On Sunday of this week, I got to hear Grounded by George Brant read aloud. Sitting on a comfy couch in a warm room surrounded by friends and partners in theatrical hijinks. It was an amazing experience that got me thinking about this journey.
My beloved, the talented and wonderful Alan Malone, and I are Iowa transplants. We met while working professionally in the business; I got a job here...in the business...and he came with me. We’re still here…still in the theatre business.
That’s the quick version. It doesn’t fully encapsulate the hours…days…weeks...months...years…we’ve spent talking about theatre.
We traveled the country talking about shows we have been in or seen. We sat in our humble first apartment here discussing ways to help kids find their strength and confidence through theatre. We chatted endlessly about the value of Shakespeare and how it may be possible to bring the bard’s words to the Cedar Valley. We argued the pros and cons of different actor training techniques, queried ourselves about which plays work better when, and bantered endlessly about new works and classics. I felt that we were really quite boring. Then someone said to me, “That sounds fascinating.”
So, there were others that wanted to chat, discuss, argue, and banter...and they wanted to hear these stories out loud. That connection and energy just added fuel to our fire (pun unintended). And here we are, a theatre company with one production under our belts and another in rehearsal. The passion and excitement for our upcoming double bill - “A Century of Revolution” - is overwhelming. The amazing story and craft of Grounded still rings in my ears.
I still think I may be quite boring but there are others: my fellow company members and friends - all artists - who have joined our discussions, designed/are designing with us, are directing with us, etc. We want to share these stories; we want to share our art, and we want to inspire our audiences. So rather than sitting around talking, we send out these moments of artistic passion - like love letters - to one and all.
-Anita Ross
Executive Director