CURTAIN UP

Actually, I find that most of the time - at least in fringe theatre - we are waiting for more people to arrive because we don't have a very full house at the start time. There are other reasons; many times we run late because of a last minute problem, and sometimes we wait because we know that people are on their way from the ticket box. We also have to remember that no two clocks are alike, and that the SM's watch may be different to the FOH's. The Prompt Copy Store www.store.thepromptcopy.com Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne Treading the Boards www.treadingtheboards.thepromptcopy.com

It's always preferable to go up right on time. Mostly delays are because audience members are turning up late, and rather than have them wander in during the opening scene and distracting both the audience and cast, you hold the curtain for the INCONSIDERATE few. Last year, one performance of Sweet Charity @ Stirling went up 40 minutes late. The sound guys car had broken down on Tonkin Hwy. He had all the mics with him....

a lighting board crash on me losing the entire show after a matinee slightly less than 2 hours before curtain. I had to get another board and replot the show. It was vastly simplified but we only went up twenty minutes late. From experience it is almost always late audience members that make a show go up late. Just finished the fringe in Adelaide with lot of really quick turnarounds and while we did occasionally go up late due to slow turnarounds we simply didn't wait for audiences at all. After the first week we found that people were mostly on time, always were a few late ones though Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au

In the January school holidays of 2006 I was Musical Director for a production of Seussical in Warrnambool, Victoria. Warrnambool is a tourist haven during this time of the year, and this always helps boost our house sizes. This production though drew a lot larger crowds than what we would normally expect, and as it contained the bright and colorful characters of Dr. Seuss, a lot of younger theatre goers came to the show. Due to a 2.00pm matinee time slot being a lot friendly time for young children, we sold 180 tickets at the door for our Saturday matinee. We had to start the show 15 minutes late as so many people had walked off the street. What do you do? There are so many factors in starting late, especially on a matinee eg. Allowing enough time for a turn around between the matinee and evening show. Our Stage Manager made an announcement at 1.55 to say that there would be a delay due to the large crowds awaiting to purchase tickets. I think that patrons would rather wait 15 minutes, than have 180 people strolling through the doors for the first 15 minutes of the show. As it turned out we were about 15 seats off a full house, a record for a matinee in Warrnambool. Every show however is different and all that can be done is take everything as it comes. You are right though, people are tending to come late to shows these days. You have to remember movies have only a few things that can go wrong. In theatre, the problems are endless. I guess this is just the excitement of live theatre.

I blame cinema. Audiences are use to movies starting 15 to 20 minutes after the time listed thanks to the absurd amount of ads. For some reason, they think that live theatre will also start 15 - 20 minutes late and thanks to this mentality we often do. You can't turn audience away, not in community theatre, but you don't want them traipsing in late and putting the actors off (in my younger and less controlled days I was known to glare at late comers as they entered. I wasn't even aware of the fact I was doing it!) I have been involved in shows that have gone up late due to some error like a cast member forgetting their costume, or the lights dying 5 minutes before curtain up. Still, the show must go on, even if it is late. The best one was the final performance of Sourcery when a fire caused a black out at the Don Russell and we had to go on a week late :) I've just had a great idea . . . advertising before the show in live theatre . . . I think it could have a future! Melissa Merchant

Ok - has everyone forgotten that starting on time and not letting audiences in (aka lock out) is a recent invention? Let's not forget that audiences could turn up in the middle of shows, at the end of shows, and at the start of shows, as a regular and accepted norm - and even talked through it, gave commentary, ate... It's much different now. We expect the audience to be 'professional' in their manners, but the fact is that nobody told them that things have changed. Only we've changed. The Prompt Copy Store www.store.thepromptcopy.com Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne Treading the Boards www.treadingtheboards.thepromptcopy.com