New Poll - Half baked
Wed, 9 July 2003, 02:47 amcrgwllms7 posts in thread
New Poll - Half baked
Wed, 9 July 2003, 02:47 amNew poll, prompted by a recent controversial one-man show where the actor didn't really know his lines, almost requiring more prompts than not. Also, thinking back to a show last year that copped a lot of flac for delaying the opening and recasting the lead players rather than presenting an unready show.
If your production is not quite ready by opening night, should it still go ahead, regardless?
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
If your production is not quite ready by opening night, should it still go ahead, regardless?
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
crgwllmsWed, 9 July 2003, 02:47 am
New poll, prompted by a recent controversial one-man show where the actor didn't really know his lines, almost requiring more prompts than not. Also, thinking back to a show last year that copped a lot of flac for delaying the opening and recasting the lead players rather than presenting an unready show.
If your production is not quite ready by opening night, should it still go ahead, regardless?
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
If your production is not quite ready by opening night, should it still go ahead, regardless?
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
stuartWed, 9 July 2003, 11:29 am
Re: New Poll - Half baked
At the risk of being labelled negative, can i suggest that the current poll is, of itself, half baked.
If a play is at such a poor stage of preparation that it needs to be pulled on opening night, it should have been noticed by someone at least three weeks prior! I, for one, would hate to stand at the box office and tell our audiences that they have come out on a wet night for nothing!!
Besides that, I cannot conceive that a company would allow such a situation to develop, and therefore, to me, the poll makes no sense
Stuart
If a play is at such a poor stage of preparation that it needs to be pulled on opening night, it should have been noticed by someone at least three weeks prior! I, for one, would hate to stand at the box office and tell our audiences that they have come out on a wet night for nothing!!
Besides that, I cannot conceive that a company would allow such a situation to develop, and therefore, to me, the poll makes no sense
Stuart
crgwllmsWed, 9 July 2003, 03:54 pm
Re: Par-boiled
Stuart wrote:
>
> At the risk of being labelled negative, can i suggest that
> the current poll is, of itself, half baked.
Quite possibly. You're entitled to rip it to shreds. But please read to the end...
> If a play is at such a poor stage of preparation that it
> needs to be pulled on opening night, it should have been
> noticed by someone at least three weeks prior! I, for one,
> would hate to stand at the box office and tell our audiences
> that they have come out on a wet night for nothing!!
>
Okay...so if you actually can see three weeks in advance that your production is not going to be ready for opening night, do you go ahead anyway, or do you delay the opening? I imagine the time frame for rescheduling wouldn't be left until the actual night, but similarly you're not likely to realise the show will be under par until the final production week.
Overwhelming response so far seems to be that 'the show goes on, regardless'.
Yet in practise, I believe I see a lot of opening nights that I would have enjoyed a lot better had they given themselves more time to fix problems, and opened a bit later.
> Besides that, I cannot conceive that a company would allow
> such a situation to develop, and therefore, to me, the poll
> makes no sense
Not only HAVE companies allowed such a situation to develop, but one professional company I probably don't need to name has done it SEVERAL times....so yes, perhaps it doesn't make sense, but no, it IS conceivable.
Thanks for contributing to the debate.
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
>
> At the risk of being labelled negative, can i suggest that
> the current poll is, of itself, half baked.
Quite possibly. You're entitled to rip it to shreds. But please read to the end...
> If a play is at such a poor stage of preparation that it
> needs to be pulled on opening night, it should have been
> noticed by someone at least three weeks prior! I, for one,
> would hate to stand at the box office and tell our audiences
> that they have come out on a wet night for nothing!!
>
Okay...so if you actually can see three weeks in advance that your production is not going to be ready for opening night, do you go ahead anyway, or do you delay the opening? I imagine the time frame for rescheduling wouldn't be left until the actual night, but similarly you're not likely to realise the show will be under par until the final production week.
Overwhelming response so far seems to be that 'the show goes on, regardless'.
Yet in practise, I believe I see a lot of opening nights that I would have enjoyed a lot better had they given themselves more time to fix problems, and opened a bit later.
> Besides that, I cannot conceive that a company would allow
> such a situation to develop, and therefore, to me, the poll
> makes no sense
Not only HAVE companies allowed such a situation to develop, but one professional company I probably don't need to name has done it SEVERAL times....so yes, perhaps it doesn't make sense, but no, it IS conceivable.
Thanks for contributing to the debate.
The Poll-tergeist.
[%sig%]
LabrugFri, 11 July 2003, 09:38 am
Re: New Poll - Half baked
Depends on what is more important to the company;
Getting their Revenue or putting on a good show.
Jeff "To the Point" Watkins
[%sig%]
Getting their Revenue or putting on a good show.
Jeff "To the Point" Watkins
[%sig%]
crgwllmsFri, 11 July 2003, 04:06 pm
Re: Simmering
Jeff Watkins wrote:
>
> Depends on what is more important to the company;
> Getting their Revenue or putting on a good show.
>
...Given that so far the poll shows 3 to 1 in favour of sticking to schedule regardless of whether the show is ready, is this saying something about our standards of theatre?
If this is because 'getting revenue' is more important....isn't this just a band-aid solution? Surely improving the quality will increase attendence & revenue in the long run?
Interesting.
crgwllms
[%sig%]
>
> Depends on what is more important to the company;
> Getting their Revenue or putting on a good show.
>
...Given that so far the poll shows 3 to 1 in favour of sticking to schedule regardless of whether the show is ready, is this saying something about our standards of theatre?
If this is because 'getting revenue' is more important....isn't this just a band-aid solution? Surely improving the quality will increase attendence & revenue in the long run?
Interesting.
crgwllms
[%sig%]
LabrugSun, 13 July 2003, 05:09 pm
Re: Simmering
You're not thinking short-term enough. I mean let's face it, looking long term is just SO much hassle and unpredictable in't it.
Yes, Craig, it is Band-aid. It is also (sadly) the norm thinking for corp. bodies of all levels. It's here and now, and we'll deal with later later.
I find it's pretty rare to think long-term.
Jeff "Short Sighted" Watkins
[%sig%]
Yes, Craig, it is Band-aid. It is also (sadly) the norm thinking for corp. bodies of all levels. It's here and now, and we'll deal with later later.
I find it's pretty rare to think long-term.
Jeff "Short Sighted" Watkins
[%sig%]
crgwllmsMon, 21 July 2003, 03:27 pm
Re: Poll results - Half baked
115 responses in the last fortnight....3 to 1 in favour of going ahead, regardless of the fact that the show is not quite ready to open.
I found this interesting, that only 25% would be willing to delay the opening. In practise, that's obviously how it happens - we do everything we can to open as planned, and somehow we surmount the insurmountable to solve any problems and go on with the show.
But is it really THAT essential to go ahead if it's not quite ready? If you were recording an album, you'd probably go that extra distance to get the mixing right before you released it. Or making a sculpture, or writing a novel, etc...
Outside the arts, most goods/services are required to be up to scratch before being offered for sale. I know that this sometimes changes when a deadline becomes more important; and in fact perhaps not a lot of theatre would happen without the pressure of presenting it by a deadline....
But then, aren't WE the ones setting the deadline, not the audience?
The Poll-tergeist
[%sig%]
I found this interesting, that only 25% would be willing to delay the opening. In practise, that's obviously how it happens - we do everything we can to open as planned, and somehow we surmount the insurmountable to solve any problems and go on with the show.
But is it really THAT essential to go ahead if it's not quite ready? If you were recording an album, you'd probably go that extra distance to get the mixing right before you released it. Or making a sculpture, or writing a novel, etc...
Outside the arts, most goods/services are required to be up to scratch before being offered for sale. I know that this sometimes changes when a deadline becomes more important; and in fact perhaps not a lot of theatre would happen without the pressure of presenting it by a deadline....
But then, aren't WE the ones setting the deadline, not the audience?
The Poll-tergeist
[%sig%]