Etiquette Tips for the Theatre Audience

On Sunday Adam and I went to see West Side Story at the Wharton Center.  I wanted to see it live because I hate the movie, but I love Stephen Sondheim and I wanted to reconcile my two halves.  I like it way better live.  Way better.  As in, don't even bother with the movie.

But that is not the point of this post.  The point is that I have been to enough live theatre shows, and been in enough shows that I know what is the biggest pain in the ass about live audiences.

First, when they say turn off your phone,  Do it.  There is absolutely NOTHING that pisses me off more than when a phone goes off, especially at a pivotal moment in the show.

Example 1: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (based on a novel of the same name which was also the basis for the Dangerous Liaisons movie and Cruel Intentions) at Central Michigan University, spring of the 2009-2010 season.  *Spoiler Alert Ahead* The end of the show when the Vicomte dies, a phone starts to ring three seats away from me.

Example 2: Today during West Side Story.  *Spoiler Alert Ahead* Maria and Tony are saying good night at the end of their version of the balcony scene (synonymous with the one in Romeo and Juliet, which the musical is based on) and a phone goes off.

Example 3: Dead Man's Cell Phone for which I ran lights last season at Central.  From the light booth, you can see everything.  I mean everything.  Including the people who have their phones out and are texting during the show.  And from the Grand Tier in Great Cobb Hall, I can see you on the floor.  And you can sure as hell bet that the crew in the booth behind me can see you too.  The light from your phone is distracting and it's rude.

Second, do NOT talk when the actors are talking.  Or singing. Or anything is happening on stage, whether you think it is important or not.

Example 1: Everyman, the show I was in last season at Central.  We were in Theatre on the Side, and there were, I think, only 100 seats for every show and we sold out every one.  Very close quarters and we were all up in the audience's grill.  Which means we can see you very well.  And we wonder why you aren't paying attention. Also, WE CAN HEAR YOU.

Example 2: I went to see Les Mis with my friend Shannon and her sister and brother-in-law last March.  The woman in front of us would NOT sit still.  She kept wriggling around and talking to her neighbor. GAH.

If you have to say something, get your mouth so close to the person's ear your lips are almost touching their ear lobe and then whisper so quietly that no one but them can hear you.  You shouldn't even be able to see you.

Third, get there on time and don't leave the seating area unless there is a real emergency.  Pee before you get to your seat, or run to the bathroom the second the first act is over.  If you think you're going to be late, run to your door. RUN, FORREST, RUN!

Example 1: Les Mis.  They were still seating people 10-15 minutes into the show, non-stop.  Not even waiting for applause after songs to rush a whole bunch of people in.  And the same after intermission!  Ridiculous!

Example 2: Everyman.  100 seat theatre people, that is completely dark.  We can see it when the door opens.  And it is really freaking loud when you close it.

Fourth, and for the moment, last, souvenir line etiquette.  Do not cut in line. It is not hard to figure out where the line is.  There are a ton of people milling around and very few standing still in the big area where the cart is. Follow the line of non-moving people until you get to the end, it is not cool to cut in line when there are people who have been waiting for 10 minutes already. Don't do it.

Well, I hope that this helps any and all theatre goers, and feel free to pass this on to anyone who does not do these things appropriately.

What irks you about inconsiderate theatre goers? Leave it in the comments!

A Look Back At the Firsts - Nostalgia Monday

Today is the first day of classes for my alma mater, Central Michigan University.  I had a great four years there, and I have no regrets.  I miss the wonderful people I met and I won't forget the great experiences I had there.

Andrew, chillin' in the ATEP lab

The cast and crew of Dead Man's Cell Phone

Some of the class of Irish Theatre History 2011 in Ireland, the night we did Caley Dancing

But I want to post a little nostalgia about the firsts for my that happened while I was there.

At Central I had my first apartment, that is now a parking lot instead.  Here, Adam gave me my claddaugh ring, as a promise ring.  I had my second apartment on campus too, and this apartment is where my wonderful boyfriend of 3 1/2 years proposed to me.

This building is also now a parking lot.  If you drive down Washington, through the center of campus, past the EHS building, the parking lot between EHS and Washington is where the two buildings I first lived in on my own used to stand.

While at Central I met two of my best friends, Courtney and Nicole.

Both of whom were bridesmaids in our wedding.  Melissa (one of my BFFs from my childhood) joined us when she came to CMU for grad school and Nicole introduced us to Lee.

Melissa (MOH1) and I on Adam's and my wedding day

L-R: Nicole, Courtney (holding Bauer), Me (please excuse my crazy eyes, I was trying not to blink) and Lee.  Our last Christmas with all of us in Michigan.

We used to have weekly breakfast gatherings where I would cook breakfast and we'd all hangout and eat and have a great time with friends.  This was a change from our weekly dinners we had the previous semester.

One of the biggest firsts while I was in Mount Pleasant:

Adam and I moved in together.

We moved in together the summer after we got engaged/summer before we got married.

And this summer we had to say good bye to it, two years after we moved in.

 Our tiny kitchen

It was remodeled about two months before we moved.

Looooong hallway that looked so nice when I decorated for Christmas.  I had a lot of fun with different things in this hallway.

The office

The office continued

We had so much closet space in this place.

First bathroom

connected by the shower/tub to 

the bathroom that connected to our bedroom

See? Seriously tons of closet space!

The room seems so much smaller without our stuff in it.

It was out this window that there was a great field where we played frisbee a lot.

Then we head back down the hall to our living room/dining room.

This apartment complex wasn't the best, but it was our first, together.  We came home to this apartment after our wedding, it was the first address we had on our drivers licenses that wasn't our parents' addresses.  We came home from our honeymoon to this apartment, and from our first wedding anniversary celebration.

So much happened here, it was hard to leave.  It felt like home.

Sorry for the quality, light was bad and I was trying not to cry until after the picture.

But today, I hope that even though the faculty is on strike, that every student's college experience at Central is as amazing as mine was and they have a lot of phenomenal firsts.  And I want to thank the Faculty for my experience. Though I didn't graduate with an ATEP degree, I learned loads from the ATEP faculty.  And the Theatre, Interpretation and Dance faculty made my experience with the theatre program one of the best times in my life.  I learned so much in class, working shows (whether I was crewing or in them), and about myself.  I loved every minute of my theatre major.  The friends I made, the people I met, thank you for my great experience at Central.

Fire Up Chips!

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Thanks to Katie, Tim, Nicole, Lee and Titus Photography for some of the photos in this post, the rest are taken by me.

Stuff is Going to Happen Whether You're Out There Or Not

I have had a history of knee problems.  I dislocated my left knee cap in 7th grade and again in 8th grade in gym class.  Then the summer before my sophomore year we were camping and I stepped over a chair and dislocated my right knee cap.  All of these sucked.

The right knee cap sucked the most because I did nothing serious to make it happen,  And we were 40 miles from the nearest hospital.  My mom had seen the doctor put my left one back in twice and she slipped it back in.  My parents splinted it, and a family friend who had happened to be there at the same time as us helped my Dad put me in the van to take me to the hospital.  None of my family had been there when I had done it previously so it was a shock to all of them to have me fall and just start screaming.  I wasn't a fan really either.  I don't really like involuntary, unexpected pain.  Expected pain sucks too, though.  And the E.R. doctor was an a-hole and didn't believe me that I had dislocated my knee cap and put me through the full range of motion not an hour after I had hurt it.  Jerk.

Anyway, jump ahead 9 1/2 years to last Friday (1/15/11) to Everyman rehearsal.  We finish the rave scene with nothing big happening.  I get back to my area and felt a floaty sensation in my knee, which happens sometimes.  I just have to fix the sensation before I sit down.  But I didn't this time.  I should have, because the next time I tried to stand I couldn't straighten my right knee, walk or put weight on it.  I hurt, a lot.  I sat out of the rest of rehearsal and Ryan and Billy helped me hobble to the car after rehearsal.  I drove home left footed, which is harder than you think.

When I got home I took a bath and was able to straighten my knee in the bath.  I iced and went to bed, expecting to be sore in the morning. I was asleep for 45 minutes and woke up crying, like, uncontrollable sobbing.  We went sleepily, grumpily and in my case in incredible amounts of pain with tears rolling uncontrollably down my face to the E.R.  We were there for four hours, had X-Rays done and had some special tests done by the E.R. doctor.  He didn't really tell me what he thought, that I can remember, until I read the material he gave me as I was released with an ace wrap, crutches and a script for a knee immobilizer.  Meniscus tear, possible knee strain.  We open in two weeks. Shit.

On Monday I got in to see a Doctor at UHS which my insurance requires me to do.  He agreed with the E.R. doctor on his prognosis and sent me to the ICC in the SAC on campus.  I had my initial eval yesterday that concurred with the last two people I have seen.  I have my first rehab appointment tonight.  If I'm not better in a few weeks the UHS doctor wants to send me for an MRI.

So, no matter whether you're playing sports or doing theatre, you always have the chance to get hurt.  Live life to the fullest and have fun while you're doing it!

P.S. You might be wondering what I am going to do about Everyman.  I'm doing the show.  I am a professional and I will be doing the show.  I will be limited and I may be wheeled around the set, but I am doing the show.  I have worked too hard and too long to not do the show.  I can't let my cast mates down either.  The show is going to be awesome a lot of us have worked hard and poured a lot into the show, please come see it. (Sorry for the shameless plug..... no, no I'm not)

P.P.S. For those interested in the show, it is being performed January 27-29 and February 3-5 at 7:30p and January 30 and February 6 at 2p.  Come see it, it will be awesome!  You can buy tickets here.

P.P.P.S. HUGS!

30 Days of Truth - Day 15: Something or Someone You Couldn’t Live Without, Because You’ve Tried Living Without It

I think we're pretty established that I need Adam in my life, so I won't elaborate on that.

I think we all also know that I need to have theatre in my life, so I don't really need to elaborate on that either.

Hmmm, I can't think of other things I've tried living without that I couldn't survive without.

I can tell you what I can live without!  But you'll have to go to the next post to read them.

That's all I've got for now, I am sure there are other things that I can add later :-)

30 Days of Truth - Day 10: Someone You Need to Let Go, or Wish You Didn't Know

This is going to being a boring post, because I have this aversion to constant drama and angst in my life, so anyone who is really bothersome I just don't deal with them.  They don't stay in my life.  Period.

And, although there are a few people I have to deal with that annoy me, I know that 1) After graduation, I am leaving CMU and won't see them on a regular basis anymore; 2) Anyone who does annoy me, is kept at a distance as best as possible - and I definitely don't invite them into my home or try and keep them happy.

And, I must say, being a Theatre major, makes this hard.  For whatever reason, there is usually one or two (or more) people in the department who feel they NEED DRAMA.  Ick.  But, I can deal with it, and I don't let it affect me.  I'M IMPERVIOUS!

That is NOT a challenge.

Williamston Theatre and the Pepsi Refresh Project

The Williamston Theatre in Williamston, MI is up for a Pepsi Refresh Project Grant.  You should go vote for them, if they win, they plan to use the money to help support their 2010-2011 season.  To see more about them go to their website, williamstontheatre.org, to vote for them to win a $50,000 grant, go here, to follow them on Facebook, go here.  Help theatre in Michigan!!

Williamston Theatre At A Glance

Jack of All Trades and the Master of None

I mentioned in a post a few days ago that I often feel I am a jack of all trades and the master of none. I have many talents and I love them all. But at the same time I am struggling with what direction I want my life to go in. I love so many things, how do I pick just one to do? I'm a very one track mind person when it comes to things like that, almost to the occlusion of everything else. I have phases that repeat on a cycle.

I want to bake cakes for a living.

No, I want to work in community theatre for a living.

No, I want to be an administrative assistant for a living.

No, I want to act.

No, I want to sing.

No, I want to do techie things.

No, I want to teach. (English and History)

It's endless!! The one thing that is always there under everything is my love for ASL and the Deaf community, my husband and my desire to be a mom. So you would think I could be a freelance interpreter and a housewife. But no, I don't want to lose all the things I'm interested in. I want to learn everything I can about every one of those things and I want to learn about all kinds of other things. I just feel that I know so many things and I want to be so many things that I feel like I'm still a kid who has seventy answers to "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Another option would be to do them all in a circular basis, but I want stability. And I want flexibility. I am distracted so easily!

Oh, look! Something shiny!

30 Days of Truth - Day 5: Something You Hope To Do In Your Life

Kids, Theatre, ASL interpreting and Travel.

That is not the order that those things will come in, but those are all things I'd like to do in my life. I also might try and write a book. I'm writing a play script now and that's rough going - but I think that's harder than writing a book. Unless you're adapting a book to a script, that might be easier - I don't know, I've never tried. But it must be fun to adapt a book, it's done all the time for musicals, other straight plays (Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo) and movies (Harry Potter anyone?)

What is with me? I cannot write without having at least one tangent that is mostly unrelated to what I set out to write!

Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, babies. Adam and I want kids. We are not going to have them now, no way! We aren't ready and we wouldn't be able to support them financially. Just our luck, with our first pregnancy we'd get twins. We'd like to have a boy and a girl, but we won't keep having kids if we don't get at least one of each, we'll adopt whatever gender we don't have.

Theatre is fun, I love it, I enjoy it and I have a passion for it. I will continue to be involved in it as long as I am breathing.

Right now, I am sure of one thing in my future (besides Adam). I will be pursuing ASL interpreting licensure. I love to communicate in sign and if it turns out one or more of my children are Deaf, fine. We are prepared.

Travel. This is one of the things that is making us hold back on babies for awhile. We both want to travel the world and that gets A LOT harder when you have children. And more expensive. And we'd rather just travel ourselves first. It is startling to think that at this time 23 years ago, my Mom was pregnant with me and was roughly the same age I am now. Yikes.

There are so many other little things I'd like to do in my life. Maybe I should start a Bucket List....

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That's it for today peeps, I hope you enjoyed the blogging blitz. Have a safe and Happy Halloween and I'll see you on Monday!