On Seeing Worthwhile Theater

One of the reasons I enjoy teaching Cornish students is that their energy and enthusiasm are evident in and out of the classroom. Even when they are not especially enthusiastic about classroom readings, they bring an intense desire to know what about the work deserves their excitement and why. Each semester the theater department at Cornish arranges one or two outings for students and faculty to see a production, and at these outings I always appreciate the bubbling excitement of the students. Many of them dress up – for some that means ties and jackets, for others it means a smashing fuzzy pink faux-fur coat. (I wish the performance production department sent their students too, both because it would be useful to use these productions in the context of my classroom discussions and because I imagine the costume designers would dress up in some fabulous ways.) As we wait for the house to open and to take our seats, the student conversations build with a communal excitement of a break in routine and with the anticipation of the show to come.

The student excitement before the show is unfocused and unrestrained, and comes to a head once we have taken our seats and a representative of the theater takes up a microphone at the front of the house to greet us. Before she can get more than a few words out – “Welcome to the Seattle Repertory Theater” – her voice is drowned out by applause and cheering. That moment is lovely, a celebration of the existence of theater and the aspirations of these young artists. These are young adults who really appreciate that they are getting to see quality work as a part of their art education, and who are keen to make the most of their opportunities. The bubbling excitement is audible until the lights come down at the top of the show, and then it sharpens, becoming a silently focused intensity, poised to gather everything given to them from the stage.

Performing in front of this audience must be a real joy. They observe and respond to even small choices. In the recent production of Richard III at Seattle Rep, the execution of one of the characters (there were so many executions!) used the airline cable of one of the set pieces to stage the beheading. The actor stood on the anchor block, with her chin over the cable, which ran at an angle up from the floor. Suddenly, all at once, the lights flipped to a darker, backlit cue, all reds and shadows, an ominous percussive sound echoed, and the actor dropped her head, dangling it over the cable. The students audibly gasped in appreciation of the moment.

I’d love to help my friends to find even a single moment in the theater that evokes a similar sense of wonder, appreciation, and pure joy. In this blog, I will make some notes about upcoming shows that I’m excited for, and shows I’ve seen that are worth seeing. I hope you find something here that appeals to you!

Richard III. Seattle Shakespeare in collaboration with upstart crow collective, at Seattle Rep.