You Know It's Community Theatre When...- Page 12

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 1:46pm

Long Island.

Yes, a lot of this has happened to me, too. But there are some wonderful experiences in community theater, too. Would love to see that in a thread.

[Meadowlark109]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 2:12pm

...when you always call the director to join the cast on stage during curtain call.

...when cast members clap for each other at curtain call.

...when a strobe light is always used when not necessary.

...when your music director's idea of "conducting" consists of flapping their arms, cupping their ear to tell the cast to get louder, and cant keep a steady tempo.

...when your music director's number one main note to the cast is (in a very loud Sourthern accent) "YA GOTTA SELL IT! OKAAAAYUH?!"

...when your costumes come from a dirty hole in the wall costume shop where the costume mistresses smoke cigarettes in the shop, and you feel like your costume has NEVER been washed!

...when the assistant director is also the stage manager.

Updated On: 12/21/08 at 02:12 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 2:24pm

...When it's pouring rain outside, while inside you are singing "The rain in spain stays mainly on the plain" and the roof is leaking so bad that it like it's raining on the stage.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/21/08 at 2:46pm

^ Leaky roofs are fun times. Especially when the leaks are backstage!

Another one from experience:

- When the cast doesn't really have an opening night party, it's more or less the question of "What are you doing after the show?"

[dg22894]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 2:56pm

"- When the cast doesn't really have an opening night party, it's more or less the question of "What are you doing after the show?"

That happens every time but we have a "closing night party"

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:05pm

Or, when you get to the opening night party, and there's no food left, because the ushers ate all of it. Screw the cast, crew and designers.

And only one bartender.

[VonTussleGirl]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 3:22pm

A few from more recent experience:

- When one of your best friends (a 17-year-old guy) stars in Robin Hood, Get Smart, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare over the course of a year, just because he's the only person with improv experience who auditions.
- When you end up playing Diana to your high school drama teacher's Val in A Chorus Line, and the character of Maggie is cut completely because not enough people auditioned.
- When your Lloyd in Noises Off gets in a tractor accident during tech week and loses two fingers, and the director has to step in for him. (Really happened.)
- When Essie in You Can't Take It With You is played by a 14-year-old, and Jason in bare: a pop opera is played by a 30-year-old.
- To bounce off your guys' last few posts, when your post-opening night reception at the theatre is canceled because the actors have eaten most of the food during the show.

[singingbackup]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 4:07pm

...the 9 apostles onstage are constantly moving to hide the fact that we are short 3 guys.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 4:11pm

Why didn't they do cardboard cutouts?

[Glitter and be Gay]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 10:17pm

When someone steps on Tzeitel's bridal veil during the wedding dance, ripping it off her head, and her dark wig comes off with it, leaving her exposed at center stage wearing a pantyhose cap. She rips it off, shakes out her mane of golden hair, and continues on as if she hadn't just been exposed as a Shiksa goddess.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/22/08 at 10:44pm

Or, when you get to the opening night party, and there's no food left, because the ushers ate all of it. Screw the cast, crew and designers.

And only one bartender.


I hate it when there's only one bartender.

Regarding the actors eating all the food during a show previous to opening night -- Food is never safe in a theatre. Ever.

Doesn't matter what it could be, the cast and crew will go after it. It might be fruit, or hot dogs, or frozen pops ... even so, there's a good chance that by the end of the day, it'll be all gone.

[BtMartin25]

Posted: 12/23/08 at 12:48am

i was actually blessed with a killer community theatre!

click the link for the opening of A CHORUS LINE (Fall 2006)

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre.

*Let me know what you guys think! I think it's pretty great for being community theatre.


check it!

[geekgirl06]

Posted: 12/23/08 at 2:15am

I love this thread! So many memories :)

- When you rehearse for three months just to perform for two nights.

- When you don't actually have a theatre to perform in, so you use a college lecture hall with makeshift curtains and your backstage is another room across a hallway.

- When there are so many rewrites but nobody really cares about legal problems.

- When you don't actually have to prepare anything for the audition. In fact, sometimes you don't even have to audition! (happened in our last show. We were short a male, so the director called his friend in... who had no acting experience ever. Worked out okay though)

- When you could go see a production two nights in a row and see a totally different show!

[NY_Broadway2]

Posted: 12/23/08 at 9:15am

when half of the people in the show can't even sing a note on-key...i've seen that more than once

[buffyactsing]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 7:11pm

"... the female love interest is overweight, and her being overweight has nothing to do with the plot."

If weight has nothing to do with the plot then what's the problem? Unless a character is supposed to be the epitamy of all conventional beauty (say a Helen of Troy) why can't the love interest me fat/plain/tall/short etc. That's one of the things I LIKE about some community theatres...not conventional casting. And as long as it's due to talent and not nepotism/bribery I'm all for it.

[dg22894]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 9:49pm

When someone falls off stage and the orthopedic surgeon who also is the show lead runs out to see if anything is broken

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/23/09 at 10:01pm

"... the female love interest is overweight, and her being overweight has nothing to do with the plot."
Oh, come on now. Are you saying that nobody in the world has ever fallen in love with an overweight woman without it being a huge issue? I saw a professional production of Les Miserables where a wonderful actress who happened to be plus-sized played Fantine... and that's a character who's supposed to waste away from consumption. She was excellent, and everyone I saw the show with agreed that she was great for the role.

Unless the script or lyrics specifically refer to the character as being skinny, I don't see how that's a problem.

EDIT: On the other hand, there's a really skinny dude playing a character called The Fat Man in a play at my school, and he's not even wearing a fat suit for the role. It's... interesting.

Updated On: 1/23/09 at 10:01 PM

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 1:06am

When you sitting through a production of a Little Night Music and these things happen:

The characters sing every song to each other
The Final Verse of Send in the Clowns is Belted
There is no Tenor Leibesleider Singer
When Frid looks so old that kissing Petra makes you want to vomit.

I kid you not this was the performance I saw this evening. There were 3 good things about this show: Madame Armfeldt, Charolette and Fredrika.

[Broadwaynut81]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 1:24am

I have to say - even though I haven't done Community Theater in a long time, I have some great memories...

I was in a production of Peter Pan when I was 11, and because I could dance, the director cast me as one of the Henny Penny Indians - I was in this brown thing made out of drapes and a headdress with 6 feathers. Good times...

This was also the same production where the fly operators (my dad and a couple of other guys) flew the girl playing Peter into the wall, and there were also like 25 lost boys and 20 Indian dancers.

Also, I was in a Middle School production of "Time and Time Again" and to allow for the extra cast, the director split a few roles, and he actually wrote an add-on to the script and created three more characters (I know it was probably illegal but to be honest, he didn't do half bad if I recall).

This was also the same production that used this little teeny tape recorder with pre-recorded music cranked up all the way as our "orchestra" - the music was so low that the entire cast got so ahead and ended up finishing the music before the accompaniment.

We did this show in the "Gymatorium" of a Girl's Inc., where the backstage changing area was rather small. Luckily I had the same costume throughout the show, but some a lot of them had to change from casual to formal in a really small area.

Those are just some of my memories - and I have to say that they were some of the greatest times of my life, and I miss doing it as much as I did in the past. Sure, the talent is iffy, and you may not have the luxury of a Broadway theater, but it is definitely something to cherish if you have the chance.

[BNN]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 1:32am

Display Vibrato at Audition = You Get A Leading Role!

Updated On: 1/24/09 at 01:32 AM

[craziness]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 3:38am

... when you have an all white cast for Ragtime. kinda defeats the whole idea of the show.

only in Australia i guess... D:


Updated On: 1/24/09 at 03:38 AM

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 6:55am

If your community theatre is good enough to attempt A Little Night Music, you're off to a good start.

Here's one, I don't know if I've said it before in this thread, but:

The director is also the choreographer and the musical director.

someone gets cast in the show because their mom makes really awesome costumes.

[Acaila]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 10:27am

Without being argumentative or anything, I have actually seen more of these in professional theatre rather than community theatre!

- when you work hours that professionals would be suing you over and breaks are an unfamiliar term to directors
- when people show an amazing amount of energy and enthusiasm in rehearsal and performance having come straight from a long day at their real job
- when you can share an incredible number of show in jokes with theatre friends so it seems to outsiders that you're pretty much talking a different language
- when you can play parts you'd never get a chance at in your wildest dreams and play them well
- when you get a chance to do something in theatre without having to live in a big city
- when everyone mucks in to get the job done regardless of what role they are meant to be doing
- when you can get great experience in most every role, rather than being pigeonholed as just a director or just a sound guy, etc.
- when you are amazed at what can be created out of a nearly non-existent budget
- when you don't do a show long enough to get bored of it
- when even spotty little teenage geeks can feel like a star for a while
- when there is a big social element to the company, with lots of organised parties, birthday cakes, and nights out that continue long after the productions finish
- when, out of necessity of casting, space, budget, etc., you get to see some interesting and often very successful takes on familiar shows

[Schmerg_The_Impaler]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 11:11am

Acaila, thank you for bringing a lovely touch of optimism to this thread!

[Theatreboy49]

Posted: 1/24/09 at 11:40am

Acaila you were able to point out so many reasons why I love doing it.