When I went back to college in 2010, I knew that I had many years of theatrical experience and that I had taken most of the basic theatre courses the first time I went to college in the 70’s. As I have told you before, I ended up taking most of those classes again which was fine. It helped to remind me of things that I had forgotten over the long span of time between.
However, for all of the experience I thought I had, I quickly realized how much I had to learn. One of the things that I had to do for almost every theatre class I took, was to write a response paper for every production the department presented. Sometimes multiple classes called for multiple papers on the same production and I tried to make each one unique and interesting.
I am sure it does not surprise you to know that I was one of those people who tried to get all of my work done quickly and turned in as early as possible. I attribute that to being a Type A personality and even more to being old. Old people know to plan ahead, do things when you can and that time isn’t always on our side.
The first response paper I wrote was ready the day after I saw the first play of that first semester. I turned it in proudly because not only was it early, I thought it was really good. The next day the professor gave me the paper back and told me it was not at all what was expected.
She told me that what I turned in was a synopsis of the play. She told me that I could go on Wikipedia and get that. She told me that anyone could write a paper rehashing the play and saying who was in it, but only I could write about how the play made me feel. That was what she wanted, to know how the play had affected me.
Several years ago, I wrote reviews for awhile. I was not fond of the website, the constant push to put out more content, the pop up ads my readers had to endure and the popularity awards at the end of the year that brought out the worst in people.
Whenever I wrote about plays, I heard my professor in the back of my head saying that anyone could look up the play’s plot on Wikipedia. I usually try to find out what I can about every show before I go to see it.
What I wanted to do with my writing was share what the experience felt like. I wanted to write my impressions of the evening after going to the theatre.
I sometimes included my experience at the box office, the ambiance of the theatre or how my fellow patrons behaved in my writing. Some people liked that, some didn’t. As long as I wrote something, I don’t think my editor really cared. It is all about the clicks for a website like that.
This past Saturday I went to see FUN HOME at Terrific New Theatre. It reminded me of why I love to write, why I ever thought being a critic was a job I would want, and why I love theatre.
The performance was a sell out and the noise level when I entered the theatre was high! People were excited to be there and I heard it all around me. After getting situated in my seat, the lady next to me asked if I had ever been there before. I suppressed my laughter to be polite and told her that yes, I had been there many times. I asked her if she was new to the theatre and she told me that this was her 5th play ever. EVER.
Those of us in the theatre world forget that there are so many people out there who have never experienced what we take for granted. Who have no idea what to expect and are even a bit intimidated by the place where we feel so at home. We often forget that we need to try and lure these people into the world of the theatre.
The lady went on to say that she had seen the last 3 plays at TNT and that she had also seen Mamma Mia over the summer. She had been delighted when she took her 87 year old father to see his first play (Mamma Mia) and he had loved it.
As I was thinking about an 87 year old seeing their very first play and how this play we were about to see was going to be so very different, the lights went down.
Rarely does “community theatre” offer such consistently superb talent. We are so fortunate in Birmingham to have so many talented actors and so many different theatre groups and venues. Each theatre is finding its niche and presenting a full array of theatrical experiences. Sometimes theatres go strictly for the laughs, others try to be edgy. There are those that are into big productions, others more intimate.
Some experiences are extra special. Not always does a play draw you in, make you think and hold you for what seemed like minutes and days all at the same time. Not all of them have you thinking about them days after you leave the theatre. The ones that do are among my favorites and that is what FUN HOME was for me.
Each actor was so entrenched in their role that, although I know many of them very well, I could not see them as anyone but that character in that moment.
Caleb Clark as the father kept me riveted. I honestly have to say that I was on edge waiting for his next shift in personality. One moment he was the fun father, the next a tyrant who scared me. I never knew what to expect next and his swift changes kept me off balance and concerned for the children and wife who lived in his house.
Kristi Tingle Higginbotham had the perfect blend of caring yet disconnection from the man who was so complex and unavailable. I felt such empathy for a woman who was made to feel a stranger in her own home. At first she almost seemed to become one of the children as they all lined up for inspection, but as time went on I realized how much she was enduring to try and keep her family together and “normal”.
The three Alisons were funny, sweet, insightful and moved seamlessly across time and situations. I enjoyed the blending of their singing voices and spent much time after the production wondering about how they prepared for the emotions they portrayed, especially the younger two.
Tam DeBolt held the entire show together with her performance as the adult Alison. Wandering from her drawing table perched in the audience to the stage to observe her past being played out in front of her added a dimension of perspective to the entire production.
Megan Pecot played the middle Alison with a wide eyed innocence that grew up right before our eyes. Spanning between the innocent child played by the super talented Emma Brooke Levering and the wiser, yet still searching adult version of this character, Megan showed us the perfect blend of adolescent wonder growing into adult awareness.
The technical side of the show was handled well- no noticeable missed lighting or sound cues to disrupt the flow of the show. I personally am not a fan of so much moving of furniture and clutter on stage (some of it seemed for no real reason that I could fathom) but it was not distracting enough to make this show anything but A+ in my book.
I was taught and have shared many times that the director’s main job is to cast the right people and David Strickland certainly did that. As always, he was creative, inventive and put on an interesting show that I could not quit talking about when I got home.
However, the emotion I felt during the show, the complexity of the performances, the issues that were explored and experienced, are something that I will be quietly thinking about for a long time to come.
And that is what I love about theatre. Seeing things from new perspectives and feeling fear, joy, confusion, and sadness all in less than two hours is something that is beyond words, even for me.
