Post-Show Talkback Rapidly Devolving Into Competition of Which Audience Member Most Insightful of All

by Matt Keeley. @reallymattkeeley.

PORTLAND - Following initial statements from cast and production staff at the Friday evening talkback, participants found themselves in a rapidly escalating contest of which one of them was most insightful of them all.

“We take great pride in producing elevated work that respects our audiences’ intellectual depth,” extolled Artistic Director Nöel Jaconde, to a room full of blithe yet detached murmured concurrence. “And what better opportunity is there for us to showcase it than in an extemporaneous public forum comprised of our ticket holder demographics? Let’s get it started. Does anyone have any questions?”

Without an established insightful academic standard to base their replies on, however, the room fell into an anxious silence hoping a sacrificial dope might speak first. 

“Well—I’ve just got to say that play was so impressive,” began local insurance agent and idiot Greg Johnson, tentatively breaking the silence to sympathetic chuckles, “I mean, wow! Just the…what’s the word? You can tell that you worked really hard on it. And the actors! Bravo! I gotta ask. How the heck do you memorize all those lines?”

With the proper baseline comments established, participants quickly warmed to the opportunity of sharing their questions and reactions to the piece. Specifically how much more profound their own responses were than the previous speakers:

“Usually I try to have a few notes for the sound design, but tonight I don’t have any.”

“I thought the use of masks to be rather Brechtian. And Commedia-inspired. And hints of Kabuki too?”

“Personally, I thought the set was deftly utilized as a physical motif. Every time a door opened, someone always entered or exited before closing it behind them. Just like in life.”

“Sorry, was there a question in there?”

“Yes, hi, I just wanted to mention how much I respected the playwright’s use of historical parallels to explore the central dramatic question. I thought it was a beautiful syllogism to infer, like the moral and political persecutions of 1950’s McCarthyism, our characters also lived in a de-facto Ochlocracy, and how we today could very well be hurdling unceasingly towards tyranny of the masses,” mused season ticket holder Maeve Riordan, to the humbled reactions of fellow participants.

After the robust talkback concluded, participants were encouraged to join the cast in the lobby to compete for the distinction of who could talk the longest before house staff could close.