Actor To Places Analysis

"Actors to places." I tap my fingers restlessly on the first page of my binder, waiting to hear the OK from my Assistant Stage Manager backstage. Opening night is always a bottle of anticipation. I hear the orchestra tuning their instruments, the music disjointed but with such a harmonious structure. The lights have just gone down and the audience members find their seats quickly. I run through my preshow checklist in my head once more to make sure everything is prepared: Props preset, lights checked, sound tested, stage mopped. All there's left to do is start the show. "Actors in places." The words come through my headset, and I lock into show mode. I flash a cue light in the orchestra and the tuning fades slowly. "Standby light one.... Light one go." The show officially turns to the control of the actor, as Curly saunters onstage through Aunt Eller's …show more content…
I am constantly in pursuit of the next great thing, the next beautiful object that will draw me in, hold my attention, and then fade away. Theatre has been the one constant beauty ever-present in my mind. A show is a living, breathing organism, constantly ebbing and flowing with the attitudes and direction of the day. No two shows are alike, and I believe that this is why theatre has held my attention for so long. I am constantly finding new objects to engage me: the gentle slope of a dancer's arm as she spins, the way the fabric falls on a flowing dress, the dramatic realism of the tree on stage left. The fact that I know exactly how each object is crafted and each actor is conditioned doesn't take away from the excitement of the experience, either. This sense of disillusionment is actually another aspect of the beauty, as it extends from the object itself to the object's creator. All of these aspects compact into a shining moment at the beginning of every show. I believe that I will find beauty in this experience for the rest of my