7.25.02 – those who can’t, become critics

i had another night off, so i drove up to the cabin in mccall to hang out with my visiting aunt and uncle. after dinner my mother rallied the troupes into seeing the play how i learned to drive at the tiny alpine community playhouse. i wasn’t convinced that i wanted to spend my night off seeing another play, but i’d had too much wine at dinner to really argue. the play was a confusing meditation on issues of sexuality in a teenage girl and the much-older husband of her aunt. it kind of made the whole audience squirm, but not in a good way. the acting had good moments and bad ones, but the distinct lack of direction meant that these six twenty-year-old actors were left to hanging out to dry when it came to addressing very difficult, socially taboo issues and portraying a huge cast of characters ranging from ages 11 to 65. the director’s note in the program was so off beat that it convinced us that she’d been writing about a different play than the one she directed. and the grammar was abominable, something that i absolutely cannot bear. it’s one thing for me to have lazy grammar here, but another thing when it’s the director’s note. the lack of a stage manager (ahem) was evident in the general technical sloppiness, but i understand that it can be hard to convince anyone to be the stage manager in a community project. it’s not a very glamorous job, trust me. all of this could be forgiven, since it’s clear that the actors and director had thrown their hearts and souls into the production, were it not for the fact that the lead actress pronounced the word denouement “de-NEW-meant”. and the director LET her do it. now if that’s not turning your actors out to the wolves, i don’ t know what is.