arts

Perhaps you have heard of "The Method," and thus know that a very common way of acting is to summon up emotions and experiences and play the role as if living them. But first of all, you'd be wrong to think that this is all there is to acting, and even you would be even more mistaken to believe that acting is all there is to a theatrical production.

Let me demonstrate, with photos taken with a cheapie throw-away camera on the opening night of the Theatre Guild of Ancon's production of "Boeing, Boeing."

Above we have Hillary Hughes, left, and Joanna De Ycaza, right, putting on makeup in one of the theater's little dressing rooms. Of course, on Broadway and in Hollywood they have professionals to do this for the actors. But this is a small-time institution of Panama's English-speaking community, so actresses like Hughes and De Ycaza have to do their own. (If you have a talent for makeup, you may want to volunteer to use it for Guild productions.)

Someone needs to mind the box office. For many years Gale Celluci was the chief organizer of the Theatre Guild, but she has passd on that torch and gone on to other projects. But still, she finds time to help out.

As does her husband Tom. Without the income from the bar, the Theatre Guild would be in severe economic difficulties.

The Guild also supports itself through memberships, and somebody has to handle that part of the business.

And then somebody has to run the lighting and sound --- in this case Carlos Santamaría. In this production the leading man, Vernon Skitt, doubled --- tripled, really --- as the lighting and sound designer.

Director Carlos Williams turns his attention to a last-minute electrical problem.

Meanwhile, Cris Garza goes over his lines one last time.

Really, this isn't the half of it. Ask producer Rosario Barrera. Or Backstage manager Brenda Scott. Or the folks who do the publicity. And then there are things that ought to be done, were there the human resources available to do them --- things like hustling ads for a playbill that brings in corporate revenues to keep this decades-old project known as the Theatre Guild of Ancon financially secure.

So you say that you can't act, sing or dance? That doesn't mean that the Theatre Guild of Ancon has no use for your talents. Not by a long shot.



Also in this section:
Dance, Cabanga
Artguilders' collective exhibition
Behind the scenes at the Ancon Theatre

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