A. Nora Long, producing associate
Dear readers, As we near the end of our Temperamentals blog, we here at the theatre can't help but notice the HUGE viewing stats this little guy has gotten. It has lead some of us to think that maybe we will keep this little experiment going beyond this show and into a year round e-conversation about all the happenings at the Lyric.
So, I ask you - are you interested? What kind of things do you want to read about? Because you, dear readers, have the opportunity to also be writers yourself. Please feel free to take advantage of the comment section to tell us your thoughts, ask us your questions, or just give us some ideas for future posts.
The internet is not a one-way series of tubes, after all, and you all have our number.
On Tuesday look for our last Temperamentals guest blogger as the show closes next Saturday night. Come out and see us sometime (and by sometime we mean during our remaining performances).
Showing posts with label audience engagement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label audience engagement. Show all posts
Friday, April 20, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Thoughts from the Audience
Brian Dudley, Box Office Manager
So have you seen the show yet?
Our production of The Temperamentals has now played four full performances, and things are off to a really great start across the board. Oh, sure, I could tell you what the critics are saying - The Boston Globe called it a "solid production," noting Will McGarrahan's "finely etched character portrait" of Harry Hay in their review today - but really I feel as though it is more important to you what I think.
You may recall that I wrote a few weeks ago about how I was excited to see this play up and running because of how much the script lends itself to being staged. Well, as it turns out, I was right, because everything about this play is nuanced and tempered (excuse the pun - is that a pun?) and it's all pretty great. My confusion was washed away and I found myself sitting and really enjoying the show I was seeing. Of course, I don't want to sit here and just review the play for you, because I am sure you are planning on seeing it. But let me say that I am really excited about how our first four audiences have been responding to this show.
I heard a story recently about a theater professional from out of town who was lamenting and chastising theater audiences these days for only looking for mindless entertainment, for not being interested in connecting with art, and being afraid to take their engagement with a piece to a deeper level. And I am pretty thrilled to say that The Temperamentals audiences thus far are proving this guy completely wrong. Our audiences have been stopping to talk to us on their way out the door, and I gotta tell you, biased I may be, but all of the conversations I've had with people have been thought-provoking and indicative of a real connection to the play.
Some examples. At our post-performance talkback last Sunday, there was a lot of discourse about how truthful and honest the play was when it came to portraying these real-life characters in a fictional setting, and about how timeless and important this story is, and how moved they were by the show. People who've been using our Virtual Photo Booth (patent pending) have been chatting animatedly about how the characters are the lifeblood of the piece and how talented and invested our actors are. I've observed people fervently reading Nora's excellent dramaturgy - articles in the program and posted in our lobby - and have overheard conversations that range from dissecting the play from all angles, to stories being told about living through the times depicted in the play, to one person musing on the themes of the play and deciding to sum it up with the classic "to thine own self be true."
So to whoever says people only want entertainment, I say, pbbttttttthhhhh to you, sir.
... which is not to say that this show isn't entertaining. I mean, look, this picture contains not only a ukulele, which is statistically proven to be the most entertaining instrument*, but also a turnip with a face on it:
So there's that, too.
*Okay, there is no such statistic, but come on! It's a teeny tiny little string instrument!
So have you seen the show yet?
Our production of The Temperamentals has now played four full performances, and things are off to a really great start across the board. Oh, sure, I could tell you what the critics are saying - The Boston Globe called it a "solid production," noting Will McGarrahan's "finely etched character portrait" of Harry Hay in their review today - but really I feel as though it is more important to you what I think.
You may recall that I wrote a few weeks ago about how I was excited to see this play up and running because of how much the script lends itself to being staged. Well, as it turns out, I was right, because everything about this play is nuanced and tempered (excuse the pun - is that a pun?) and it's all pretty great. My confusion was washed away and I found myself sitting and really enjoying the show I was seeing. Of course, I don't want to sit here and just review the play for you, because I am sure you are planning on seeing it. But let me say that I am really excited about how our first four audiences have been responding to this show.
I heard a story recently about a theater professional from out of town who was lamenting and chastising theater audiences these days for only looking for mindless entertainment, for not being interested in connecting with art, and being afraid to take their engagement with a piece to a deeper level. And I am pretty thrilled to say that The Temperamentals audiences thus far are proving this guy completely wrong. Our audiences have been stopping to talk to us on their way out the door, and I gotta tell you, biased I may be, but all of the conversations I've had with people have been thought-provoking and indicative of a real connection to the play.
Some examples. At our post-performance talkback last Sunday, there was a lot of discourse about how truthful and honest the play was when it came to portraying these real-life characters in a fictional setting, and about how timeless and important this story is, and how moved they were by the show. People who've been using our Virtual Photo Booth (patent pending) have been chatting animatedly about how the characters are the lifeblood of the piece and how talented and invested our actors are. I've observed people fervently reading Nora's excellent dramaturgy - articles in the program and posted in our lobby - and have overheard conversations that range from dissecting the play from all angles, to stories being told about living through the times depicted in the play, to one person musing on the themes of the play and deciding to sum it up with the classic "to thine own self be true."
So to whoever says people only want entertainment, I say, pbbttttttthhhhh to you, sir.
... which is not to say that this show isn't entertaining. I mean, look, this picture contains not only a ukulele, which is statistically proven to be the most entertaining instrument*, but also a turnip with a face on it:
 |
| Victor Shopov, Will McGarrahan, and Shelley Bolman. Photo by Mark S. Howard. |
*Okay, there is no such statistic, but come on! It's a teeny tiny little string instrument!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Who are you?
A. Nora Long, producing associate
Tonight is the final dress rehearsal and there will be LOTS more to say on that soon. BUT, I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about a little experiment we are engaged in.
As you may of heard (or I may have already mentioned) we received a grant from Mass Humanities to produce some supplementary programming for The Temperamentals and audience engagement activities using social media (the blog is part of the idea, for example). One of the other activities centers around a virtual photo booth.
As some of the central themes in the play are identity and self-expression, we thought it might be fun to give the audience a chance to express themselves in our virtual photo booth. You are invited to dress up with some of our props and costumes, write a thought on a white board, or just come as you are into our "booth" (regulars might recognize it as the alcove with a curtain). The photos will then by uploaded to our Facebook page, for you to tag, share, and comment on.
Our hope (besides cleverly luring you to our Facebook page) is that these photos will be a way to continue the conversation from the theatre with us and other audience members. Our front of house staff gave the booth a test-run tonight, and those photos will be up tomorrow, but here's a little teaser for you:
Tonight is the final dress rehearsal and there will be LOTS more to say on that soon. BUT, I wanted to take a moment to tell you all about a little experiment we are engaged in.
As you may of heard (or I may have already mentioned) we received a grant from Mass Humanities to produce some supplementary programming for The Temperamentals and audience engagement activities using social media (the blog is part of the idea, for example). One of the other activities centers around a virtual photo booth.
As some of the central themes in the play are identity and self-expression, we thought it might be fun to give the audience a chance to express themselves in our virtual photo booth. You are invited to dress up with some of our props and costumes, write a thought on a white board, or just come as you are into our "booth" (regulars might recognize it as the alcove with a curtain). The photos will then by uploaded to our Facebook page, for you to tag, share, and comment on.
Our hope (besides cleverly luring you to our Facebook page) is that these photos will be a way to continue the conversation from the theatre with us and other audience members. Our front of house staff gave the booth a test-run tonight, and those photos will be up tomorrow, but here's a little teaser for you:
 |
| The Lyric Stage Company's fabulous front of house staff! |
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