In the Green Room

"A green room is a room in a theater, studio, or other public venue for the accommodation of performers or speakers when not required on the stage.." According to Wikipedia, anyways. The term 'green room' was first introduced to me in a very offhand manner, as if I should implicitly know what it was. I didn't, but I loved the idea that there was jargon for this mysterious community. It felt very much like Alice tumbling head over heels in the rabbit hole. A brilliant discovery that seemed like a well kept secret among a certain few.

                  The entire cast of Strangely Familiar (both actors, musicians and dancers)

My first foray into community theater was a participation in a Christmas Show that was more like a variety hour, in that it had singing, acting, games, etc. I was twelve at the time and it had a big impact on me. A couple of years later I was able to find a way back to that community theater via a friend whose mother was heavily involved in producing. My first backstage "job" was babysitting a flock of unruly kids all aged under twelve for a different Christmas play. The kids were rowdy, but I took a secret joy of herding them about for their acting moments, peering at their reluctant acting from behind the set. 


I was able to volunteer for more plays, and grew to love the musty old haunted timbers. I loved seeing a production get under way, the actors fleshing out their characters, the scenery and set coming to life before my very eyes, the coordination, dedication, passion, energy needed to create something. And create it was, for you're creating this fantastical, magical voyage in to a story told by dedicated, unpaid volunteer actors, backstage crew, light and sound crew, not to mention the production team. They've all sacrificed hours of their personal time to bring something to life, to create. I liked being a part of that, it resonated within me. The anticipation of a new show, the routine created by shows, the feeling of give and take with the audience, nailing your lines, the clap of hands, the warmth of the lights. A potent, addictive combination. 

                                                                            Improv8


Some plays that I have performed in:  'Boeing Boeing', 'A Christmas Carol', 'The Tender Trap', as well as participated in improvisational comedy, one act plays, as well as an original musical called Strangely Familiar. My most recent part was that of Sarah in 'God's Favorite'. I tend to do very well in comedies because I very rarely take myself seriously and have no problem making a fool of myself, in fact its easier for me to play the fool than to act seriously. 


Recently, a director I worked with in the past that I hold in very high esteem came to visit for a couple of weeks. I was able to spend some time with her and glean some tips and good advice that I took to heart. We were discussing the community theater that we both love and have been very passionate about. She asked me point blank if I had ever thought about directing. I balked, directing is not an easy thing to do and is a very real responsibility that had never actually crossed my mind, until she mentioned it. She mentioned a couple of one act plays that I could start off with, making it seem rather easy. I warmed to the idea. Why couldn't I bring something to life, create? I had been in plenty of theater productions both on stage, backstage and front stage. I had never been in the producing or directing side, but maybe it was about time. 

                                                                        God's Favorite

I mulled this thought over for a bit of time, and thought that hell, maybe I could just write my very own one act play. Maybe this is the push I needed in order to validate all the writing I do that seems rather futile at times. But time was passing and I wasn't really writing this brilliant so far invisible one act play that I was planning at some point of this year making into an actual production. It just wasn't happening. 


At this point I had auditioned and got a role in a play called God's Favorite by Neil Simon. During rehearsals I had some time to wander about the theater (as I enjoy rifling about though the nooks and crannies) and came across the library where a great variety of books on theater, plays, playwrights, among other things can be found. On my spare time when I wasn't on stage I would grab a couple of these books and leaf through them, finding most of them boring and lacking in something that I couldn't quite grasp. 

                                                          Hydra, an original one act play 

One night I found a bright yellow tome titled "Best One Act Plays of 1988". I flipped through a couple of the acts until I landed on one that caught my eye immediately. I read a couple of lines and I knew I had found the play that I wanted to direct. I finished reading it In the Green Room, between scenes. It only has four characters, a mostly male cast (less drama), very few scene changes, and it is only one act. 


I have a production team, I have a backstage crew; I haven't proposed it to the Board of Directors yet, but I know it will be approved because its a helluva story and its going to knock some people's socks off (because of course, that is my intention; I want to make a damn good production, nothing half assed). I'm excited, a little nervous, and ever so eager to get started on the casting, lighting, setting, everything. I have a really eager, talented crew who wants to create something amazing just as much as I do, which will make everything ten times better. 


This is my foray into directing a play for the first time. I'll be using this as my sounding board, a place to document the happenings of an ongoing production, the hardships, hassles, and the successes. 


Break a leg!