*waiting for the music-stand reading of THE DARK LADY at Greenville Theatre, Saturday, August 10, 2024; 7 pm*

since living in greenville, sc, a town that boasts at least five local theatres in its quaint downtown, i try to see as much theatre as possible.

i’ve volunteered to work concessions; more than once have hung my art in the lobby in exchange for tickets; and have gotten there early for pay-what-you-can matinees. on the rare treat yo’self occasion, i’ve even splurged on a real-life ticket. (of course i want to support local theatre and artisans with my dollars, but we’re not always in a position to do so.)

thanks to the south carolina new play festival donors, last month i got to pretend i was in the room where it happened: there with the actors and playwrights and director and producers for the table read. part of the workshopping of a new work climbing and clawing and shining its path to the old broadway. (or at least towards an out of town opening.)

and after years of attending local theatre productions around town, this theatre ghost does recognize a few faces: the donors, the regular attendees, the occasional actor at another company’s show.

have i met these people? uh, no.

BUT, i WAS recognized by ONE person this year at this year’s festival. even without a vip attendee badge glowing around my neck.

“you’re the blogger, right?” she asks, spotting me in the line waiting for the house to open for general seating.

“hallie bertling,” i reply, sticking out my hand.

(it was two years ago since this person had seen me in her theatre lobby, notebook in hand, taking notes and ready to take more. i remain impressed.)*1

i continued to bask in being recognized until the house lights dim.*2

*soon-to-be shakespeare’s chair and podium for T*HE DARK LADY, Greenville Theatre, SCNPF 2024

despite the occasional “blogger” or instagram bookgal or local artist recognition, i am not, in fact, a theatre critic.

sure, i’m creative. i make stuff. i write stuff. i have oooooodles of opinions and critiques about plenty of things that no one is asking me to pontificate upon.

so i’ve edited out {nearly} all my STORY notes/opinions on the works mentioned below.

i’m not a dramaturg, either. (“dramaturg,” n. fun theatre word for the person who helps break down the play’s story elements for the cast, crew, and audience.)

so while not a professional critic or dramaturg, i am and always have been, an eager, avid, theatre-going participant in the joy of theatre-making and live performances.

(aside from my homework being making art, my absolute favourite thing about college at SCAD were the free student tickets to allllll the shows. i dare you to ask me how many times i saw EVITA at the trustee’s theatre. bahaha..) ;)

alas, here i am, on this humble artist’s blog, to celebrate these NEW works-in-progress.

*stage left of Peace Center/Gunter Theatre waiting for* ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE, a musical; Friday, August 9, 2024, 7pm

so here are the three shows i got to see at the south carolina new play festival this year:

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
THE DARK LADY
STUNTBOY

the biggest takeaway? two of the three were shakespeare-adjacent musicals! what a world!

and the other one i got to see was a musical adaptation of a middle grade graphic novel! another wonder.

it’s like i’m on to something with my obsessions: the bard and kidlit.

and, you know, live theatre and musicals.

so here i am, one very happy (non-)camper basking in the radiance of the stage light reverb, over here in her subtle sequins and low-waisted jazz hands.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

written & composed by adam gwon

staged reading at the gunter theatre

i didn’t take notes during this one. and yes, i have opinions. and yes, the producers ASKED for our feedback: particularly because they were in the South and they were testing this new work out on us. (insert hallie biting her tongue here.) : |

but as i’ve already vented my opinions to my close & trusted play buddies, i’ll say four nice things:

going in, all i knew was that it was about a small town english teacher and something about a secret crush…? so that was a happy surprise to see a grand piano to the left of the actors’ chairs and podiums*3—surprise! it was a musical!

the talent!!!! in particular, the actress who played sam, eliza pagelle, was incredibbbblllllleeeeee. i think she had the whole audience in tears. both happy and sad ones throughout the show. (her credentials are incredible, too. i’d give her a tony if i ever get to vote on such a thing. she’s also currently starring in ms. homes and ms. watson, apt. 2b at the warehouse theatre; i’m digging in the couch for ticket money.)

my favorite line. when the audience was to imagine sam (eliza pagelle, as mentioned above) dressed up for a scholarship audition, she commented:

“[i look like] if little orphan annie bought a prom dress at build-a-bear.”

hilarious. and well-delivered.

there were a subtle number of well-dropped niche theatre-jokes, too. (including a joke about the CHESS cast album. it was a banger.)

the cast album to this show would be entirely sing-a-long-able. the pianist was amazing and the showtunes nothing less than catchy or lovely.

do i have opinions on the work as a whole? sure.

one of the reasons shakespeare has resonated over the centuries is that he didn’t offer an opinion or a conclusion. his characters didn’t learn a lesson. shakespeare’s personal world views remain an utter mystery.

sure, his stories might get the audiences riled, but they could all walk away with something to think about. something to talk about at the pub or over the forge later.

yeah, yeah. you caught me. there’s my biggest criticism of this show. it felt a little preachy. even for the characters whose arcs (to me) didn’t feel true-to-them by the end of it. :/

THE DARK LADY

written by sophie boyce & veronica mansour

staged reading at the greenville theatre

going into this one, all i knew it was about the women in shakespeare.

and again: this would make a very sing-a-long-able cast album.

instead of giving my Notes, i’ll share a handful of things that were amazing about this one:

the talent:

the four MUSES. the four women who served as chorus and the occasional shakespeare heroine. (even the actor playing shakespeare had to clap after the muses sang “don’t get caught!” wowza.)
shakespeare was a swoony flirt. until he was a total goob of a narcissist.
the woman playing emelia basano’s singing voice was incredible.
&…. the other man in the cast was a total hottie. (think a burlier roy kent with a man bun and tattoo sleeves on his toned and olive-skinned arms. was i distracted? er, maybe.)
you know i looooooove the authorship question for shakespeare. (sadly, this one wasn’t actually believable, i’m afraid.*4 intriguing? yes. of course. did this theory fit for the four female “shakespeare” characters in this show? yes. but what about his other 30-ish plays….?!?)

the banter between emelia basano (“the dark lady”) and shakespeare (basically the stable boy until they put his name on her plays.)

the actors gave us totally believable chemistry and enemies-to-lovers vibes. (even if the love song after he stole her work and wouldn’t reveal her as the author because he enjoyed the fame was ill-timed. uh, why is she still in love with this *%$-hat?)

one particularly hearty laugh-getting line between the two of them:
“is this a ‘pause for applause moment?’ that was quite a speech.”

there were a LOT of great lines in the dialogue and the lyrics.
not great, & this one’s on me: i got distracted—not just by the handsome jerk—but thinking of the etymology of “glitter” when they sang a song using “glitters” as a verb. did GLITTER exist when shakespeare was alive? or was it a verb for something shiny? (please let me know if you know the answer!) ;D

so before i talk about stuntboy- let me say this happy thought:

shakespeare lives!!

two out of the five shows of the festival, and two of the three shows i got to see, revolved around shakespeare and his canon—in title, concept, poetry, characters, plots, and then some.

i don’t think it’s because he’s royalty/license-free property, either. but because his material lives in POP culture. (as it did back in his day: it was popular. for the masses. not the elites.)

in the stories of people, and not just theatre-people, it continues to be referenced and riffed on. perpetually relevant.

his plays give artists and audiences the room to explore. mysteries to embellish. (his life, the authorship question, his family relationships, the competitive theatre scene, the royals and rivals and political intrigue of the day, etc.)

there’s SO much we don’t know that there’s plenty of room to fill in the mortar: patch the cracks, dig a hole, and insert new potential realities—no amount of extensive research shall never uncover the full truth. even the most dedicated shakespeare scholars can only speculate at intent as they attempt to piece together the details of story origins, live performances, theatrical history, and process.

but, as i alluded to in my rant about the first show i saw at the festival, shakespeare didn’t preach.

he left his endings ambiguous and unresolved.

what his real opinions were were left hidden. unspecified.

hot take: some modern art (imho) has become too pedantic. we have been fed the reality of a divisive society. you’re either for us or against us. you’re this side or the other.*5

and when presented with “modern” art, well, it feels to me as if the only people who will “like” it are those who already agree with the artist or creator.

the work serves to make the viewer dig their heels in even deeper into their existing beliefs—piling on further distain for the “other” side. (whether the “art” was “for it” or “against it.”)

i would love for more art, more plays, more blogs are articles that leave room for the audience to think and decide for themselves.

to let them walk out of the theatre space considering another way.

not encouraging them to reinforce their beliefs one way or the other.

art that gives breathing room for contemplation and freedom of thought.

*waiting for the music-stand reading of* STUNTBOY, *a musical for young audiences, at the south carolina children’s theatre, Sunday, August 11, 2024, 3pm*

okay.

this one should be shorter.

STUNTBOY

music & lyrics by melvin tunstal iii

music by melvin tunstal iii & greg borowsky

inspired by the graphic novel by jason reynolds and illustrated by raúl the third

staged reading at the south carolina children’s theatre

this was a delight.

produced on commission and inspired by a kids’ book: STUNTBOY, IN THE MEANTIME.! (link here)

“he’s the greatest superhero they’ve never heard of” sounded like a theme song of any of the post-school afternoon cartoons of my childhood.

you also know i love wordplay, and stuntboy’s subtitle, “in the meantime,” refers to when his parents are fighting and yelling and arguing and disagreeing. the MEAN time.

our protagonist (stuntboy, a.k.a. his actual character name: portico) is dealing with “the frets:”anxiety caused by bullies; his parents splitting up and moving into separate apartments in the same building; the changing friendship with his bestie; and, according to my in-the-dark-note-taking marginalia, something that looks like “super space wermners?” (sorry. i dunno what that was about, either. but i’m sure it was brilliant.)

my favorite thing about this show was the cast and its sparse costume (and posture) changes. the bully got BIG laughs as he dorky-awkward-white-boy (“the worst!”) danced around the stage in his hoodie. and while stuntboy/portico was well over 6’ tall, the actor was able to make you believe he was an anxious, much-shorter, nine year-old kid.

there were kids in the audience, too. and whether or not they’d been to a full play production before, this was a great intro to theatre: a live cast (testing to take this production around the country and into schools) sometimes acting multiple characters with the simple addition of a hat or throwing their voices to be someone else.

it’s interactive storytime for the imagination.

the performance was more like reading a book. you get to set the stage and fill in the details inside your head.

so each audience member has seen a different show. because each of us has produced it in own own heads.

it’s the beauty of literature. with the bonus ingredient of the innumerous mystery spices indicative of live theatre.

*stuntboy’s, a.k.a. portico’s, chair, ready for the reading*

so, please give ME a standing ovation—not because everybody else is doing it or because the playwright is in the audience and it would be awkward not to—but for being up past my bedtime more than once this week.

fact: all three of these shows were worth it.

if for nothing else but to give me something to think about.

to dissect the show for the sake of my own story-telling craft.

to observe the actors, the audience, the creators, the donors, the incredible talents striving to make art to change the world for the better.

so, dear SCNPF directors and donors: thank you again for giving us theatre.

thank you for giving these creators the stage.

thank you for bringing such roof-shattering talent to greenville.

thank you for paying working artists.

when i have the means, you have my vip (early ticket access) support.

for now, i send my thanks and encouragement to keep doing the good work.

most sincerely,

this (sometimes recognizable) theatre ghost

learn more and become a donor (if or when you can) on the south carolina new play festival website:

SCNPF's Website

^best way to get free tickets? get on the newsletter list and follow them on instagram so you know when 2025 tickets go live! i know i won’t want to miss it!

footnotes:

1* you can read that 2022 scnpf blog i was “recognized” for here.

2*what i love about the SCNPF is that it’s 100% donor-funded.

sure, sponsors get first dibs on tickets, but THEN they’re open to the public.

free, accessible theatre for all.

and yes, the shows sell-out and there’s a waitlist to get in.

(this festival also provides live test audiences for theatre-creators! priceless!)

3* the South Carolina New Play Fest [SCNPF] is just that: not fully-staged productions. they’re readings, or, a term i learned from attending: “music stand presentations.” the actors are familiar with the material and have rehearsed together, but there aren’t props or sets or costume changes, choreography or back up dancers, or a full orchestra in the pit. it’s kinda like getting to be at a table read after rehearsals. or so i imagine. or, for those who watch fewer showbiz dramedies than i do, it’s like having a FULL CAST for storytime. or watching a radio drama being recorded. delightful to get to fill in the razzle-dazzle details for yourself. as a reader, i find much joy in this.

4* lo & behold, jodi picoult’s latest novel is a reimagining of emelia bassano taking credit for shakespeare’s works, too!

5* much more eloquent than i, i highly recommend lindsey deloach jones’ substack post “rearranging reality.”

it doesn’t stink to be recognized.