Kudos to the cast and crew of “The Odd Couple” produced by Garrettsville’s Curtains Up Theatre this last week end in the Iva Walker Theatre at James A. Garfield H.S. Ditto for all of the local support afforded the production and the organization by the many community members in the audience, in the program listings and involved with the group’s activities throughout the year.
Community theater has something for just about everyone. If you’re a musician, you can participate by singing or playing, conducting or co-ordinating. If you’re an artistic sort, there are sets and programs to design, costumes to design, find and improvise. The handypersons among us can find a home in the design and construction of sets and/or props for use onstage. Nothing gets to the stage without financial backing to pay for all of the above, so sponsors and fund-raisers get to step forward for a bow too. Audience members are a vital part of the equation; the advertising and publicity found in various venues are key to getting the word out and inviting everyone to come.
Part of the fun, of course, is seeing neighbors and friends on stage, seeing them in a new light, gazing into a different world created right before our eyes…and ears….or maybe it’s a world we know all too well.
And finally, in the words of a sage set-constructor of my acquaintance, “You know it’s a small town when you recognize the furniture in the set of the class play.”
Good job, everybody.
