I miss theater.

Tonight, I went with my co-workers to the campus production of Into the Woods and as to be expected, it made me miss theater. I was in my first community theater show in 3rd grade, and after that, I really got involved in theater both in school and the local theater, which did professional summer stock. I started out just acting but then in high school, I was trained into the tech side by a senior and I shifted to doing more behind the scenes. Sadly, when I got to college, I ended up focusing on other things and didn't make time for theater (especially since I was in the Institute of Technology, rather than the theater program in the College of Liberal Arts). I took a couple of college classes, but it wasn't quite the same as being in a production.

The two things that were true about every production in the right hands was it that it took a large investment of time and effort, but it was also a blast at the same time. I know I've spent countless hours learning music and choreography, but it was so much fun creating this alternate world. My biggest roles were still only supporting characters, but it was amazing seeing my friends bring characters to life right in front of my eyes. Being on the tech side felt more like tackling a big jigsaw puzzle, from coordinating scene changes to running lights or sound for a show.

The best part about theater is that every production is different. I did tech for Into the Woods with summer theater back in high school, and while the story, characters, and songs were the same, tonight's production was definitely different. The show here took place in a thrust stage, meaning that the audience was seated around 3/4ths of the stage with one quarter connected to backstage. The actors and actresses frequently used the aisles to enter and exit scenes so the production was going on all around at times, whereas my summer production was a more typical proscenium stage (where the audience is on one side of the stage and the actors and actresses just stayed on their side of the 4th wall - physically at least). This also led to tonight's show having a more minimalist set outside of the opening number in each act, since otherwise big set pieces would get in the way of part of the audience. On the flip side, I can definitely think back to sitting behind a rolling wooden "bush" during the scene where the Prince seduces the Baker's Wife.

Thinking back, a lot of my stories and memories from theater come from the inside jokes and the time spent off-stage. Sticking with Into the Woods, a couple of the actors and tech members made up random hand signs that we would dramatically act out during Jack's "Giants in the Sky" song. The woman who played Red Riding Hood was a yoga instructor and she would hold yoga sessions for anyone who was interested. I only wish I could lived with the rest of the company at the college campus, since most of the main cast/production crew was in the summer from the Twin Cities.

As I'm writing this, I know that putting this into words can never be the same as actually being in a show, but I think that's the point. Like I said before, it takes a lot of time to memorize lines, know your choreography, make dynamic characters, and yes, that includes rehearsals where the director gets mad at everyone or the lighting system is all out of whack because cues didn't save correctly. I honestly feel like I could make an entire list of little theater stories as its own blog entry. (Maybe for the next Random Tuesday?) Hopefully I can find a way to be a part of theater again soon. I don't think I'm quite in that place yet, given my work schedule, but who knows what the future will bring.

Today is part of Catholic Schools Week and since I work at a Catholic college, I think it's very fitting. It's also US National Snow Sculpting Week and National Cowboy Poetry Gathering Week, if those better suit yer' fancy.

DFTBA.