Preparing for Some Theatre Seeing

I have been asked this year to participate in The Warehouse Theatre‘s Social Media Press Pass crew.  As such I will be writing several reviews of a number of shows over the next several months, as well as making mention of other events that are going on at The Warehouse Theatre.  I’m very excited about this, not just because it means I’ll get to see a bunch of performances for free, but because I have long been a fan of the performing arts, and at one time was much more involved in them.

During my middle school and high school years I participated in a number of theatre productions put on by the schools.  During high school I was cast in every play except for one (the first performance of my freshman year, which I had not been aware of).  I was even cast as two different lead roles ( in my junior and senior year).  I also participated in my high schools improv group and took part in a number of other theatre related activities.  Theatre was my major extracurricular activity throughout the high school years.  I loved it and was even considering pursuing a degree in theatre when I went to college.

I did not end up pursuing that degree.  While I took a theatre class in college, and auditioned and was cast in one play (a part I ended up having to turn down due to scheduling conflicts) I decided that the life an actor was not all that much for me.  However, I never gave up on my love of going to see performances.  Plymouth State University, where I received my undergrad degree, has an amazing performing arts center, with three beautiful stages (a rehearsal stage, a small theatre stage, and a major full size performance stage).  One of the wonderful benefits of being a student was being able to see pretty much all performances either for free or for very cheap (rarely more than $5).  I took advantage of this a lot over the four years of my enrollment at Plymouth, going to see both student and professional performances.

upon moving to Greenville in 2007 I was pleased to learn that there were a number of theatres with a wide variety of performances available as well as other local performing events that happened throughout the year.  While I have had the opportunity to view performances at all the major venues here in Greenville, I think I have seen more shows at The Warehouse Theatre than anywhere else.  I feel that this is primarily a mix of them offering affordable entertainment as well as a consistently diverse offering of performances and other events.

The Warehouse Theatre is a small intimate stage set at seating level (it actually reminds me a lot of the smaller stage we had at Plymouth) that allows the audience to feel intimately involved in the performances that are going on, right in front of them.  I repeatedly been impressed by the art direction, the visually compelling sets, and the overall feel of the performances I’ve had an opportunity to see there.  I’ve not been disappointed by any show I’ve gone to see.  The directing is obviously carefully considered and the actors always seem to bring out believable and engaging performances.  All around I have greatly enjoyed my experiences at The Warehouse Theatre and look forward to getting to partake in more.

Starting off this season’s shows is an interpretation of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” which I hear will include actors performing in a three-foot deep pool of water (I think it sounds fascinating).  To get people into the mood and feel of the famous Roman poet’s look at mythology, The Warehouse Theatre is offering an open forum discussion about the power and importance of myths and stories tonight.  A friend of mine is moderating the discussion and so I am really looking forward to going to see this tonight.  Probably I’ll be taking a lot of notes, and maybe get around to writing something up about the discussion tomorrow.

I’ll keep you all posted on other upcoming events at The Warehouse Theatre and also work to provide timely reviews of the different events I attend there this season.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I’ll try my best to answer them.  Also, if you live in or around Greenville, or you happen to be visiting, go ahead and visit The Warehouse Theatre’s website and see if there is anything going on, I think you’d really enjoy it.

~ by Nathaniel on August 24, 2011.