Sunday, June 10, 2007

Summerset Reunion

Last night I went to Austin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Summerset theater, the summer community theater. (40 years! That's almost half of my mother's age.) This was a wonderful opportunity for me to connect with some people that I hadn't seen in years.
They put on a show that interspersed the theater stalwarts with some song and dance numbers. The funniest bit was an old vaudeville bit called 'living statues'. It involves an ingenue (Lia) singing a song while three men in long underwear strike figures of famous statues and historical scenes (discus thrower, the thinker, Washington crossing the Delaware, charlie's angels). Very funny stuff!
I was struck by a few things.
  • The huge amount of commitment that some people have put into that theater is impressive. These are people that sometimes spend mornings building sets, afternoons creating costumes and evenings in rehearsals. Understanding spouses are a must.
  • I miss those days! Not that I was ever a 16 hour a day type, but there was a time when I was doing six or seven shows a year (out of a possible nine). They were my family away from home for a good period of time. I miss that feeling of belonging. (This is different than my usual missing of being on stage.)
  • I did 40 or 50 shows from 1985 until 1995. Sounds like quite a bit doesn't it? A blip on the radar compared to some people there. Very little of that was summer theater, maybe seven or eight.
  • God, I miss those people!

2 comments:

carrster said...

oh man! I miss it too! What great times that was. I miss the people, the opportunities, the shows, the friends - *sigh* - Do you have any photos or anything to share?? What're they doing THIS year for shows?

Peder said...

I don't have any pictures but word on the street is that they're working on putting together a webpage. This years shows are: Beauty and the Beast, Compleat Works of Wllm Shakspr abriged (very funny) and No Sex Please, We're British.