Minor Leaguer
Dunkirk, NY – I attended a performance of Othello last Saturday night at Shakespeare in Delaware Park. It was a cool night with a lot of clouds in the sky, and the hill seemed relatively full. I sat off to the stage left side. I was trying to go to the show without meeting anyone from the cast or crew, but the TD Scott, ever vigilant, picked me up and said hello. I have no idea if he let others know I was in the audience. I just wanted to experience the show as a regular patron, and not someone “in the know,” if you will. When you happen to be in the business and you go to shows where you know the performers, the act of going to a show becomes more than simply attending a show. It’s that lingering feeling of obligation to say hello and congratulations that I have always had trouble with. Even when I am in a show, I do my best to avoid the after-show crowd. 
Often after All’s Well I just snuck out “the back way” via Hoyt Lake to avoid seeing people. When I direct a play at Fredonia I almost never make myself available to audience members coming in and out of the theatre. You never can really tell what the sincerity level is, and having been the insincere one on several occasions, I just find it better to avoid it altogether. Continue Reading »
