I love theatre, from my first production at age 5 as a star bellied Sneetch to today as a 17 year-old with a myriad of theatrical acting, directing and writing experiences under my belt. I just can’t get enough of it. With high school graduation on the horizon, I endeavored on an exploration of how this love can become a career. As a member of Oregon Children’s Theatre’s (OCT) Young Professionals (YP) program I asked our Artistic Director, Dani Baldwin, if I could get an apprenticeship of the career I most imagined for myself, a theatre director. Dani reached out to a variety of companies in the area seeing if they wanted to take on a teen wanting to learn and observe. After a few polite declines, an opportunity finally came through to work with Artist Repertory Theatre’s (ART) Artistic Director Luan Schooler on their upcoming production of Sara Jean Accuardi’s The Storyteller. I was to follow the production from its inception to eventual production, gaining a deeper understanding of the craft. As soon as I read the script for the show, I fell in love. The Storyteller is a new work by Accuardi that was set to debut at ART in May. The script was witty, graceful and resoundingly tender in a way that set it apart from work I had read in the past. I was filled with anticipation for the journey ahead.
In the first production meeting, I observed the various designers pitching their proposals for the shows scenic, light, sound and costume design. The core of these proposals was elevation of the text’s themes and the intended atmosphere for the production. Production meetings offered an illuminating experience to understand the work that goes into a show beyond the actors or director. The collaboration and cohesion of different ideas and perspectives was treated with reverence, offering a sense of community to the professional environment. It was revelatory to engage in these meetings, with long lasting discussions on things I would’ve never considered, like the method in which two hot dogs would be eaten by the cast. Rehearsals for The Storyteller officially began a few months later. As soon as the actors finished the first table read, I knew that the production was special. I was enamored with all the life the actors brought to the characters, bringing out the humor, sorrow and wonder at the show’s core. The extensive collaboration around the text was a new experience for me. In most of my High School productions, we had our first read-through and then jumped straight into blocking. But here, substantial time was devoted to the details, motivations and underlying themes of the work. This discussion was not prescribed solely by either Luan or Sara Jean but instead open to everyone at the table to express their interpretations, ideas and thoughts. The show did not come together out of any singular artistic vision, but instead through collaborative thought and discourse.
Partway through observing my second rehearsal, I received an email from OCT. All programming was canceled for the following year to preserve financial resources. The shows, classes and even the very YP program that had put me in the room I was in now, would halt with no foreseen continuation. My heart sank. This program which granted me access to the industry was shutting down right as I was on the verge of investing time and money towards making theatre my life. Why was I deciding to go into an industry that felt like it was on fire? I pushed these feelings aside for the time, and kept on with my experience at ART. In the blink of an eye, the show had transformed from taped outlines and boxes in a rehearsal space, to a real, living, breathing space in ART’s lobby theatre. The set, lighting, sound and prop design had come together to make the wondrous sensory world of The Storyteller. Observing so many rehearsals, I had substantial time to soak in the narrative, thematic elements and worldbuilding of the show. Every time through, I was taken on an odyssey not just through the characters’ stories, but my own. As I saw Randi (the protagonist; a 17 year old girl) develop from childhood to adolescence, I saw my own childhood flash through my mind. All the moments spent with my parents, all the stories passed down to me that have shaped the person I am today. I felt all the experiences which brought me up to this moment, a turning point in my life. A kid, on the verge of becoming an adult.
Near the end of my experience shadowing the production, I got an opportunity for a one on one interview with the Playwright, Sara Jean Accuardi. At this point in the process I had made a personal discovery, my deepest passion in theatre was in writing. Hearing what it was like to actually make playwriting your profession in today’s financial climate, one which had me deeply fearful, meant everything to me. Our interview was a blast, with discussion of Accuardi’s history and sources of inspiration. Throughout our talk, Accuardi was incredibly encouraging, telling me that the only way to make it in this path was to, “just keep doing it.” My experience at ART has been deeply enriching, and while the road ahead is frightening, I now feel so much more secure in doing what I love. Knowing that this deeply valuable opportunity for young artists may be inaccessible to those coming up after me, is tragic. For all the aspiring theatre makers out there, we need programs like OCT that help meet dreams with reality. I urge anyone who has the opportunity to help keep OCT alive to take action. Without it I would not have the strength to keep pursuing what I love not despite the world, but with it.