FINALLY, AN AUDIENCE!: SCOTT ESPOSITO

What is theatre without an audience? Frankly, it’s nothing. The audience is always the last piece of the puzzle.

The Our Country’s Good family has been working on and off now for about eight months. We met twice a month and worked on technique, creating a common vocabulary, and earning each other’s trust. But we haven’t had an audience.

To be fair, we weren’t (and still aren’t) ready for one. We begin a more standard rehearsal process in about a week. But we recently had the pleasure of having a “working rehearsal” with an audience of more than 60 people. We presented our rehearsal at the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium. 

The GLMCC audience, made up of fellow actors and teachers of the Michael Chekhov technique, were incredibly generous and receptive. We presented much of the work we’ve been doing over the past eight months and also a scene from Our Country’s Good that we just began working on a day before the presentation. The scene in question is quite harrowing. We experimented with different atmospheres for the scene - first an atmosphere of fear, then one of quiet revolt. 

Even with such a challenging scene, I could feel the audience members with us. They laughed when it was funny (thank God!) and were leaning in when it was serious. It not only was proof that the work we’ve been putting in is paying off, but is a reminder of the power of an audience. The presence of those 60+ people added to the atmosphere we were creating on stage. They helped transform the space into one of artistic creation. Coming out of nearly three years without theatre in my life, the reminder of the power of a live audience makes me excited to continue this journey with Our Country’s Good and ultimately share this story with you.