Encore!
Mon, 24 June 2002, 02:48 pmBabar's Sister11 posts in thread
Encore!
Mon, 24 June 2002, 02:48 pmThis has been argued countless times before but sod it, I'm still asking.
Who decides whether or not to have a "Curtain Call" or "Encore" as some would say?
I've had countless answers such as :
-->The conductor (usually also the MD) decides
-->The Stage Manager decides
-->The guy/gal pulling the curtains back and forth decides
-->The cast decide
: these decisions, of course, are based on how rowdy/quiet the audience has/have been.
Any more answers or arguments against the 'choices' mentioned? I can't make up my mind....
Curtain calls
Thu, 27 June 2002, 05:28 pmCurtain calls should always be rehearsed, whether it's a simple bow in unison, separately organised bows for chorus & leads, or a full reprise of a musical number.
The show I'm doing right now has a rehearsed curtain call which involves a completely new number...we take our bow at the end of the play and walk off, and instead of returning for individual bows, we surprise them with a little "bonus track", which suits the play and the situation very well. Then another quick bow and off.
I always thought of an encore as when the audience keeps applauding you so much that you need to go out again to acknowledge their gratitude. In my experience this has been spontaneous, so it has often been a little ragged, but I've always preferred this honesty to the pre-arranged, presumptuous encore bows. Everyone needs to be on their toes - it's gotta be unanimous participation or nothing, and this is not the time to invent something clever - but if it's not polished or even rehearsed that's fine.
We've been lucky enough to score one such encore, even after the arranged bows, and the fact that we weren't expecting it probably gave more pleasure to the crowd that wanted to give it.
In this case, the best response is for everyone to get on quickly, acknowledge with a simple and genuine bow, and get off again.
If you've been guaging the audience response during the show and your initial bows, you should have a pretty good idea as you walk offstage as to whether you can justify going on for this encore or not.
So it's a group decision, both the cast and the stage management (curtain/lighting) have to be aware and prepared to make that call if it's warranted.
But I'd agree - the audience decides.
There's been a few times I've noticed in a show when there were perhaps not many in the audience, or they were not as responsive as the cast expected during the show, so the actors wrote them off as "a bad crowd" or it was "an off night". When it came to the finale, the audience (who it turns out, had merely been quietly attentive) erupted in applause, but the cast had already written them off and didn't stay long to acknowledge it, or return to do an encore bow. They looked more embarrassed and almost slunk off the stage! That was actually the only disappointing moment of the show, because the cast were pre-deciding what our audience response was, rather than gratefully acknowledging the applause we wanted to give. It kind of belittled our opinion, when we were quite ready to be effusive.
You might think you've made mistakes and done better shows, but never be apologetic to an appreciative crowd - allow them their response and give humble thanks.
After that one unplanned encore, if you're so fortunate, then yeah, leave them yelling for more. Better to leave on a high note than to outstay your welcome.
I hope you all score many more hearty roars of 'encore'
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
The show I'm doing right now has a rehearsed curtain call which involves a completely new number...we take our bow at the end of the play and walk off, and instead of returning for individual bows, we surprise them with a little "bonus track", which suits the play and the situation very well. Then another quick bow and off.
I always thought of an encore as when the audience keeps applauding you so much that you need to go out again to acknowledge their gratitude. In my experience this has been spontaneous, so it has often been a little ragged, but I've always preferred this honesty to the pre-arranged, presumptuous encore bows. Everyone needs to be on their toes - it's gotta be unanimous participation or nothing, and this is not the time to invent something clever - but if it's not polished or even rehearsed that's fine.
We've been lucky enough to score one such encore, even after the arranged bows, and the fact that we weren't expecting it probably gave more pleasure to the crowd that wanted to give it.
In this case, the best response is for everyone to get on quickly, acknowledge with a simple and genuine bow, and get off again.
If you've been guaging the audience response during the show and your initial bows, you should have a pretty good idea as you walk offstage as to whether you can justify going on for this encore or not.
So it's a group decision, both the cast and the stage management (curtain/lighting) have to be aware and prepared to make that call if it's warranted.
But I'd agree - the audience decides.
There's been a few times I've noticed in a show when there were perhaps not many in the audience, or they were not as responsive as the cast expected during the show, so the actors wrote them off as "a bad crowd" or it was "an off night". When it came to the finale, the audience (who it turns out, had merely been quietly attentive) erupted in applause, but the cast had already written them off and didn't stay long to acknowledge it, or return to do an encore bow. They looked more embarrassed and almost slunk off the stage! That was actually the only disappointing moment of the show, because the cast were pre-deciding what our audience response was, rather than gratefully acknowledging the applause we wanted to give. It kind of belittled our opinion, when we were quite ready to be effusive.
You might think you've made mistakes and done better shows, but never be apologetic to an appreciative crowd - allow them their response and give humble thanks.
After that one unplanned encore, if you're so fortunate, then yeah, leave them yelling for more. Better to leave on a high note than to outstay your welcome.
I hope you all score many more hearty roars of 'encore'
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
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