Image this if you will. Arriving at the park last night traffic is getting redirected to go through the North Gate (meaning I’d have to drive around the entire park before getting to my performance space) and I see a whole bunch of men in uniform. “Great….” I’m thinking to myself as I’m driving above the posted 15 mph to get to the theatre on time (For God’s sake get me to the church on time… ). I finally get to the Theatre in the Glen and I have to park further away than usual because of all the cars already there. “Holy crap,” I think, “is this for us?!?” I mean it’s possible people have heard about how awesome we are and want to get there early….
Alas, no. I am informed that there’s a country concert going on at the amphitheatre just a hop, skip and a jump away from our little space. “SHIT!….(imagine a whole line of expletives)” Yeah… so the American Idol wanna-be’s were on a concert tour and they decided to grace our presence DURING ONE OF OUR SHOWS!
Our space (limited amplification capabilities and has been wracked with sound problems ALL run) versus the amphitheatre (all concrete with mega super star like sound system in place).
You pick the loudest. AND it was COUNTRY music! Ugh! I HATE country music! I HATE IT I HATE IT I HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Needless to say I was pissed. I stormed around pouting and cussing A LOT. I finally gave up and started channeling all the people that I know “DO NOT come to the show tonight, DO NOT come to the show tonight.” I was in fear of performing a crap show because of the MAJOR distraction…. not that I actually thought our voices could be heard over the HORRIBLE cover of Bon Jovi’s “Cowboy” (I mean really?!? WTF??? Isn’t that a little TOO cliche???).
The audience piles into the theatre space. Wow, this is a good sized crowd for a Thursday night. I’m SO riled up that I start plotting little digs I can make at the music during the show (being the Fool I can do that!). I see people I know and adore! This is awesome! Crap they aren’t going to hear me! Actually they reserved seats in the front row…. God, I love theatre lovers!
The show is actually an EXTREME success… not only did the actors in the cast step it up a notch but the audience actually stayed with us! They stayed engaged with the show the entire time! I mean we were still getting GREAT laughs in Act 5 scene 1!!!
My Da Count this week is the audience. They threw all their positive energy at the stage and we really felt it and it made getting through the show bearable! If you were in the audience last night, a sincere THANK YOU! If you haven’t seen the show… you have 5 chances left… don’t miss out on this one… it’s really a great time!
Click on the flashy sign to figure out what Da Count is all about!
To Thine Own Self Be True 
Yeah… live performance is all about the energy exchange between the audience and performer. Cheers to a good count!
woo-hoo!!
good job, sweetie.
gonna try for tomorrow night….
that’s great so glad to hear there was such a terrific interplay between audience and cast so their enthusiasm could feed you all so you all could give a great performance.
If I ever make it to your neck of the woods, will you guys put on a show for me? I so wish I was there to cheer you guys on.
Interestingly, while the music could be heard from the amphitheatre, it wasn’t so overwhelming that it disrupted you guys. Only two moments was it pronounced enough to draw the audience’s attention and even then, they weren’t popped out for long. Which, as you say, is a testament to how well the cast was shakin’ it!
Be grateful, though, that you were doing a comedy. “Hamlet” is up against at least two Saturday night music events in the Amphitheatre: a Delta Blues festival being one of them.
I would have loved to have been in the audience. Next time :). So glad to hear that your fears didn’t come true.