Gifts for Theater Folk

"Theater Folk" is way too general and even "Actor" can mean a lot of different kinds of people - with different kinds of taste. Before riding off looking for a present, you need to narrow down your quest by figuring out your gift-recipient's interests.

For instance: an actor can be a stage actor (Broadway, off-Broadway, regional, local, or community theater) or a screen actor (film or TV) or even a voice actor (ads, computer games, or film etc.). Professionally, these actors have quite different experiences. Even among stage actors - forget the Broadway thing - are they musical-comedy or drama types? Do they love New Works (often experimental) or Classics? Are they in this for the words? Or the music? Are they triple threats - able to act, sing, and dance?

A few interested questions about exactly what kind of acting they do or aspire to and what they love about it will tell you - the Gift Buyer - a lot that will help you choose the perfect present.

Theater designers work more across the various stage genres, but their particular specialty will reveal their interests. The usual design disciplines are: sets, costumes, props (properties or objects handled by actors), lighting, sound, choreography, fights... (the list can seem endless). Find out what it is exactly they do. Ask questions! And this is true for any theater folk - they're usually thrilled to talk about their stage work. Get them started, then take sneaky notes!

What follows hereafter are a few general suggestions that may appeal to many different theater folk.

What could be more symbolic of the theater artist's role (bad pun) than a mask? Actor, director, designer, technical theater artist, or performer, all are engaged in transforming themselves and this little on-stage part of THIS world into ANOTHER world.

Masks illustrate this perfectly. There's something magical about masks.

Many of the masks shown below are Mardigras or Carnival masks, from the old custom of throwing parties and parades just before the austere season of Lent. The masks of Venice's Carnival are often influenced by the early Italian comedy troupes of Comedia dell'Arte... a very theatrical pedigree!

If you are part of a production (rather than in the audience) one great gift to the rest of the cast and crew is to create a book.

Take backstage photos of rehearsals or of the set build etc. (with permission, of course), take a few more of the final show, and then copy them for the whole company either as a CD, a booklet, or even a framed collage. Everyone loves a memento. You could ask everyone for a brief story or memory and add those as the text.

Or ask everyone for a favorite recipe and create a Show Cookbook.

Use your imagination!