Theater and “The Diviners” – End of the Day for May 29, 2014

Cycles come and go and the cycle of a new year of theater enters our lives. We have found out the shows scheduled for next year at Joseph’s school, so — as theater geeks ourselves — we started reading the Fall drama today — The Diviners by Jim Leonard, Jr. The play is set in Indiana during the Great Depression and deals with preachers, water dowsers, farmers and all the aspects of small town life.

While I grew up in a small town in Ohio during the late 60’s and early 70’s, I immediately felt an affinity for this place and time. Change comes slowly to small town America and many of the characters I read in the play echo with the voices of my family, friends and nature across the decades. My voice and speech immediately fall into the Kentucky/West Virginian accent of my home town. Although, quite far north, New London seems to draw its accents from further south. I often took quite the ribbing from people when I first moved to Los Angeles. It only takes a few minutes of reading the show to fall back into those cadences again.

This play was unknown to me, but is a favorite of the directors at school. I tend to more of a musical theater man, but straight plays still holw a bit of fascination for me, especially those that place me in a familiar milieu. I about a quarter of the way into reading the play and I am already looking forward to seeing it on the stage. It has captured my attention and this is always a good sign.

Joseph and his classmates are reading the play aloud in class, but I find myself reading sections out here at home, too. There is a magic to theater that demands the words be spoken out loud, whether on stage, in a rehearsal hall, in the home or even in your own mind — if that is possible. Perhaps it is the theater training, but sometimes I do hear voices in my head. (SMILE)

Also on the theater front, we have set aside some dates for seeing the annual summer productions of the Independent Shakespeare Company. They are doing Twelfth Night and Taming of the Shrew this season, as well as an evening of music and readings. The shows are free. You only need to bring something to sit on and something to eat if you wish to attend and I highly recommend you do attend. It is a great evening out every time. Visit the Independent Shakespeare Company’s web site for more information. We are seeing Twelfth Night on Saturday, July 12th and Taming of the Shrew on Sunday, September 7th. Hope to see you there!

Previously on End of the Day:

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