by Whitney Garner, actor & director in Central Oregon
I feel very idealistic about theatre. I think it changes us. Whether we watch it, work it, perform it.
As an actor bringing a story to an audience feels, to me, like a public service. There are all sorts of reasons why we tell stories. Theatre, in particular, does a lot of things, it entertains, it teaches, it lets us feel. It gives us cautionary tales and hopeful reminders.
Both witnessing and performing theatre builds empathy and emotional intelligence. The theatre lets us explore the human condition. We get to witness and participate in a test of human behavior without great personal risk, outside of possibly exposing our feelings to our seatmates.
We are magically plucked out of our lives and put back down in different times and places, in situations we may never have considered, where we meet people we may or may not agree with. When we see characters who are not like us, or who make different choices than us, we learn things about our fellow humans and about ourselves. Because there is usually someone in a story that we don’t agree with.
For an actor, theatre provides a unique opportunity. Acting is really just the work of being human and exercising empathy. I don’t know where the phrase “judge all persons favorably,” originates, but Anne Hathaway mentioned it a few years ago and noted it was part of her process in understanding and developing her characters. The concept doesn’t ignore reality or behavior it just seeks to understand why a person might do the thing that they did. When an actor takes the time to really know the story and their character the actor gets to practice compassionate curiosity for someone who is not themselves. And that is not the job of the audience, to figure all of that out. But if an actor has done their job, then the audience gets to benefit from the most human, honest version of a character, and we might be surprised by what we learn.
For the most part, theatre changes us on the sly. Sometimes it’s in your face, telling you exactly what it wants you to think, but often it lets you witness elements of life, watching other people navigate difficult situations, and then quietly forming your opinions.
Because of this, we all get to experience theatre empathetically, together. We get to change our minds, we get to give an inch. We can challenge ideas we already had or find reinforcement for the things that feel most important to us. Or we can just let it all go and lose ourselves for a few hours. I did say it was idealistic, but this is what the theatre invites you to.
Did you know?
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*screenshot this and send to your favorite scene partner*
A: It happened.
B: What?
A: The thing.
B: Really?
A: Yep.
B: When?
A: Just now.
B: Finally.
A: I know.
B: I don't know what to say.
A: I don't know what to tell you.
B: How do you feel?
A: Not sure. Different, I guess?
B: "Good" different?
A: We'll see.
B: Yeah. We'll see.
At CoCreated we love a good open scene! An open scene gives us the opportunity to fill in the who, what, when, where, and why of the story. It can come to life in so many different ways depending on the actors involved.
We recommend finding a scene partner (or two, with person C having the extra challenge of being in the scene with no lines!) and reading the script aloud together. Then determine the given circumstances and try reading it again. See what happens after a few run-throughs, adding in some blocking and pantomime. Have fun and don't forget the power of a dramatic pause!
Video Spotlight
Tim Curry sings “I'm All Alone” from Spamalot on Broadway in 2005.
Lyrics We Love
from “Nine to Five” - 9 to 5 The Musical
Doing Our Part to Strengthen Local Community Theatre
While I recognize the vast amount of theatre in Central Oregon, I have decided to bring my passion for community to life in the form of drama clubs for all ages. Drama club brings the education side of this art form downstage center. We want to help build a foundation for our students to prepare them for performance opportunities.
If you were to pop into any one of our drama clubs, whether it's for ages 4-6 or 75-100, you will see us using exercises from The Viewpoints, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner, Uta Hagen, and more. Drama club is the place where our imagination can run wild! We practice and play in the world of storytelling without the pressure of memorizing a script or blocking. CoCreated partners with Bend Parks and Rec for our students ages 4-15. We also host The Drama Gym, which is drama club for older teens and adults (16+) and we offer private classes for our homeschool, charter schools, and assisted living partnerships.
