7.31.2005
Wrap up
It's all over but the shouting.
The second weekend of "Black Comedy" was not as good as the first. We had very disappointing audiences. I think we averaged about 60 every performance with the high point being 120 on the Sunday Matinee July 24.
The performances were off as well. I don't know why but the acting seemed very flat on Friday. Particularly Miss Furnival, who normally turns in a focused performance. The other performances were slightly forced which is never good for a comedy. The audiences responded with polite laughter. Some really enjoyed it. Others, I'm sure, did not.
It's a problem in community theatre: no one wants to critique your work constructively. You rarely get any feedback but the positive kind. There doesn't seem to be many people willing to tell you how to improve.
However, there are a couple of things I think I would have improved.
Timing: The pace of the show was slow at times. I don't really know how to correct this. I could have given more notes on pacing, but then I could have been adding to the communication gap. Sometimes I think shows go too fast and meanings are missed. I don't really know how to solve this. It's an individual thing, I think.
The line problems seemed to lessen as the dress rehearsals and performances wore on. But I heard from some of my actors that other cast members weren't getting their lines verbatim. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is when it is your cue. I could have pushed harder, but I felt like my individual relationship with each actor was more important as we neared performances. Perhaps I should've looked at the situation more closely. Although I truly don't know what I could've done.
Technically the show suffered a great deal. The set was good but the set decoration was atrocious. It didn't fit the show in any way. It also distracted from the show in some ways.
The lighting was well done, just not what I had in mind. I couldn't complain (Even though that is my right as a director) because I felt my relationship with teh lighting designer was tenuous. He was a high schooler. WHo was looking to add to his resume. He got to add, but he really only had a week to prepare. In the end, the light was not the real issue that kept the show from being a masterpiece. The real problem was publicity. There wasn't very nuch. Despite having a billboard on Washington Street, the support of a pretty large organizational board, and community calendar announcements, our turnout was dismal, in my opinion. It's very tough to do theatre to a small audience, especially in our big house at Ben Davis that seats 450. Small audeinces are harder to get laughing. Small audiences are more difficult all around.
We never got a newspaper review, which upset me. It seems like the local newspapers (Indianapolis Star and Nuvo) could've been supportive. At teh same time, I wonder whether the show was good. I mean I think it was, but maybe I am biased. Sure, there are places the show could've improved but for a community theatre production of a very professional play, I believe it was well worth the $10 admission and made for a very nice evening.
Next year ---- Shakespeare!
The second weekend of "Black Comedy" was not as good as the first. We had very disappointing audiences. I think we averaged about 60 every performance with the high point being 120 on the Sunday Matinee July 24.
The performances were off as well. I don't know why but the acting seemed very flat on Friday. Particularly Miss Furnival, who normally turns in a focused performance. The other performances were slightly forced which is never good for a comedy. The audiences responded with polite laughter. Some really enjoyed it. Others, I'm sure, did not.
It's a problem in community theatre: no one wants to critique your work constructively. You rarely get any feedback but the positive kind. There doesn't seem to be many people willing to tell you how to improve.
However, there are a couple of things I think I would have improved.
Timing: The pace of the show was slow at times. I don't really know how to correct this. I could have given more notes on pacing, but then I could have been adding to the communication gap. Sometimes I think shows go too fast and meanings are missed. I don't really know how to solve this. It's an individual thing, I think.
The line problems seemed to lessen as the dress rehearsals and performances wore on. But I heard from some of my actors that other cast members weren't getting their lines verbatim. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is when it is your cue. I could have pushed harder, but I felt like my individual relationship with each actor was more important as we neared performances. Perhaps I should've looked at the situation more closely. Although I truly don't know what I could've done.
Technically the show suffered a great deal. The set was good but the set decoration was atrocious. It didn't fit the show in any way. It also distracted from the show in some ways.
The lighting was well done, just not what I had in mind. I couldn't complain (Even though that is my right as a director) because I felt my relationship with teh lighting designer was tenuous. He was a high schooler. WHo was looking to add to his resume. He got to add, but he really only had a week to prepare. In the end, the light was not the real issue that kept the show from being a masterpiece. The real problem was publicity. There wasn't very nuch. Despite having a billboard on Washington Street, the support of a pretty large organizational board, and community calendar announcements, our turnout was dismal, in my opinion. It's very tough to do theatre to a small audience, especially in our big house at Ben Davis that seats 450. Small audeinces are harder to get laughing. Small audiences are more difficult all around.
We never got a newspaper review, which upset me. It seems like the local newspapers (Indianapolis Star and Nuvo) could've been supportive. At teh same time, I wonder whether the show was good. I mean I think it was, but maybe I am biased. Sure, there are places the show could've improved but for a community theatre production of a very professional play, I believe it was well worth the $10 admission and made for a very nice evening.
Next year ---- Shakespeare!
