On the Dark Side of Twilight: Our Lady of the Elms

Ten years ago, Great Lakes Theater produced my first outreach tour "On the Dark Side of Twilight."

Monday, February 22, 2010

This tour is really wearing me out. We have performed seven performances in seven days and I have not been engaging in any other extra-social business. I try to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. But waking up I feel like I have been hit by a bus.

Driving home from Akron today was a real grind, I kept nodding off at stoplights. Okay, not really. I don't want to worry anyone. So really, I didn't. Not more than once.

Now, is it the load-in, load-out thing, the lifting of heavy objects? Or is it the show itself? No idea. The heavy lifting thing isn't really a big deal, the set for Seeing Red two years ago was much more strenuous, much heavier, much more awkward.

But we need to set up and tear down:

• A curtain
• The set facade
• Racks for 18 costumes
• A tub loaded with props
• Fog machine
• Plenty of odd make-up extras and wigs
• The sound system

And then there's the show itself. Not much time to stop and breathe.

We have been blessed to have assistance at many locations. Clague ended with a lot of good friends helping us tear down. And today the students of Our Lady of the Elms were extremely helpful in helping us pack it all together and load it out.

And today's performance? Man. I love that venue. These girls really surprised me last year, which was our first visit to the school. We were performing Two By Chekhov, a set of the Russian playwright's hilarious one-acts. How well they would go over for a modern high school audience was a mystery.

Well. The girls were prepared. They had actually read the Chekhov plays prior to our arrival. They knew what to look for in the performances, and I swear they laughed at absolutely everything.

This year, however ... a vampire play? It actually made me nervous, some of the questionable discussions about faith and God, there are some charged phrases in the production, which have really popped with the high school audiences.

As Elaine mentioned yesterday, the satire settles down a bit in the third arc, and what is at stake becomes quite serious. I think this is good, there's actually something to be afraid of, eternal damnation perhaps, that people take seriously in a way they may not all the vampire stuff.

But oh, that final arc. I was concerned the teenage audiences wouldn't like it, that it might feel condescending. I tried very hard for the conversation to be realistic, only Emily and Dusten take it to such a level it is impossible not to laugh. And it did really seem like the girls today were laughing at every single word the actors said.

That was a good day. Well worth all the effort.

Double Heart: Our Lady of the Elms

What, and give up show business?

We have only five more performances, the final on Thursday is not public, it is at a school. It is only Saturday and this is already depressing. The good news: I can stop shaving my entire face on Friday.

Since 2009 we have visited Our Lady of the Elms in Akron, and these girls have always made an incredible audience. In particular I remember how strongly they responded to Michael and Beth in The Brute. When it comes to romance -- especially actual, on-stage kissing -- they generally explode.

However, yesterday made me very nervous. I mean, I didn't start out nervous, but as the show went along, I became increasingly concerned about the sheer weight of scatalogical humor and sexual innuendo. I mean, you know, it's verse, it is implied, we never some out and use any of those common vulgarities or obscenities you hear, you know, everywhere ... but still. They didn't miss any of it, and we were holding for laughs longer than we have done before ... and that made me even more self-conscious!

Because, uh, I wrote that. I was waiting for some authority figure to leap up and stop the show, but that did not happen. Of course not.

I should have had more faith in the material. Yes, it goes there (as the kids say) but it also goes some many other places. Damn, what a ride. We even nailed the dance, it's all so giddy and youthful, but everyone grows up so fast. And I think that's what people see. I hope that's what they see.

One of the nuns came up to speak with James after the performance. She used to be on the Tri-C board, believes strongly in it's mission, and she was so happy and proud when he announced during the Q&A that he is currently a student at Tri-C.

Tomorrow we perform at the Akron Main Public Library at 2 PM. Please join us.

Styles: Our Lady of the Elms

OH, DEAR!
What a bummer! One of our very favorite stops on the tour is at Our Lady of the Elms in Akron. We first joined them in 2009 with the Chekhov tour. We were presenting On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco and The Brute. Now, we had already visited a high school or two by the time we met the girls of Elms, and they thought it was funny as far as it goes. What we were not prepared for was the fact that these young ladies had already read both short plays, and had been schooled on why it was funny, at least on paper. In theory. They knew where the funny was and what to listen for. What they were not prepared for was how animated and outrageous it was to witness when played by actors. They got absolutely everything and loved it all. It was a joyous performance.

The following year, when we presented On the Dark Side of Twilight, well, between the Twilight-inspired scene and Dusten's pants, they were well-ready to explode. Last year was another big hit. And so it was again this year with Styles. They were a tremendous audience, very appreciative, and as expected, the "seduction" scenes (if you can call them that) between Hastings and Cynthia and Mary were points of great hilarity, and sympathy. I could feel that every girl out there just wanted to rip Emily's little head off. We were looking forward to the talkback, in hopes of generously embarrassing James with the adoration we expect he would have received from the audience.

Unfortunately,and this is the only downside, really, immediately after the performance they had to leave! The Elms basketball team is currently in the regionals -- first time in school history, they told me -- and were being honored that afternoon at the end of school. Good for them!

Oh, well. Still a tremendous audience, a great afternoon, and I look forward to returning next year!

The Elms Panthers play Mapleton this afternoon at 2 PM. Our tour visits Akron Main Public Library tomorrow at 2 PM.