Don’t know whether it’s the time of year which brings less sunshine and colder temps, or the approach of the holidays, or just being cranky – but I am.

Shouldn’t happen – been seeing some really good theatrical productions lately including Spinning Tree’s Turn of the Screw and Metropolitan Actors Ensemble’s Vincent in Brixton. There are many other productions going on all over the KC area. This is a boom town for theatre goers. Most productions are good-to-very good and some are excellent.

Of course, the past few weeks in KC have been all about baseball (not that there is anything wrong with that). Mania to the extent that some of the fine productions currently on the boards have had too few audience members. Then, there were some trying to change dates complaining that productions shouldn’t be scheduled while the Royals are in the World Series. Let’s just say that IF producers had been given assurance in the summer/fall of 2014 that the team would in fact be in the Series, they would have been happy to schedule around it. As we all know, this is impossible. There were, of course, theatre goers who planned a little ahead, recording the games to be watched after returning home from the theatre showing that there is more than one way to enjoy both.

So, of course, celebrate the KC Royals World Series win but also remember to celebrate the opportunities that live theatre presents. Get that ticket. See that show. Support the home town actors (IMHO often underpaid) as you would support the home town team players (IMHO often overpaid)

Wow, Cranky enough for you? Check in December – I promise to be in a better mood.

     Since about age six, I wanted to be an actor. Time passed and after 12 years of school I had only ever done one high school play. But that dream stayed with me. After another #%#@# years, without having studied the field at all and not really interested in “going back to school” I decided to get involved in Community Theatre. What great experiences I had. I enjoyed meeting new friends while learning a lot about the language of theatre, the history of some forms, the different approaches actors took to do the job. Always listening, learning and – practicing my own formula for the stage. It worked. I was fortunate to be cast in a number of different community theatres around town and so I built a resume. Small roles, leading roles, walk-on roles. It didn’t matter to me I simply wanted to be involved and learning.

     Since audition notices were not always published in the newspaper I decided I would ask the local community theatres to send me their notices and I would pass them along in a monthly newsletter. One evening while having a conversation with a fellow actor backstage during intermission I was backstage having a conversation with a fellow actor when an inspiration came to me and I knew what would be the name for my newsletter. Greenroom Conversations was born.

     As time passed a very talented friend who was a writer and artist, contributed articles, helped with cartoons, wrote reviews and helped the newsletter grow from a one-page photocopy to a larger newsletter and larger subscription base. Issues fluctuated between 4 and 8 pages with columns of opinion as well as the aforementioned cartoons, reviews, etc. For nine years I did it all.  I wrote, edited, did the layout, photocopied, folded, stamped, affixed mailing labels and mailed copies. For the most part I enjoyed this time-consuming task. But,  when another source for this kind of information was established I was very happy to let go of the responsibility I had felt to my readers all those years. I was ready to move on.

     There was one aspect of the community theatre experience that I didn’t care for. It was evident that ‘cliques’ were present in some of the theatres. Mostly the same people were cast in the major roles. Often these were the ones who partied together, who had worked together on many projects, were well-known and favored. Some of this was certainly understandable, you might choose to work with someone who has a solid track record, someone you knew was reliable and punctual. However, some things were not so clear, as when one of the “clique” members was cast in a major role so obviously wrong for him/her it seemed clear that the production was not the main focus.

     Later, I decided to concentrate on professional theatre and have been fortunate to have had wonderful experiences in that sector. I must say however, there are many of the same troublesome kinds of things occurring in local professional theatre – the “cliques” are well entrenched and many times new faces are set aside for the familiar ones. It’s often to know who is going to be cast in a show when one hears about the upcoming production.

     I am not so naive to think that this isn’t the case in major markets and in the motion picture industry. You’ve heard it before and here it is again: It is what it is.

     However, it was this reality that inspired me to write a poem in the years when Aaron Spelling’s name was everywhere along with that of his daughter Tori. I’d like to share that with you today.

     Success 

Talent is one factor,

Good looks a real plus.

Study is important 

And discipline a must.

But, let's face it,

      Success is often relative.

That's not to say that many folks

Won't reach their goals alone.

But, kids or parents in the biz,

Can help by picking up a phone.

Just read the credits, they're a clue,

Which proves this tale I'm telling.

In my next life I think that I

Would like to be a “Spelling”.

     Let's face it, success is often relative.

Have some fun and finish the last stanza with your take. Send it to me and I’ll try to share some. Here’s a thought to get you going:

Just read the credits, they're a clue

 To some folks giving thanks,

 In my next life I'd like to have

 My surname changed to “Hanks”.

Spring has been a plethora of flowering trees and plants. Makes one want to really get out and smell the roses and other blooms as well (on the way to the theatre of course).
I recently attended a performance of Tosca and was reminded of the importance of body language in theatre. For me it conveys much of the meaning in the plot when lyrics are sung in an unfamiliar language. The language of most operas is unknown to me and perhaps to other audience members as well and so story interpretation relies on much more than lyrics. Earlier in my life it when I attended the opera I would rely on the actions alone to follow the story. Fortunately, the beautiful music was enough to draw me back often. Meanwhile, while some would see the exaggerated movements of the characters as examples of “over-acting”, I would say that in this genre, it is important.
Now, with the advent of different means of projecting a translation of the lyrics, patrons have a choice of following the plot line by reading, watching the action or, do as I do, a combination of both.
It makes me wonder if/when that kind of technology might be available for legitimate stage. My fear is that it would be an unnecessary distraction – perhaps knowing a line was bobbled would become the focus rather than the play itself. I have been informed that some movie theaters currently offer closed captions but not yet legitimate theatre and probably rightly so.
CAVEAT: While body language is an important part of any communication, live or filmed, its exaggeration requires consideration of the medium. In film and stage it can be a distraction if overdone.
AND here’s another pesky observation from a inveterate theatre goer – me. Too often when I attend a musical theatre production I find that the musicians overwhelm the singers. Even small combos are often too much. Miking an instrument trumpet may enhance that instrument’s already strong sound and thus overpowers the vocals. Even when singers are miked, it seems that certain instruments take the focus from them. My request to sound technicians as they are setting levels, please understand that I came and perhaps the much of the audience came primarily to hear the voices and understand the lyrics. I love the music of the orchestra. I greatly appreciate the overture and am in no way denigrating their importance to the production. But, I really want to hear and understand the lyrics.
Those are some of my May observations. Looking forward to begin rehearsals for a Fringe Festival production.
STOP – and smell the roses. Happy spring/summer to all.

It seems to be a fact of life. A calendar will look empty leading to the false conclusion that “I don’t have to do that now, I have plenty of free time to accomplish what I need to do.” Then, suddenly the calendar is full. This is what my April is looking like. Cruising along comfortably and suddenly I see there are many things scheduled. Happily they are things I look forward to.

I recently had the grand experience of accompanying a three-year-old as she experienced her very first live theatre production. How exciting to see the instant fascination as she was thoroughly engaged. No problem with short attention span, she was glued to the action before her. Three is obviously old enough when the material is age-appropriate. Looking forward to  accompanying her to another production very soon. I get to watch the play but just as exciting, I get to watch her watch the play.

Then four more productions appear on my schedule before month’s end. Fortunately the Kansas City area has a large variety of opportunities.

Spring is here and 2015 looks to be an exciting year theatrically. Stay tuned (in other words watch for the May blog). Meanwhile, see a play, visit a museum, go to a film, paint a picture, sing, dance and enjoy all the arts.

Hello, So Nice To See You. That is the typical greeting from persons greeting audience members,taking tickets, seating patrons and selling concessions – usually volunteers at smaller theatre companies. This has certainly been my experience at many of the Kansas City venues: The Spinning Tree Theatre, KCActors Theatre, The Unicorn, The Coterie and The New Theatre. There are others that I have not yet attended but which I’m sure offer the same kind of personal touch.

Why do I bring that up? Because the movie I attended this week was a dreadful contrast. I won’t mention the theatre chain but rest assured I have let them know about my experiences. My friend and I arrived at about 2:45 for a 2:50 scheduled starting time. After waiting for some time in front of the empty ticket booth I walked over toward the person in the concession stand. I asked about a ticket agent and a young woman, leaning against the wall outside the concession stand, left her very important cell phone game or text to let me know that, “He’ll be back right away”. Right away proved to be five minutes plus. Already we had lost ten minutes of our afternoon just waiting. Finally the agent came back accompanied by the cell phone woman and the concession stand employee and the three of them were able to conger up our tickets. I asked about a hearing device but was handed a long piece of apparatus which was a set for closed captions. I decided to give it a try so I told the clerk which movie we were to see and she set the device accordingly. Then, with no one taking tickets or providing instructions to the right theatre in the complex we found our theatre, entered and sat down.

What does one do when waiting for the deafeningly loud ads and previews to start? We visited, catching up with events since our last outing. After a while we began to wonder why there was nothing showing. Fifteen minutes past start time and nothing on the screen but a shot of a poster. So, at this point I decided to find a manager. Down the long empty hall, down the escalator until I saw a person in a theatre uniform. He told me that they had had trouble with that theatre/feature earlier in the day but thought they had fixed it. He contacted a manager who told me the same sad tale but said he would start the previews right away. I rejoined my companion, the previews came on and we relaxed, ready to see the show.

We did see a show. Unfortunately, it was not the one we came to see, the one we bought tickets for. That meant too that the closed captions didn’t work because the device had been set for a different movie.

After the film (fortunately one that both of us planned to see at a later date) I turned in the captioning device. There was one employee in the very large lobby and he was very pleasant and apologetic. Too bad other employees didn’t share his attitude about customer service.

Next adventure will be a play presented by one of the wonderful Kansas City theatres.

Movies? – getting lower on my list of things to do.