Creating Magic All Over The Place

WORDS TO SPUR:"Some say there is magic in the theatre. Others say that the theatre is magic. I don’t know anything about that, but I do know that those who make that magic are truly blessed. So, let’s go out there and spread some blessings all over the place!"
– Kelly Parker, McLennan Community College Theatrical Director/Professor of Theater

Through a concept as vague as magic, it can be hard to see where it might exist in our ever-expanding town, if it exists at all. While Waco is known for many things, surely magic isn't one... or is it? Tucked away in a forest, there is a quaint college campus, one which is home to a rare spark of enchantment. A spark which can only be seen by a paying audience of course. Magic may be difficult to pin down, but maybe one needs only look in the right place. Should that place be found, magic is sure to be waiting.

With intertwined hands, the cast lets out a collective cheer as they spin out of the circle they had formed. “Places everybody!” the assistant director cries. With gusto and unbridled enthusiasm, the actors of MCC’s theatre department respond. At the close of his traditional speech, Kelly Parker moves aside to admire as the students he has spent the last month training, actors and tech alike, stride forth. A flurry of movement as the cast of 27 actors rush forward to take the stage. The air, crackling with the excitement of those 27, feels electric. The perceived chaos is a controlled one, with each member of the company moving with purpose. Amide the stage managers’ commands and the heat of anticipation, there appears nothing but bright eyes and warm smiles. As everyone involved knows, they are about to make magic. 

SPURRING CREATION:"I soon realized that, especially with my students, they needed something, we needed to form a moment as a company, to connect, to link, for everyone to get in the same mindset. You’ve got to get all those brains, all those bodies, those energies on the same page. So, I said; you know what, I need to do something."
– Parker

Some say there is magic in the theatre. These words spoken by Professor Parker before every live performance, have ingrained themselves in the theatre department, becoming as much a part of it as the stage itself. In the moments before every show, the cast congregates backstage. As all involved form a circle, joining hands in a woven pattern left over right, he encourages everyone to speak their mind, and without fail, the cast bare their hearts. Be it words of encouragement for what lies ahead, or words of sentiment of the road so far, the moment speaks to that unification of brains, bodies, and energies.

While speaking, Parker peers at the glowing faces that surround him, each in turn look to those around them with a shared sense of anticipation. The air still, as the tradition is observed once again. One thought comes to mind, clear enough to be almost palpable. Each and every actor knows that the blessings, the magic being spoken of refers not only to what is to be created on stage. Not just in the show itself, but in every moment it took them to get there. To get here.  “After I did it for the first time, I saw the potential, the effect that it had on everyone. I went; Oh, I’m doing this for every single time I do a show! Like, are you kidding me!”

Some pace, others fiddle with their costumes, in hushed tones an assortment of lines can be heard spoken amongst themselves, as the final call for places is made. Where one might expect to find panic and unease in these actions, there is only a unified sense of confidence. With not a frightful heart among them, a barely audible chatter can he heard from the cast as their energized excitement bubbles forth. This is an atmosphere composed of months of late night rehearsals, countless hours of individual dedication, and a mutual faith in one another’s ability to perform. With weeks spent designing, creating, and fine-tuning to reach this very moment, the curtains rise. And as the first bought of laughter is drawn from the crowd, one can see that first hint of what Professor Parker meant by Magic in the theatre.

CREATED THEATRE:"What we do in the theatre IS special and magical. It’s art, and art is beautiful! It’s unexplainable in some ways, and I think we forget that with art, especially with theatre because we get so wrapped up in the doing, or I should say in the result of the doing. Instead of No, look at what we’ve done! We’re going on stage pretending to be other people, we’re using words written by someone else, we’re wearing other clothes, under lights. We’re trying to get all these things to come together, it is pretty awesome and magical when it happens."
– Parker  

As the curtain falls to obscure a bowing cast, a compelled crowd remains standing in applause. The sound of cheers ring out from the audience, reverberating off the walls of the theatre. Paying homage, they clap, whistle, and yell. A standing ovation in proper response to what each and every audience member feels. Some indescribable sense of wonder. A notion that, for a brief moment, something enchanting was witnessed. And just as that feeling begins to gain clarity, it is gone. Fading into memory, just as the show itself has. The applause dies down as the house seats empty. The audience leaves to the theatre, and with them, the magic that was created upon that stage. To be remembered in thanks to MCC’s production. A fleeting act of creation comes to an end. Until those curtains rise again. 

They assuredly will only a few nights a year. On such nights, a cast of students will, from their very hearts, create something near unexplainable, if only for a moment. Just what that is can be anyone’s guess. Some say it's magic. While I don't know anything about that, I do know that those who do the creating, do so just for you. What is made is anyone's guess. What will you say it is?