Learning by playreading

Given some of the past stories, it was with at least a little bit of trepidation that I signed on as one of a group of volunteers who undertake reading, and then advising, the Kernersville Little Theatre board concerning plays worthy of the theatre group's consideration. But thus far, it has been an enlightening and educational experience.

As has been noted earlier in this blog, Kathy and I are "active" playgoers, so yes, we do see quite a few plays on stage. But the interesting thing for me about the KLT playreading assignments is finding one's way to plays hitherto unknown to me. A good example is "Dinner With Friends," a script that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize -- perhaps a year or two before I was paying as much attention to theater as nowadays, but still, I suspect I should have heard of it. It's making the rounds of the committee right now, though my personal opinion holds that it is not a KLT type of show. Nevertheless, I liked it very much and would enjoy seeing a production of it somewhere, some day, in the right hands.

Equally, some works that are not (IMHO) destined for Broadway greatness are entertaining to me and, by extension, the average current-day KLT audience member. Some are older (Headin' for the Hills, "a hillbilly comedy," dates to about 1950 but still has a humor I think our audience would "get," along with accents they would accept versus, apparently, British accents) and some are newer, but that's OK, too.

We are not destined to agree in all cases, either. One member saw Neil Simon's "Dinner Party" as a good opportunity for us, not perhaps his greatest comedy, but certainly adequate. I on the other hand saw its original production on Broadway, in the hands of name actors such as John Ritter and Henry Winkler, and thought it was flat and not really all that good. Was it just that production? Or would KLT founder on the same problems that the pros faced? Again, it's a matter of opinion. I'd be wary of it; others may well feel differently.

Choosing plays that will hopefully be successful in production takes a group effort, and compromise. We may not always get it right, but I feel this group has the best interests of the overall organization in mind at all times. Naturally, we try to be realistic about the interests of the audience as well.

And it's a learning experience, too!