Monday, August 21, 2017
What We Did For Love: Why Amateur Theatre Isn't a Dirty Word
Clyde Fitch Report: When you hear the words amateur theatre, the first things that spring to mind for many people are dusty church halls, creaky sets, wooden performances and over-inflated egos. Most people grow up aware of amateur theatre from their community centres and even school or university groups and their ability to provide extra-curricular care to those who band together under the umbrella of “theatre,” a broad church that celebrates interests and skills that unite rather than divide.
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Dom O’Halon in this article focuses a lot on how amateur theatre is bringing back nostalgic shows that have stood the test of time. The shows carry with them a “ghost” from their long Broadway history and just long history in general. I agree with Halon’s point that amateur theatre is a great place to find passionate people working on shows that have stood the test of time. However, after spending much time working in a community theatre, I’ve seen many new works or little-known pieces done. Audience members time and time again come out falling in love with little-done works like Secret in the Wings and The God of Isaac. I think amateur theatre is also a great place to introduce new and different works to new audience members as well. The cheaper tickets justify audience members seeing lesser known works that they might not enjoy. Thus fostering a new crop of theatre goers supporting more amateur theatre and daring professional works as well. Amateur theatre is a great place to bring back the “ghosts: of the old theatre as well as introducing many new works.
The article also talks about how amateur theatre is becoming higher in quality. This raises the questions about where are ticket buyers are coming from. Is there a new crop of audience members sprouting up as more cheaper theatre is available or is the amateur theatre field taking buyers away from the professional theatres or are the same set of ticket buyers just buying more tickets. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as more accessible theatre is always a plus but it would interesting to see where these patrons are coming from.
The articles famous title, "What We Did for love" is a slight variation on the title of a famous song from the anomaly of a musical, "A Chorus Line". It is important to note that within the musical, this song comes at a time where the director asks the actors exactly what they would do if it were their last day of dancing. This article demonstrates the magnitude of the art of theatre, amateur or not, how working in the theatre is both treasured and therapeutic to many people. Community theatre is often times met with little to no pay, showing how important the art is to many people around the world. I think that by using A Chorus Line in this article they were able to hit way closer to home for many of its readers. What many people overlook when they think about ACL is that, when it first came out in 1975, there were little to no other roles for LGBT, Latino, Black, Asian, etc. actors in musicals. Not only did the musical contain a plethora of actors, it also requires little tech as it uses no set and minimal costumes. What makes amateur theatre so important, is that it resonates with audiences, it gives a chance for people to do something that they love. In an industry that is both grateful and unforgiving towards the members that are a part of it, its highly important that these types of productions exist. and It really opened my eyes to the privilege I have as a CMU student to be receiving theatre education.
The articles famous title, "What We Did for love" is a slight variation on the title of a famous song from the anomaly of a musical, "A Chorus Line". It is important to note that within the musical, this song comes at a time where the director asks the actors exactly what they would do if it were their last day of dancing. This article demonstrates the magnitude of the art of theatre, amateur or not, how working in the theatre is both treasured and therapeutic to many people. Community theatre is often times met with little to no pay, showing how important the art is to many people around the world. I think that by using A Chorus Line in this article they were able to hit way closer to home for many of its readers. What many people overlook when they think about ACL is that, when it first came out in 1975, there were little to no other roles for LGBT, Latino, Black, Asian, etc. actors in musicals. Not only did the musical contain a plethora of actors, it also requires little tech as it uses no set and minimal costumes. What makes amateur theatre so important, is that it resonates with audiences, it gives a chance for people to do something that they love. In an industry that is both grateful and unforgiving towards the members that are a part of it, its highly important that these types of productions exist. and It really opened my eyes to the privilege I have as a CMU student to be receiving theatre education.
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