Go "Backstage" and Discover a New Film by Kevin Austra

Jeff Gudzune writes book reviews for a variety of publishers and is active in community theater. Since 2013, Jeff has owned and operated Matrix Notary Service.

Theater is a world of its own. A multi-faceted realm where reality intersects with fantasy and art is given life. It isn’t easy. Anyone who has gone through the rigors of cold readings, callbacks, and the emotional roller-coaster associated with awaiting a casting decision can attest. Actors are not simply reciting words; they are giving of themselves to bring their characters to life. It’s a wonderful, collaborative, and exhausting process. It is agony and ecstasy. Directors have the arduous task of taking the script and translating their vision into blocking. Set Designers must bring the bare stage to life. Costume Directors must outfit an entire troop in keeping with the theme of the show, often using a shoestring budget. In essence, every theater is a community theater. Months of work go into production — most of it happening before Opening Night. But what of the drama that happens behind the curtain?

Backstage is a film that exposes the gritty underside of theater with a careful mix of humor and drama. An unnamed theater group is working hard on their winter show, Romeo and Juliet. Among the cast is newcomer Sam, whose struggles with bringing his character to life will strike a familiar chord with many neophyte thespians. Sam is the everyman, a complicated person with a backstory that is cleverly revealed throughout the film.Among the players, each one represents an archetype of the theatrical world. There are stars, prima donnas, hams, and old hands. There is the frustrated Director, the sanguine Stage Manager, and the interfering Board Member. While the principal focus of the dramatic arch is Sam, the ensemble characters stand out with their own stories.

The cast of Kevin Austra's new film, Backstage.
Photo provided by Kevin Austra.

Backstage is an independent film by Kevin Austra, shot entirely inside the iconic Everett Theatre in Middletown, Delaware. Utilizing a cast of local actors, the film examines the complex dynamics of the theater itself. While there are points where the timing seems slightly off, and some of the lines are rushed, the performances are nuanced and poignant. Among the more memorable moments is a conversation in which a more experienced performer explains why he accepted the relatively minor role of Montague even though he thinks he deserves a larger role. Confronting a younger performer, whose inclusion in the cast was the result of his association with a prominent board member, the older actor explains that at the end of the day, the theater is where he wishes to be. His job may pay the bills, but the theater is his life.

This alone underscores the reason actors, directors, stage crew, and those who run the theater do what they do for little to no pay. It’s not about the money, it’s about the art. There are moments in the film where it seems as if the characters have lost their direction, and the plot seems to grind to a halt. This can only be deliberate, as the tone change represents a transition into the more serious aspects of the drama.

Find out more about the filmmaker at www.kevinaustra.com.

Evita: Saving a Town’s Victorian Jewel with Theater

I hadn’t been in Middletown’s Everett Theater since it had been remodeled last year. Several years ago, some parents at MOT Charter arranged for our Acting Club to use the theater for our home-grown musical. The students were loved to performing there, but parents knew not to sit under the balcony because of the ceiling’s instability. Three years later, a portion of the ceiling did indeed collapse in the empty theater hours after a performance. Associated Community Talents, Inc. (ACT), owners of theater since 1983, mobilized the community and town to repair and refurbish it.

ACT’s production of Evita on 10/18 was well done. A cast member had invited me to the show, and I was thrilled to discover a few of the other young people in the ensemble were former students of mine. Tracy Friswell-Jacobs’ crisp choreography was dynamic and carried out nicely by the cast members.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical has its highs and lows. Sometimes, Tim Rice’s lyrics leave the actors stranded in a sea of mediocrity: “I could find job satisfaction in Paraguay”, sings the talented Eric Bayne as Juan Peron. Other times the work is highly successful, with a musical theme signifying ambition and hunger for power weaving in and out of the drama. Evita is blatantly operatic: It opens with Eva Peron’s corpse lovingly caressed in a casket, surrounded by mourning citizens.

From there, we observe her desperate climb from actress to First Lady. Adrienne Blair, who shared the part with Friswell-Jacobs, was sympathetic and tragic in the role of Eva. Eva’s thirst for power is palpable in A New Argentina, and her suffering and sense of loss in Lament is wrenching. Producer Peter Briccotto was captivating as Che: ever present, always offering another almost point of view, which often broke the third wall.

I look forward to seeing more off ACT’s productions and am so relieved they have mobilized residents and artists to save a historical landmark in a town where so many treasures have been torn down.