By Dale Moore |
By Dale Moore |
|
I write this seated in the Green Room of the Village Players Theatre waiting to go on stage. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the theatre, the Green Room is the name of the area where actors and actresses wait to go on stage before the show or between scenes. The name actually has nothing to do with the color of the room. I’m really not sure why the area is called that. The origin of the term, like so many phrases in our world, is lost in the antiquities of the theatre. Over the past eight weeks, I have been involved as director of that wonderful old classic play, “Arsenic and Old Lace”. A fascinating experience! Theatre is, in a very real sense, the Land of Oz, a state of imagination, a world of magic. The man playing the theater critic on stage, off stage is involved in the construction field. Would anyone who knows the recreational therapist at St. Luke’s hospital recognize her as the old lady now crisscrossing the stage? The man, who in real life owns a silk printing firm in town, becomes a mad version of Teddy Roosevelt in the play. Who would associate a university professor with a Ph.D. in education with the dowdy Dr. Einstein cringing before the onslaught of his psychopathic co-star, who is, in the real world, a retired teacher? This cast of fifteen people, most of whom had never met each other before the audition, has come together from various stations in life to create new personas and to build a “family” where life takes a series of strange twists and turns. The set, an elegant interior of a Victorian home belies its actual exterior. Through the magic of the theatre, canvas covered flats and pink Styrofoam become elegant high walls covered by vintage paper bordered by walnut trim. Colored stage gels become stained glass windows draped in velvet. Cast and crew of the play have dedicated extensive and intensive effort and time over these past eight weeks with the sole desire of giving the audience a pleasant experience. Through the magic of theatre, these players strive to provide the audience an escape from the depressing news of the day, even if only for a few hours. Talk about fantasy! Talk about magic! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if each of us had the desire to bring a touch of that same stardust magic to our own everyday world once in a while? And
that’s my two cents worth |
