Someone once said,

“I would stay asleep my whole life if I could dream myself into a company of players.”

After seeing two different plays on two consecutive nights down at the local theatre I can definitely identify with that statement.

Thanks to some cool people who shall remain nameless (their initials are KJAMBD) I was lucky enough to come into two tickets to the local playhouse. And um… since all of my girlfriends are always so busy I ended up going solo…twice, and that’s all we’re going to say about that.

The first night I saw The Ark. Yes, that ark. I went to it first because one of my old friend’s daughter is in it. Sydnee Ralph is her name and just let me say she is brilliant! She has an awesome singing voice and quite a natural knack for acting as well. In fact, all of the actors are genuinely talented and the show is full of great singing and lots of comedy too. Noah’s wife even came into the audience and cut off a piece of my arm for food. (Hey I’ll do anything I can to help out.)

Tonight I went to another play in which liquid precipitation features prominently, Singing in the Rain. Yes it’s the very same story as the Gene Kelly movie. Besides the title song there were a few others that I recognized but just never knew where they originated. The dancing, although of course not at the Gene Kelly level, was impressive and significantly better than I was expecting. Overall another great and seriously funny show but maybe more for grownups than The Ark is.

The main point of this post though, is not meant to be a review of the plays so much as it is about the theatre itself. There is just something about a live performance by real people on a stage that a movie can never match. No matter how great the film there is always a distance and lack of intimacy that movies can never escape. Even with perfect visuals and sound and spectacular effects a movie always lies flat on the screen and when it’s over the screen is instantly blank and we realize that none of the characters who grabbed our hearts, made us laugh and made us care for them was ever really there.

The actors in a play however, are completely real and alive. Even in small town productions like the ones I was lucky enough to see there is an unmistakeable connection between the players and their audience that you can almost taste. Although they may be strangers when the curtain rises they become our friends by the time it falls. They allow us in, to witness the fruits of their talents and long hours of rehearsals and in return we show them our appreciation with our laughter and applause. Sure, in reality it is unlikely that we will ever see them again but for a few minutes we both occupy the same little world and we love them for building it for us.

Maybe the fact that my girlfriends are always busy and my going solo contributes to the connection I feel with the live actors on a stage. I suspect and hope though, that it’s not just me.

Someone once sang, “Players only love you when they’re playing.” Yeah, that’s probably true but I feel just a little more alive for those few minutes that they do.

Admittedly the high from the play is inevitably followed by a corresponding and shockingly immediate crash as I walk out into the night and fumble for my car keys. That’s okay though, it was so worth it.

Thanks for the tickets KJAMBD. I hope to go to more real shows from now on.