More theater!

When a dear friend of mine put out the call for an audience for the final dress rehearsal of Pageant Play, I figured why not help out a friend. When you have been working on a piece of theater, you get to a point when you need a fresh audience to test out timing. Also, Kerry promised me it would be funny.

And she was right. Oh my! We laughed so hard and about a variety of things. There were a lot of gags and lines that I both laughed and cringed at simultaneously. I mean, let's face it, child beauty pageants are both horrific and hilarious; the production did the subject matter justice. I absolutely loved it!

The acting was superb! Normally, you get to dress rehearsals there is the idea that everyone is still settling in. Not this cast. Each one gave clean deliveries and were entrenched in their characters. Both men play dual roles, a pageant coach and a husband. At the end of the play, there is a section where all the characters are running through a large house and these two guys are running by as "Bobby" and then as a husband with literally 30 seconds in between. The characters were so well differentiated that I didn't realize that the only difference in one actor's costumes was his shirt. It wasn't until he came out once and you could see the hem of one shirt peeking out from the other that I noticed the 2 characters had almost identical outfits. The physical acting was so strong, I didn't even notice until there was a slip up!

They made full use of multiple entrances throughout, especially for set changes. Often a character would set up or strike a set in character as part of the play. I like that convention of maintaining the illusion. There was a bit of breaking the fourth wall, and it was done in context. I have mixed feelings about this, so I am pleased it was worked nicely into the play without becoming dependent on audience participation.

I want to write more, but I am too nervous to give away anything. It was a real joy experiencing the twists and turns in the plot. You have every Friday and Saturday from now until August 14th to see for yourself. You can buy tickets online or at the door. I recommend purchasing online because Theater Schmeater only seats 49, an that fills up fast. They also keep a waiting list at the door, which I have had good luck with in the past.