Our first show for Theater on the Edge, back in May 2016 for our soft opening, was Venus in Fur by David Ives.
A Look Back
by Marco DiGeorge
In February 2016, Allan, Sam and I attended a showing of Venus in Fur at the Henegar Center in Melbourne, Florida. We were very moved by the performances, the staging and the directing, and and idea occurred to us. What if we could do a run of this show as our first official "soft-opening" performance for the Theater on the Edge? After all, it starred actors Zack Roundy and Shanise Jordan (both part of the conservatory program at Truthful Acting Studios), and it was a human story that lent itself to a small stage with an immersive set, so it met our criteria and goals.
After the show, I was introduced to director Pam Harbaugh, and I was telling her how impressed I was with the show and how I wanted to conduct similar performances at our new theater company.  I was warming her up to eventually ask if she would be open to re-block the show at our venue... but I was trying to be tactful. Before I could get the words out, she beat me to it and tells me what a wonderful thing it would be to re-package the show for Theater on the Edge. I guess we were on the same page 🙂
This was an exciting time, since this would be the true test for our theater - presenting six performances of a full-length play with complex set design and technical requirements.
We got to work! I worked on the technical aspects and Sam worked on the set design. While that was happening, Pam invested her time to come to our theater and re-block the show and work with the actors again to drive them even deeper into their roles.
It worked out beautifully! Venus in Fur paved the way for Theater on the Edge, and Pam Harbaugh is back directing American Buffalo for our second official show.
