Day 12 of 33

Today in rehearsal, I was reminded why I want to be a director. I want to be in control! Certainly I cannot complain about my current situation, because I am working with a brilliant director and cast, in a fantastic theater, and I am learning very much. And certainly nobody is discarding any ideas I have or shutting me out of conversations. In the end, however, I am an assistant - wet behind the ears, and I know my place. It's just that it drives me crazy. Hopefully it can drive me forward as well.

I went out after with some of the company members to go to dinner and to see Harry Potter. Dinner was at In n Out Burger, a West Coast institution known for their Secret Menu. I ordered a Cheeseburger "Animal Style" (inside the quotes in the secret, pass it on). Animal Style means they cook the patty with mustard, and then top it with extra pickles, grilled onions, cheese and of course the famous spread. Once we had succeeded in slowing the flow of our arteries to a gentle trickle, we headed to the movies. Even though we had purchased tickets in advance, we still arrived at the theater, over an hour early, to find ourselves at the end of a long line.

Expelliarmus!

This post has been hijacked by Harry Potter and other rambling thoughts.


Remember when they were only that old? It is funny to imagine how long we have followed this craze. Even further back than this if you were one of the earlier literary fans. I watched the final installment of the movie series tonight and I find it very interesting how everyone reacts to it. One person I went with was speechless in the lobby, quoting "Catharsis". Other friends on Facebook have noted this day as the end of their childhood. That is how deeply this phenomenon has affected some people.

Well, I enjoyed the movie. Looking back, I think I enjoyed some of the other movies more. However, I don't know if I enjoyed the actual movie less, as much as the movie going experience. This is no knock against any of the brilliant people in the Cast and Crew of The Old Globe, but it does not compare to going with your family over Thanksgiving break, or getting a group of your best friends together and spending a night together.

It made me wonder whether the movies we look back on most fondly are not influenced more by our movie watching experience. I can still remember the first time I watched the original Star Wars trilogy. There was a marathon on late at night, and we had a large group of family staying at our house. All my cousins and I were allowed to stay up into the wee hours to watch the series, and we ended up making popcorn and all those things. That trilogy still holds a special place in my heart. Each movie of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy came out near my birthday, and I went to see each one with my family ON my birthday. I went to see the first Pirates of the Caribbean (really the only one I can remember liking) with a large group of high school friends dressed as pirates in lieu of a graduation party.

However, the movie theater experience does not really encourage collective audience reactions. Of course there are moments where everyone will laugh, cheer, clap, or cry, and these moments are more poignant in theaters where there is a large group of people. The movie moves on, though, and quickly! You must focus on the story, and often you will miss the next line of text if you are clapping or laughing. This is what we THRIVE on in the theater, and really one of the only reasons theater must continue to survive, despite the fact that a Broadway show is almost 10 times the cost of a movie ticket.

Do we realize what we have in the theater? Do the movies realize what they are missing?

I don't think either business has figured out how to successfully capture and market the experience of watching. There is so much more to our entertainment than just the value of the media. What can we do to capitalize on this? I don't know, but I'll keep thinking.