Thurs, Mar. 27
... This train is bound for glory
I say it over and over again, but I love live theatre. Especially when it's done well. When it's not, I spend more time criticizing it than enjoying it. But when it is done well, I come away with a feeling--whatever it may be--that I can't always get from life.
That's what tonight's play did to me. I'm thinking a lot about it... it left me with some sort of a feeling that I can't quite describe. Even now, an hour and a half after it ended, I'm still in the emotional state that I was in when it ended. Things that have happened since then haven't affected me enough to draw me out of it. That's bad if you're an actor, but good if you're an audience member.
I'm not sure how to describe it. It's a little bit of melancholy, a little bit of longing, a little bit of "happily-ever-after-syndrome," a fair dose of frustration, a dollop of reminiscence, and a dash of laughter, and who knows what else. It had its happy moments, its sad moments, its poignant and thought-provoking moments... and provoke thought it did.
It was set during the early 1940's, and I'm not sure if the whole time period does something to me--that's part of it, but definitely not enough to give me this kind of reaction usually...
There was a great chemistry between the actors, though. I felt them. I was there with them, and I wanted to be there. I wanted to be her, because as awkward and bumbling as the scenes played out sometimes, she was living. They both were. Neither of them were fake people. They were both as real as I was, sitting in the theatre at that moment. There was something about both of them that made me want to live it out just a little bit fuller. It really was a simple, beautiful play, about two beautiful, individual people.
They had great characters with fun quirks, and they were both strong characters; they were working within a solid storyline; and they had some great directing moments. There were some choices that I would have changed, but there were some choices that I thought were absolutely brilliant. (I won't go into great detail about those, because it only makes sense if you saw it).
The difference between me and a lot of other audience members, though, is that I watched that play and said, "I want to act in that. Then, a few years later, I want to direct it." I want my audiences to leave with the same feeling that I left with tonight. I want them to still be caught up in the characters' lives two hours later, wishing they could see more. I want them to still be mulling over the themes in the play, looking for more, and considering going back to see it again. If I finish rehearsal in time on Saturday, I may see if there are still some tickets left at the door and see it again. It was that good, and I want to see that much more of it.
Can I just say, though, that my biggest pet peeve ever is sitting too close to theatre morons. Really. I can't stand sitting near people who don't know the first thing about theatre etiquette. Tonight, Laurel and I were sitting in front of some people who would lean over and whisper to each other whenever they understood something that was implied but not said explicitly yet. There's a difference between reacting to what's happening onstage and just being rude. Honestly. I just don't get people sometimes. How hard is it to understand proper etiquette? It's so disrespectful to the actors, the rest of the audience, and your own intelligence to be so... inane... during a play.
Do you think the person sitting next to you won't--or hasn't already--figure out what's going on? Analyze it afterwards. Totally. Go for it. But don't make stupid observations. Base it in something that you saw. Ground your opinion in something more solid than your own opinion. Have an opinion--I certainly do--but have something to base it in. Know why you think that way, as opposed to just thinking it. Have a reason. Base it in something other than "I didn't like it."
But just don't talk about it all during the show. That ranks right up there with parents who wave at their kids and try to get a reaction during a school play. Honestly. Have at least a little bit of respect, even if it's not in your nature at all.
Anyways, I'll get off my soapbox now. I need to mull the story of Raleigh and May over a little bit more before I can let go of it. I need to turn this whole idea around in my mind and let them live in my imagination for a little bit longer. I need to keep them alive long enough to sink in a little bit further and be a little bit more real.
infinite || abyss
posted at 11:23 p.m.
