What Makes a Theater-Goer?
Posted by Martha Lavey on 2/13/2006It has been such a privilege to participate in the post-show discussions for our productions. As you know, this season we are offering post-shows six days a week (on two-show days – Saturdays and Sundays, we conduct a post-show discussion after one of the two performances). Next season, we will be offering discussions after every performance – eight shows a week. We offer the discussions because they enhance our conversation with our audience – we learn a great deal about the impact of our work, and, we hope, your experience of the plays is amplified by the opportunity to participate in an interpretive community.
I am always moved, and deeply grateful, for the candor and intelligence of your remarks and insights. The discussions refresh my conviction that theater provides an arena for the exercise of imagination – that it activates a realm of thought and feeling that hovers around and animates our quotidian experience.
Those of us who have made our life in the theater have a host of reasons for doing so. We may have begun our engagement with theater from a very young age; we may have come to it at a turning point in our lives, recalling it as the one thing that made us feel most alive. Certainly, all of us can recall some experience, some teacher or parent or friend, who was pivotal in our decision to enter the theater.
You are theater-goers. What I wonder is: what makes you one? Did you have some signature experience that encouraged your pursuit of the theater as a past-time, an entertainment, an intellectual exercise? What do you seek from attending a play? Have you had an experience in the theater that you count as complete, as thoroughly satisfying, as revelatory? What made it so?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given my involvement at Steppenwolf, some of my most profound experiences in the theater have been given me by the Steppenwolf Theatre. I speak here as an audience member, rather than as a practitioner within the theater. I remember the very first Steppenwolf show I saw: Say Goodnight, Gracie which I saw in 1979, the year I graduated from the theater program at Northwestern University. I was starting my adult life in Chicago, having trained as an actor at Northwestern and hoping to make a career in the theater. I knew about Steppenwolf, of course – all young actors were aware of the ensemble’s reputation. I really didn’t know how to go about making a life in the theater, I just knew I wanted to, very much. Seeing Say Goodnight, Gracie provided both a confirmation of my desire and an aspiration: if I could ever act that well, or act with people that good, I would be happy. Not long afterwards, I signed up for acting classes at Steppenwolf – the first of which, taught by John Malkovich. I entered a world of people completely dedicated to creating the fiercest, most vivid theater possible. I was soon seeing productions like Balm in Gilead, True West, Absent Friends. I was cast (as a naked savage) in John’s production of Christopher Hampton’s Savages. You must understand: Savages lives, in Steppenwolf lore, as a nadir point, a production that just didn’t work. But those of us in it at the time didn’t think that. We believed in what we were doing, we showed up every night, convinced of the show’s value. And we had fun. (Hey: a bunch of naked young folks, putting on body make-up before the show and showering collectively after the show. What’s not to love (as a 20-something aspiring actor)?)
I realize that I have dovetailed my audience experience into my participant experience. Given my aspiration to be an actor, Steppenwolf allowed me to dive in. It convinced me. It convinced me, sitting there as an audience member, that something real could happen in the theater. Once in (even as a non-speaking character – an extra, if you will – naked and in full-body make-up), I had an experience so singular, so vivid, of the imaginative realm of the theater that my course was set.
What about you? What happened (and when) that made you a theater-goer? What has been the enduring value of that engagement? I would be so grateful for sharing your experience with us. Your language, your perspective will help us shape our address to schools and young folks, in particular, in our encouragement to supply arts education to students. As well you know, there has been a trending away from a support of the arts in our public schools. I know why I think this is a terrible loss, I know what the arts have given to me. But it would be wonderful to have the thoughts, and feelings, and words of our audience – people who make their living outside of the arts but continue to seek the presence of the arts in their lives. If you feel like the arts – and in particular, theater – have enhanced your life, it would be invaluable to us to have your testimony. One of the core values of Steppenwolf, along with ensemble and innovation, is citizenship. We believe, deeply, that a participation in the theatrical discourse is an act of citizenship – that by entering the collective imaginal realm of theater, we participate in the construction of meaning and the amplification of compassion. Any words you can share with us will be treasured and valuable. Thank you, again, for your participation in Steppenwolf.
February 14th, 2006 at 10:55 am
I was wondering if this blog is meant for US people only or that people from outside the US can comment as well. Before I start talking about theatre on this side of the ocean.
Jo
February 14th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Ms. Van Huizen,
We would be honored to have your comments about theater. In fact, hearing about how other countries fund and support the arts is really helpful to our understanding as Americans.
Best wishes,
Martha
February 15th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Theatre-world is really different over here (NL).
Theatres over here do not only show plays but also stand-up comedy, bands, musicals and magicians. Point of view is entertainment in general.
Theatre groups here depend on government money. Sadly. Cause the government is cutting down on arts. So less money for the groups. There’s no way an actor can survive over here by just doing plays.
There are a few groups over here in the main cities that can survive with government money and private sponsors. But since most groups don’t have any money there are hardly any ways to promote them. So not many people go see a play which is a sign for the government to cut down on money again so they’re running around in circles (comedians performing in theatres are really, really popular here though, just like bands performing in theatres).
How did I start to go see a play? I saw my first play when I was 16 or so, through discount tickets from school. All I remember is that I didn’t like that particular play since it was in Dutch (my native language). Since you start learning English at a young age here, I realized that, just like with music, I liked plays in English best. A couple of years after the first play I went to see LAMDA (The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) in our local theatre and I LOVED it. So I went to see them every year from then. Unfortunately they stopped coming to Holland.
What makes theatre interesting for me is to see the ability of actors to change from their ‘normal’ life into a life of somebody else. I so admire the actors who can play such different roles all through their acting career.
What I specifically like about Step is the atmosphere. I remember walking in the main stage area when I saw The Time Of Your Life. The actors started before the audience came in so you actually walked in to the play. That was so awesome. To enter the main stage area that is so compact, so close to the stage that you felt one with the actors.
I hope I get to see many more plays at Step.
Jo
Ps please skip the Ms
February 15th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Martha — I think having post-show discussions 8 times a week is an excellent idea! As both a theatre-goer and a theatre-maker, I feel like post-show discussions are an incredible way of connecting to the audience. It is quite a literal manifestation of the phenomenon of theatre (i.e. people in a room that are communicating with one another), which makes it a wonderful experience for all. Especially after challenging plays. Kudos to Steppenwolf for making that commitment!
February 19th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
I have maybe a different experience than many of your regular readers; I didn’t become an ongoing theatre lover until I moved here to Chicago in my mid-twenties. Coming here myself as a writer, I’ve discovered Chicago to be a fantastic place for cross-medium friendships among the artistic community, maybe the best city in the nation for intriguing blends of practices, being a patron and a fan at the same time, etc. Making early friendships with people in the Defiant Theatre, the Neo-Futurists, Collaboraction and more (usually through the temp jobs we were all working together); getting exposed to the entire creative process behind the live theatre; learning more about the play before seeing the finished production; watching even the financial struggles these companies go through; it was the personal connection I felt to these “storefront” companies that cemented my now continual love of the theatre.
Perhaps Steppenwolf has grown too large to really be considered a storefront operation anymore; but I love that you’ve opened this blog, and are attempting to recapture that storefront attitude (direct conversations between staff and customers, that is). I’d love to see you post more of what you’re already doing, plus more information concerning upcoming productions (”further reading,” if you will), and of course any stories you could share about arts administration of such a well-known organization. And how about a contest for online writers, with the winner getting a feature slot in next year’s “Traffic” series? This blog could be more than just your company getting the word out; it could also serve as a way to gather in a whole new generation of young, exciting creative talent.
March 28th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
Hello Steppenwolf Blog World! Attended ‘Pajama Men’ in the Garage Theater. Can I be completely honest? I was disappointed. Yes, I was! First off, the boyz played favortism to center section. Second, we were sitting stage left. Third, we couldn’t hear very well. Fourth, I believe it would have been a more affective show if the boyz were puppeteers and did their schtick using little guys dressed and looking just like them. Then maybe fling them around a bit during their routine. All in all, I was pretty under-entertained. I do appreciate that the Garage is there and that new and cutting edge stuff is being given a spotlight. It is a very cool space and reminds me a little of the Curbside Playhouse in Joliet, an old bar that was converted to a little theater. Ah well, hope I’m accepted to the summer program this er, summer. I hope my age doesn’t play against me or possibly me lack of talent! See you all on April 8th. Am going to be there and am happy to patronize one of the finest Theatrical Companies in the world!! Thanks a lot.