The Touchy-Feely Side of "Rocky Horror"

            It’s the genuine hope of the WYO and Trident Theatre to present “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on an annual basis.  Our production goes up tonight, and each year presents new and amazing challenges.

I’ve been involved with the production for several years now, and the show is in its ninth year running in Sheridan!  But this is the first time I’ve ever directed it, and I’m proud to do so on the main stage of the WYO, the nexus of performing arts in Sheridan.

While “Rocky Horror” is a staple piece for the LBGTQ+ community, there is so much for anyone to appreciate within such a show.  Of course, there is the dressing up, the audience interaction that truly breaks the fourth wall, the props, the dancing and signing; all of which are required to have the full “Rocky” experience.  And, if you’ve had a good time, then most of the work we did behind the scenes won’t leave too much of a trace.  But, since I’m talking about it, let me give you a “behind-the-scenes” look.

As many of you know, this show is quite sexual in nature, and many patrons may not realize just how much personal work can go into being somewhat intimate on stage.  It can be even more difficult for an actor to be as generous with their sexuality that this show requires.  In the past in the acting world, it was just expected that an actor gets onstage and does what is written on the page for them to say or do with very little question about how the content will affect them personally.  For many, performing such actions could unlock unfortunate past traumas associated with acts such as kissing or cuddling or even dancing provocatively.

Thus, we employed intimacy training and choreography, which is a big thing in the theatre world right now.  At the beginning of every rehearsal we would conduct personal body and emotional “check-ins,” an honest audit of sorts.  Sometimes, someone might say, “My shoulders are off limits tonight,” or, “I’m having a difficult mental health day.”  Knowing that we still had to deliver the content on the page while still keeping each other safe, this group maintained much more professionalism than I have seen in many productions I have been involved with before.  If any body restrictions came up, we would ask what could be appropriate, and honest answers came out with positivity, such as, “Instead of putting your hand on my shoulders, how about my hips?”  All parties would agree, and we’d move on.  If someone would be having difficulties with mental or emotional health, a bevy of therapeutic solutions would be offered and would require consent from the actor before proceeding.  It’s really been something.

I don’t think we could have had such openness as a group without the suggestion of one of our actors early in the process.  It was suggested that, since we would have to be so open with our bodies, we should be open with our emotions as individuals, too.  Therefore, we sat down and each gave a personal reason as to why we wanted to be part of this production.  Once we started sharing, it became clear that everyone needed this show to be part of their lives right now.  Some were getting over stage fright.  Some were answering very personal questions about themselves.  Some planned to use this show to help heal psychological wounds.  Knowing that, each of us gained such profound respect for each other that we’re going to have a hard time letting this go.

So, yes, this show still has all the makeup and glitter and fishnet stockings and corsets and feather boas and sexual freedom that “Rocky Horror” fans have come to expect over the years.  But just know that for us, this means something a little more, and we’re going to give our all.

But, if all goes according to plan, we’ll be back at it next year.

I’ll see you at intermission!

Theatre On-Demand

It's been a pretty exciting time on my Instagram feed in the past couple weeks as Broadway shows have been rolling out their re-opening dates for a post-pandemic New York City.  Most of them are looking at opening in the fall or winter 2021, and I've seen a lot of people on social media buying tickets to their favorites.  This is the moment I've been anticipating: the moment when we start to figure out what the world will look like after over a year in relative isolation.

But for those of us who can't necessarily afford to see all these new shows, what's in it for us?

On my podcast, "Euripides, Eumenides," the subject of streaming rights to live performance has frequently come up in conversation.  Before the pandemic, rights to record video of a live performance such as theatre were strictly prohibited.  There were only granted under either very special circumstances, or if additional fees were paid.  In my understanding, as far as the theatre is concerned, this was to ensure that the only way to see a performance would be to pay for it.  While this wouldn't affect smaller markets as much, this definitely would affect larger markets such as Broadway.  But also, Broadway shows usually have something bigger in store for audiences.  For example, while it would be incredible, it's probably not likely that I'll be able to convince someone like Hugh Jackman to appear in a musical in Sheridan, Wyoming.  So, by limiting performances to be solely for a live audience, buzz can generate, and more tickets can be sold. 

However, maybe we don't live in that world anymore.  I wouldn't go so far as to suggest that we've gotten accustomed to preferring our live events to be streamed to our living rooms or mobile devices.  But, it could be another method of allowing access to people who might not otherwise be able to attend EVERYTHING.

One of my recent guests on the podcast teaches theatre at a high school in Wyoming.  During the pandemic, he found out rather quickly that while Broadway and most regional theaters were shut down, playwrights and publishing houses were almost desperate to have any of their productions staged.  So they quite willingly allowed streaming rights to be available.

Now, it's a pretty common thing to see an option for streaming rights when requesting  rights to perform a play.  And, I hope that trend doesn't go away.  This same theatre teacher  I mentioned earlier stated that streaming rights would make professional theatre productions available to his students who simply do not have the means to travel far out of town, much less afford to see them live.

Another recent guest - who is a major producer in London - opined that while streaming   performance should not be a replacement for live theatre, it definitely should be a component of it going forward.  There are a lot of students who formally studied theatre during the pandemic, and saw it provide them opportunities to connect with audiences on a much grander scale than just within their individual communities.  They now have the opportunity to change the industry for the better.

Of the many episodes of my podcast I have done, only one of them has been in person thus far.  All the rest have been via Zoom.  But this has allowed me to have guests from virtually anywhere, and thus to reach an audience in several different countries.  Frankly, I just don't see much of an argument for this part of show business to "go back to normal."  I've been saying it here and elsewhere: I'm not sure if that "normal" exists anymore.  But what does exist in its place is an opportunity to evolve, and that is honestly quite exciting.

Please feel free to listen to my podcast "Euripides, Eumenides" on any major podcast provider.  I've also got links to many of them on the Trident Theatre website: tridenttheatre.com/euripides-eumenides/.

I'll see you at intermission!

Beyond the Horizon

 So ... now what?

The governor has lifted the restrictions on theaters so that performing arts venues can fully operate again.  While the virus hasn’t totally gone away, the numbers do indicate that we can probably start to look towards relief soon.

But, I keep hearing the phrase “back to normal,” and I actually don’t understand what that means.  Effectively, the entire world has faced this pandemic in different ways, but I think we can easily say that the last year has been a transformative one.

I just got done recording a new episode for my podcast “Euripides, Eumenides.”  (If you haven’t begun to listen, feel free!  We’ve got several episodes out now!)  However, after recording the episode, my guest and I talked for a long time afterwards about what the arts might look like in a world where society was forced to live in relative seclusion for an extended period?  What really has this done to us?  Because we are not the same people we were a year ago.

I think about how the jazz age of the 1920s can be linked directly to the Spanish flu pandemic a century ago.  The artistic expressions that gained popularity were those that would allow people to appreciate the life they’re living, and that there is no guarantee of that life in the first place.

One of my recent guests on Euripides, Eumenides put it this way: “A renaissance always follows a plague.”  So, what will our renaissance look like?

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was one of the most tumultuous years in recent memory, particularly from a sociological perspective. Division ran rampant, and it seemed as though rather than look for solutions and opportunities to ask questions of those we don’t agree with, we seemed to be more content to dig in our heels and remain firm in our own personal stances, ultimately staying divided.

This year, the Sheridan Civic Theatre Guild has scheduled me to direct a play.  I have sometimes been that stage provocateur who likes to use the forum to help us as a community raise and examine some difficult questions about society.  Sure, we can add some gags and things for fun, but I would like to have you stroke your chin a bit after my shows.

I knew I was going to be directing last summer, and I had picked a play that would have addressed a fairly sensitive social issue.  But, now that we have left 2020 behind us, I was asked if this was really the right thing to be doing now.  And I agreed that maybe rather than show us another element of society that drives a wedge between us, perhaps it would be better to help us grow together as a people again.

So, my next project for the stage is to be a radio play adaptation of the OLD, OLD Hitchcock film “The 39 Steps,” an espionage thriller that ends relatively peacefully.  I have intended for this to be a streaming opportunity that can be enjoyed at home.  But, as Bob Dylan so eloquently stated, “Times are a-changin’.”  I still plan to do this play, but it might look a little different than the version I intended for a more secluded world.

A friend of mine who teaches theatre at a college recently imparted these words on social media.  They come from a new biography of the stage and screen director Mike Nichols: “I passionately believe that in art, and certainly in the theatre, there are only two questions ... The first questions is “What is this, really, when it happens in life?”  Not what is the accepted convention ... but what is it really like?  And the other question we really have to ask is, “What happens next?”

We’re there, Mike.  We’re there.  What is going to happen next?

I’ll see you at intermission!