Coming to the Theatre
Welcome to Asolo Rep! Before you arrive for your performance, we encourage you to learn a little about the elements of the production and how they fit together.
Getting Prepared
Whether it’s your first visit or you are a long-time subscriber, everyone at Asolo Rep is committed to making sure your experience is memorable and engaging. Expect to be greeted with a smile, immersed in the world of a new play or musical and to have a great conversation on the car ride home. To enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the performance, we encourage you to learn a little about the playwright and the period in which the play takes place. Exploring the Asolo Rep website’s Engage & Learn sections will provide a wealth of information to help start you on this path.
We also invite you to check out our Inside Asolo Rep series where you can gain insights into multiple aspects of the productions. At Inside Asolo Rep you’ll hear directly from the directors, designers, and other creative artists to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the curtain. Admission is $5, free for donors and Asolo Rep Guild members.
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What Should You Bring?
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Rather than stressing the Don'ts of audience behavior (don't talk, don't squirm, don't make noise), we urge you to enjoy the performance and give support to the actors. Here's what you need:
- Full concentration. If you talk during the performance you will disrupt the concentration of everyone around you and also that of the actors on the stage, and you'll miss whatever is going on at that moment.
- Relaxed bodies, ready to laugh and listen and see even the tiniest of details.
- Open minds, eager for new experiences and "question-making" rather than "answer-getting."
- "Willing suspension of disbelief." You and the actors have an agreement. They will create the imaginary world in which the drama takes place, and you agree to believe/accept the imaginary world that they create.
- And please remember to turn off all cell phones, pagers, talking wristwatches, so that everyone can enjoy the performance without interruption.
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What Will You Find?
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Theatre tells a story. Theatre has the power to move us emotionally. Theatre conveys ideas through images, sounds, movement, and symbols, as well as words. It is okay to leave the theatre with questions about meaning, with perceptions and ideas that vary from those of your friends, with emotional connections that may have a unique personal impact.
Theatre is not TV
- Although it may seem obvious, it is important to realize that theatre is a live event. The actors are right there in the same room with the audience, hearing, seeing, and responding to everything that is going on. Inexperienced theatre-goers may assume that the event is similar to television or a movie--that somehow the actors on stage exist in another reality from the audience. You may not be aware of the fact that the actors rely on the audience to help make the play come alive. In addition, you have to stay focused on the action and words because there is no rewind button.
But it is Electric!
- The audience feeds concentration, energy and support to the actors. In return, the actors give their own concentration, energy and trust to the audience. The relationship is like an electrical circuit: only when the flow of electricity is connected does the energy flow and the light go on. Contrast that experience with turning on the TV. What happens if you get up for a snack from the kitchen or you start talking to someone in the middle of the show? The TV show goes right on as if nothing has happened, because for the images on the screen, indeed nothing has happened!
Connecting Common Experience
- Think about how you feel when you get up in front of the class to give a report, or sing in church, or play a game for cheering fans in the bleachers. This will help you identify with the way actors feel when they perform. Yes, even professional actors who perform for a living get nervous. The actors care about how the audience responds to them and the play
Your responses will be different from others because each person brings something special and personal to the theatre experience. There are no right or wrong responses. The philosopher and aesthetician Suzanne Langer states: "The whole qualification for participation in the arts is responsiveness." Your own positive anticipation before the play, coupled with your undivided attention during the play is the key to a rich theatre experience.
Adapted from METRO THEATRE COMPANY, St. Louis, Missouri