No Stake in Community Theater

"This is the last time we do Community Theater," Steve shrugged and Denny and I both nodded.

It is 3 weeks to opening, and with the exception of 3 actors, everyone else has major problems to overcome.

Because Steve translated a new version of Threepenny from the original German, one actor takes his own artistic license saying, "Well since you rewrote the play, why can't I rewrite my lines?... I don't think ___________ would have said this....etc."

Now everyone is telling us that he is legendary for poor line memorization. Thanks for telling us NOW. When he sings, he accosts the audience by getting right in their face and sneering at them, no matter what the sing. Denny tries to counteract this terrifying gesture by lacing him far upstage and sitting for many of the songs.

There is a woman whose body and brain forget every piece of direction, so for other actors, it's like talking to a preprogrammed crane who moves in spite of other activity. She doesn't even notice when other characters enter, she just delivers her lines to whoever should be there.

Then of course there are the normal yet annoying problems of paraphrasing lines, boring delivery no matter the amount of coaching, missed entrances (there's a guy who missed every single entrance), and general apathy.

It is certainly different than working in a college environment. There, students had a stake in a show, in getting better, in developing a "craft." Here, there are 3 people out of 16 who have any desire to get better. For most, they are content being mediocre, and because there is no community theater "community" to speak of, they know they are irreplaceable.

Agghh! Nikki (Producer) wants me to return this winter to do "the Nutcracker: The Musical." Right now, I can think of nothing more exasperating.