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.

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.

The Red Violin

Tonight we're going to be going to the John Corigliano concert at MSU's Wharton Center. I've been most excited about hearing Circus Maximus as it is one of those symphonies that must be experienced live in order to get the full effect.

Another highlight will likely be performances of his work from The Red Violin. Here is an MSU student giving a preview performance:

Weekend in Chicago

Hey! Dancin!

Cherry Poppins: A New Musical (an improv musical)

Billy Elliott

Awesome food, even better company. It was a good weekend.

Comparing apples to apples

Seeing the same play done by multiple companies is simply part of the job description for a theater critic. Moreso than any other art except ballet and classical music, live theater is a medium that explores different approaches to the same script. By its very nature it is dynamic and subject to many interpretations. While movies will have the occasional remake, it won't be done a thousand different ways by ten thousand different actors.

So when attending a show, a critic must try to approach each version of each play with an open mind. After all, it's not about whether a particular production was similar to another. What's more important is whether the production is living up to its own internal interpretation. What is the vision of a particular director? What does each new actor bring to his or her role? That said, outside of the structure of a review, it is highly enjoyable to compare shows and part of the essential discussion about what makes theater vibrant and dynamic.

Seeing Double: Canterbury and April

Several weekends ago, I had my weekend of seeing double. The two Canterbury Tales performances I saw were actually quite similar--which was to be expected. They had the same director and about a third of the cast was the same for each show. There were individual variations in character interpretations between the two different casts, but it was basically the same show.

The other show I saw twice was "Enchanted April." Knowing that I was going to review the Meadowbrook show while judging the Riverwalk version for the Thespies, it seemed only fair to see the Riverwalk version first. After all, Meadowbrook had access to greater resources, better trained artists, and the ability to rehearse as a full-time job rather than an after getting out of other work rehearsal schedule.

Enchanted April

What surprised me was how genuinely close the two shows were in overall quality--both in artistic performance and in production values. Both shows had their strengths and both had their weaknesses.

The Meadowbrook actors were far superior in their vocal quality, consistency of accents, and overall development of characters. Yet, while their Lotty was easier to understand, she also changed less. Nor could the Meadowbrook Rose hold a candle to the sensitivity and passion that the Riverwalk Rose showed. Likewise the marital relationship between Rose and "Florian" in the Riverwalk production was far more layered and complex. I could believe in Florian's change at the end far more than I could in the Meadowbrook production.

The Riverwalk production was also the more daring of the two, willing to commit to more intense choices. The men, while having very little to work with in the script, were also much more convincing and real in the Riverwalk production whereas they came across as too much of just backdrop in the Meadowbrook version.

The set, which is very much a part of the show--both in the grim grayness of the first act and the floral airiness of the second act--also had different strengths, even while looking extraordinarly similar. Both used the same color schemes with similar looking set dressing. For the first act, the Meadowbrook set was far more interesting with its constantly changing backgrounds and the ability to change lighting to a far greater degree. For the second act, the Riverwalk set had a much fuller, brighter feel to it. There was more depth and character to the castle. Also, the set change at the top of Act II at Riverwalk was one of those memorable moments that got its own applause. The audience was able to witness the transformation which once more underlined the theme of the show.

Proscenium vs. Thrust

The difference in sets could primarily be attributed to the two very different spaces. Meadowbrook is a large theater with a proscenium stage. Riverwalk is much more intimate and is a thrust stage. For the first act, the flatness added to the play's story while allowing the technical team far greater flexibility in swiftly creating many different rooms and settings. For the second act, the intimacy with the audience and the ability to emphasize dimension made for a stronger second act.

Both were shows well worth seeing for the beauty of the play and the fascinating differences in choices made by each cast.

Picking nits

When I write a review that is restricted to 300 words or less, I rarely include much except the main points of the production. What most worked? What didn't? What was the overall impression of the show?

I often think this is a disservice because there are many things about a production that can be worth talking about even though they are not the main thrust of the show and even when they don't effect the overall quality of a show.

Sometimes I think some of the more interesting moments in a show are the small ones that go by quickly. They can be great moments, or they can be horrible ones. When they're bad, mentioning them seems like an exercise in picking nits. They can be interesting to discuss, but really shouldn't effect whether someone goes to see a show or not. Sometimes the little things are matters of interpretation--one person wondering whether a slightly different choice might have been more effective. In the latter instance, the overall performance may have been quite good and it can be demoralizing to raise a question in a review.

At other times, the nits do matter. Sometimes the lack of attention to a small detail can take the audience out of a production and make the overall show suffer. Sometimes the jarring detail or moment can indicate a sloppiness on the part of the actor, crew, or director (depending on what it is).

I've been bothered lately by one of those small details I saw at a show--a detail that would likely go unremarked upon in a review because there were so many more important things to comment on. And yet, that detail told me a lot about the show and about the actor. In the play, the actor is complaining about how cold it is and how frozen he feels with a lack of proper heating during a winter month. He's wearing a scarf and a sweater and would rub his hands to keep warm. Yet he had his sleeves pushed up to his elbow. It immediately told me that as an actor, he wasn't paying much attention to what he was saying. He wasn't feeling the cold. He wasn't thinking. I couldn't believe what he was saying because if he were really cold and shivering, he'd pull his sleeves down rather than leave his bare arms exposed to the frozen air.

Does that minor point of costuming matter compared to the other elements of the show? Only in that it informed my thinking about the other problems that show had and what might have contributed to them.

In the Blood review

Here is my review of MSU's "In the Blood." It's posted at Michigan Entertainment.

It was a powerful show and I hope to be back to talk about it some more--after talking about Enchanted April.

What a weekend!

Theater has the power to move, the power to change lives, the power to challenge us to re-examine our ways of thinking.

This weekend the theater I took in left me almost out of breath by the end of it with plenty of themes chasing themselves around in my head during today's car trip to the west-side of the state for a family birthday.

Friday night, Richard and I went to see Romeo et Juliette, the opera put on by the MSU College of Music. It is the operatic version of Shakespeare's play, sung in French, then set in Miami, Florida during the 1980s.

On Saturday, I went straight from MSU's "In the Blood" to Everett's "Rent." I'll be writing more about the MSU show as it was strong, powerful stuff. Speaking of that, I need to go finish my review of it for Michigan Entertainment. So I'll write more later.

Balance of appropriateness

Earlier this month I attended a production of the musical Spelling Bee at the Ruhala Performing Arts Center. As with most productions there, the performances were superior and the young performers did an excellent job. Not only are they talented, but more importantly, they have put in a lot of hard work.

While their production was charming and wonderful, there were several times I found myself distinctly uncomfortable. Discomfort during a theatrical performance isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is a sign that there is something to think more about.

When I first saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, all of the characters were played by adults--including the kids. This added a certain humor factor to it. It also gave us even more of a feeling of looking at the kids through adult eyes.

Spelling Bee is a fun musical that takes a very authentic look at the real struggles of junior high kids--especially those who are outcasts for one reason or another. If stage shows were rated, this would would probably get a PG-13, with one song about the young man's "unfortunate erection" making it push the edge of an R rating. There is also a fair amount of language which is both vulgar and profane.

If I acknowledge that nothing in the show is outside of the language, thoughts, or conversations of junior high aged students, is it hypocrisy to be uncomfortable when I see actors as young as age 12 performing it?

After much thought, I've concluded that the answer to that is no. Ultimately, it is a parental choice whether it is appropriate for their child to participate in musical or dramatic pieces with adult content. For myself, I would not have my child perform in a musical like The Spelling Bee. There is a difference between knowing that children use certain language and joke about certain subjects and having an adult demand that they do so and having them perform it in front of audiences.

When you teach math, you don't ask students to attempt trig before they've learned how to multiply and divide. So it is with other subjects. Students of life shouldn't have everything thrown on them at once. When we respect the learner, we allow the learner to take things in stages and steps without dumping things on them before they are ready. So it is with issues of sex. I'm all in favor of open, honest discussions with children about sexual topics--and in letting them lead the way when determining what they are ready for and what they are not. However, we already live in an over-sexualized society in which messages about sexuality are far from healthy. I'm not eager to push my child to explore topics of physical desire when he is still working out more basic social and decision-making skills.

A full weekend

It was a good weekend for theater and I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend of seeing double. Everything went off as planned--I saw Waverly High School's "The Canterbury Tales" with Cast Canterbury on Thursday and Cast Southwark this afternoon. On Friday, I saw "Enchanted April" at Riverwalk and on Saturday night I saw the same show at Meadowbrook. The review of the latter show is posted at Encore Michigan.

We then topped it all off by a family night out at the movies with our friends the Thompsons. We splurged and saw Alice in Wonderland at the iMax.

Tonight, I am tired, but in the next couple days, I hope to write the following blog entries:

• A review of "The Watch List"
• A comparison of the two Enchanted Aprils
• A discussion on the delicate balance of what we ask children to do in theater

Meanwhile, I wish for all of you a wonderful week.