TheatreAddict.com - Bakersfield Drama Blog

We saw "Bent" and "Corpus Christi" at The Empty Space last night. I took some interviews about Bent and I'll be making a video promo this coming week. So, this blog is to ramble about the late night show.

One-fourth of the way through the show, which retells the story of Christ in a theatrical and ultra-alternative way, I looked around and wondered if I was dreaming. No, seriously. There was something so eerie about what I was watching. I was in a dimly lit, enclosed space. There were more people on stage than in the audience.

They were speaking words and ceremony that was terribly familiar, but so bizarre that I was certain any second I would wake up. I would tell my wife about a dream I'd had, in which all these familiar actors were on stage. Jeremiah Heitman, as Jesus, was making out with Zach Sanders as Judas. Why did I like this Jesus (Joshua) so much more than the fag-hating Christ that so many in Bakersfield envision? Why did it make so much sense? Besides homosexuality, not much else had changed. Except the time and place. And details that I can't put my finger on.

For a moment, I had pleasure in a thought. I recalled how much I LOVE the Empty Space because of this quality.

This was not the only time I had sat in that small space, watched something unfolding...and wondered.

What is this? What is going on? Where am I?

...with wide eyes and eager heart, actually pondered reality itself.

How profound is that? How valuable? Now THAT is escape.

On the one hand, I feel lucky to belong to a small club of enlightened individuals who have discovered this. Sometimes it seems a bit silly, as a handful of us wander into the space and pay our 5 bucks. Is this really theatre, or a club of people who yearn to feel and experience? When the audience size is so small, it doesn't feel like a show. It is a world we create. There is little difference between those in the audience and those a few feet away. We all came for the same reason. It's our secret club.

On the other hand, it's a travesty that Bakersfield is unaware of what they can experience within these walls. If some could see what I saw...two men virtually consumating their love affair in a concentration camp...Jesus having sex with Judas on prom night...they would be enraged! Ecstatic! In the streets! If that happened, it would be a phenomenon of sorts. But is that fair? Would it just kill what is special here?

I can't be certain. I am still wondering how to let everyone in on the special art that I am addicted to. I sit in the dark, and I become someone else. I go on a journey much bigger than a movie or even drugs could bring about.

Three quarters of the way through Corpus Christi, I was 100% positive I was dreaming. I heard lines from the Bible coming from the weirdest places. Was I at Church? Was this "play" calling me, in a bizarre way, back to faith?

Joshua/Jesus died. The lights came up. I wasn't dreaming. We got into our car and drove home.

Today, again, the world is slightly different. My point of view is shaken. My reality is skewed. I am thoughtful.

All that for 5 fucking dollars.

I'm addicted to this experience. I am glad for it.

I love the Empty Space.

Labels: Articles, corpus christi, empty space, shows