The Opener

Oops. I totally forgot to blog about how the last rehearsal went. But there wasn't much more to report, really. The only big difference being that we practiced throwing our scripts up in the air at the end of the show, as sort of a send off.

So I'll just talk about the first performance.

It was nearly a full house. But, it was a benefit performance. Meaning that a company bought up all the tickets, and sold them on their own, with the proceeds benefiting a charity of their choice. ( I don't recall the name, but it was an affordable housing organization in the area.)

It was a warm crowd. They certainly seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Though they did laugh at odd places. A cast mate reminded me that every audience is different, and that is true. Still, sometimes I couldn't help but wonder why they found certain things so humorous. Mary screaming to get away from George in the alternate life sequence, for instance. That's funny?

They also laughed when I said, "Alright" as Mr. Welsh, when I left the microphone and went back to my seat. That one baffles me as well.

But overall it went well. The last 5 minutes, however, hit a snag. We have never perfected when to break into song at the end, and we came in late. And by doing that the energy was low, and never to me felt quite right. The audience was already clapping, which was ok, but I don't think they understood what we were doing there at the end.

I threw my papers up about 3/4 of a second before everyone else, and for a moment thought I'd be the only one to do so. But everyone else followed suit.

My roles went well. The extra polish that tends to show up when an audience is present was there. (And not just for me.) I really don't have any idea if the previous problems with me being picked up on the mike were solved or not. I guess we will get techie notes on such things tonight.

It's really a different kind of "nerves" for this show. At least last night. Maybe because I have not yet gotten totally into the rhythm of holding pages and using a mike. I didn't freeze or anything. After all, the script is right there in front of me. But there is just that little something extra; a real tiny bit of something when I walk up to the stage with an audience there for this show that isn't there when it's a more standard show.

I hope that the publicity from the newspaper article last night will drive up ticket sales for tonight's show. At last check we were at about half house. We'd like more than that. (Though there are several Christmas shows running tonight, which will cut into our numbers.) But if you are near Winchester, Virginia and want to check us out, go to the Winchester Little Theatre site, and reserve a ticket!