulation from your adoring audience. You were superb! So, you can’t understand why the other cast members are ready to wring your neck. What’s that? You didn’t stick to the script? You dropped lines? You missed your cue? Nay, you caused another actor to miss his cue! But how can that be? Maybe it is the fact that you are not the best. Maybe it is because you didn’t take your script seriously. But, what purpose does the script serve? The director thought you did a marvelous job. According to her, you were the best caucasian Othello ever. And she should know, being your wife.

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Tahrea Maynard has spent the majority of her life onstage, appearing on stages with such Central Ohio theatres as Roundtown Players and Rosebriar Shakespeare Co. She also teaches Musical Theatre classes with the Charmion Performing Arts Center in Circleville. Check out her blog