Creating the Anniversary Gala, Part 3

When I step back and try to look at the last nine years of Vermont Stage's history somewhat objectively, the fact that we are here at all seems highly improbable to me. There had never been (to my knowledge) a local professional theatre company in downtown Burlington, and given our minimal infrastructure (no theatre of our own, no scene shop, no costume shop), our minimal staff (three at first, now two), and our often precarious financial situation, it seems all but impossible that we are not only still here, but growing stronger every season.

When I think of it in those terms, our story seems just as compelling as any of the plays we put on. There's been struggle and conflict, devastating failures and unlikely triumphs, and even a miracle or two along the way. And even though we run the company as transparently as possible, there are some intriguing behind-the-scene details that, if told in the right way, could make for a fairly engaging piece of theatre.

And then, when I take the true story of Vermont Stage, and integrate the most dramatic or funny or moving scenes from six or seven of the best known plays from the last nine years, I think we could have a pretty entertaining first act. Then we take an intermission, have some dessert, sell some raffle tickets and come back for the second part of the evening.  My idea here is to show little snippets of the four shows we'll be producing in FlynnSpace this year, just to whet the appetite, and finish up with the grand curtain call I described earlier. 

Good!  I'm all set. Now I just have to write the script, select the scenes, bring back all the actors from those particular plays, and we've got a show.

August 10th, 2009