Prague - Over the past few years I have wondered if feel-good theater was extinct. The two plays I've directed (one which was supposedly a comedy) have both dealt extensively with death and dying. I've not left a single college performance with a smile on my face. Sure, I've been impressed with the talent and vision I've seen. But should theater make you want to take anti-depressants?
Enter CP Antics in Prague, which bills itself as a "guerilla theater company." When I first saw their posters plastering my Study Abroad center, I began to imagine a production that tested the boundaries of theater and audience. When I decided to see a production of CP's "The Tale," I was expecting another depressing intellectual exercise. I could not have been more surprised.
But first, a preamble, all part of the feel-good drama.
The information on the CP Antics website initially stated that anyone interested in participating in the performance had only to show up at an appointed time in the center of Old Town Square. I stood around waiting in front of the Astronomical Clock a few times at the appointed hour, waiting for the show to begin, in vain. CP's policy had changed, and reservations were now required.
When I contacted Matthew Pflueger, one of the CP organizers, he could not have been more gracious and set up a private performance for me and a few friends. So, one Tuesday after class, I met Matt in front of the Astronomical Clock. My two friends Heidi and Alyssa met us there, and we got down to business.
Matt led us around a few corners and we ran into a harried looking woman in a smart black suit. She began to yell at Matt and then turned to us, the audience, and set off on her life story. She was the king's personal assistant, she said, and he was apparently a very bad boss.
This wasn't the work of the Royal Shakespeare Company, but I had a smile on my face. The king had lost something and wouldn't say what, so we had to find it. We were given a map and a list of clues. We also got a camera, to verify that we actually went to the places on the map. By solving clues, we were able to figure out what the item was. We had 90 minutes.
Off we went. Our first stop was the Golden Ring House on Tynska Street. Here we discovered our biggest problem. To get a point for going to the house, we had to take a photo with the three of us in it. We tried to take the photo Myspace-style, resulting in a series of photos of our foreheads. I decided to ask a lady watching us to take our picture. At first reluctant, she then would not return the camera until she was able to fit the three of us, and the golden ring above the door, into the same picture. An impressive and heartening personality transition. Hooray.
Our group dynamic became clear soon into the hunt. Alyssa decided that we would follow the most affiancing route, and not stop at any sites that wouldn't help us solve the final puzzle. She was always aware of how much time we had left. Heidi would lead us to the sites, using the map. I was the one who talked to strangers. It was amazing how much passersby would engage with us, especially if we all were smiling.
The hunt took us all over Old Town. We visited the Rudolfinum to find out what animals guarded the steps, and craned our necks to see the clock at the Jewish Town Hall. We also barged into a church with our camera out and ready, only to find a service in process.
When we finally figured out what the lost item was, which I am not going to spoil for future adventurers, we ran back to the starting point with huge grins. We actually attempted a three-way high-five. Matt graded our answers to the clues and checked our pictures.
Even though we weren't competing with another team, we felt proud to have won. For our troubles, we got black baseball caps with "CP Antics" on the front. And for the first time in years, I walked away from a performance with a smile on my face.
This story was originally published by the Prague Wanderer, a web-zine run by New York University students in Prague, Czech Republic.
Lizy Yagoda is a third-year student at Vassar College studying history and religion. She is from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
