life is a funny word. type it over and over again, and then look at it for a while and then all of a sudden it takes on a new meaning. sometimes this happens to me when i type or look at the same word for a long while. wow--absolutely nothing on topic for my blog.
i enjoy theater. i enjoy all the aspects from the live audience even down to the costume designs. i guess that's why i involve myself in such an artform. but i would like to poll my readers (all two of you haha) on a question that i find myself asking with every production i involve myself with.
is it possible to involve yourself in drama without there being extra drama involved? it never seems to fail that as successful as the shows i've be a part of have been, there is ALWAYS unneccessary drama.
here are a few examples:
music man @ afhs -- two weeks before we open, neal decided he was done and that if our show was "spit* on a shingle" (* edited for michelle) it was our own dang* fault. the show was fun, but pretty much went down in history as a joke. we made seven dollars. granted we bought like 6000 worth of supplies and a new spotlight...so we probably made more than 7 dollars, but that's what neal tells us.
secret garden @ the scera -- first of all the drama with the warby's making an exit (the reason i did the show ultimately because there was a role to fill) one of our leads who we called "the chad" ALWAYS being late. lucky for me i was just acting and wasn't responsible for him :) and my favorite little girl.... SLAGOWSKI!
scarlet pimpernel @ the scera -- this show it was me, sadly, who was part of the drama. this was the nasty time when krystyna and i really started to part ways and she was in the show with me and was my dance partner for most numbers. an effort to save our relationship, nasty ending. mel also reminded me of the awful head butting between neal and mindy for who knows what reason.
macbeth @ the castle -- the whole delemma with strike. not even going to really get into this one. the wounds between me and the people it affected have been fixed and i'll leave it at that.
my fair lady @ the scera -- i don't remember a whole lot of drama happening with the show actually. i think the hardest part was having neal direct his wife and watch how they would sometimes fight. not the best of scenarios i think, but ultimately this show was fairly drama free. and as i remember a lot of fun too!
west side story @ usu -- riff came down with laryngitis. this was kind of fun drama, to be honest. i got to sing his songs into a microphone back stage while watching a monitor showing me the director from the pit. i couldn't see what he was doing on stage. we probably weren't together, but the sound coming from the speakers was GREAT! :) i made some good frineds from this show.
julius caesar @ the castle -- our production stage manager is falling apart as a person, leaving me to pick up the slack. something i ultimately don't mind doing because i want the show to be a success, but this person is also in the show and its affecting her acting and just her as a person. no one really wants to be around her because we're not sure if she's going to snap or laugh or whatever.
seagull @ byu -- haven't had much drama.... so far :) the only drama i see is that this show overlaps with caesar by a week or so. but that really isn't avoidable drama so i'm okay with it.
the rest of the unneccessary drama needs to go.... or does it? is it that drama that us theater geeks thrive on? i think part of me has to say yes. most of the time (when it doesn't directly involve you) it's entertaining to be a bystander. so as much as i really want this unneccessary drama to go away, it probably won't and i think i'm okay with that.
on a side note, film has a very similar unneccessary drama i'll save that for another post.
so two things i want to know from you: 1. is this "unneccessary drama" something that happens all the time?
2. i want examples. it doesn't have to be from a show. it can be any kind of performance. but i know it exists everywhere!
02 August 2007
theater, life, theater-life
at 2:03 PM
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8 comments:
I actually think that's why "theater" gets changed to "drama" in most conversations..when you combine a group of talented but DRAMATIC people for any amount of time, fireworks are bound to happen.
I must admit, I have limited remembrances of CS DRAMA, but maybe that's because it involved mostly non-theatre major people? (sorry to all you theater majors out there...) maybe that's why I could handle it..there wasn't so much behind the scene c-r-a-p.
by the way, thanks for the editing. may we all edit, and have fewer bad dreams.
wish you could come and be part of the stone drama this weekend.
next question..what's MOST fulfilling for you. acting, directing, producing, sound guy-ing, singing, dancing, etc. not many people can say they've done it all, you know.
It's like many things in life. The attributes that make you love something can also make you hate it. Jenny likes that I am "sensitive," but doesn't like that I am very affected by negative things around me. The same quality that makes people "dramatic" is the same one in my mind that makes people passionate about love, friendships, and flavors of ice cream. Combine that attribute with liking attention and you get drama people stew: chewy and delicious, but sometimes a bit thick.
From blue to mostly pink in under a minute: a dramatic beginning, and your just getting started.
Sorry, that was supposed to be you're not your.
I think that most people, no matter what thier hobby, crave some amount of drama. It's healthy and normal to have "drama" or what you will in your life. definitely within reason, though.... But I agree with "Brandon or Michelle" In that if you get already dramatic people together your going to get dramatic outcomes. Not that being dramatically inclined automatically makes you a "drama queen or king" but most actors and actresses are very sensitive and in touch with the emotional side of the personality.
I would like to think that the older you get the less of that stuff you have to deal with, but sadly this isn't the case.
ahh.. Scarlet Pimp.. I don't think I'll ever forget! :)
Brandon this time...
You should see all of the drama in the building design/construction industry. Some of the best actors I've ever seen are contractors.
I've just come to the conclusion that I can't spell on a good day, not to mention when I'm in a hurry... :)
Sorry, I'm a little late on the uptake on this one. . . I was contemplating my response.
Basically, I think the thing that compounds all of the issues everyone else has already discussed is that it's a LOT of hard work. And when people work that hard, they get tired, and sometimes cranky. Throw in the fact that you are suddenly thrown into 20 hours a week of close personal time with a bunch of relative strangers, and there are bound to be conflicts. . . and romances.
I have found that the most "drama free" productions I've ever worked on have been those in which people already knew each other. If you take out the personality issues that come with being squished into a small space with people in the dark it's a very different experience.
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