Learning from Experience
by Theatre@First Vice President Jo Guthrie I have held 15 different roles in over 35 productions both in front and behind the curtain over my 16 years with Theatre@First. Where I have found myself most useful has been in production roles backstage but I have also enjoyed two onstage roles. It has given me a great deal of perspective and a number of great stories. Anything can happen in theatre. As a leader in our group I try and make it to most productions. I am also pretty good at dealing with emergencies in a pinch. One night I was called out of the audience to help an actor who had managed to dislocate her shoulder. I have absolutely no experience at this so...turned to my audience and actually got to say the lines “Is there a doctor in the house?” on stage for a real reason. Every moment you are standing there is another opportunity to slow the heck down. This is one of my favorite notes to actors but is so incredib...