“Dying is easy. Comedy is difficult”
-Edmund Gwenn
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
― Oscar Wilde
As I pulled into the coarse green space, I thought we may be in trouble.
Our touring theatre group was scheduled to start its 10th show. We were veterans now. We had gotten used to rapid unloading and setting up . We have played all over the place, from formal theaters to street intersections. We were lean, stripped down with just enough props to get the job done yet still put on funny show. To date we had been successful beyond our expectations.
Yet here on this blasted heath of an abandoned lot we faced a less than ideal situation for a Shakespeare performance; even a faux Shakespeare farce like ours. This is not a public performance space. It was not even a park.
It was located in a benighted neighborhood next to a run down Philips 66 Station. Trash was strewn across the lot. A McDonalds bag moved in the breeze across the crab grass like a greasy tumbleweed. The ground was uneven and very hard. There were no bathrooms, few street lights, and no electrical outlet to power our one light.
But that was not the biggest problem.
We were right next to a busy street where at least every third car did not feel the expense of a muffler was worth it. More than a few ambulances and fire trucks would go by with lights and sirens running.
It was loud.
Very loud.
Still, we made a commitment to the owners of the near by local event building. So I began to set up slowly as my team members arrived. I kept a wary eye on the various street people who would wander past and stare in a moment in curiosity.
When more of the team arrived, I decided to walk over to to the dilapidated gas station next to us to see if they had a serviceable restroom. Inside I found the usual stuffed counters of prepackaged snacks that make America such a great country. No other country in the world is as talented at putting sugar into artificial carbohydrates with colors not found in nature. It was glorious.
I found the bathroom which had a had written sign taped to it - “Out of order”.
I took a chance and decided to ask the clerk about it. He was behind one of those heavily fortified counters you see sometimes in convenience stores. There was a person ahead of me who was taking great care in selecting which lottery cards she was going to purchase. She clearly had a well thought out system as she smoked thoughtfully on a brown cigarillo.
Not expecting much, my turn came and I asked him about the restroom. To my surprise, he was very kind and told me he just keeps that up to prevent vagrants from camping in the room. He handed me the key and I found the bathroom clean and well ordered. I explained what we were trying to do next door and he generously invited us to use his bathroom as needed. He went on to say he had an electrical outlet on the side of a building we could plug into if needed. A very enthusiastic and well meaning homeless man wanted to help us set up with the cords.
It was an unexpected moment of grace.
We now had fire! We rapidly cobbled together extension cords that would travel the 100 plus feet to his gas station and our desolate moor now had light.
The trash was collected. We finished setting up and waited for audience. The two owners of the nearby event center came over with lawn chairs. At 5 minutes until our start time we had no other audience and we all stood around thinking of how long we would give it until we called the show and packed up. We have enjoyed substantial audiences so far, but I knew as we ventured into areas that were not traditional theatre communities we might have little to no audience. It was a risk we were willing to take.
The cast was not in costume, sat on the trailer as dusk settled and drank beer. Maybe we would have an early evening.
Then, in the twilight, along the sidewalk next to the noisy street, people slowly started to arrive. I could not tell where they came from. There was no parking nearby. They just started walking in from the gloom. Local neighbors walked off their porches and came over to see what was going on in the abandoned field.
The cast quickly swallowed the last of their beer and got dressed.
It got darker.
Comedy is always the most challenging thing to do in theater. There is a certain alchemy that has to take place for everything to work. Even the best dramatic actors often fail at comedy. To do it well you need both skill and natural talent. Some people just can’t tell a joke for the life of them.
Our three actors (Kelsey VanVoorst, Matt Hartzburg, and JB Scoble) are superb comic talents, some of the best I have ever worked with in theatre. Yet, to try to perform here with the considerable street noise was asking for an act of theatrical heroism of herculean proportions. Furthermore, random people would walk up in the audience delighted with the unusual sight in this poor neighborhood. They would laugh at the humor and start up conversations as if they were watching a television at home.
It was into this arena our troupe tried to perform.
And they did it! They did it really well.
In an act of fierce concentration and focus they presented a hilarious program that rose above the noise. Despite they enormous distractions they connected with our small audience.
As darkness crept in, our small stage area took on the feel of an inviting campfire in the middle of a noisy night. With the light of the nearby gas station spilling over a bit of magic happened.
Beyond the din of the fire trucks the poetry of Shakespeare lifted above. And you could see it with the people who stopped and listened. They leaned in seeing something they don’t often have the opprtunity to see.
There , by the small light on the abandoned lot, art was made. Human beings connected with each other. We laughed together and for a awhile everything was at peace. The loud motorcycles and ambulances screaming by didn’t matter anymore.
The cacophony of the world grew dim.
At least for a moment.
“(If) you missed the epic themes,
Romantic stories, evil schemes,
…we will not reprehend:
What’s the point? This is the end:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
Then I say, oh what the….hell
…..For we ‘scape the critic’s tongue,
“Cuz Shakespeare’s plays are ever young;
Else the Puck a a liar call.
So, good night unto you all”
- Will, Austin Tichenor and Reed Martin
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