Sheridan, you ARE a theatre town

A revelation came upon me throughout July.  The penultimate event upon which the community waits has come and gone.  Rodeo 2014 has passed; the annual celebration of our community that seems to unite us as the diverse people we are.  Okay, perhaps we’re not too immediately diverse on the surface. But rodeo week does seem to be the magnet that attracts all local souls for a common purpose, and nothing in our little burg would seem to come close to bringing us together as a people … until football season starts.  Then, again, at least a majority of us are united in or around one place for similar circumstances, but perhaps not similar purpose.  But I digress; my month in the theatre in July has made me think that there is another facet to our colloquial identity; superficially dormant but simultaneously communal.  Sheridan, you are not just a Rodeo and Football town.  You are also a Theatre Town.

I was honored to be requested to perform in this year’s Wyo Vaudevillians in the Mars Theater (yes, “theatre” and “theater” ARE different).  Although downscaled in number of seats, what was not downscaled was the entertainment value for this year’s series, which set a new standard of excellence.  Not only that, there seemed to be a mutual openness within the performers that allowed everyone to scan through the palate of acts available and figure out how to combine their act with others, all for the sake of enhancing the value of the product presented; truly a combined and ensemble effort.  Week after week, there seemed to be an evolving storyline with all characters and personalities associated with each show.  It made me nostalgic for the days before Netflix purging, when an audience eagerly anticipated the next week’s episode, only having just finished one.  The commentary from our consistently returning audience members was the proof in the pudding.  Next year, expect us to only raise the bar from here.  Why settle for just greatness?

My performances with my Pick Your Poison Improv Comedy troupe at Third Thursday events and at Habitat for Humanity’s “On the Foundation Event” exhibited to me the breadth of diversity of the people that will take a moment to hear a brief piece of comic mischief.  Rarely did I see the same faces twice, and usually, they all wore the same expression: all resembled the iconic mask of comedy.  We have two more scheduled events this summer (both at Third Thursdays), and I can expect that we will see the same sort of communal gathering, all for the promise of a free laugh (or several).

Two plays opened this past weekend, one unfortunately closed, but both share a common denominator.  Being able to watch the growth of the play “13” as a social media spectator, the final product was thrilling to behold.  Working with the group of stage-savvy individuals behind The Off-Kilter Fellowship and their production of “Baby With the Bathwater” (tickets are still available for their performances at the Carriage House this weekend), knowing that they scarcely knew each other not even a year ago, and now watching them blossom into a community of progressive stage artists could only be described as inspirational.  The common denominator?  These casts and crews created an indefatigable sense of belonging, loyalty, and sense of purpose for all involved.  Some bonds won’t be broken; these would appear to be impenetrable.

I’ve got two more shows to see this month.  The first will also take place at the Carriage House Theater, and its a format that I’ve been very curious to see onstage.  A fundraiser for the Kendrick Mansion and Trails End guilds, “Live Readers Theatre from the Golden Age of Radio” promises to take audiences back to a more illusory time, when the voices on the radio were used to create entire environments just by sound alone.  Their magic will weave Friday, August 15th and Saturday, August 16th at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday the 17th.  

The next will be a project that I took part in last year, and am somewhat involved in this year.  I’ve already reported that Sheridan College will be presenting another year of Commedia dell’arte created by expert Gerry Hansen, a theatre faculty member from UC Santa Barbara.  This year, she’s combining Shakespeare with commedia, to first present an expedited version of Hamlet, and then using Commedia to make fun of it.  Plus, there will be no excuse to miss it this year, as the show will run EVERY night in the Mars Theater (with the exception of Sundays, I believe) at 7:30 p.m., August 15-23.  I would get used to that “every day” performance format: Sheridan College has a lot more in store next summer.  I can’t wait!

Overall, folks, I won’t be convinced that just a few plays a year would be sufficient for this town.  Perhaps it’s that we’re not in other cities, where there is simply a dearth of theatrical activity; we don’t even recognize it.  We find ourselves, as a community, attending the theatre, less out of obligation, and more out of habit.  The extent that theatre has affected families in this community is almost unfathomable, due not only to attendance, but participation, even if that’s dropping kids off at play practice.  We ARE a theatre town.  Let’s just put on our best coat and tails, smear on the greasepaint, and embrace it with open arms.

Man, I didn’t even leave myself enough space to plug “Dancing at Lughnasa” for this fall.  Until next time, I guess…

I’ll see you at intermission.