It's POETS day, so one is almost obliged to Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday. And so we did. The dogs and I headed Colmslie Recreation Reserve and the riverside dog park. It's an incredibly well equipped park with a load of agility equipment not often seen in other dog parks. All my dogs did on this equipment was pee. About a hundred metres further on there is a slither of sand along the foreshore. The second we arrived there their excitement levels hit fever pitch. There was sand. There was water. This was heaven. It wasn't much but it made all the difference. The water made the experience. The agility equipment just got in the way. I thought of that tonight at Act One Theatre's performance of The Importance of Being Earnest. The play is set in three locations: A London flat, in the garden of a country home and inside the country home. Each scene was created by an appropriate use of furnishings and props all of which created exactly the right feel. But then they'd added a projected image. It told me nothing not already conveyed through the traditional set. Seriously people. Theatre is not film. You don't need to use multimedia just because you can. Used well it can set mood, define place or add detail and context. But so often in community theatres it tells me nothing, or is distorted, not focused or just a distraction. Be ruthless. Ask yourself. Will this be like the river and it will make the audience's heart sing or will it be like the agility equipment that just sits there until some animal pees on it? Since man began to perform on stage, set designers have been able to create magic without a single projection. Don't let us lose that art.
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