Opening Night

The show opened on schedule. We started right at 8:00 PM, as we are supposed to. A group of patrons came about 10 minutes late, and I wouldn't let them in. One of them went in anyway. He, apparently, thinks it's OK to be 10 minutes late for a play in a tiny theater, provided one has driven far enough. One of the people who didn't get in threatened to contact the President of the Theater to complain. His prerogative. I'm sure I will catch Hell for pissing off patrons, but, you know what? I don't care.

My cast and I have worked our hearts out and heads off for this show, and I wasn't going to have people barging in in the middle of the first scene. On opening night. When all the actors are suffering terror and concentrating to their utmost.

It used to be that people who arrived late were turned away, or allowed to remake their reservation for another performance. We didn't open the door under any circumstances after the show started. That policy has softened over the years, to the point when it seems that patrons think they can walk in at any time. When it's a comedy, with a lot of noise and laughter, I don't mind as much, but this is a serious play and the first scene is rather quiet.

Don't even get me started on the program!

Kudos to my cast and Stage Manager, though. The show kept its pace up and the story was told. I can't ask for more than that.

By next week, it should be solid. We lost three days of rehearsal due to the ice storm, so it's not quite as ready as I would have liked, but it flew.