Have you ever done any community theater?

I’ve never tried that since high school. How do you like it?

I admire actors so much and always wanted to be one, even took some acting lessons—but I never could work up the nerve to audition. My work in advertising gave me a chance to get up in front of people and make presentations, and that helped satisfy my acting bug.

Just high school drama club stuff. I would still like to do community theatre, but they do mostly musicals in my area, and I’m not nearly comfortable enough with my singing ability to even have the guts to audition.

@Adirondackwannabe Oh, I LOVE it. I’m currently doing a show after a ten year hiatus.

I was active in theater in College. Right after college I worked in a costume shop. Since then I have done a few Church productions but the only full community Theater stuff I have done is the Vagina Monologues in which you are guaranteed to be cast. I was an extra in a couple of music videos though.

@anniereborn Good for you. Enjoy every bit of it.

I live in Ashland, Oregon and just went to see a matinee of Comedy of Errors today. I actually was just looking up local auditions just before I read this question as I was inspired. Starting June second our community has free green shows almost every day through the summer. It becomes the place to be. It’s wonderful.

What is a green show, @Judi?

Doin’ it right now, and just got out of rehearsal. I did tech stuff (sound and flys) for about 10 years as a hobby and finally started acting and directing 3 or 4 years ago. I do comedy much better than drama.

Theatre has been an acquired taste. I didn’t like local theatre for a very long time, and it took me a while to appreciate the art.

Albuquerque has had a crazy scene for the past few years. There are 30–40 theatre companies here.

@jca , It is a show before the actual show. We have 3 theaters with productions going on from April to October. The “Green Show” like an actors “green room” is a show to watch while you are waiting for the actual production. It might be music, a magician, a skit, a comedian…. just about anything but they are always high caliber. Although they were designed to be for the actual show patrons that evening, they have become community events and a great show might have several hundred locals hanging out on the lawn in front of the Elizabethan Thetare to see it.

I did dinner theater once in Olympia, WA, does that count? (It was a pretty good dinner, as I recall, but I don’t recollect what it actually was…)

I became interested in theater while in high school. Our school had a professional theater with a four-story stage house. I was on the stage crew and ran follow spots. I also took a theater class for two years where I was their lighting specialist and had a number of small acting parts. After graduating I was a member of community theater companies, one with the Chicago Park District and the other with the Chicago Stage Company, an amateur group that performed on a small stage above a grocery store on State Street.

A few years after graduating from college I joined a community theater company in 1979 where I had the opportunity to act in major roles, be a lighting manager, stage manager and director. I was and still am on the company’s board of directors. I also became the assistant director of the theater for eleven years, retiring in 2007. I am currently the treasurer of a foundation that raises money for this theater.

High school only; on stage, make-up and pit musician.