Okay, now most of you know that I DO NOT LIKE PLAYS. Theatre really isn't my thing. Now, don't get me wrong, there are a few plays that I like because they are written in a realistic format as opposed to a theatrical one, like "4000 Miles", for instance. Now there is a play called "Thieves" by Herb Gardner that I LOVE, and it is not really in a realistic style, but I will explain why I love it so much.
When I was in high school, I was a part of the speech and debate team. During this time, I performed a duet and duo piece with my partner called "Thieves". The piece/play lasted as long as time limits allowed (10-12 minutes, thankfully). The play was about a married couple named Martin and Sally Cramer, who had fell in love when they were 16, but now have grown tired of each other. Sally continues to try to spice up the relationship by creating little games like pretending she forgets things just so she can create new worlds for herself or rediscover things, or just try to get some kind of reaction out of her husband, who despises these little games. Also, not only did these two grow apart over the years, but they grew apart from themselves as well. In the play, Sally explains how when Martin/Marty was young, he was so exciting. Their first date he "broke into Lowe's Delancy with a crowbar, and you put me [Sally] in the middle of the 8th row and you got up onstage and played your flute for me. And then the cops came, sirens and everything and we're running through alleyways and we're halfway across town and we're getting away with it. Oh Marty, how did you do it? How did you get so boring?" "You had a knife and a flute and you were a damn interesting person". It turns out that Marty has turned in his knife and flute for a suite and a job, because he is now the Principal of Little Blue Bell School where he does "the totally unnecessary, for the completely un-needing." Now in the midst of all this nonsense, they are attempting to get a divorce. However, Sally just found out that she is PREGNANT! Marty does not know this, so while they are fighting and discussing their future plans for divorce, Sally tries to mend the relationship at the same time, because of her pregnancy.
I love this play for so many reasons. One, it is hilarious, the things they say to one another, like when Sally and Marty would go to parties "[Marty] would go off in the corner and pretend you [he] were an onion dip". But, it was also very sad that these two people who have been in love for YEARS just grew tired of each other. In that way, the story is very real. My partner and I played Martin and Sally as if they were New Yorkers, so that made it EVEN BETTER!! The reality of the story behind this play, the idea of love and loss and trying to repair something that is broken and you don't know how it could ever break because you thought that you were taking extra care of it, but it turns out that it was just chunked in a corner somewhere for years slowly breaking, that idea is harsh, but it is also beautiful, and trying to find that line between the harshness and the sympathy in the play is so interesting and fun, as well as incredibly sad. Performing this play was the first time I had ever acted with a partner, and for that reason alone, it is very special to me.
Not only was it incredibly fun to yell at my friend, and not only did we place a lot with this piece, and not only did we get recognition from other coaches and teams, but this piece allowed me to practice another part of acting, reacting. And, it turns out that I'm not half bad at it. Also, it is so incredibly great, because in speech, you perform the same pieces all year long more than once a day, and sometimes, for that reason, you tend to lose interest in something that you've worked incredibly hard at and love. You get bored. However, that was never the case with this piece. When you have a partner to rely on in acting, there is always the chance that one of you could mess up, and trying to get back on track becomes fun. Your partner may not walk the same way everytime, or use the same hand gestures, and to try to each time play off of those things, suddenly makes the piece new to you and in that way, makes it more interesting and alive again. Your emotions also change with these changes. All of a sudden, you would remember in one look of your partner's eyes or a quiver in their lip that this piece truly is sad, and you start to feel emotions that you forgot that you had, and in that way you rediscover yourself as an actor as well as the piece. So that is why I love this play so much. It is (as cheesy as this is going to sound) A PART OF ME. Also, anytime one does a New York accent, you know you're having a blast!
