As I’ve said before, the San Antonio Stage Script Study Group was “one of my favorite Stone Oak Youth Theatre activities”.  And in the time we met there, it had developed the kind of following you’d call Small But Devoted.  So when the group was put on hold following the end of Nikki‘s tenure at SOYT, it was inevitable that we’d find a new place, a new time, and meet again.

That brief hiatus ended with 2011, as we met again in January to chart a new course for a new year.  And in that discussion, we agreed that the time had come for one of the group’s earliest and most promising ideas.

Early on, we’d talked about using the group’s meetings to explore some of the plays currently being produced in the San Antonio area.  We called it “Page to Stage”, and the concept was as straightforward as its name – we’d first meet to discuss the play, then see it live at one of our many area theaters.  From the beginning we were always keen on making that happen, so when we revived the group, we re-committed to bringing Page to Stage from concept to reality.

For our first play, we chose Closure, a family drama by Ron Blicq that was currently running at S.T.A.G.E. in Bulverde, with a cast including a couple of PDP veterans, Marc Daratt (Dating Danielle) and Katsy Joiner (Three Yellow Roses).  We made our reservations for the play’s final performance, a matinee on March 4, with plans to meet the week before to talk about the play’s characters and themes, but in the scheduling process that initial meeting quickly evolved into something even better.

One of the first things you need to know about S.T.A.G.E. is that it’s a dinner theater, so of course that matinee performance would be preceded by a lunch.  One of the next things you need to know about S.T.A.G.E. is that the food is excellent.  So we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to discuss the play over a wonderful meal.  And with the play’s director and assistant director, Lou and Lisa Garza, as our guests, the discussion promised to be especially insightful.

It was.  From an at-home reader’s perspective, it was fascinating to learn how they understood and interpreted the play, and then to see their ideas given flesh by the actors, to feel the energy of live theatre in the words we’d just read.  And more than that, it was great to feel the energy of that old fellowship again.  After it was all over, there was no question that Page to Stage would continue, and no question that the meals would continue with it.

So, with my characteristic understatement, I’d have to say the day was kind of a success…

Thanks to everyone who attended (including Maxine, Judy, Denise, and David).  Thanks to Lou, Lisa, cast, crew, and everyone at S.T.A.G.E. for sharing their day and their food with us.  And thanks to everyone in that following for supporting and encouraging us along the way.

We’re currently working on scheduling the next meal-and-a-play meeting (which will take us to the Cameo Theatre for Claudia Shear’s Mae West-ern Dirty Blonde), so if you’d like to join us, please stop by our Meetup page for the details.

Until then, as always, “be seeing you…”