Erin and I randomly watched the DVD of my production of Pirates whilst swiffering floors the other day. Sure, there were huge glaring problems, tempo inconsistencies and one or two costumes which might have been better suited to hang from the acoustical shell, but the backs of the audiences heads consistently bobbed with laughter -- and the good kind at that. So, this brought me to notice one thing which inspired in my quest to find a consistent vision for "Ernest" ......
When faced with a script like "Pirates", I saw it as one of my primary obligations to make sure that my audience of intelligent and sophistocated people had FUN at the theatre.
I had been struggling so much with whether to update Wilde. I don't know why I was thinking so hard about it, because really, when I look at just the *text*, I don't know what would be more fun than sticking to its original setting. Yeah, updating it might help tell the story a little bit for a few modern viewers, but I don't think this play will be terribly well-served by anything that makes its behavior more dignified or normal.
So that settles that.
When I did I start considering having Fun in the theatre the least important thing I could do on a stage? It might not be the *most* important, but I like to think it promotes at least a little bit of good in society, at least in helping to facilitate a small, if skeptical, belief in magic and faith in people.
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