The theatre has often been nicknamed “The Fabulous Invalid.”  That is to say it is always dying; it is always making a miraculous recovery. That is indeed the nature of the arts in general; their fortunes rise and ebb with a society’s economy and traditional art forms fear always competition from all the other distractions offered up by each and every modern age.

But this analogy lends itself best to the theatre precisely because of the nature of this particular art form, plays and story telling are an effervescent commodity, existing only for as long as they strut and fret before an assembled audience, then exist no more. An institution that is both venerable and fragile seems an oxymoron; what is a fabulous invalid to do?

Luckily for our local invalid and for audiences who love to see this patient put on a lively show there is an eminent specialist in charge of the prognosis, namely 2nd Story Theatre Artistic Director Ed Shea.

East Bay audiences who have witnessed the birth, health and overall success of 2nd Story might be surprised by my allusion to it’s invalid status as 2nd Story has become very valid indeed and thrives as a Rhode Island cultural landmark in Warren.

This diagnosis did not occur overnight and after fifteen years here in town our fabulous invalid’s great health is due to a series of holistic remedies that help to keep it spry and energized.

Theatre patrons are well aware of the amenities provided them, in the scant few years since 2nd Story has taken up residence in a historic century old building that has housed both a grange hall and a restaurant in it’s time, renovations have included proper heating, air-conditioning, new bathrooms and an elevator. In addition a new performing space has been created out of what was formerly a kitchen, allowing for an eight-show season on two stages, a summer season and special theatrical events.

Such renovations are needed and necessary, what might be less apparent are the aesthetic changes that have evolved over the years. Theatre is a mutable art form existing in a brief span before our eyes between the rising and the dimming of the stage lights. Every story is different; every story must be told in a unique way.

In the early days 2nd Story maintained a simple aesthetic, plays were performed in the large upstairs performing space in the round with a bare minimum of props and set pieces. Set design grew more elaborate over the years, especially once the brilliant Trevor Elliot began designing for 2nd Story, creating sets that ran the gamut from highly detailed and realistic to the sort of suggestive stylized realism one finds in great paintings.

The audience configuration changed too. In recent years the upstairs performing space was transformed from being in the round to a more traditional proscenium space and offered the sort of picture diorama one finds when visiting Broadway theaters.

Though this approach has its advantages, it doesn’t work for every play nor always lend itself to 2nd Story’s unique storytelling style. Moreover the picture frame motif is well maintained in 2nd Story’s smaller downstairs stage, a space intimate enough to not only show you the snapshot but also draw one into the frame.

Earlier this season while mounting the play “Seminar”, Shea found that the sheer distance provided by a proscenium staging detracted from the intense and intimate tale of young writers and their volatile teacher. To that end he decided to reconfigure the upstairs space back into the round, all the better to bring the audience up close and personal into these character’s lives. And, part and parcel with the protean nature of playmaking, he decided to switch some shows this season, choosing shows that will be better served by the new seating arrangements. Later this season we will see Joe Orton’s “Entertaining Mr. Sloane”, now playing is “Other Desert Cities” by Jon Robin Baitz.

The play was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize and was named Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play by the Outer Critics Circle in that year. In the play, a family meets for a holiday at Palm Springs and all of the disparate parts of this extended family have long been estranged, by time, distance, ideology and an old festering wound in their history. The Playwright’s writing is pointed and witty as he creates a tense and intimate familial portrait and the fractures between this nuclear family make for a metaphor for the divisions inherent in modern American society.

It is the sort of portrait, as these jagged pieces fit together to form a shattered whole, that is best viewed up close and personal; this sense of immediacy was made quite clear to me when I attended a recent rehearsal.

“Re-trace what you did, slowly”, suggests Director Ed Shea, as an actor pensively describes a circle in her movements onstage, wandering both in the space and in her own thoughts, “the movement needs to make sense organically.” The director here is blocking his actors in a manner that evokes realistic conversation while providing clear sightlines for the audience. These actions will be blocked and re-blocked and then finessed some more to achieve a stylized focus that seems wholly realistic while the alternation between proximity and distance heightens the dramatic tension.

Keeping things “more real and less showy” has ever been Mr. Shea’s credo; observing him patiently watch and reassess his creation in rehearsal, making subtle changes and suggestions that ultimately loom large, I am reminded of a fisherman, casting lines and reeling them in, angling for artistic perfection.

And each tweak has a big impact. Having an actor simply lower their voice during an exchange not only heightens the intent of the character’s concerns but also underscores a certain absurdity of the observation and also serves to make this line more about the situation at hand and less about the actor delivering it.

The setting these actors speak in is deceptively simple; the checkerboard floor plan and carpet seem to be a square inside a circle, flanked by rectangular sofas with doorframes at the corners. This not only draws our eyes in and allows us to focus upon the actors but also niftily underscores the textual truths inherent in the play. There are vast spaces between the denizens of this “Desert City”, their needs and intents are far apart and this essential isolation is well served by providing this oasis space in the round. Ironically, such a setting grounds and anchors the audience, too, simply by giving them the storytellers as the focal point.

During a break in rehearsal I spoke with Ed Shea about why changing the seating plan became essential to 2nd Storytelling. “Both “Seminar” and “Other Desert Cities” lend themselves to the round because the action consists of lively conversation between the characters”, Ed Shea said. He further explains, “the big difference is that the actors can actually look at each other while talking. The energy goes through each of the actors to the audience, as opposed to up and out into the air. This allows an audience member to lean into the play, to not only watch the realistic interaction but to be a part of it. And it’s an organic use of this big, beautiful space.”

After watching a bit of the intimate family epic that is “Other Desert Cities” without benefit of the traditional dividing filter between the audience and the action, I tend to agree. Rather like that famous “fabulous invalid”, art often contains a seeming contradiction. In this “Desert”, it is the open space that draws us closer, rather than keeping us at a distance.

“Other Desert Cities” at 2nd Story Theatre, Warren, through April 12, see listings for details.