Summer theatre, despite the heat, is a tradition in many parts of Texas. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Theatre in the Park
The heat of the day
Slowly melts away
And the Texans emerge
Leaving behind the sweaters we store
In our air-cooled offices
We embrace the slow advance of evening
That brings just the faintest hint of breeze
First we gather
friends and family across the great
expanse of lawn
Unfurl our picnic blankets
Unpack our picnic baskets
Settle in with some chips and salsa
And an ice cold topo chico
And let ourselves be transported —
back to Elizabethan times
back to stylized language and devious plotting
where the occasional rhyming couplet
& a romance on which we don’t bet
Until all that’s left is a curtain call
a standing ovation
and a reminder that there so much
magic
in sharing theatre
with friends
Produced by Laura Rice.