Lorca In A Green Dress

At 1:00 pm on Tuesday, October 7th, Two Thousand and Three. I entered the Thomas Theatre (then the New Theatre) for the first time.  Having no idea what the impact on my life would be. I sat with my classmates from a small-ish town in Montana and watched in wonder as the story of the death and life of Federico Garcia Lorca unfolded before us. Lorca's story as told by Nilo Cruz is an examination of the life and death of the famous Spanish Poet following his murder. Different versions of himself help him to accept the inevitable, his passage from to death. As a senior in high school I had no idea what I was watching except that it was beautiful, emotional, powerful, exciting and like nothing I'd seen before. We did theatre in Montana but not like that. What followed that week were more displays of the impossible - shadows being left on stage, a kings fall from the thrown, a version of Midsummer in the soaking, bone-chilling rain, Hedda's slide toward tragedy, and a Shakespearean soap opera none of us could seem to follow. Our young minds learned more in that week about theatre and possibility than I think I could comprehend even now. Just the simple idea that this art of story telling could even be a full time job, for more than one person, is something that stuck with me for the next ten years. I owe so much of my theatre story to that first week of watching plays. I owe even more of my story to growing up in a place that supports the arts. The community I grew up in and learned about the world of theatre in let me and my classmates fly in ways we never thought possible. I have returned many times to the festival – as I mentioned above the first time was as a student soaking up inspiration and then later years I arrived as an adult chaperoning young minds and also as a solo patron hungering to hear stories of the human experience. I find it fitting that on my ten year anniversary watching plays at the festival I have a pass, to the world behind the scenes and while it is technically a Guest FAIR pass the benefits have already begun to appear. Being accepted into the FAIR program was really simply a dream come true. Working with professionals at this level and in this element can only lead to good things and I am proud to be a part of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Family.