Anytime a drama teacher gets the chance to get out from behind the director’s chair and work as an actor, it only makes her a better director. As directors we soon forget what it is like to be an actor, and being reminded every so often is very helpful—if nothing else to learn what not to do or say to one’s cast! When our summer high school theatre program ended, I got a chance to work with summer theatre in the tent. Yes, you heard right, under a circus tent. We have a wonderful walk by the Clark Fork River and along the shore was a great piece of land that was perfect for pitching a large circus tent and doing summer theatre. The University of Montana and the city made an agreement that the city would rent the tent and the university would provide the platforms, chairs, lighting, and the plays. A bar was commissioned to serve wine, beer, and appetizers. It was a great way to spend an evening; however, there were several drawbacks. One was that the tent was placed right next to our main bridge, so every Saturday night we had additional sounds effects of cars speeding and backfiring while motor cycles zoomed by at the most inappropriate times. It was also hot, or rainy, or cold—the temp was never quite right—but we loved it! The troupe of actors was recruited from the U, given a small stipend and credit. Three shows were produced each summer. I became involved the third summer playing Aunt Eller in Oklahoma. It was a very hot summer, so the ironic thing was when Curley started to sing, ”Oh what a beautiful morning,” it was sooo hot that no one believed it was morning (and it got a laugh every night), but the corn being as high as an elephant’s eye was extremely believable. We ended the season with Guys and Dolls. The night we opened, we had just finished the opening number when smoke filled the tent. The audience and actors were herded out the various exits, firemen were called, and it was discovered that the cables used for lighting, housed in a trench, had caught fire. The stage/lighting/set crew stayed up all night and we opened the following day. That was just one of many interesting experiences we had under the tent. |
