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The Love of Theatre
By James Emery Vigh of profbruno.com
I arrive at the State Theatre early as is my habit. I'm one of the "redcoats", that is ushers at Playhouse Square Center here in Cleveland, Ohio. I'm actually a head usher. I arrive early to get the programs (playbills) ready for stuffing before the evening performance of "The Phantom of the Opera". These programs have to be stuffed with advertisements of coming events and cast changes for that particular show. Anyway, like I said, I'm early. I do my thing with the programs and sit down in the back of the theatre to watch the goings on on-stage. The crew is beginning to set up the stage for the performance. First someone comes out and takes away the traditional light stand (with light) that proclaims that this theatre is not truly "dark". Next 1 or 2 people come out and sweep the stage. The same people then come out with buckets and mop and start cleaning away. While this is still going on, other crew members start appearing. Backdrops and light bars are lowered for inspection. Any needed maintenance is performed. Now the setup begins in earnest. "Candles" pop up from under the floor of the stage and are examined. Trap doors are tested and retested. Next the 1st and 2nd scene backdrops and props are set up in their proper locations. During this, certain sound loops and microphones are tested. My fellow ushers have arrived by this time and we work away at stuffing the programs. We have our team meeting discussing the assignments and the various do's and dont's for this performance. The ticket takers are dismissed from the meeting to go to their posts. The doors are opened and the guests begin arriving to eventually flood the lobby areas (and the bar). But the doors to the theatre are still closed. Inside, we watch as the finishing touches are made to the set. The orchestra musicians begin to arrive and start warming up. A small smoke machine in the back of the set is turned on. This is our signal that we are now allowed to open the doors and let in the guests. They stream in. For shows like this there is always a 1st "rush", followed by a steady stream, followed by a final rush just before curtain. We huff and puff, but manage to seat everyone without serious incident. While this is going on, the orchestra pit fills up with the rest of its musicians. The concert master leads them through the final tuning process. The house lights blink giving the patrons in the lobby areas their 2 minute warning, followed soon after by the "hurry up and get in before we close the doors" warning. If the guests do not get in by curtain, they will have to wait until after the famous opening notes have been played as the 1st scene completes. This is so that the guests who are seated are not disturbed by late-comers. The theatre lights first dim, then darken. A spotlight shines down on the conductor. There is brief polite applause. The conductor raises his baton... And so it begins. |
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My wife and I attend a small local theatre in a nearby town.
The seating capacity is only around 600 and there isn't a bad seat in the house. A great many of the players are locals, including students,teachers,and business people.
Great shows and great local support.
Thanks for reminding me of this pleasure.
Best to you.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks a lot Frederick. As you can tell, I love the theatre...
Regards,
Jim
This brings back memories of when I took my daughter when she was 8 to see "Annie" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. "The Phantom of the Opera" is one of my wife's favorites.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks a lot. "Phantom" is indeed a great show and is among the very best that ever was and probably will rank up there in the future.
The copyright for this content entitled "The Love of Theatre" has been specified by the contributor as:
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http://jimvigh.qondio.com/
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