Keeping it "real"
I work on what could be arguably said to be the largest show in the world. While I don't work with the latest and greatest equipment, I have the resources to keep the show up and running. It takes a lot of resources to maintain the multitude of lights and other equipment running.
Am I bragging? Not really (though I do love my job). What spawned this was the reality check that I recently received. Last week (seems like ages ago, really), I took my two youngest children to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (example of this production here) which is a musical adaptation of the children's book of the same name. This was not locally produced, but was brought in by a children's theater company out of California. Needless to say, it was not the biggest budget production out there. Lighting was simple washes. The set was a single drop with set props to designate scene/place changes.
Why did this make an impression on me? Well, for starters, I'm used to seeing standing ovations pretty much nightly. I don't know if it's always deserved, but I think that people feel that if they spent a good amount of money on a ticket, that it requires standing at the end. Meanwhile, a production that could completely pack into a 12' box truck with ticket prices in the single digits evoked almost an equal amount of praise at the end.
At what point in our lives do we loose the childlike appreciation for performance? Maybe some of the companies who put on the "big budget" children's productions could learn what the kids like. I've taken the kids to some of the spectacles that fill arenas and half of the audience seems bored out of their minds.
Just remember that if you are on a small budget production, don't feel that your show is any less than a Broadway production. If you and your team (cast and crew) pour your heart into the production, then you have succeeded. Theater is not really the place to get rich, but it is a place that is a part of you.
Am I bragging? Not really (though I do love my job). What spawned this was the reality check that I recently received. Last week (seems like ages ago, really), I took my two youngest children to see Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (example of this production here) which is a musical adaptation of the children's book of the same name. This was not locally produced, but was brought in by a children's theater company out of California. Needless to say, it was not the biggest budget production out there. Lighting was simple washes. The set was a single drop with set props to designate scene/place changes.
Why did this make an impression on me? Well, for starters, I'm used to seeing standing ovations pretty much nightly. I don't know if it's always deserved, but I think that people feel that if they spent a good amount of money on a ticket, that it requires standing at the end. Meanwhile, a production that could completely pack into a 12' box truck with ticket prices in the single digits evoked almost an equal amount of praise at the end.
At what point in our lives do we loose the childlike appreciation for performance? Maybe some of the companies who put on the "big budget" children's productions could learn what the kids like. I've taken the kids to some of the spectacles that fill arenas and half of the audience seems bored out of their minds.
Just remember that if you are on a small budget production, don't feel that your show is any less than a Broadway production. If you and your team (cast and crew) pour your heart into the production, then you have succeeded. Theater is not really the place to get rich, but it is a place that is a part of you.
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