This weekend, Our Town came to life. After an exhausting but smooth and productive tech process for the week and a half leading up to the opening, our first weekend was a success. My job as assistant director and dramaturg came to a close.

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It is truly incredible what can happen to a cast when they are faced with an audience for the first time. The novelty of theatre as an art form becomes hugely apparent during that first performance in front of a group of fresh individuals who have no idea what to expect apart from entertainment. Our preview performance brought along with it an extra jolt of energy for the actors, building on the quality that was already there. New comedy emerged, characters evolved and adapted to the presence of newcomers in the space, and the world of Grover’s Corners became ever more palpable and exciting. 

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Though I was in the audience, viewing the show for the thirtieth time or so, I had new revelations as well. I finally understood the power of doing this play in the round. I have known the themes of Our Town lend themselves to circles: the cyclical nature of the townspeople’s lives, the constancy of the time contained within the space of the play, etc. But having the audience on all sides provided a scrutiny which made it feel like the actors were in a bubble and enhanced the experience profoundly. The character of the Stage Manager invited us to pop that bubble and look a little closer to observe a culture largely lost in the past.  

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Along a similar vein, I also realized how much audience interaction there is in this play. The Stage Manager’s main playing partner is the crowd. I don’t often witness the fourth wall so blatantly and frequently broken, but I find it so effective. In being directly addressed, the audience is invited into the conversation, brought into the world, and encouraged to participate more tangibly. Our Town wants to become your town, to belong to more than just the inhabitants of Grover’s Corners. 

I am thrilled to come back next weekend and see what a week of rest and contemplation for the cast helps them bring to the stage. What new discoveries will they make about themselves, and what new ideas will they be able to offer us? There is something new to digest with every performance.