I am 20 years old, acted in high school and looking to be in the technical aspect of theatre when I leave college. I was at the Bucks country playhouse twice for competitions and then saw shows there after the competitions. One was Lil' Abner, the other, Once Upon a Mattress. Now, I have worked in community theatre since I was in middle school and i know the budget that small playhouses have to deal with. it's not at all like broadway.
But what I felt leaving the theatre after seeing Lil' Abner was a little bit of disgust. The actress playing the mother was, in one scene, looking down the underwear of some actors and giggling and it felt like that was not what the director wanted. It didn't seem professional. The singing wasn't bad, nor the sets (for the small amount of stage that they had). One other thing that bugged me though was that they didn't have stage left or stage right leg curtains. I could see all the actors on the sides getting ready to come on. And I wasn't even all the way next to the wall.
Once Upon a Mattress was a lot better. I might have judged that too quickly since my high school did it my freshman year. i actually don;t remember anything bad about that show.
I think what really bugged me were the judges for the competitions. i have no idea if they were involved with the theatre at all, but during one of the scenes in the competition (not the one I was in), I saw one of the judges fast asleep in her chair. I realize it must have been a long day watching high schoolers perform scenes, but to fall asleep for the whole scene and then critic it later? The first year I was there, the judges focused more on our inability to make the "3 times" joke work, or how they hated our set. They did not mention one thing about how they liked (or even disliked) our acting style. I think that is the main reason why I don't particularly have fond memories of that theatre.
Sorry to have harped on about stuff. I just felt I needed to say why I didn't have a good experience there.
Playhousefavorite ~ good for you, finding a theatre that you love and having good memories about it. Maybe it was the shows that people saw that made them hate the theatre without giving it a second (or third) chance. i don;t know.
<--- the set of A Midsummer Night's Dream that I was assistant stage manager for during the 2007 season at the STNJ outdoor stage.
-Dre- You must remember all the same that at the crux of every game is knowing when it's time to leave the table... And it's important to be artful in your exit. No turning back, you must accept the con is done... It was a ball, it was a blast. And it's a shame it couldn't last. But every chapter has to end, you must agree.
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
There's a special kind of people known as show people. We live in a world full of dreams. Sometimes we're not too certain what's false and what's real. But we're seldom in doubt about what we feel.
~Curtains~
It is a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to, than I have ever known.
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
