As most know by now, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic sweeping the globe we have come to the end of The Nether earlier than expected. There will be no last two performances this coming Friday and Saturday night. And I am sad. We are all sad.
This is part of what I wrote in my Director’s Note for THE NETHER in case you weren’t able to get to the show and grab a program:
“I see people disappearing into their houses. Into their Netflix. Into their phones…I see people because I’ve been there. And I see theatre as a way to help people. Not cure people, but certainly help…I love Jennifer Haley’s play for many reasons – one of which being because I see it as a “gateway drug.” I feel it’s the type of play that could win over somebody who thinks plays are for nerds and losers. Or at least make people say, “I don’t know what the fuck that was, but it was pretty fucking cool.” Or at least I hope we’ve built that experience…
I mostly hope it helps to get people out of the house.”
And we did that. We actually built that experience. Because people told us. I actually had a coworker of one of the actors tell me he didn’t understand much of what happened, but it was really cool. THAT is what we are here for. THOSE are the people we want to reach. People who may have never seen a theatre production in their life and they come and see something like The Nether – something cool, dark, and just like something they see on TV except it’s right in their face – 5 feet way. – and they get excited. This play made a lot of people – theatre and non-theatre people alike – get really excited.
Except right now 5 feet isn’t good enough. And I’m sad. Sad for all the people who won’t see this play and feel the relief live theatre can bring. It’s what we do this for. Which isn’t to say we couldn’t bring it back, but the challenges we face trying to accomplish that feel like a lot right now. Especially when people can’t even leave their houses.
So we are going to be sad for a while about this one. It did not get the run it truly deserved. The script, the actors, the production team, the City of Milwaukee did not get enough of this wonderful, amazing, timely piece. We genuinely thank those who were able to come and see us and shared kind words all over the medias – the word of mouth on this was insane. This show would have sold out its last two shows. Just like I said at the beginning of this run. This team knew the power of this piece. This could have been our most successful production yet.
Damn you, virus.
We also had another workshop we were planning in May that we were going to announce soon (and were very, very excited about considering who we snagged for our Guest Artist-Teacher), and of course, a Season Three announcement. All things sort of in a holding pattern right now. We could have really used these things to help our forward momentum.
So. Much like everyone else in our community right now, we’ll do our best to keep our footing and one-foot-in-front-of-the-other it. If you had planned to see The Nether this weekend, please consider donating the cost of your tickets to The Constructivists. We could use the extra lift under these crazy circumstances. But mostly, be well and we hope to see you soon.
Much Love to You,
Jaimelyn
