20/09/2019
Northland Shortcuts ‘A Night of Comedy and Drama’ came to a close from a debut short weekend and I’m left with the question was the production a success?
It started me thinking, how do you measure success of theatre?
I feel that we have ticked so many boxes. But of course success is just a point of view; it depends on where you sit in the overall scheme of things. As a producer we ask – Did we sell enough tickets? Did we manage to make our money back? As a director we ask - Did people enjoy the experience, audience and actors alike? As an actor; perhaps - is this something I’m proud of achieving, did I do well?
Our goal was to bring some new local writing to stage. To bring some local actors to stage (both new and experienced) And to do this by creating a meaningful experience for all those involved, whether you were on stage, in the audience or behind the scenes.
I believe we have achieved these goals and I’m very proud of what we have all achieved together.
Here we have a group of people who have taken a risk – An actor in her 80’s and it was her first time on stage! A Playwright who saw her work on stage for the first time. A teenager who was thrown into props and thoroughly enjoyed it. Actors who were challenged by taking two or four roles of completely different characters. These were just some of the risks and challenges.
What will these people remember when looking back after 5 years? After 10 years? I hope it will be the laughter the comradery, the achievement and their own personal success.
Cheers NSC cast and crew you were awesome!
