Shrek Diary: The Players' Patio

Dear Diary,

Part of enjoying the theater is not being in the theater.

The Community Players Theatre's "patio" is a swath of concrete pavement about the size of a basketball half court, just outside the stage door side entrance where actors enter and exit on show nights. It lacks visual charm of any kind; as if an architect said "Let's start by sticking five random three-foot concrete cylinders out there," and upon seeing it, switched careers.

The charm comes from the personality that flowers from the creative minds of the actors who grace it.

Yesterday as I approached the building Kristen Woodard, Hunter Kisandi, and Malea Hauck were out front with a hula hoop teaching each other (and eventually me) to do acrobatic tricks with it.

Following my mid-show trip to the Dollar General store to grab some candy for the kids cast, I heard the matchless laugh of Brenton Ways resonating from a hundred yards away, so ambled over to chill on the patio.

Brenton is a fountain of nursing information relating to human behavior including most bodily functions. The glory of theater is that no topic is too far afield, as he was not alone in expounding upon life stories and philosophies involving urination. Or sleep patterns. Or the perils of wheat flour.

Shelby Sharick, the naturally comical reality-star-in-waiting, is also a master of topic-changing and eventually brought us around to the abandoned (reputedly haunted) mansion in Towanda for which her realtor mother gave her a hair-raising tour. Jen Maloy, devotee of haunted houses, was delighted to learn that it's currently on the market for $146,000, enough to leap from the lawn chair that she brought along specially for patio chatting. John Poling, Joey Knotts, Malea and I all chipped in random supporting comments.

Theater is a mix of intense concentration and leisurely lounging that's as invigorating as any religious retreat I've ever attended, with a broader range of acceptable opinions. The family feel that grows is unmistakable. You get out of it what you put into it.