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Once More…with Feeling!
Our aesthetic sense. It establishes
how we feel about life and art. It can be developed or denied.
Having just closed our (Clearspace
Productions) New Works Festival, there was one song that spoke to me. It
occurred toward the end of the second act of Charles Bloom’s new musical
Pablo based on the early life of Picasso. Gertrude Stein had become a
patron of Picasso and was hosting a soiree where a guest commented on the
canvas in front of him. He didn’t like what he saw. He didn’t know
“what it was…” Stein sings:
It is what it is, that’s what
I like best.
It doesn’t imply the thing it says or try to suggest.
What others conceal in shadow, here, is clearly expressed.
It is what it is.
Yes, indeed. All art “is what it
is.” We have only to glance at a work of art to know if we “like” it
or not. Right? Is it really fair to write off a piece of art because it
doesn’t fit our aesthetic? It doesn’t make us feel the way it should,
or have we stopped looking? Stein continues:
To “look” is not the same
thing as to “see”
To “look” is to search for something you like.
For something to judge or compare.
But, to “see,” if you’re willing to “see,”
Everything you need to see is already there.
How many of us look at art or
attend the theatre and forget to “see” what the artist intended?
Frequently we only “look” and judge or compare and don’t give
ourselves the opportunity to truly see.
What turns us on as observers? What
turns us off? Is it the shape, the form, the music, the movement? Did the
art titillate or taunt? Did it disgust? Was it profane or mundane?
This season, when we all need more
light in our lives, give yourself a true gift, and decide that it is time
to “see” things and stop “looking.”
Remember that when you take the
time to think about how you “feel” about art, then you are developing
your aesthetic. When you don’t want to see how you feel, then you are
living in an anesthetic world. Isn’t that the true meaning of the word?
Without feeling.
Well, luckily there’s a lot to
see and do that will help guide your aesthetic in the coming weeks!
November 23 – December 1 • The
Second Street Players of Milford (2 South Walnut Street) present the Bock
and Harnick treasure, She Loves Me. For those of you unfamiliar with this
little jewel, it opened in 1963 and starred Barbara Cook and Jack Cassidy.
The show was based on a Hungarian film, which was remade in Hollywood as
The Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart and remade again as In the
Good Old Summertime with Judy Garland and Van Johnson and remade yet again
as You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. The show is directed by
David Button, with musical direction by Melanie Bradley and stars Erin
Williams, Dana Paragallo and Ed Teti. Call 302-422-0220 for tickets
November 23 • Rehoboth Tree
Lighting and Sing-a-long 6:30 p.m. at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand. Oh,
decisions, decisions! Should you head for Milford to see She Loves Me or
sing “Let it Snow” with a few thousand other people in the cold? Oh,
heck! Do ‘em both. Do the sing-a-long on Friday and see the show on
Saturday. A great way to kick off the season!
While you’re downtown, drop into
a restaurant you’ve never visited and eat something you never do. Expand
those horizons as well as your waistline! Walk dinner off and do a little
holiday shopping. Don’t just pass by that art gallery, stop in and
really “look” at the art. This year, only buy art for yourself. Get
something that people can “look” at! Make it a conversation piece.
November 28 • While your voice is
still all warmed up from last Friday at the Bandstand, the Clear Space
Community Chorus presents A Festival of Winter at 7:30 in the Little
Theatre of Cape Henlopen High School (1270 Kings Highway in Lewes). This
60-voice chorus will present a variety of offerings, new and traditional,
representing the many facets of the winter holidays and ending with a big
carol sing. No, this doesn’t mean that some big gal named Carol is
ending the concert. Call 302-644-3810 for tickets or just buy one at the
door.
November 30 – December 9 • The
Possum Point Players (441 Old Laurel Road, Georgetown) present the WPPP
1954 Christmas Special starring the WPPP Players in an old-time radio
version of The Miracle on 34th Street and featuring the WPPP Singers. For
show times and ticket info, call the ticket line at 302-856-4560.
Now stop a moment and see if you
have that special holiday feeling yet. Don’t worry that your social
calendar is filling up faster than your belly at Thanksgiving, give in and
take that special someone out for dinner…like maybe on:
December 2 • Community Unity
Spaghetti Dinner at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. This event is
presented by Main Street and the food provided by Nicola Pizza. It’s a
fantastic meal, along with great entertainment by the Tim Laushey Trio
plus a Singing Santa. Tickets $8 at the door, and kids and seniors pay
even less! Call 302-227-2772 for details.
December 3 • Hometown Christmas
Parade, Monday evening along Rehoboth Ave. beginning at 6:30 p.m. A local
tradition, the parade will feature more music, more costumes and more fun
than ever. Groups and individuals wanting entry information should call
the Hometown Parade voice mail at 302-441-8615.
December 6-9 • Scrooge! Clear
Space Productions presents their annual holiday gift to the community,
with a lot of new wrapping and a few bows you’ve never seen. This year
the production stars New York actor and MSNBC / CNN reporter Peter
Tedeschi, as well as 28 local actors portraying 54 roles in this Dickens
favorite adapted by CSP Artistic Directors Ken Skrzesz and the writer of
this column. Scrooge! will be presented
December 6 at 7 p.m., December 8 at
2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and December 9 at 2 p.m. at the Little Theatre of Cape
Henlopen High in Lewes. The show then moves to the Schwartz Center in
Dover for performances on December 13 and 14. For tickets call the CSP box
office at 302-644-3810 or buy tickets online at ClearSpaceProductions.org.
After you’ve recuperated from the
Holidays, take yourself to a dinner and show January 25 – February 3 at
Possum Hall (see above for location and box office info) and see the
comedy Funny Money. No clue about this one, but you can see how you feel
about it when it’s over and write to me.
In January you should go to all of
the great book sales in the area, or visit our wonderful library and check
out Ethan Frome and Return of the Native and find out why you hated them
so much in high school. Go to the Art House Cinema at Midway and see every
movie all winter long.
Now that your New Year is off to a
good start, think about taking a class at the Rehoboth Art League, or
volunteering somewhere. Maybe it’s time to find out if your vocal cords
still work and join a choir or chorus.
So, don’t let this become a
season of anesthesia. Get involved in the arts! Get out there and make
yourself feel!
Doug Yetter is Artistic Director of the Clear Space Theatre Company.
Email him at dyetter@clearspaceproductions.org.
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