Open Call: Delaware Theatre Co.'s 'Man of La Mancha' offers the madness, magic of theater

My Dad was my hero. Or, still is.

Ever since he passed away two and a half years ago, I go back and forth between saying “was” or “is” when I refer to him. I guess it’s because some days I feel his presence more deeply than others. There are days I can so viscerally feel him in the same room as me. These are the “is” days. Other days, he seems anything but present, his absence is all I feel. These are the “was” days.

What does this have to do with anything? It has to do with something I think about a whole lot. Ephemerality. Especially as it pertains to art. Even more specifically, how it pertains to theater.

I have dedicated my life to making theater. To an art form that exists not to exist for very long.

My Dad and I developed a great fondness for the musical "Man of La Mancha.'' It was the first show he ever worked on in high school. It was the first show he ever took me to see. The show became quite meaningful in our relationship.

He used to refer to my desire to make a living in the theater as “my quest for the impossible dream.” Only, he didn’t mean it an a pejorative sense. He said it with an encouraging smile. With a belief that I could do it.

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This April, we are producing "Man of La Mancha'' at Delaware Theater Company. I have the honor and great joy of directing this production. The show has occupied a large plot of real estate in my brain for the past five months in preparation for rehearsals. The set took three months to design and four weeks to build.

We’ll rehearse for three weeks and then we’ll perform for three weeks. And then … it’s over. It no longer exists. The set will be demolished and struck from the stage three hours after the audience applauds the final bow. The show will be but a memory.

It’s always pained me so desperately to think about this. The thing that so many people poured their whole selves into to create, doesn’t last. It’s gone forever. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would anyone do that? By all accounts, it’s madness.

Madness is something that Don Quixote speaks of in "Man of a Mancha.'' He says:

“When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams – this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness – and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be.”

I think about this line every day. Working in theater allows me to embrace my madness. In fact, they pay us for our madness in this business.

If everyone at DTC only saw life as it is, and not as it should be, Delaware Theatre Company would be a pretty boring place to come see a show.

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Our job is to dream up and create spaces and worlds where people can come to embrace their dreams and feel more alive. To escape the reality and the stresses of life for two hours. To sit side by side with 350 strangers and be transported to another place.

Whether you realize it in the moment or not, it’s sublime. This experience creates a sense of belonging. Of togetherness. The experience will end, but it won’t be forgotten.

There is no substitute for this feeling. Live theater is unlike anything else.

Come embrace your madness with us at Delaware Theatre Company. The thing that we create won’t exist in a physical form when the show closes. That’s a fact. It will, however, exist in the hearts and minds of the people who worked on the show, who acted in the show, and most importantly – with you. The people who come to see the show.

Art impacts our lives in both tangible and intangible ways. Leaving someone with the feeling of beauty, joy, excitement, amazement, fulfillment – how special is that?

Theater provides a lens to think about grief, heartache, despair. To feel more alive. It provides comfort. Just like my dad did for me. Does for me. Will always do for me.

Matt Silva is executive producer of the Delaware Theatre Company.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware Theatre Co.'s production of 'Man of La Mancha' promises magic