Intermission....nice break or huge distraction

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:47pm

Reccently as I have been going to many local productions I have noticed that intermission is a huge distraction.....its like as soon as they turn the house lights on you get sucked back into reality and it hits you like a ton of bricks....and one of the reasons I love theare is because it takes me into a completly different world where none of my present problems exsit....intermission gets me completly out of the zone i get in when the lights first go down and the overture begins......does anyone feel the same

[pab]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:51pm

It totally depends on the show. I could not imagine a show like "The Iceman Cometh" without intermissions.

[Luckydave14]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:53pm

Nice break.

[umgeoboy]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:55pm

usually a huge distraction, but not always.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:57pm

Depends on the show. Without an intermission in some shows (Faith Healer for example) audience members would start falling asleep and their attention spans would not stand up to the show. However, some intermissionless shows (Spelling Bee, Drowsy, etc.) work way better without one. An intermission at the Drowsy would be a TOTAL distraction!

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:01pm

I agree, it completely depends on the show. Authors write their works with this format in mind, knowing that the audience will have a breath before diving into the story again.

I actually like intermissions (when they are planned and written in, and not slapped onto shows like ACL or 1776 after the fact), particularly with longer plays or musicals. It gives me a chance to pee, for one, but also to discuss the show with friends.

Part of my love of theatre is the communal and social experience of sharing it with others.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:01 PM

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:02pm

last week i saw "A Chours Line" and "RENT" in SF and it seemed a little ironic that a show like "A Chorus Line" that really doesnt have a story and is made up of a bunch of monologues didnt have an intermission, but a show like RENT that did have a story had to have a 15 min. break just shoved right in the middle of the show

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:02 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:05pm

You lost me when you said A Chorus Line really doesn't have a story...

[Yero]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:08pm

I thought there was no intermission for ACL?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:08pm

In many plays, it serves the function of emphasizing the passage of time and so can work very well when the opening scene of Act II takes place the next day, week, months or years after the final scene in Act I. In the converse I've seen it hurt some shows where Act I had built to an exciting climax and intermission has been awkwardly placed into the middle of a scene. Sometimes it takes the play and the actors a while to build the scene back to that same point of intensity again.

And in the case of epic plays such as ANGELS IN AMERICA or certain classics by Shakespeare and others, intervals are simply a pragmatic necessity to allow the audience a break to take in what they've seen and prepare themselves for what is yet to come in the story. Many shorter contemprary plays don't need them, though, and the break actually hurts the overall momentum of the piece.

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:08pm

I think of A Chorus Line more like Spelling Bee.....it is all about the characters rather than an actual plot....that doesnt mean I dont think they both are not great shows I was just making an observation

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:11pm

There's not supposed to be an intermission in ACL and the original Broadway production and national and international tours of it didn't have one (and the upcoming revival won't either). Some amateur and regional productions have been known to insert one into the show unfortunately.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:11 PM

[Yero]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:13pm

That's what I thought, but LilBwayLady said she saw ACL in SF last week, and she said it had an intermission.

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:15pm

no i said RENT did and ACL didnt.....i said i just found that ironic

[mathewbrock]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:20pm

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 04:20 PM

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:22pm

im sorry i meant to put "didn't have"

[Kringas]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:23pm

I don't get the irony.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:26pm

I find intermissions a nice break usually. Especially with my bladder the size of a teaspoon and all. However, I find in shows like Spelling Bee and Drowsy they'd be a distraction.

[WickedRentEder]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:27pm

Without a doubt, NICE BREAK!!! You need to get up & stretch before you become imbedded with the furniture!!!

If it's an emotionally charged show, it gives you a nice break to catch your breath!

[RightAmerica]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:28pm

It is often a much needed respite for the audience. Also a chance to leave when the subject matter is offesive.

[Broadwayluva]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:30pm

i'd say it's a nice break, because you can look around and (hopefully) say to others around you . . . THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!

[LilBwayLady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:32pm

"I don't get the irony"

its seems it would make more sence to have an intermission in a show that didnt have as much of a intense story.....such as ACL.....but they put it in shows like RENT where it does have a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and intermission really causes a distraction to it

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:38pm

I'm currently in a production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood. My production has no intermission, even though the original does, but I find the show works without one. I don't know why, it just does.

[Tokyogirl119]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:38pm

"its seems it would make more sence to have an intermission in a show that didnt have as much of a intense story.....such as ACL.....but they put it in shows like RENT where it does have a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat and intermission really causes a distraction to it"

That doesn't make much sense. ACL was originally written without an intermission. If you were to put an intermission in there the story wouldn't flow as well. The intermission that "was just shoved in there" for RENT was to indicate a passage of time.

Or that's what I've always thought.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 4:38pm

Intermission allows you to flee the theater, or in the case of drinkers, get numb for Act 2.