Theater and a sense of home

This is the most wrong-headed article on the theatre I have ever read. A theatre possessed is a theatre in chains. It becomes a theatre of psychobabble that genericizes the human experience for the comfort of the stake-holders ... societally-approved platitudes mutualized before an audience of the self-absorbed. Theatre must inspire, awe, enrage, excoriate, not pander to the smugness of your fellow theatre members.

Bridgette, your last paragraph really resonates with me. I've been involved in mainly alternative theatre for 35 years (15 as a director). I have lived in a small coastal community on the Far South Coast of NSW, Australia, for the last few years and the impact of our shows within our community has been pervasive. Since arriving around 110 locals (in a community of 1200) have been actively involved in shows/workshops that span from my shows to local performance nights at the Commuity Hall of which I am secretary. The follow on from this activity is that more and more people are less fearful about having a go. Everybody wins through this sharing of imagination and creativty. People compliment each other in the street -- a new experience for many. And it's not just theatre, but across the performance board. People are following (flowering?) their art.

For me this is the best kind of community exchange, or amateurism in the pure sense of the word. It is not a fee based service. We do it for fun.

And yes, performances are molded by their surrounds. A two season production of Equus last year got raptuous feedback which included people who had seen premiers in London, New York Sydney Perth Melbourne etc and they claimed ours was better. And why dont we tour it. What they failed to realise was that it was site specific - our local, stable-like hall was an equally important character in the show, as were they. Theatre is not a reel of film to be tossed in the boot (trunk) of a car and shown anywhere. They got the show they deserved. For me that was the message, which I believe our audience finally 'got'.

Our next show is a series of ten minute plays occurring simultaneously in and around a house, with the audience doing a round robin between them. We hope to tour this to other houses & properties around the region.

Thank you Bridgette for writing the article and providing me with an opportunity to write my thoughts.
howard