The following exchange occurs
near the beginning of the movie “Shakespeare in Love”:
Philip
Henslowe: Mr. Fennyman, allow me to explain about the theatre business.
The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to
imminent disaster.
Hugh
Fennyman: So what do we do?
Philip
Henslowe: Nothing. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.
Hugh
Fennyman: How?
Philip
Henslowe: I don't know. It's a mystery.
It’s not really a mystery.
It’s more like a miracle. (And, of course, only a producer could get away with
saying “we do nothing.”) I was lucky enough to witness such a miracle
over the last few weeks.
My twelve year-old daughter Anna,
had been given the opportunity to help bring a new work to life for the first
time in a professional setting. She had been invited to perform as part of the
Youth Ensemble in "Alice" at Wheelock Family Theatre. Our job
as parents was to make our children available for rehearsals in an ever
changing environment. None of us could fully anticipate what we were getting
ourselves into.
We felt comfortable heading into
the unknown because Anna had performed in Wheelock’s production of The Hobbit
last fall. We knew that the atmosphere at WFT was professional, but
mindful of the limitations of young performers - they did their best to limit
the long hours and to allow the kids to get home at a reasonable hour on school
nights. We also knew that Alice had been written and was to be directed by
Andrew Barbato. Andrew was Bilbo last year and we knew him to be a very
talented artist with a unique vision.
From the first table read it was
evident that there was real brilliance in what Andrew had written and real
talent among the performers assembled. At times, though, it really did seem
like the obstacles to bringing it to life were insurmountable and disaster was
imminent. Schedules, scripts and blocking changed by the day and sometimes by
the hour. There never seemed to be enough time to accomplish everything. But
somehow by the final dress rehearsal the cast and crew were able to present
something close to Andrew’s vision. There was no mystery to how success
was achieved. The miracle was brought about by the hard work and dedication of
everyone involved. Andrew kept asking the cast to give more of themselves and
they rose to the occasion every single time. It was amazing to watch it all
happen.
The experience of being able to
work with seasoned professionals to put together a new show is something Anna
will be able to carry with her always. All of the adults in the cast,
especially Maritza Bostic (Alice) and Aubin Wise (The White Queen), treated the
ensemble like valuable members of the team.
There were some
disappointments. Anna’s role (and that of all of the Youth Ensemble) was
diminished from the original script. She didn’t get to sing at all -
which is what she enjoys doing most. We told her, “That’s show biz. You
just have to go out and do the best you can with whatever they ask you to do.”
She did that to the best of her ability and she can be proud of the outcome, as
can everyone involved.
-Stephen Kraffmiller
