Absolutely appalling behavior at Seminar tonight... — Page 2

I just don't think that an excuse. Why couldn't he do it at a rehearsal? If he is gonna then DON'T CHARGE FULL PRICE!

Updated On: 11/6/11 at 12:48 AM

Previews not being properly defined and advertised is the only issue here worth rallying over. If you're going to charge more than $20 for a performance that is not frozen, then you need to inform the ticketbuyers that what they are seeing is an unfinished product. They're not paying to see a play or musical, but rather an insider's view of the artistic product. There may be technical glitches, show stoppages, dialogue changes, new material, and members of the creative & technical staff working from the house.

All of this should be in a written format and available to the public at their point of purchase.

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I completely understand frusteration, but it's a way to improve the show and design. And I know there have been complaints that Rickman is not loud enough and not wearing a mic so they may be trying to rectify that. It's important for people to see and hear the show from every part of the theatre. It's previews, it's to be expected. Modern technology can help and hurt note-taking. He may have also been using some sort of software that had something to do with the show's sound or theatre sound in general.

"So aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?"

Wait, he was in the last row of the mezzanine?

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Why couldn't he do it at a rehearsal?

A big empty theater during rehearsals has different acoustic properties than one when there is an audience.

The designer was probably not taking notes but using software like this instead...

Smaart is one of the most widely used audio and acoustic measurement tools, a software application for the analysis portion of acoustical measurements and instrumentation. It was designed to help the live sound engineer optimize the linearity of sound reinforcement systems during the public performance unlike most earlier analysis systems which required specific test signals sent to the sound system, ones which would be unpleasant for the audience to hear. It was also intended to assist audio engineers in analyzing the output of loudspeakers, audio amplifiers and other audio gear, as well as helping the acoustician analyze room acoustics.
Smaart

As far the laptop situation goes, there should be at least a "previews" section outlined on the seating chart & maybe seats nearby should be offered at a discount rate. Let all of the annoying, yet necessary creative team sit together.

As far as the feet on the stage situation, if I was on that stage I would have stomped on those damn feet like a winemaker & they were the grapes. Rude & disgusting, you just don't do that. If I was an usher & she was in the middle of the row, I would have walked to her row & just shone my flashlight on her crusty ass feet for the whole theater to see. Last time she'd try that one.

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It sounds like in this particular situation, the problem could have been avoided if the glowing Apple logo on the front of the MacBook was covered up so that light wasn't projected forward into the audience. I have been at performances where the creative team is sitting in the back row with laptops, and the light was not noticeable to me, sitting in front of them, during the performance.

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I'm always surprised that there are so many people that post here...who claim to know so much about the theatre, but know so little about the process.

Indeed, previews are nothing more than rehearsals that the audience pays to see. Whether they should be charged less for viewing them is another argument all together. But anyone who buys a preview ticket for anything, should be prepared for tech tables in the audience, directors dictating their notes to his or her assistant, designers on computers making adjustments to lighting and sound cues, and flashlights or computers screens going on and off.

Not every adjustment can be made during a closed rehearsal, sometimes it's necessary to have an audience in the house. This is especially true when it comes to sound design. A full house eats up the sound, what sounds perfectly audible in an empty theatre can be muffled and inaudible when every seat is full.

Previews should be advertised as such...and if you don't understand what a preview is...then you shouldn't purchase a ticket for one. Previews are there to benefit the play the designers, director and the actors...not the audience. If you are unhappy with some of the technical aspects of show after it opens...imagine how unhappy you would be if the designers and directors were unable to do their work during the preview period.

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As long a a Preview is advertised as a Preview...I don't care what the producers charge. For those who understand what a Preview is...they have the option of not buying a ticket. For those who don't...they will next time.

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Last night at SONS OF THE PROPHET, an audience member was sending text messages throughout the entire show. (She had to be 65 years old.) Obviously, she didn't know how to put it on silent so we would hear the lovely "BEEP" every five or ten minutes throughout THE ENTIRE PLAY.

The back two rows of the Laura Pels were, needless to say, getting pretttttttttttttttty heated.

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Updated On: 11/6/11 at 10:14 AM

yes, the word "preview" has clear implications ... so does the word "rehearsal". there's a line between the two, not always well-defined, and sometimes difficult for those involved in an emerging production to avoid crossing, but one cannot gainsay its existence.

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