Thursday, March 13, 2008

I am a lover of great theaters. Recently I had the chance to tour the Sydney Opera House. It is as wonderful as it looks. Basically the sail like exterior is just a shell with five theaters inside, all constructed with an acoustically perfect wooden infrastructure. One of the theaters is called the Playhouse. It is about 400 seats and would be perfect for "The Two and Only." I have entered that wish into the cosmos.

There is another theater that is one of the great jewel boxes in America located in San Francisco. It is the Bohemian Club Jinks Theatre on Taylor Street. It is about 800 seats. All the fly space and trap doors to create most any type of show. My first venture into the idea of a one man show was performed on the Jinks Theatrer stage. Tonight I will be part of another show, that will be performed only once.

The theatre is part of what the Bohemians call the City Club building. Unfortunately, only the highly selected Bohemian Club members and their guests ever get to see it. The Bohemians are a club dedicated to the arts. They have an original show there about once a month.


There is a lot of speculation about the Bohemians because it is an exclusive private mens club and there are politicians, billoinaires and power players among their ranks. There are also performers like me. A club dedicated to the arts has to include a lot of different artists. The rich seem to understand they can't buy the gifts artists have been given. They can only provide a plce for them to express.

I am at mixed feelings about the fact that the theatre will never be a public venue. It would be great to open it up to the theatre community. However, it is a hundred years old and it is maintained in its original beauty by a dedicated group of Bohemians. Without that budget it would probably be a parking lot today. Theaters have to have deep pockets to continue their life as a theatre. The Sydney Opera House is owned by the Australian government.

So I guess you will just have to take my word for it. Tonight will be a great experience, mostly for us who get the honor of tramping the boards. I am blessed, and enjoy any moment I can play on a stage.
As you were,
Jay
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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