Theatre

Last night, my wife and I went to a play entitled Humpty Dumpty at the WaterTower Theatre in Addison. The play, which was written by Eric Bogosian, was staged by a company called Second Thought Theatre, which was formed in 2003 by a group of five actors and playwrights, most of whom got their theatrical training in the Baylor University fine arts department program. The fact that the play was held in a very small theatre, with an audience of no more than 60 people crammed into the tiny hall, made it especially interesting.

The play was interesting. While some of the changes in characters' personalities seemed abrupt and implausible (I assume the playwright can be blamed for those foibles), the actors were very good at directing attention away from those abrupt transitions and toward the characters. The company's website describes the play as follows:

Humpty Dumpty tells the story of a group of young urban over-achievers on a weekend country outing equipped with everything but survival skills. After a huge disaster of an unknown nature strikes, they are forced to reconsider the meaning and purpose within their lives and relationships once the protective shell of modern goods - both material and social - has been broken.

Their next production will be The Caucasian Chalk Circle, by Bertolt Brecht. I've not seen it, nor have I read it, but what little I read about it at the company's website does not appeal to me.

It was a bit on the long side. It started at 8:00 pm and we did not get out of the theatre until 10:30. Being out at an unusually late hour (for us) gave us the opportunity to indulge our need for a snack. Rather than go through the hubbub of finding a restaurant that serves appetizers, we stopped at the local Kroger's and bought doritos and jalapeno bean dip to eat at home.

Anyway, going to a play made me think of the fact that my wife has been wanting to get season tickets to the theatre and I think that's a likely candidate for a present for her sometime soon. In the meantime, I got tickets to see The
Santaland Diaries, the David Sedaris piece about his stint acting as a Santa's elf at Macy's during the holiday season. We've heard Sedaris reading his piece on National Public Radio; it was hilarious. He won't be in the play, of course, so it remains to be seen whether it will be as entertaining. Unlike last night's play, The Santaland Diaries will be held on the WaterTower Theatre's main stage, which is considerably larger and has room for many, many more audience members (though it's not a huge facility; I'd guess the main stage theatre will hold about 200 people...though it could be double that, considering it has a second level).

I've often thought of volunteering at a theatre company...doing anything...to get a behind-the-scenes look at how a play is planned and produced. While I have a good idea of how it comes together, my idea is based on my perception and it may have nothing to do with reality. I've thought about it, but never acted on it; maybe it's time to actually explore that.

Speaking of exploring things, my wife and I visited an artglass shop a week or two ago and marveled at the wonderful artwork on display. In addition to sophisticated art in glass, the shop had stained glass on display, as well as complete stained glass projects. What I found most appealing was the fact that they offer classes. I have talked...for years, and that is not exaggeration...about learning stained glass, but have never found a class that was convenient, affordable, fit my schedule, etc. This time, though, I think I found it. They've not published their 2006 schedule yet, but my guess is that I'll be taking at least one class sometime next year. I'd further guess that it might be a present from my wife, who tends to remember such things as gift possibilities.

Enough for today, at least enough nonfiction. Maybe I'll turn my attention, later today, to some of the fiction pieces I've started. Rather than post snippets on the blog, though, I think I'll try to come closer to finishing some of them before releasing them to the world.