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| Community Theater...It takes a community! |
So what is it that makes Community Theater so special? Well first off, it's theater, which includes
everything that implies. It's a live show, right there in front of the audience. There's no camera
tricks used to create the illusion, though plenty of other secrets and craft are employed to bring you
the magic. There also isn't any such thing as a re-take. You get exactly what comes out of weeks
of long, hard work: miscues, flubbed lines and all. Yet some how, in the end, the audience is
transported across space and time to a different world where, at least for a couple of hours, their
problems are left behind.
everything that implies. It's a live show, right there in front of the audience. There's no camera
tricks used to create the illusion, though plenty of other secrets and craft are employed to bring you
the magic. There also isn't any such thing as a re-take. You get exactly what comes out of weeks
of long, hard work: miscues, flubbed lines and all. Yet some how, in the end, the audience is
transported across space and time to a different world where, at least for a couple of hours, their
problems are left behind.
But they aren't professional actors and singers there on that stage. They're teachers, laborers,
ministers and factory workers. They're us: members of our community. They have
responsibilities, jobs and families not so different from our own. That makes these people more
recognizable; not just in the mall and grocery stores, but in our hearts. The audience knows that
given a lack of inhibitions, and a secret, revealed talent, that could be them on that stage.
Suddenly every audience member is the leading lady or man. That is real magic.
ministers and factory workers. They're us: members of our community. They have
responsibilities, jobs and families not so different from our own. That makes these people more
recognizable; not just in the mall and grocery stores, but in our hearts. The audience knows that
given a lack of inhibitions, and a secret, revealed talent, that could be them on that stage.
Suddenly every audience member is the leading lady or man. That is real magic.
But Community Theater has even more than that.
It takes a lot of hard work from a lot of different people to pull a show together. It takes a lot of
practice, but it takes a lot of talent as well. Watertown Lyric Theater has a lot of different people in
its cast, both on and off stage. They aren't just different people with different occupations, but
different talents as well. Everyone contributes their part, whether it is designing or building
scenery, advertising, organizing, painting a wall, or shining in the spotlight. Without any one of
these talents, the magic would not, could not happen. We have singers, dancers, actors,
musicians and technicians. We even have a few that can do more than one! We have a
community.
practice, but it takes a lot of talent as well. Watertown Lyric Theater has a lot of different people in
its cast, both on and off stage. They aren't just different people with different occupations, but
different talents as well. Everyone contributes their part, whether it is designing or building
scenery, advertising, organizing, painting a wall, or shining in the spotlight. Without any one of
these talents, the magic would not, could not happen. We have singers, dancers, actors,
musicians and technicians. We even have a few that can do more than one! We have a
community.
Along with all those different people come all their own personalities that are blended into the mix.
Everyone has their own ideas they bring to the table, and whether they are ever incorporated into
the final product or not, it is important that everyone has their say. A skilled director takes in these
ideas with an open mind and uses what they have to offer to add to the depth of their own vision.
Likewise, caring people accept the director's decisions, and respect that vision as the guiding
principles that bind the show together into a congruent whole. Of course this doesn't always
happen, but it is wonderful when it does -- it's community!
Everyone has their own ideas they bring to the table, and whether they are ever incorporated into
the final product or not, it is important that everyone has their say. A skilled director takes in these
ideas with an open mind and uses what they have to offer to add to the depth of their own vision.
Likewise, caring people accept the director's decisions, and respect that vision as the guiding
principles that bind the show together into a congruent whole. Of course this doesn't always
happen, but it is wonderful when it does -- it's community!
Sometimes, when the exhaustion from our efforts get to us, when we simply don't think we can
run a number "one more time," when we just can't bear to hear another complaint, when things
don't go our way, when the frustration of our struggles for perfection hardly seem worth it, or
simply balancing the many other requirements of our lives like work, school and family gets too
much for us, it's easy to forget why we are here at all. But your efforts are appreciated by your
audience as well as your fellow thespians. And you should be proud too; for it's a wonderous
thing we are doing.
run a number "one more time," when we just can't bear to hear another complaint, when things
don't go our way, when the frustration of our struggles for perfection hardly seem worth it, or
simply balancing the many other requirements of our lives like work, school and family gets too
much for us, it's easy to forget why we are here at all. But your efforts are appreciated by your
audience as well as your fellow thespians. And you should be proud too; for it's a wonderous
thing we are doing.
So whether we are offering an audience a few magical hours, a scholarship to a shining future
star, a chance for the young to share in and learn the principles and skills of an age-old craft we
teach, or just a distraction from our own busy schedules to do something fun for us, Community
Theater has something special to offer everyone involved. That's what makes Community Theater
so special -- it's the community!
star, a chance for the young to share in and learn the principles and skills of an age-old craft we
teach, or just a distraction from our own busy schedules to do something fun for us, Community
Theater has something special to offer everyone involved. That's what makes Community Theater
so special -- it's the community!