Once again, my pre-Pulitzer Prize career is in high gear. It's July. That means one thing to this not-yet-famous small newspaper theater reviewer: Breeders Theater.
What is this, you ask? Breeders what? What exactly are they breeding?
Well, as the Highline Times theater reviewer for the past decade (or so), I have become quite a regular with this particular troupe. With only a couple of exceptions when I was busy being in a show myself, I have not missed reviewing a Breeders Theater show in years.
Familiarity....but in this case it does NOT breed contempt. It breeds.....familiarity.
Each January and July, the folks with Breeders Theater put on their unique brand of entertainment. Playwright (and journalism professor) TM Sell writes silly, spoofy theatrical ditties that, chiefly, are written to make people laugh.
A company of local actors (and pretty good ones, at that) perform said ditties at the E.B. Foote winery to sold-out houses where the audience sits in folding chairs, noshes on hors d'oeuvres and tastes an assortment of Foote wines.
A modest price of $20 is charged per person, and voila! You've got the perfect evening out for wine-loving Highline-area residents, assorted Red Hat ladies and anyone needing a diversion from their sober troubles.
As an official member of "the media," I score an invite to the preview performance, where I can nosh on those hors d'oeuvres, sip my semi-annual glass of wine and generate an intellectual critique of the actors' craft.
Okay....scrap the "intellectual" part, but it remains true that my twice-a-year stint as the newspaper reviewer for a Breeders Theater show is one of my favorite journalistic gigs.
To re-cap: I get to eat yummy food, drink wine, watch a show, and get paid to do it. This is pretty amazing considering I never studied journalism or theater in college. All of my brilliance in this field is thanks to on the job training....and a knack for mimicking the style of writing I've read in newspapers my whole life.
Not bad for a retired occupational therapist.........wouldn't you say?
Production graphics courtesy of Breeders Theater
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