The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Syndrome of Community Theatre

THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF COMMUNITY THEATRE

This is my experience.  Obviously, others may not have encountered the same types of people or situations that I did.  After retiring to a small coastal area, I decided it was time to find a hobby.  I had been active in community service for several years, but I also had a passion for theatre so...  This is my story.

I saw an audition notice in the local newspaper and feeling nervous and apprehensive, I gathered my courage and read for a part.  I would have been thrilled with any part, but surprise, I landed one of the leads.  It was a role for a much younger woman, but since few people showed up to audition...  This theatre group was the B theatre that had been created when several disgruntled people from the A theatre group went rogue and started a new group.  Warning, Will Robinson!  This should have been my first clue I was entering into a group that was already charged with emotion and not the good kind.

 Community Theatre "Actors" On and Off  Stage 

•  The Aging Ingenue -- Make no mistake, she will knock you over in a heartbeat if you are in her path. The part she is playing may have her disheveled and/or not looking her best, but she will put lipstick on a pig in order to shine.  She is still running for prom queen.

• The Talented Crazy -- She will steal the scenes she is in, but not before she has cried and vented; exclaiming that she is not good enough; walk out when she doesn't get her way; forget her cue to come on the stage so improvisation/ad libbing is necessary till she finally shows up.

• The Know It All --  They have seen it all and done it all so you need to listen to them.  They were practically "professionals"

• The Gay Best Friend -- First, anyone who wants to find friends, this is not the place.  The percentage for making a good and lasting friendship is about 10 percent.   I love this quote regarding friendship in community theatre:  "...the other 92 percent are arrogant two-faced backbiters who would sell their own mother's funeral plot --- with her buried in it ---for a decent role or a pack of Marlboro Lights..."*

• The Mediocre Director -- With the term mediocre, what more needs to be said...this could also be the pseudo intellectual or a mix.

• The Novice Director  -- Beware!  The novice director is a person who has an inflated opinion of their capabilities.  Any actor who is conscientious and cares about their work will be driven up a wall by this director.  You will be at their mercy with their complete lack of skill and understanding of theatre and their ego driven agenda.   

• The Founder -- See Letter to a Founding Board Member, May 22, 2017 post. 

• The Pay to Play Patron -- Not often associated with Theatre B, but Theatre A relies heavily on donations.  Theatre B doesn't have the skills or brains to realize the importance of donations.  They can barely thank a donor, let alone acknowledge and appreciate them.

• The "Christians" --  Only in the Bible Belt of the south.  Prayers are lifted at the beginning of each performance.  In private, they mock gays, "scarlet letter" women and gossip mercilessly, constantly stirring up the pot.  More than likely they are all Trump voters.  These people are the ones who throw the "love you" phrase around ad nauseam.  Christians?  I think not. 

• The Theatre Kids -- This is where the idea of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personalities really come to life.  There are so many positives to theatre for children and teens, but there are also huge pitfalls.  The TK's are some of the meanest and  nastiest and the majority of them are girls.  Some are "apples that did not fall far from the mother tree."

          Examples of TK brats:

1. There was an instance where a couple of girls had a fake facebook page for a non-existent boy.  They sent messages to one of their female "friends"  feigning interest.  Ouch.  Hate to be one of their enemies.  This was done while they were involved in a Theatre A production.
2. One of the mean girls (remember this is a teen) circulated information in the hope of deposing the executive director/manager of Theatre A.  The position of executive director at theatre A is a job, not a hobby.  Note: Theatre B has no paid administrative positions.  The only paid positions are in the artistic areas such as directors, music directors and choreographers.  All other positions are volunteers including the board of directors.
3. The adults surrounding these kids constantly fawn over them; congratulate; compliment and fill their heads with delusions of stage life grandeur.  Some have hopped on planes to NYC and LA in the hopes of making it big.  Most return to their small hamlets and community theatre.  Adults in theatre hanging out socially with teens is not a good look, but it happens.   

• The Pseudo Intellectual -- "loves" Shakespeare; has an English degree, possibly a theatre degree, but their lack of real talent makes them jealous of anyone with even a modicum of talent.  

• The Mama Rose Mother -- The most striking feature of this person is her strident military walk down the aisle to chastise and complain about the treatment of their child.  She is the tree that bears the next generation of mean girls. 

• The Insecure Enthusiast can also be called the Inexperienced But Full of Themselves -- This is a combo of personalities.  This person likes to go to the theatre and is infatuated with the idea of becoming involved with community theatre.  This person may have a child that wants to be involved in theatre; has talents in areas that can be used, but has little to no talent regarding staging and production.  Community theatre will eat this person up while at the same time, the Enthusiast is given too much authority; lets it go to her head and starts believing in her "press releases."  This person is the type that becomes a board member... not interested in being on the stage, but her child is (has a smidgen of Mama Rose in her personality).

Not long after my first production with Theatre B, I received a phone call inviting me to join the board of directors.  I was offered the positions of secretary or vice president.   It was my choice.  Hearing that as the VP, I would also be the chair of the production board and my only duties  would be reading plays and submitting suggestions for the theatre season, I was hooked.  Remember I was new to the area and this sounded like a great way to get involved in the community.  What could go wrong? 

What I wasn't told was that everything falls on the VP.  Theatre B existed only out of revenge toward Theatre A and that the board consisted of people who really didn't care if they were successful just as long as they were a thorn in the side of Theatre A and that the board members got to "play" at running a theatre.  There was no long range plan.  The most powerful founder on the board was vain and ego driven, possessing all the power no matter who was president.  Everyone deferred to this person who had long ago lost any drive for success and growth.   The word schadenfreude comes to mind.  Board meetings were a battle of pettiness and cattiness.  After serving as a vice president, member-a-large and finally as president, I lasted six years before I said, enough is enough.  That was just over three years ago.  From theatre gossip, I have heard that the board now regularly causes the vice-president to cry at board meetings. 

It should be noted that while my references are mainly regarding Theatre B, Theatre A has had a less than stellar reputation.  When Theatre B opted to have a teen musical for teens by teens.  Theatre A went into attack mode spreading gossip about the teen directors pushing the cast to have sex with the male teen director so they would understand their parts better.  Sounds ridiculous, but it made the gossip circuit.  I received emails from a school teacher advising of the rumor.  Along with THE rumor, the cast and crew of the teen musical received harsh criticism from a volunteer at Theatre A about their behaviour at a county-wide school production.  The gossip was outrageous and hurtful.  Theatre B has not had a teen directed vehicle since.  The irony is  that Theatre A decided the following year to do a teen show every summer.

Gossip is a mainstay in a small town and community theatre is a toxic dump of gossip.  After I left my last board meeting, never to return, some of the board members decided to answer the question of why I left with, "she had a nervous breakdown."  This was promoted by the so-called "Christian" board members.   

With the wrong people at the helm, community theatre is Mr. Hyde.  Even when Dr. Jekyll seems to be running the organization, be prepared, Mr. Hyde is just around the corner.  That being said, when community theatre is good, it can be the best part of a community.  I have seen handicapped children; those with Aspergers and autism flourish in theatre.  Their confidence blossoming and exploding on the stage.  Wonderful productions that educate and explore the human condition are seen by people who may never get to a Broadway production.  Theatre is the best 3-D experience!  Studies have found that theatre for senior citizens helps keep memory and cognitive abilities sharp.  Being open minded and diverse should always be part of a community theatre's mission statement.    

When I joined the board of Theatre B, it was struggling.  Their reputation was that they were the "B" theatre of the community; their shows were low brow and/or southern fried comedies.  This group was absolutely no competition for Theatre A.   It didn't start out as my plan to change the landscape of theatre in this burg, but seeing all the mistakes and "no action" plan, I decided that maybe Theatre B could be a contender.  And thus, my battle began.  Not only did I have to contend with the negative gossip from Theatre A, but the other board members of Theatre B, while showing some support were also  fighting modernization and progress.  I soon realized that they were not interested in success.  They just wanted a workhorse that they could bully into doing what the "leader of the pack" (oldest living founder) wanted.  This so-called "leader" was an envious, tired old woman who should have retired as a board member years ago, but is still serving as she heads toward 90.

The struggle I encountered was classic; considered a foreigner (if you moved from a state that was to the north even if it was considered southern, you are a northerner), I was never going to be accepted.  And as inclusive as theatre is suppose to be, theatre cliques are the norm and they rule in a small town. One actor said she had been here over 25 years and still was not accepted.  I got plenty of "bless your heart" and "love you," but in the end when I decided, I had to leave this toxic environment, not ONE person called to see how I was...  I mean, after all, I had just had a nervous breakdown.  And they go to church every Sunday and pray...golly, I hope they were praying for me... If I was going to have a nervous breakdown, it would have been when my son died, not because of a group of  back stabbing hypocrites.  

Both theatres are housed in historical buildings.   Theatre A owns their building and has been an awesome guardian/caretaker of their building's rich history.  Theatre B leases their performing arts home and instead of contributing some of their profits (they are a non-profit 501(c) 3), they have chosen to hoard their money.  Theatre B's home is becoming more and more decrepit.  It would behoove those in power to pour some much needed money and love into keeping the restored building in better shape.  Quite frankly, they should be embarrassed by their lack of concern and care.  With a rumored $200,000 sitting in the bank, I think they could manage to budget some money for maintenance and/or submit applications for grants.  Setting priorities has never been a strong suit of Theatre B.  Their lack of foresight is almost legendary.  The community is well aware of their shortcomings.  Getting people to serve on the board requires pleading and more than a little mendacity.   One of the pitfalls to being on their board is working with split personalities.  Remember, most are actors and that brings us back to my analogy of  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 

I came across a 2014 post on the internet, "Top 10 ways to Ensure Your Best People Will Quit"*  which reminded me of my time with community theatre.  Here are some of my favorites from the list (paraphrased):

1. Treat everyone equally.  Sounds good, but really some people are worth more, because they produce more results.  The key is not to treat them equally; it is to treat them fairly.
2. Tolerate mediocrity.
3. Have dumb rules.  Rules are fine, but not dumb ones.
4. Don't recognize outstanding performance and contributions.
5. Don't keep your people informed.  Communicate before the rumor mill does.                    

Regrets?  I have a few, but what I gained from being part of community theatre more than outweighs the negatives.  I found that I was much more capable than I would have ever imagined.  I lived and breathed Theatre B and brought it up to at least a B+ and gave it a new life...from mediocre to much better.   Recently, I found myself back at this theatre as an actor in back to back productions.  My gay best friend that I love and adore and is an amazingly talented director got me to face my ghosts and demons and I had the best theatre experience of my life.  I brought two totally different characters to life and it was a thrill.  Amusing how some of the board members had a difficult time looking me in the eye.  

"Good night Mrs. Calabash wherever you are."  

*The Ten People You Will Meet In Community Theatre -- www.thoughtcatalog.com
* Top 10 Ways to Ensure Your Best People Will Quit -- www.ragan.com                     

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