Done-didi-done-done
A Christmas Carol closed last weekend. The strike, which I'd dreaded for 36 hours prior, was quick and relatively painless. With much backslapping, much handshaking, some nice presents and nice words, some reluctance, and a few tears we all parted feeling good and looking forward to some naps and free evenings. My cast gave me good beer as a director's present. They went to the wineshop and talked to my buddy, Sean, who knows what I've been drinking lately. So, surprise, surprise, not only was it good beer but appropriately good beer. Yea!
Audiences were good during the whole run, but then again, they were good before we even went up. I think we had sold out two of the three $5 Fridays before we even opened. Bizarre. I guess that's what happens when you put on, not just a classic, but a holiday classic.
Responses afterwards were, on the whole, positive. Responses during the show were varied. In fact, I've never seen such sharp difference in audience reaction. Whenever we had family members and/or "theater people" in the house the audience was friendly and vocal during performances, giving energy to the actors. With other audiences, they were dead -- matinee or evening. It's like they didn't know what they were watching ... or didn't care. Yet they clapped nicely at the end, and when questioned, they said they enjoyed it. At the end of the run the marketing director said she hadn't heard one negative comment about the show. The closest that I heard was that some people were confused by the "Dickens and the Ghostly Representation of Him as a Child" opening scene. But that shouldn't explain the reaction for the whole play. Strange.
During the second to last show, I realized a moment at the very beginning where I could've pushed for a laugh but didn't. I don't know if that would've made a difference in audience reaction ... and now I'll always wonder.
I enjoyed working with the cast and felt good about the show. Still, I'm happy to not have it on my shoulders anymore. Except for this ten minute play I'm directing for Tandem Friends School and this skit that a former actor of mine has asked me to look at, I won't be doing any shows until the fall, and that's fine by me. There's much writing to be done and other projects to explore. Also, it's been three semesters since I've been able to seriously focus on the classes I'm teaching, and I want that ... badly.
Audiences were good during the whole run, but then again, they were good before we even went up. I think we had sold out two of the three $5 Fridays before we even opened. Bizarre. I guess that's what happens when you put on, not just a classic, but a holiday classic.
Responses afterwards were, on the whole, positive. Responses during the show were varied. In fact, I've never seen such sharp difference in audience reaction. Whenever we had family members and/or "theater people" in the house the audience was friendly and vocal during performances, giving energy to the actors. With other audiences, they were dead -- matinee or evening. It's like they didn't know what they were watching ... or didn't care. Yet they clapped nicely at the end, and when questioned, they said they enjoyed it. At the end of the run the marketing director said she hadn't heard one negative comment about the show. The closest that I heard was that some people were confused by the "Dickens and the Ghostly Representation of Him as a Child" opening scene. But that shouldn't explain the reaction for the whole play. Strange.
During the second to last show, I realized a moment at the very beginning where I could've pushed for a laugh but didn't. I don't know if that would've made a difference in audience reaction ... and now I'll always wonder.
I enjoyed working with the cast and felt good about the show. Still, I'm happy to not have it on my shoulders anymore. Except for this ten minute play I'm directing for Tandem Friends School and this skit that a former actor of mine has asked me to look at, I won't be doing any shows until the fall, and that's fine by me. There's much writing to be done and other projects to explore. Also, it's been three semesters since I've been able to seriously focus on the classes I'm teaching, and I want that ... badly.
posted by - caj at 6:23 PM
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