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Not bowing after a performance?

Tue, 26 Aug 2008, 01:03 am
Louisa Fitzhardinge27 posts in thread
Would you consider leaving the traditional bows out of the end of a piece of theatre? Have you seen or been involved in a production that has opted to end the show at curtain down? I've just arrived home from the tech run of SIX (a UDS production; we open on Thursday) where we had a bit of a heated discussion over bows, and whether or not they are necessary/desirable for a play. I think, as an audience member, I'd feel a bit disgruntled if everyone was clapping for minutes on end and the bows just never came. It's expected. Especially in Perth, especially for community theatre, when half the audience is the actors' friends and family. And as an actor, it just seems a bit pretentious and ungrateful not to. Audience: "You guys were great!" Actor: "Whatever; shut up. Theatre is an expression of meaning, not an opportunity to bathe in kudos. You clearly don't understand." Plus it gives an opportunity to thank the SM, lighting crew, sound crew etc... So what do you reckon? Are curtain calls archaic, pointless and vain? Does it break the tone of the ending of a play if everyone comes on and bows afterwards? Or do they bring the play to a proper end and connect the actors with the audience? (Of course I don't mean massive Broadway-style choreographed bows... just an ensemble cast taking one bow, applauding to the box and applauding to the wings).

CURTAIN CALLS

Thu, 28 Aug 2008, 12:07 pm
I've no real prolems with curtain calls, provided they are snappy, well rehearsed, don't look like a muddled Mexican wave and avoid the twee. I believe the practice of acknowledging the bio and crew is a recent and twee corruption of a rather nice European tradition by which the cast returned the audience's applause. PS for Stinger : I believe that the bio box is so called because of its inception as the accommodation for the biograph or projector which was introduced with the movies. But I could be wrong. FLIPMAC

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