fringe
so i've been volunteering a few nights a week for the winnipeg fringe festival, in which a week-long barrage of affordable theatre hits the city. a perk of selling and taking tickets is that they reward you with the equivalent of one show ticket for every four hours you volunteer. of course, if you're lucky, you get duty as a house usher, which means you see whatever shows are on in your venue for free and without using any of your comps. last night was my first house ushering shift, so i got to see two plays.
now i don't know if you know this about me, but i love theatre. i used to act in high school, and once got the lead in a community theatre play (princess gloriana the XIII--or was it XIV?--in the Mouse that Roared, thank you very much). anyway, it's true that i miss it, though i'm not sure that i would have the time or the memorization skills to do it anymore. anyway, being a part of the theatre in any way i can i find to be extremely satisfying, whether that's watching it or helping a show succeed.
last night i saw fabulous one-man play called "Napoleon's Secret Diary." it was, as you might imagine, about what a secret diary of napoleon's would have in it, if one existed. not only was it well done, but there was a kind of nationalistic tug-of-war with insider jokes about the french which all canadians were able to get on board with. it was strange for me to laugh right along with them, understanding the jokes but, i imagine, having a different relationship with them than most of the audience. but perhaps i think too much.
it didn't help that the next performance i got to see was the musical Hair! (put on by UW students). it was FABULOUS--but also let me say that although i can sing the lyrics to the age of aquarius as much as the next guy, i had never seen any production of Hair before--not the movie, not the broadway show. so i didn't really know the premise of the show, except its obvious reference to the sixties.
turns out it's about vietnam (probably obvious at this point to everyone but me, but i'll clue ya in just in case). so they're using the american flag for various things in the play--dresses, banners, etc. the songs and the energy in the play itself were inspiring, but (spoiler ahead) when one of the leads dies fighting, they use the flag as symbolic of the coffin underneath it. i'm telling you, it was strange to be watching this flag of "my country" and reacting to it in ways that the rest of the audience probably wasn't. the whole piece really just killed me, as i sat there thinking about iraq. but then, you probably think it's silly of me.
so that was my night. i came home feeling emotional and alive. isn't that what the theatre is for?
now i don't know if you know this about me, but i love theatre. i used to act in high school, and once got the lead in a community theatre play (princess gloriana the XIII--or was it XIV?--in the Mouse that Roared, thank you very much). anyway, it's true that i miss it, though i'm not sure that i would have the time or the memorization skills to do it anymore. anyway, being a part of the theatre in any way i can i find to be extremely satisfying, whether that's watching it or helping a show succeed.
last night i saw fabulous one-man play called "Napoleon's Secret Diary." it was, as you might imagine, about what a secret diary of napoleon's would have in it, if one existed. not only was it well done, but there was a kind of nationalistic tug-of-war with insider jokes about the french which all canadians were able to get on board with. it was strange for me to laugh right along with them, understanding the jokes but, i imagine, having a different relationship with them than most of the audience. but perhaps i think too much.
it didn't help that the next performance i got to see was the musical Hair! (put on by UW students). it was FABULOUS--but also let me say that although i can sing the lyrics to the age of aquarius as much as the next guy, i had never seen any production of Hair before--not the movie, not the broadway show. so i didn't really know the premise of the show, except its obvious reference to the sixties.
turns out it's about vietnam (probably obvious at this point to everyone but me, but i'll clue ya in just in case). so they're using the american flag for various things in the play--dresses, banners, etc. the songs and the energy in the play itself were inspiring, but (spoiler ahead) when one of the leads dies fighting, they use the flag as symbolic of the coffin underneath it. i'm telling you, it was strange to be watching this flag of "my country" and reacting to it in ways that the rest of the audience probably wasn't. the whole piece really just killed me, as i sat there thinking about iraq. but then, you probably think it's silly of me.
so that was my night. i came home feeling emotional and alive. isn't that what the theatre is for?