South Valley Civic Theatre :
Live Theater : Beyond Entertainment
By Elizabeth Mandel
Are you a fan of live theater ? Your reasons for loving theater may be very different from another ' s . Some people enjoy the songs , energy , and escapism of classic , large musical productions ( think Gene Kelly splashing through puddles in Singin ' in the Rain , or " 76 Trombones " in The Music Man , or My Fair Lady ’ s " Rain in Spain "). Another individual may love musical theater but enjoy more contemporary musicals with a social message ( think Rent ' s haunting portrayal of the human toll of the AIDS crisis , West Side Story ' s depiction of the devastating effects of poverty and racism , Fun Home , about a girl coming to terms with her sexuality , or Ragtime , with its sweeping presentation of racism , immigration , classism , and women ' s struggle for rights ). Still others are drawn to the intimate feel of thought-provoking character- and dialogue-driven plays . A challenge for any theater company is to offer a variety of plays in an attempt to satisfy this range of prospective audiences .
Theater companies also vary in what they are known for . For example , Pintello Comedy Theater in Gilroy presents just comedies . ( You probably recognize their tagline : " There ' s something funny going on here !"), while others , like South Bay Musical Theater in Saratoga , only offer musicals .
South Valley Civic Theatre ' s ( SVCT ) stated mission is to “ entertain , enlighten , engage , and inspire through the magic of live theater .” With two very different ; local performance venues ; the 50-seat , cabaret-style Limelight in Gilroy , and the more traditional 174-seat Morgan Hill Community Playhouse , SVCT has the space and opportunity to present productions that appeal to a wide range of audience preferences .
" To entertain " is a common and obvious goal for all theater companies , and " to engage " seems like a necessary element of high-quality theater in order to capture an audience . Why is " to enlighten " also important , and what are we doing in the theater community to enlighten our audiences ?
Oscar Wilde described the theater as “ the greatest of all art forms , the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being .” The challenge of Live theater is to open audiences up to experiencing new perspectives and increasing understanding of others .
Two plays in SVCT ' s 2023-2024 season are wonderful , cutting-edge examples of how live theater entertains while also attempting to enlighten , exposing the audience to different ways of looking at the world , forcing us to examine ourselves , our values , and how we interact with each other .
The Wolves , a slice-of-life view of a teenage girls ' soccer team and a Pulitzer Prize finalist , was featured at Limelight in September . This play masterfully captures teen confusion and angst , with the girls diving into rapid-fire , unfiltered conversations about the world and their places in it . The Wolves boldly celebrates the grit and grace of 21stcentury American girls , while giving the audience a window into the dynamics of a particular group of girls , perhaps opening them up to new perspectives and opportunities for understanding .
Emily Shem-Tov , Managing Director of Limelight , said , " Bringing The Wolves to the stage was an exciting opportunity not only to challenge our audiences to see something a little unconventional and to let them into the minds of a different type of character than usual , but also to provide local actresses with a chance at roles you don ' t always see in shows around here ."
Opening at the Community Playhouse in November , the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time , based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon , presents a mystery through the eyes of Christopher , a young man with autism . How can a play with this premise entertain as well as inform ? The brilliance here is in the unusual staging : wall projections surround the action , with choreographed movement , lights , and sound that draws the audience into the world as Christopher experiences it . First opening to acclaim in London in 2013 , followed by a Broadway premiere in 2014 , Curious Incident has won awards for Best Play as well as for direction , sound design , lighting design , and more .
Scott Lynch , director of Curious Incident said , “ I find the most engaging productions challenge our thinking and beliefs and they enlighten us in our ignorance . My hope is that our patrons will be educated about the challenges of autism for both those that are on the spectrum as well as the families that love and support them .”
I encourage you to come to the theater to be entertained , but also to discover something new about yourself and the world you live in , as you absorb what unfolds in front of you . That is what live theater can offer you .
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