Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Shadowlands

I'll be catching Shadowlands at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas tomorrow night. A good friend of mine, Jessica Wiggers, is in the cast. Jessica just took home the Column Award for Best Actress in a Play (Non-Equity). This will be the first show I've seen at CTD. I've heard great things about the company, so I have high hopes.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Run Away

I went this morning and got my tickets to see Monty Python's SPAMALOT at Dallas Summer Musicals. Local radio station 98.7 KLUV was onsite at the DSM Box Office with show-related games to play. I pinned the limb on the Black Knight and won an Official SPAMALOT cap.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Rehearsals start tonight

We have our first "rehearsal" for Bye Bye Birdie at KCCT tonight. It's really more of a "meet your fellow castmates" kind of thing. We'll be watching the ABC TV version of the show. Tomorrow night we start vocal rehearsals.

I've been stuck in the ensemble because the Director says she needs someone with the talent and flexibility to play multiple roles. We almost weren't able to get this show off the ground, so I was willing to go ahead and agree to step up to the plate.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Is there a future for Community Theatre?

I've been having an e-mail discussion with a friend of mine. I have posited the theory that in areas in and close to major cities, such as Dallas, the concept of "Community Theatre" may be past its time. The folks who used to be the backbone of such endeavors have become too busy with other things, e.g. their kids' soccer games & practices, their kids' baseball or softball games & practices, their kids' piano/ballet/karate lessons, activities related to church, etc. We've heard stories about the "over-programming" of our children's lives. What seems to be lost in many of those discussions is the necessary result of leaving adults with very little time to pursue hobbies or interests of their own.

Maybe there is still room for the Community Theatre. However, in order to survive, I believe they can't demand an inordinate amount of people's time. It's a double-edged sword. If you use local talent, it really takes more rehearsal to put up a good show, but those folks are the ones who don't have the time to commit to several week's of rehearsal. If you start using more of the regular theatre talent, you lose the nature of being a Community Theatre.

I may be completely wrong about the futility of Community Theatre in big cities and their suburbs. I'm not usually pessimistic about anything, but I'm pretty firm in my opinion on this. I'd love to hear some theories or explanations to the contrary.