Community theatre a wonderful way to explore

It’s only a few feet from the front row seats to the stage.

But the distance is quite great.

For years I’ve enjoyed watching live theatre as a spectator, and have appreciated how the performing arts enrich our lives in the Flathead Valley. Almost any night of the week you can catch a live show of some sort.

In the last several weeks I’ve learned what it’s like to be up there under the bright lights. I auditioned in June for a role in a community theatre play and took the part of Hector in “The History Boys.”

It’s not an easy role to play. Not so much for the amount of lines needed to memorize, but the complexity of the character. Hector is a man who lives outside the lines of societal norms. He’s a teacher who, in the words of one of his students, “is stained and shabby, and does unforgivable things.” I’ll leave it at that.

I’ve done a lot of stage work as a singer. But this is my first performing role as an actor. I’ve learned this is no easy thing.

First, there are the lines.

Though I had only about 200 lines to memorize, this was at first a daunting process. Then slowly the lines started to adhere to my brain. By the third week of rehearsals I was off-book, though I sometimes had to call for a line.

In my singing roles, I was able to let the music carry me. But in acting, there is no piano music to cover up dead air, and you can’t repeat a verse to cover up your mistake.

After five weeks of nightly rehearsals, we opened our show at Flathead Valley Community College Theatre. I stood in the wings, waiting for my cue.

I was confident, assured, and knew my lines. At least that’s what I told myself.

I stood there thinking, in the dark, ‘I have no idea what my first line is.’

But I’ve faced this kind of fear before in performing, and I assessed it for what it was. Fear.

I compared it to being in my kayak at the top of the Wild Mile of the Swan River. At some point, you have to just go.

Then, when the time came, the words were there. Line after line, they just flowed.

After our first show I was in tears. I couldn’t believe what we, as a cast, just accomplished. My first real acting experience has taught me some amazing things about the human condition.

I learned to trust and believe in my fellow performers, the script, and our director. I learned what an amazing organ the human brain is — how it can compile, arrange and disgorge volumes of content.

But most importantly I’ve learned what a beautiful art form live theatre can be. It’s a way to convey the innermost feelings of a person, and to present in dramatic form the human condition.

As a writer I think there is no better way to experience a text than to act it.

Now I’m looking forward to many more hours on the stage as an actor. Community theatre is a wonderful outlet for creativity, and its title infers exactly what the outlet is about: community.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with other talented people in an art form I’ve associated with only as a spectator. These are bonds I’ll share with these folks for a long time.

So the next time the call goes out for auditions for community theatre, consider trying it. As in life, there’s a part just for you.