Community Theatre
08/10/13 05:34
Our community does a really good job of supporting the arts. Rapid City is known for its outdoor sculptures. Of course Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Mountain carving project have received international attention, but our city is filled with other sculptures. The City of Presidents project has placed life-sized sculptures of US presidents on city street corners and the Main Street Square sculpture project, Passage of Wind & Water, is one of the largest public art projects in the world at this time. We have a very good symphony orchestra, an amazing group for a city of our size. The Dahl Fine Arts Center is more than a gallery and museum, it is a hub of community activities and events.
Black Hills Community Theatre is an important part of the arts scene in Rapid City. They mount five productions each year and support the Cherry Street Players, a youth theatre group.
Last night we were delighted to attend the rescheduled performance of Les Miserables. It was held in the recently remodeled historic theatre of Rapid City High School. The venue is great for community events and is home to the symphony as well as the community theatre. We had tickets for the Friday night performance, which was cancelled due to the storm. The plan was for an additional performance to be added for Sunday night, but Saturday and Sunday performances also had to be cancelled due to the weather. Our community is getting dug out and the group pulled off a great production of the musical last night and a final performance is set for this evening. Despite the unscheduled break, the cast was well prepared for the performance and the audience was delighted.
Les Miserables is a huge musical. It requires a cast of fifty characters, a complex set, an orchestra, and a large behind-the-scenes crew. It also has the challenge of being a musical that is well known. It has been performed around the world and is a staple of the theatre scene in large cities. A 2012 movie is now available for viewing in homes on DVD and video streaming. The fame of the musical adds a challenge to any local production simply because the story line and the songs are well known to many who make up the audience. We have all heard professional actors and musicians perform the music. Many in the audience know all of the words to several of the songs.
All of that said, the production was masterful. Director Justin Speck, who directed the Rapid City Central High School production of Les Miserables in 2006, was up for the challenge. He designed a stunning set, choreographed the musical and directed the complex cast. We were delighted to have been able to attend the production.
Before the play began last night, there were the usual introductions and announcements. The Performing Arts Center is in the midst of the capital funds campaign so a brief appeal was an important announcement. There was the introduction of the director, who shared a few brief words. And the chair of the theatre board had a scripted and memorized presentation about the production. Her speech was designed to impress us with the amount of work that the production required. It was unnecessary. The show stood on its own. There was no need to tell us how many people were involved or how hard they worked. We could see that in the production itself.
But what bothered me about the speech was the over-done comparison with professional theatre. She kept making references to Broadway and how Black Hills Community Theatre brings Broadway to Rapid City. In the first place, she was factually incorrect. The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center does sponsor a series of productions by professional theatre groups. The national touring groups are booked into the Civic Center Theatre and they bring the costumes, professional musicians and actors from other places to perform in our city.
We don’t go to our community theatre to see professionals from out of town. We go to see our own friends, church members, and acquaintances put on quality theatre. More impressive than professional theatre in some ways community theatre features people who have other jobs, other commitments and other responsibilities who make time for rehearsals and performances for the entertainment of the community. Black Hills Community Theatre is just that: our community producing theatre for our community. Comparisons with professional theatre in other cities are silly and meaningless.
But before I get too critical it is important for me to remember that the person making the speech is also a volunteer. Serving on the board of directors of a community arts organization is often a thankless task. There is the constant struggle of budgets and fund-raising. There are the differences of personality that always crop up among creative and passionate people. There are different visions for the direction of the organization. And there is the need to provide some structure in the midst of people who have busy lives and little time for meetings. Getting dressed up, greeting the audience and a brief moment in the spotlight at center stage is a small compensation for all of the work of a community arts organization board member.
The production was another symbol of the strength of our community. Our city and county may still be in disaster mode. There were crews out working the restore power to those who had none as we sat in the theatre last night. There are thousands of hours of clean up that remain. It will take us a long time to recover form the effects of the storm. But in the midst of all of that “the show must go on.” We paused for an evening of home grown entertainment and we could hear the people sing. As the lyrics to one of the songs goes, “To love another person is to see the face of God . . .” We may have suffered a major storm. We may have experienced some discomfort and inconvenience. But our cultural heart still beats strongly and within our community is a song that cannot be silenced.
Bravo!
Black Hills Community Theatre is an important part of the arts scene in Rapid City. They mount five productions each year and support the Cherry Street Players, a youth theatre group.
Les Miserables is a huge musical. It requires a cast of fifty characters, a complex set, an orchestra, and a large behind-the-scenes crew. It also has the challenge of being a musical that is well known. It has been performed around the world and is a staple of the theatre scene in large cities. A 2012 movie is now available for viewing in homes on DVD and video streaming. The fame of the musical adds a challenge to any local production simply because the story line and the songs are well known to many who make up the audience. We have all heard professional actors and musicians perform the music. Many in the audience know all of the words to several of the songs.
All of that said, the production was masterful. Director Justin Speck, who directed the Rapid City Central High School production of Les Miserables in 2006, was up for the challenge. He designed a stunning set, choreographed the musical and directed the complex cast. We were delighted to have been able to attend the production.
Before the play began last night, there were the usual introductions and announcements. The Performing Arts Center is in the midst of the capital funds campaign so a brief appeal was an important announcement. There was the introduction of the director, who shared a few brief words. And the chair of the theatre board had a scripted and memorized presentation about the production. Her speech was designed to impress us with the amount of work that the production required. It was unnecessary. The show stood on its own. There was no need to tell us how many people were involved or how hard they worked. We could see that in the production itself.
But what bothered me about the speech was the over-done comparison with professional theatre. She kept making references to Broadway and how Black Hills Community Theatre brings Broadway to Rapid City. In the first place, she was factually incorrect. The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center does sponsor a series of productions by professional theatre groups. The national touring groups are booked into the Civic Center Theatre and they bring the costumes, professional musicians and actors from other places to perform in our city.
We don’t go to our community theatre to see professionals from out of town. We go to see our own friends, church members, and acquaintances put on quality theatre. More impressive than professional theatre in some ways community theatre features people who have other jobs, other commitments and other responsibilities who make time for rehearsals and performances for the entertainment of the community. Black Hills Community Theatre is just that: our community producing theatre for our community. Comparisons with professional theatre in other cities are silly and meaningless.
But before I get too critical it is important for me to remember that the person making the speech is also a volunteer. Serving on the board of directors of a community arts organization is often a thankless task. There is the constant struggle of budgets and fund-raising. There are the differences of personality that always crop up among creative and passionate people. There are different visions for the direction of the organization. And there is the need to provide some structure in the midst of people who have busy lives and little time for meetings. Getting dressed up, greeting the audience and a brief moment in the spotlight at center stage is a small compensation for all of the work of a community arts organization board member.
The production was another symbol of the strength of our community. Our city and county may still be in disaster mode. There were crews out working the restore power to those who had none as we sat in the theatre last night. There are thousands of hours of clean up that remain. It will take us a long time to recover form the effects of the storm. But in the midst of all of that “the show must go on.” We paused for an evening of home grown entertainment and we could hear the people sing. As the lyrics to one of the songs goes, “To love another person is to see the face of God . . .” We may have suffered a major storm. We may have experienced some discomfort and inconvenience. But our cultural heart still beats strongly and within our community is a song that cannot be silenced.
Bravo!