Community Theater

On Sunday afternoon my neighbor suggested that we catch a performance of THE FOX ON THE FAIRWAY by Ken Ludwig. It was being presented by the local community theater group. As I had nothing planned for the day, I accepted the offer.

As we bought our tickets, the woman who sold them to us said, "I want to hear you laughing. This is a comedy" (Duh!)

I could go on about what was wrong with the production but suffice to say it broke the cardinal rule about staging a farce: its pacing was sluggish enough to let the audience think about the plot. Bad news and this wasn't one of Ludwick's better efforts.

The biggest problem for me, though, was the group of people in the last row of the theater. Obviously connected with the production, they laughed loudly at even the most insignificant joke and one of them kept repeating, "Oh, this is so funny!" (Maybe it was the woman who sold us our tickets) As a result, a mildly entertaining afternoon at the theater became an annoying one.

Updated On: 5/24/22 at 09:40 AM

One of these days I'll write a novel about the kinds of people who are drawn to community theater.

I'm the Secretary of my home town (rural Minnesota) community theater group, and I've acted in productions from four or five other groups in the area, and let me tell you... the drama isn't only on the stage.

Aside from artists being paid, the main difference between amateur theatre and professional theatre is this: amateur theatre is for the artists, and professional theatre is for the audience.

That said, community theatre has an important place in this world. There is no need to trash it. And like educational theatre, most audience members are there to support friends and family, not to necessarily see a good show (which not to say that amateur theatre can't be good).

SidebySidebyLogan said: "Imagine being so miserable that you CHOOSE to attend a community theatre performance and then get on a board to discuss professional theatre so you can rag on nonprofessionals who are volunteering their time to help spread the arts to people who aren’t lucky enough to afford professional productions.


Here’s an idea, you already know you’re not going to enjoy it because you have an admittedly closed mind concerning community theatre, so don’t go and definitely don’t get on the internet and troll people for trying. No wonder people think the theatre is full of elitist pricks…sheesh"



Elitist prick. BINGO!

You see, the community theaters I've been exposed to aren't particularly "artistic". There's greater concern for where the crown will go drinking after the rehearsal/performance than for the performance being given.

Dollypop said: "You see, the community theaters I've been exposed to aren't particularly "artistic". There's greater concern for where the crown will go drinking after the rehearsal/performance than for the performance being given."

Hey, as another member of my community theatre board says, "The more they (the audience) drink, the funnier we are!"

Seriously, though, the appreciation of the crowd is enough. After struggling through 8 weeks of rehearsal, getting your lines down, assembling a set from scratch, setting up choreography, and making sure more than a dozen different people's schedules all fit together, there's nothing like being able to fit it all together in front of a crowd that you can just feel appreciates you being there.

"One of these days I'll write a novel about the kinds of people who are drawn to community theater."

Kurt Vonnegut already wrote "Who Am I This Time?" in his Monkey House anthology.

Henry Fonda and Marlon Brando started out at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Raymond Burr, Ariana Grande, Victor Mature, Charles Bronson, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Sally Struthers, Jamie Farr, John Ritter, Ed Asner, Ruth Buzzi, Nick Nolte, Al Pacino, Martha Graham, and Tyrone Power are on a long list of Pasadena Community Playhouse alumni.

Dollypop said: "On Sunday afternoon my neighbor suggested that we catch a performance of THE FOX ON THE FAIRWAY by Ken Ludwig. It was being presented by the local community theater group. As I had nothing planned for the day, I accepted the offer.

As we bought our tickets, the woman who sold them to us said, "I want to hear you laughing. This is a comedy" (Duh!)

I could go on about what was wrong with the production but suffice to say it broke the cardinal rule about staging a farce: its pacing was sluggish enough to let the audience think about the plot. Bad news and this wasn't one of Ludwick's better efforts.

The biggest problem for me, though, was the group of people in the last row of the theater. Obviously connected with the production, they laughed loudly at even the most insignificant joke and one of them kept repeating, "Oh, this is so funny!" (Maybe it was the woman who sold us our tickets) As a result, a mildly entertaining afternoon at the theater became an annoying one."

What's the point of this post? People don't have to be involved with a production to enjoy it. I've seen wretched community theatre shows that have received riotous laughter and applause, because SOME PEOPLE go to the theatre to have fun and escape, and in some places, live theatre is cheaper than the movies.

Apparently you went to this show so you could feel superior and come on this board after the fact and spread bitter, b****y contempt.

perfectliar said: "What's the point of this post? People don't have to be involved with a production to enjoy it. I've seen wretched community theatre shows that have received riotous laughter and applause, because SOME PEOPLE go to the theatre to have fun and escape, and in some places, live theatre is cheaper than the movies.

Apparently you went to this show so you could feel superior and come on this board after the fact and spread bitter, b****y contempt."

Hell, I've seen wretched productions at all levels, from Broadway to the lowest community or school productions. I've also seen great productions at all levels as well. But, like many, I've never cared for this sort of contempt that gets shown to community theaters and other non-professional level productions. It's why I always hated that old mega-thread of "bad" high school and community theatre clips that people found on Youtube and insisted on keeping going for far longer than it should have.