Theatre Development Fund – TDF: I've always had a fascination with small things. As a child, I briefly collected foreign stamps, clear marbles, shiny pennies, tiny seashells, smooth stones, refrigerators magnets, and even miniature figurines like Laura did in The Glass Menagerie. I'm sure Freud would have a field day with this but personally, I associate these mini-obsessions with an ongoing desire to see things up close, to view an object in its entirety all at once. It's why I've always been an Off-Off devotee instead of a Broadway queen since, for me, the size of a venue is inversely related to a production's potential intensity. And while I know some may claim such a thought is un-American, I believe bigger is not better when it comes to the theatre.
4 comments:
I really do love small theatre as well. There is something so intimate and personal about a small venue that just can not be achieved at a huge theater. But I also have a huge appreciation for Broadway level shows which can be insanely extravagant and over the top: something that can be equally as impressive in a completely different direction. I think that small theatre can be much more difficult to do, with the added constraints of less money and space along with the need to make shows like that much more powerful with the acting and directing due to the fact that tech can only be relied on so much on that level. I think small venues really give actors a much bigger opportunity to push the bounds of what they are capable doing emotionally because of the subtlety that is possible. Not being able see an actors face up close hinders their ability to communicate a good amount when on a huge stage far from where you are sitting. And this added level of detail can open up the range of their acting a huge amount. Their is nothing like seeing the inflections possible in an eyebrow or the corner of the lip that just gets lost on Broadway.
One of the biggest strengths of small theater, is just just as Cooper says, the intimacy between the actor and the audience. In many instances, this can allow you to be totally absorbed in the world of the play because you can make eye contact with the actors which you can’t do in a larger setting. I have had some of the most intense theater experiences in small spaces because there is no hiding from the action, rather than trying to put on a spectacle often the production is forced to become focused on human connection and audience interaction. I think because it sometimes lacks spectacle I think people can easily dismiss small theater, because people want to be entrained. Often the space a play is performed in can make or break the show. For example, a small cast on a huge open stage feels very different than the same cast in a small space. Often small theater can use that intimacy to its advantage.
I first got into theater volunteering at a small children's puppet theater in my town, and I have to agree with the author about the special quality found in small shows. There is definitely a unique atmosphere like no other when you are in a small venue with a good show to fill it. The intimacy and detail on display in smaller productions really brings out theater's fundamental strengths, as the live performers are so close and personal to the audience, and the set is really creating an environment for both. I love a big musical as much as anyone, but the connection between the audience and the play in a small venue can't be rivaled when done right. I am particularly fond of the design behind small shows, as the smaller space and closer audience really calls for an impeccably devised and immersive set to fit the intimate space.
I love small theatre ohh so much I just wish that it had more "big" theatre budgets. Small theatre I feel is always the most interesting and intriguing form of the theatre to look at and work with. I started off originally working and learning at my local theatre's student theatre program working in small intimate blackbox spaces that allowed a very intimate close relationship with the audience. As a designer when I hear small theatre I sometimes cringe a little shying away from it thinking ohh I can't go on this grand big scale. But it's different Its the difference between the pieces that are in The Chosky vs. The Rauh studio theatre. In the Chosky money can solve your problems and the shear size of the space is what you need to fill but in The Rauh your creativity and hard work is what makes the difference in terms of what you can do which is such and interesting and intriguing challenge.
Post a Comment