Go to a Play - Check!

Something you may not know about Orlando is that it is quite the theater town. In addition to the touring Broadway shows, there are a good number of professional theaters and a growing number of equity actors. Some of those are here because of Disney, but some are here just for theaters like the Orlando Shakespeare Theater (aka Orlando Shakes), and the Winter Park Playhouse, among others.

While I have been to a number of shows since moving to Orlando, my respect and love for theater and my attendance at plays picked up dramatically a couple of years ago, when I became friends with one - and subsequently several - of the interns at Orlando Shakes. Don't let the theater name fool you...while it does indeed feature many Shakespeare plays each year, it also has a whole host of other offerings, including workshops and kids' plays.


Seeing a play was added to my 30 Things list as I wanted to make sure I remained engaged in the arts community while trying to accomplish everything else. And when I saw our friend Grant listed as one of the actors for a reading of Romeo & Juliet at Orlando Shakes, I knew we couldn't miss it.

This was no ordinary R&J, however. This was a reading with a twist - all of the characters were cast opposite their typical age. For example, Romeo and Juliet were over 40, and their parents were in their early 20s. Orlando Shakes does one of these types of readings every so often, sometimes flipping ages, sometimes genders. The purpose is to see well-known plays in different lights and draw new conclusions.

For anyone who has never been to a reading, it is a play where all the actors read their lines and are on stage at all times, sitting on stools when their character is not in a scene. There is still movement/acting (no snooze fest!), but no costumes and very little (if any) props. Typically, readings are done only a few times.


Readings are more informal than a traditional play and feature one of my favorite things - a talkback with the director and actors at the end. I was first introduced to talkbacks at last year's Playfest, which encompasses workshops on developing plays. The Orlando Shakes website says it best:

In a nutshell, the actors rehearse the play three times (as the playwright listens and makes changes) and then perform the play in a seated reading for a live audience. The actors read from scripts placed on music stands. Afterwards, the audience is invited to share their feedback to the director and playwright, focusing on the development of the play.

I find talkbacks fascinating, as I gain new insight into plays from the comments people make. I wish all plays did this, but I understand that when a play goes on for weeks on end that it really isn't feasible and would become the same thing every night. It is particularly fun at Playfest, because you get to meet the playwright and are helping in the creation of a brand new play. Imagine being able to say "I remember when" should they ever make it to Broadway! I was excited to see that one of the workshops we went to last year, Glassheart, is back this year in its next stage of development. Playfest this year goes from April 8-17, 2011 - I hope you will go and check out a few plays!

But back to Romeo & Juliet. The actors were great (Grant was awesome, as always) and I kept flashing back to scenes from the movie of the same name with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes that brought fun memories of the first time I actually understood all of the Shakespeare "lingo." I remembered a little after half-way through (right after intermission) that I don't actually LIKE R&J, because it is after all a tragedy with a very sad ending. I always cry. But I'm glad I stuck it out because the acting and the talkback were more than worth it. And I needed some resolution.


Some of the observations and comments, a few particularly in relation to the age swap:
*Passion is passion at any age. The play works with young or old leads.
*Love is not just for the young, it can make anyone giddy.
*Lady Capulet (Juliet's mom, for those of us who haven't seen the play in a while) probably was intended to be about 30, but is typically played older.
*Crimes of passion happen every day, just look at the news!
*Paris' story in the play is just as tragic as the two leads, and much less his fault.
*Having those who started the feud (the parents) played by younger people showed more of the immaturity of it all.
*Those that started the fight were not the same as those that ended up dead because of it. Are we being careful not to "slay" those around us with our own petty feuds?