Reflections on the wake and the local theater scene by Bob Hicks.
He's right about how important a sense of community is in doing theater. I lost that sense personally, a sense of being connected to Portland theater, years ago with the departure of Gary O'Brien, the death of Peter Fornara, and the retirement of Steve Smith, the three pillars of my support system. A playwright has a different relationship with a theater community than actors do. Playwrights need directors who champion their work. When these three left, no one filled the vacuum, and that was the end of interest in my work in this town. But I was ready to move on to other things anyway. At the same time, I still feel a bit like a ghost when I'm around theater people here, the vast majority of whom don't know me from Adam. Memories are short. And maybe memories need to be short because it takes such incredible energy, usually without remuneration, to do theater, an emphasis on Now makes practical sense. I have no regrets really. I just feel out of place more often than I'd prefer. I really should be living in a small WARM town where I have no history but damn if I can figure out how to get my wife to agree with me.
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