Mid-Life Maniacs opened last Friday. Now, because we are not a theater troupe with an established following, and because we are performing sketch and not a play that people recognize and are drawn to, we are relying heavily on word of mouth.
I knew a lot of my friends were coming on Saturday, but not many on Friday (opening night), and I was curious. I asked the director how many tickets had sold for Friday.
"Four," he said.
So last Friday, as the cast stood backstage, we tallied the people we knew would be there. It soon became clear that it would be a small house. Our goal became to have more people in the audience than on stage.
We got our wish: seven on stage, nine in the audience. Yowza! The audience, for its small size, was appreciative and engaged, and we had a great time.
Saturday saw us go from famine to feast, with an almost full house. The audience roared, clapped, and had a great time, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. After the show, as I collected my things backstage, I heard a former coworker yell out, "JC, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!?!" and then she appeared backstage. She had had a great time, as had my friends and former co-workers, all of whom were effusive in their praise for the show and my performance. It was a good night.
Now to get us an audience for this, our final, weekend!
2 comments:
Saw Midlife Maniacs last weekend and it was hilarious! It deserves a packed house every night because it's one of the funniest shows I've seen in years.
Hey Sean, thanks!! Tell all your friends - we have two more shows, this Friday and Saturday -- We tend to need more butts on seats for Fridays. I'll pass on your comment to the writer/director - he'll be pleased to hear it.
Post a Comment