What happened there. This is the title of the essay that John D'Agata wrote that provides the basis for the story that has been made into a play that HG has been offering these two weekends. “WHAT HAPPENED THERE.” I don't think it's a question. What happened in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas, I think is the sense. Stress any of the three words and you get a sense of the complexity of the title...and the story.
My thought today is “What happened here.” I keep being reminded that I can't worry about the whole world. The news I listen to is so engaging and far-reaching that I find myself trying to carry the weight of the world on my own shoulders. Which, of course, is impossible. And foolish. There is not a whole lot I can do about wars in other parts of the world, and earthquakes and fires and hurricanes. I am grieved about all of these, and care about the people I don't know who are suffering due to these tragedies. But my worrying won't help them or stop the forces of nature or the greed of humans.
I'm still hung up on this script that Jessie Thompson discovered and directed. (This weekend is the last chance to see our production of THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT.) All week I've been juggling thoughts about which of these two approaches—embodied by the two male characters in the play—is most viable. I've gone back and forth and this morning as I write I'm on the essayist side, but I guarantee—maybe—that by the end of this blog I'll be on the fact-checker's side.
Although HG has certainly not escaped impact in the chaos that is affecting our world, it has, thankfully, managed to accept the different perspectives of its community and remain a community. Thankfully, shows are again being produced and presented. However, a perennial specter of any community, and certainly of community theater, is rearing its head: Hamilton Gibson needs your support.
Another opening, another show!! I've said it before, I'll say it again. The first of six LIFESPAN OF A FACT performances opened with what we now call a "full house." Physically we can get more chairs in the Warehouse Theatre, but now they are spaced for distancing so "full" isn't quite the same as it can be. The buzz of the audience before the show begins is the same though. Being masked doesn't keep us from talking to each other. And then the curtain talk, and the lights in the theatre go down, and the audience is hushed and expectant, and the lights on stage go up, and the characters begin to talk. I never get tired of that. And, in this case we are rewarded by the beginning of a three-person show that holds our attention for an hour-and-a-half. This show is very often very funny and sometimes heartbreaking, but it is always attention-grabbing and thought-provoking. The 3 actors are really believable as they grapple with each other and with their own truths. The audience can listen to each of them and "take sides," or the audience can just wait to see who wins, if anyone does. We have choices just like the characters do.
I saw THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT on opening night at the Warehouse Theatre. The script is terrific. I had read it a few years ago when we first considered it for the upcoming season. Of course things got shut down so we had to postpone it. Finally it has been able to open. A very natural set; it all works for the four different locations in the story. I knew what to expect in regards to the story, through seeing it and hearing it and experiencing it with a live audience is a whole new thing; one for which I am very grateful.