Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Difference

What is the difference between community theater and professional theater?

Aside from the obvious difference that one is a volunteer organization and the other pays its performers, how are the missions different?

There are many people who want to define the difference by creating some measure of quality. There is some validity to that measurement, but what is it that contributes to that quality?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge supporter of community theater. Yet, you will not hear me say that community theater is as good as professional theater. To me, that would be a bit like saying a strawberry is as good as a carrot. They’re both good, but both different in core ways. They both provide different but necessary vitamins to the human body just as the different types of theater provide different but necessary forms to the arts community.

Why do I value community theater?

I value community theater because it gives a wide variety of people a chance to participate in the art as an avocation. It enriches their lives and makes them more committed to the community in which they live. It helps them to form long-lasting bonds with people who share a geographic home with them. They’re able to connect to people who have similar interests, temperaments, and personalities.

Community theater, when it is true to its mission, is focused inward on the participants.

Why do I value professional theater?

I value professional theater because it elevates the art form and allows audiences to participate in the art as a transformative experience. The performers matter less than the story being told and the effectiveness with which it is being told. The story is the medium in which people are talking to people about things that matter to them. Theater becomes a way of exploring issues, experiencing catharsis, and laughing deeply.

Professional theater, when it is true to its mission, is focused outward on the audience.

In community theater, production values can take on a lesser role as what is important is providing the support and structure for the performers to be able to explore and create. Choices are made based on whether they challenge, encourage or distract the actor. The audience is coming to see their friends, co-workers and families. They’ll be far more forgiving and far more inclined to praise a show because the priority isn’t what the audience was able to feel, but what the performers were able to do. Performers want to be treated with respect because they have given up their free time and worked hard at something for an extended period of time.

In professional theater, production values are of extreme importance. Even a bare set needs to be executed well. Choices are made based on whether they will challenge, encourage, or distract the audience. The audience is coming to be entertained, moved and transformed. They’ll have high expectations for the time they are spending in the theater and will have high expectations. They want to be treated with respect and have the show creators think that the audience was worth the effort.

In community theater, the performers are learning on the fly in an invigorating, collaborative effort that allows them to transcend their daily lives. A show’s success can often depend on whether the cast is able to bond with each other in mutual respect and admiration. The participants should be given a chance to learn, grow, and develop. Once the show ends, the relationships can continue and all are likely to be given opportunities to perform together again.

In professional theater, the performers are already proficient and trained in the skills the art demands. A show’s success depends on the strong collaboration of artistic and technical staff that is focused on the work and not the personalities. When the show ends, the artists will go their separate ways, maintaining a professional respect and connection, but no longer a part of each other’s daily lives until they once again end up at the same theater.

In community theater, it is essential that an effort be made to draw in new people who may not know much about the art or the craft. There needs to be room for participants to grow as performers. They should not be required to be great performers when they first show up. A community theater stagnates when it doesn't allow "less talented" people to be part of the shows.

In professional theater, it is essential that every performer from the lead to the walk-on role, from the stage manager to the box office manager, have all of the skills required to do the job. The theater should make sure it is hiring the best people possible for each role and job and not just the performers and technicians with whom they are most familiar and comfortable.

Community theater fails when it treats its performers poorly or ignores their needs and abilities. They succeed when they select work that allows their participants to stretch without asking the impossible.

Professional theater fails when it ignores the needs and desires of its audience and gets caught up in what it wants to do to the degree that it shows contempt for their patrons.

Community theater enriches society by giving people the chance to perform.

Professional theater enriches society by giving people the chance to experience performance.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Thespie "Nominees"

In just a few hours, the winners of this year's Thespie Awards will be on the newsstands. This is the 31st year of the Thespies--sponsored by the Lansing State Journal. They recognize great work done in the Lansing community during the 2009-2010 season.

Typically, only the winners are published, despite the large number of names that get considered. Part of this is because there is a limited amount of news hole. Also, with the process that the Thespie committee uses, we don't have formal nominees--thus the quote marks in the title. We float a lot of names before starting our votes. In some categories, a single judge might have a dozen nominees.

This year there had to be some last-minute changes in judges due to some illnesses and other complications. After the committee had discussed it for awhile after the meeting determining the winners was over, we thought it might be best to add an extra layer of transparency this year--to show the variety of shows and performers which were discussed.

Disclaimer: These were not formal nominees. They were the names we floated that made it through the first two or three rounds of elimination. They do include the winners.

In a couple cases, the professional and non-professional categories were divided out. These were cases where there were a great deal of nominees in both categories. I will post a link to the winners as soon as it is up (er, and I'm on the computer).

One more disclaimer: There are also several special awards--for those things which didn't fit within a category neatly. In a few categories, there is a winner but not enough other nominees for me to be able to list them here.

2009-2010 Thespie Nominees

Best Play:

  • A Few Good Men, Riverwalk Theatre
  • An Infinite Ache, Williamston Theatre
  • Bluff, BoarsHead Theatre
  • The Late Henry Moss, Icarus Falling
  • The Seafarer, Peppermint Creek Theatre Company

Best Musical:

  • Altar Boyz, Peppermint Creek
  • Hank Williams: Lonesome Highway, Lansing Community College
  • The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk Theatre
  • Rent, Michigan State University

Best Director, Play

  • Chad Badgero, Seafarers, Peppermint Creek
  • Tony Caselli, It Came From Mars, Williamston
  • Tony Caselli, This Wonderful Life, Williamston
  • James Glossman, Bluff, BoarsHead
  • Suzi Regan, Home: Voices of Families from the Midwest, Williamston

Best Director, Musical

  • Chad Badgero, Altar Boyz, Peppermint Creek
  • Scott Burkell, Rent, MSU
  • Jane Falion, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • John Lepard, Hank Williams, LCC

Best Lead Actor, Play, professional

  • Jacob Albright, It Came From Mars, Williamston
  • John Astin, Bluff, BoarsHead
  • Aral Gribble, An Infinite Ache, Williamston
  • John Lepard, This Wonderful Life, Williamston
  • Wayne David Parker, It Came From Mars, Williamston

Best Lead Actor, Play, non-professional

  • Doak Bloss, The Seafarers, Peppermint Creek
  • Rick Dethlefsen, The Seafarers, Peppermint Creek
  • Jack Dowd, The Late Henry Moss, Icarus Falling
  • Michael Hayes, The Late Henry Moss, Icarus Falling
  • Brad Rutledge, The Late Henry Moss, Icarus Falling
  • Brad Rutledge, The Seafarers, Peppermint Creek

Best Supporting Actor, Play

  • Dave Dunckel, A Few Good Men, Riverwalk
  • Mark Gmazel, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, Peppermint Creek
  • Bill Henson, Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, Peppermint Creek
  • Jacob Hodgsons, It Came From Mars, Williamston
  • Brad Rutledge, A Few Good Men, Riverwalk

Best Featured Actor, Play

  • Joe Dickson, Book of Days, Riverwalk
  • Jason Garvey, You Can’t Take It With You, MSU
  • Bill Henson, The Importance of Being Earnest, Capitol TheatreWorks
  • Markitwia Jackson, The Late Henry Moss, IF
  • Kevin Knights, The Late Henry Moss, IF

Lead Actress, play

  • Sandra Birch, It Came From Mars, Williamston
  • Jasmine Rivera, Infinite Ache, Williamston
  • Emily Sutton-Smith, The Smell of the Kill, Williamston
  • Piaget Ventus, In The Blood, MSU
  • Veronica Gracia Wing, Enchanted April, Riverwalk
  • Amy Winchell, Power Plays, IF

Supporting Actress, play, professional

  • Laura Croff, The Smell of the Kill, Williamston
  • Alysia Kolascz, It Came From Mars, Williamston
  • Teri Clark Linden, The Smell of the Kill, Williamston

Supporting Actress, play, non-professional

  • Sarah Blossom, Third, Peppermint Creek
  • Abby Murphy, Enchanted April, Riverwalk
  • Char'Tavia Mushatt, In the Blood, MSU
  • Rachel Kabodian, Third, Peppermint Creek
  • Sandra Thomason, Enchanted April, Riverwalk

Featured Actress, play

  • Erin Cline, Ah Wilderness, LCC
  • Carol Ferris, Size 8 Shorts, Riverwalk
  • Julie Schilling, Bluff, BoarsHead
  • Becky Tremble, Talking With, IF
  • Gloria Vivalda, Enchanted April, Riverwalk
  • Amy Winchell, Talking With, IF

Lead Actor, Musical

  • Rusty Broughton, Rent, MSU
  • Chad deKatch, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Derek Smith, Hank Williams: Lost Highway, LCC
  • Evan Pinsonnault, Into the Woods, Riverwalk

Supporting Actor, Musical

  • Joseph Baumann, Into the Woods, Riverwalk
  • Doak Bloss, Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Jeff Kennedy, Into the Woods, Riverwalk
  • Brandon Piper, Rent, MSU
  • Sineh Wurie, Hank Williams, LCC

Lead Actress, Musical

  • Emily English Clark, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Claudia Dibbs, Rent, MSU
  • Paige Lucas, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Jennifer Schafer, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Riverwalk
  • Veronica Gracia Wing, Into the Woods, Riverwalk

Supporting Actress, Musical

  • Betsy Bledsoe, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Laura Croff, Hank Williams, LCC
  • Abigail English, Into the Woods, Riverwalk
  • Laura Stebbins, The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Kellyn Uhl, Rent, MSU

Ensemble, Professional

  • Bluff, BoarsHead
  • Home: Voices of Families from the Midwest, Williamston
  • It Came From Mars, Williamston

Ensemble, Non-Professional

  • The Late Henry Moss, IF
  • Opposites Attract, Lansing Civic Players
  • Seafarer, Peppermint Creek
  • Things You Shouldn’t Say Past Midnight, Peppermint Creek
  • Trojan Women, MSU

Original Script, Professional

  • Home: Voices of Families From the Midwest, By Annie Martin and Suzi Regan
  • It Came From Mars, by Joseph Zettelmaier
  • Three By Poe, by Paul Riopelle

Original Script, Non-Professional

  • The Watch List by Eric Dawe
  • Thunder Hoof and the Prince by Fran Johnson and Yvonne Whitmore
  • I’ll Make Merry When I’m Good and Ready by Oralya Garza, Tony Sump, and Chuck Dimick

Children’s Show

  • Thunderhoof and the Prince
  • Bremen Town Musicians
  • The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
  • Dragonsong

Set Design

  • Enchanted April, Riverwalk
  • A Few Good Men, Riverwalk
  • Home: Voices from Families of the Midwest, Williamston
  • In the Blood, MSU
  • The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, MSU
  • The Smell of the Kill, Williamston

Set Dressing

  • Ah, Wilderness, LCC
  • The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Rent, MSU
  • Seafarer, Peppermint Creek
  • Three by Poe, Boarshead

Costumes

  • Enchanted April, Riverwalk
  • Frog and Toad are Friends, Holt-Dimondale Community Players
  • In the Blood, MSU
  • The Light in the Piazza, Riverwalk
  • Rocky Horror Picture Show, MSU
  • Trojan Women, MSU
**NOTE: There are additional nominees for lighting and sound, but there is a problem with my notes and I need to get the nominees confirmed by the other committee members before I publish them. My apologies.