Production Meetings, AKA Socializing

Hiya! Karla, here (Mistress Quickly), with an observation from last night's post-rehearsal gathering at the Wooden Nickel.

I'm new to the whole theatre thing. Yes, I'm the noob. I've been in four of the summer Shakespeare shows, now (including this one), and a couple of the October Radio Theatre gigs, but that's the extent of my theatre background. I've only hung around theatre people my whole life; until recently, having married into it (so to speak), I've only observed from a distance.

That means that things like "blocking" and "developing a character" and "cast party" are fairly new concepts to me.

As is this thing called "Production Meeting."

Last night, at the WN, many participants decided that these social gatherings--often impromptu--work far better as production meetings that more rigid ones (I can only assume that means a large table, people facing each other with file folders and notebooks, and a distinct lack of Guinness and Woodchuck).

We'd talk about this or that--news, culture, politics, food--and, invariably, every few minutes, find our way back to The Play and share ideas, critiques, epiphanies, and, well, more beer, but that latter's neither here nor there. It was--and is--free form, organic, and completely unforced.

And things got solved. New tacks were found. And fun and good conversation were had by all!

The same thing, I've noticed, happens over pizza, or over card games at one of the cast members' homes (note: do play Brian-Paco in *anything*--he's got a secret competitive streak that is a wonder to behold!). Or just hanging out after a rehearsal and asking questions, casually.

I think our culture is based on the necessity of quantifiable, scheduled, agenda-ized formalities--and I'm a public school teacher, so I know from meetings--when the best things get done when we view each other as peers, friends, and fellow fun-havers (I coined that, thanks).

I like it. I think the "real world" could learn a lot from theatre folk. I know that I have!

--Karla Olson, 7/28/09