(I was going to write this LAST week, but, Osama seemed to be everywhere...)
I had a GREAT theater going experience last week. Absolutely fantastic. And it had NOTHING to do with the play. Which was a real eye opener for me...
My wife and I went down to San Diego, just for the day, and I thought, hey, let's go to the Old Globe, let's see a show. It had awhile since we saw a show, so why not?
We had been to Balboa Park earlier that day and marveled at not only its beauty but just all that the park offered in the way of museums and zoos.
But, this isn’t an advertisement for the zoo. This is about our theater going experience.
We parked that car a little bit away and walked to the Old Globe. We pass by these beautiful museums with Spanish architecture, tree lined paths before arriving at… the most beautiful theater complex ever.
(Seriously, wouldn't you want to go to this place to see a play?)
The weather was perfect, the sky clear and around us were three theaters while we stood in a courtyard as people milled around, chatting or drinking wine… The stresses of the day—driving, dealing with the hotel, all of it just melted away.
The house opened. We made our way into a small theater in the round, intimate, but we weren’t sitting on top of each other. We were COMFORTABLE.
And then after the show… the whole complex, not just the Old Globe, but the whole park, was lit up and gorgeous. We walked back to the car… refreshed. It was WEIRD.
I realized I hadn’t had a theater going experience like it in a LONG time. Not since BEFORE New York City.
Because, let’s be honest, going to theater in New York can be a pain in the ass. You battle the elements (weather, subway, PEOPLE) to get to a theater and THEN, you might be standing in a “lobby” that smells of cat pee (Off Off Broadway), or crammed together waiting at the doors (Off-Broadway), or jammed in your seat trying to make room for an old lady or a tourist (Broadway), or, finally, lost trying to find the rehearsal room where your friend is doing their solo show (Off Off Off Broadway.)
My experience at the Old Globe reminded me…especially when we pay high prices to go see theater… we, as theater artists, should be aware of the ENTIRE theater going experience. It’s not just about the play, it’s about the WHOLE package for an audience. The mood, the tone, and maybe even the play, BEGINS much earlier for the audience than lights up.
In other words: don’t give me a sucky theater going experience.
(You probably have noticed I haven’t mentioned the play… because, really, it was okay. The performances were good, but the play itself… it was alright. BUT, I would still go back to the Old Globe because it was that NICE of an experience.)
Larry Pontius
