A Different Perspective

I was a shadow last week backstage on the Bowmer Theatre. A shadow is an interesting thing to be in the world of theatre. It can be an up close and personal period of observation or examination of that part of the stage that is off-limits to the general ticket paying population. I was lucky enough to be granted permission to shadow the Production Assistant of My Fair Lady – a unique opportunity to say the least because musicals are not what one primarily finds a the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Having been able to see the show from the audience perspective the week before I was ready to see what happened behind the scenes. What struck me the most form this experience were two things; first: the simplicity of a musical (typically monstrous shows on stage) and second: how much better I thought it sounded back stage than sitting in row O in the audience. There is some simplistic elegance about a musical being accompanied by two grand pianos center stage but hearing it, live, echoing through the sides to the backstage world is something else. My Fair Lady is a fun show as evidenced even more if you get to experience it back stage – I won't give away any of their secrets – as it was a privilege just to be a part of it all for one performance but it is something else altogether. The nature of the show is that there is no secret about the fact that there is a back stage and its existence – the audience could see me shadowing for parts of the show and I could see them for most of the show. I got to walk out onstage, following like a shadow, for the final last minute checks before the show started. It was almost as fun to watch the audience reaction as it was to just be back stage. One woman in the front row smiled the moment the pianos started playing and didn't stop until the cast took their final bows. I think I smiled the moment I put my stuff down in the audience and didn't stop until I got home that night. It is always fun to see something from a different perspective so because I couldn't capture a satisfactory photo of a shadow I leave you with this picture of the poppies in my backyard through the openings in the backyard gate. How do you view the world?