Making theater is hard.
It was hard before the pandemic. It is really hard amidst the pandemic. It is going to get even harder as we shift from a pandemic to an endemic … and beyond.
When a thing is hard to do, most people give up. This is a fact.
When a thing is hard to do, an artist never gives up. This is also a fact. They band together, dig deep, and make great sacrifices in order to inspire, entertain and build community.
That is exactly what Delaware Theatre Company (DTC) has done for the past 43 years – ever since titans like Cleveland Morris, Anne Schenck, Charlie Conway, and Carol Balick paved the way for us.
It’s what we’re doing now and what we will continue to do. We do not know any other way.
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As the legendary choreographer, Martha Graham, once said, “No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.”
This quote lives deep in my soul. Today, it manifested for me in a joyful and unexpected way.
We are currently producing the largest show in the history of Delaware Theatre Company. It is a world premiere musical. Wilmington audiences are the first ever to see this show.
It is called “Other World.” It has a cast of 25, a live band of 10, a crew of 26 people running the show each night, and an additional 187 humans that have been in the building morning, noon, and night for the past eight weeks to make this show happen.
Mounting this show has been a Herculean effort by our small but mighty staff.
Nathan Renner-Johnson, Elisabeth Kersey, Tay Sconiers, Jillian Farley, Johanna Schloss and Josh Waltz – these are not names you’ll see praised in the press or in reviews. They are not people that ever get glory. Rather, they are the people that have worked countless hours to bring “Other World” to life in Wilmington.
As I stood in the back of the theater today, I got emotional. It was one of those blessed moment of unrest.
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As a result of all of the hard work of so many people – I was suddenly watching a theater full of our patrons clapping along and giving a standing ovation at the curtain call.
I got chills.
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Our efforts made something really special that audiences are loving. That is the feeling that artists long to experience. It makes it all worthwhile. It’s what keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the rest.
I hope everyone chooses to feel alive and experience “Other World” while it’s in Wilmington through March 20. It is truly one of a kind and not to be missed.
Matt Silva is managing director of Delaware Theatre Company.
