As regular readers of this blog know, I have a long history with local theater, The Empty Space, dating back to their founding (and, in a philosophical sense, with the old Stone Soup theater, which had some connections via people and location to it - my wife and I had our first date at Stone Soup, and have continued to attend at Empty Space during its 20 years of existence.)
Recently, a series of events led to The Empty Space relocating to a new location, which in turn has meant some significant changes to the experience. This is not a bad thing, of course - the new place is bigger, with far better facilities for the actors. And it is also in a better neighborhood - that was the primary reason for the relocation: between actors being threatened after late rehearsals to break-ins to the vehicles of patrons (including my kid’s car one night), it was becoming untenable to remain i
The most noticeable difference in the new space is the switch to a more traditional stadium seating opposite the stage, rather than the three-sided theater-in-the-round. I have mixed feelings about this, I think, just because the former arrangement was unique and led to creative staging. The other huge factor is that the stage is literally three times the size of the old one, which was so tight as to require sets that worked for everything, and little room for dancing when required.