I went a bit off the reservation (away from Theater in the Round), and photographed the semi-dress rehearsal of the Antony & Cleopatra play that a friend of mine is in. This cast and crew is working with the producer, Urban Landreman, who is the kingpin behind the Lex-Ham Community Theater in St. Paul.
Theater is so strong in the Twin Cities that a neighborhood arts council has funded its own theater company since 1995. Urban has offered dozens of them over the years. This production is held at the Wellstone Center Auditorium, a truly large and accommodating space with a proscinium stage in West St. Paul.
These actors work hard on their roles. Some of them are performing for the first time and their jitters are noticeable... they so much want to do a good job that some can be seen pacing the hallways backstage repeating their one or two lines over and over again. Others have taken to a fastidious process of dressing themselves in costumes where they are very picky about their appearance...frankly, behaving the way all actors do.
The photographs show an amalgam of scenes in which actors are sometimes wearing no costumes while others are dressed in a hodgepodge of costume/street clothes that makes for some bizarre images. But, their expressions and gestures are as if we are in the actual performance and it is pleasing to work again with people who can carve out such wonderful roles in interesting ways. RPW
Theater is so strong in the Twin Cities that a neighborhood arts council has funded its own theater company since 1995. Urban has offered dozens of them over the years. This production is held at the Wellstone Center Auditorium, a truly large and accommodating space with a proscinium stage in West St. Paul.
These actors work hard on their roles. Some of them are performing for the first time and their jitters are noticeable... they so much want to do a good job that some can be seen pacing the hallways backstage repeating their one or two lines over and over again. Others have taken to a fastidious process of dressing themselves in costumes where they are very picky about their appearance...frankly, behaving the way all actors do.
The photographs show an amalgam of scenes in which actors are sometimes wearing no costumes while others are dressed in a hodgepodge of costume/street clothes that makes for some bizarre images. But, their expressions and gestures are as if we are in the actual performance and it is pleasing to work again with people who can carve out such wonderful roles in interesting ways. RPW