The Last of Our Boys

The Last of Our Boys

The first thing I noticed on walking into this staged reading was the set. Likely a low budget production, it was not on some big stage, with curtains, the lights low, and a dramatic moment in the beginning where the set is suddenly revealed, possibly with actors already interacting with the set. Instead, the lights were already up onstage, so what we saw on entering was the set as it would be for the production—but without the actors. It created an interesting and slightly unusual dynamic to get to know the set first, memorizing the placements of things, venturing guesses as to the content of the play based on what I saw on the stage, and wondering how each piece would function within the production. Having the set revealed to the audience from behind a curtain is a very purposeful way of telling them “the play has started; it is time to pay attention and become hypnotized by the production you are about to see.” This can add to the experience of going to see a play and I think it is something that the audience expects, perhaps looks forward to, that moment when they know it is time to be consumed by whatever production is about to be put on for them. However, seeing the set beforehand has its benefits as well and, while it takes away a ‘reveal moment’ at the beginning, it also lets the audience prepare a bit more for what is in store in the coming two hours or so. This process is gentler, more subtle, and gives the audience time to assimilate into the theater experience.

The actors sat on the side of the stage for the production, not backstage, which was another unusual aspect of this theater-going experience. I think these liberties were taken because it was a staged reading. It says pretty loudly “you are watching a play; we are actors,” which is not a bad thing, but it is a very intentional choice and simply a matter of preference. This part did not work for me because I am very attached to the hypnotizing aspect of theater-going and having the actors enter from a place that I could see them did interrupt this hypnosis a bit.

These two aspects of the production certainly made parts of the experience different from what I think people expect from the theater. However, the play was very engaging, as were the actors, so these differences did not detract from my overall enjoyment of the play. The lesson here, I think, is that a well-written play has the capacity to come across even in a staged reading.

It is all a matter of taste—this is the big take-home message I got from seeing The Last of Our Boys. As a result, every production is going to be incredibly different; even productions of the same play will vary dramatically from one another because of nuances in directing, acting, staging, and so forth.