"We are born astride a grave - WaynesWorldStage.com

apologized, took a bow, and went out the waythey came in. Would this be classified asimprovisational theatre? The audience gave thepolice a round of applause and the playcontinued.World Stage presented the works ofOdets, Miller, Shaw, Pirandello, Giraudoux,Sartre, Anouilh, Beckett, Ionesco, O'Casey, youget the idea, six to ten plays a year for over sevenyears without ever asking for a donation. Actorswere paid according to the success of the play atthe box office.Part of the effectiveness of World Stageproductions was due to the intimacy of thetheatre. The action was taking place before youreyes. Unlike the movies, where the actors are notreal and appear on a humongous screen, or largetheatres where the actors must project theirvoices and appear to be set apart on a stage thatis far away and removed, an intimate theatreplaces the audience in the midst of the play. It canbe an experience that is not forgotten. Theproblem with a small theatre is, of course, thelack of potential income. One out of every threeproductions needed to be a sell out. The area wasbecoming more and more crime-ridden and theaudiences were having second thoughts aboutcoming to the theatre. The first time the theatrehad three box office flops in a row, it was broke.42