tire rotation

Because things are the way they are,
things will not stay the way they are.
- Bertolt Brecht

Four weeks ago the doors shut hard on my most recent production. This show came and went so fast, I am still recovering from the whole experience it unearthed within me. In my effort to branch out and find undiscovered, challenging material brought with it a tornadoes worth of wonderful. The disarray it caused has offered a healthy opportunity to express things artistically that have been lodged deep within. Voyaging along the unexplored paths of full-on, deft, human comedy has allowed for layers and layers of actual drama to be shorn off, bagged up, and toted away.

The other night I pulled into the parking lot at the local hybrid high school for a theatrical production, feeling vaguely like a parent showing up to support a child's endeavor. Many colors shade the support of a friend:

2 pints want
1 cup obligation
1 tbsp. need
1/2 tbsp. urging
1 tsp. reciprocation
a splash of just because

It was a production of To Kill a Mockingbird, for which my friend did the costumes and make-up. It wasn't quite the amateur hour production I was expecting, having seen my share of teenage Thespian standards, however it did have plenty of awkward moments. It has been said that a weak play needs strong actors to nail, but a great work can be done justice by anyone. If this play fits into the second mold, then it seems surprisingly safe for our current era and almost downright stale and dated. The show had its good moments and my lady love and I picked out our favorite couple of young performers, who probably shouldn't give up the dream.

However, from my viewpoint, taking up the most prominence on stage was an 8 x 8 x 4 foot platform placed at upstage center. It was used to convey an old woman's front porch and the second act colored section of the courtroom. It was hard to look at that chunk of beautifully painted and constructed wood without seeing the lead actor from my most recent show writhing uncontrollably atop our support actor to the subtle tones of Sinéad O'Connor's I Want Your (Hands on Me) during the naughty and hilarious bedroom scene in our show.

If you allow your gaze to open to it, there are hidden depths and unexpected charms to be found in most anything. I find it's like synchronizing your proverbial watch with life. The world expands if you want to see it. Things take new form and new meaning, whether from the simple act of pragmatic sharing of set pieces or from allowing things their own organic reformation.