How To Succeed, debrief

It's now several weeks later, and my time away has given me perspective. Was it an artistically charged and groundbreaking theatrical experience, and did I grow as an artist? Other than having a greater appreciation of trained craft and the chance to practice observing scenes from a passive character role, not especially.

But.

As I mentioned in my first post, I've been slowly gaining an awareness of the community at large and what it means to operate for that community. It's good hard work to make a play you love come up, but it's a much more complicated work understanding what an audience will accept and love. The risks for a single production have much higher consequences within a community theater in comparison to a collegiate theater, and choosing a season is one of the most challenging risks.

Another is the importance of community within a production. I realized how much excited I wasn't bringing to productions when surrounded by a tightly-knit cast excited to have fun with each other and play around on stage. It was an eye-slapping moment to find out how jaded I had become.

I became more aware due to my experience in How to Succeed in Business of not only my role as an element in a play but of the play's role as an element of the community, both inside and outside a production.