The student matinee.
Correction.
The. Dreaded. Student. Matinee.
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not .... There are so many things surrounding a student matinee that go against protocol or standard practices that it's now wonder that so many fear it. Who the hell wants to wake up early in the morning, after an exhausting two-show day that ended just short of midnight for the uncharted waters of the ... 5-18 demographic?! You know, the same demographic that makes folks not want to become a substitute teacher? Not all of us are born with Sister Mary Clarence gumption... or want to have to tap into that "check-a-kid-that-should-have-had-corporal-punishment" strength.
Unlike the geriatric early bird performance (big-ups to AARP), or the rambunctious Friday evening post-work-week crowd aka one shot/two shots/ three shots/ a dollar, or even the appreciative family midday Saturday audience - an early morning student performance is. the. realest.
Ask any actor if they're excited for their student matinee and you'll see their eyes glaze over with apprehension as they mentally go through the following questions:
How do I feel about student matinees? I. Love. Them.
In my experience, most are experiencing live theater for the first time. For them it's still an exciting novelty. Seeing them react to the show and spit responses to the ensemble is thrilling. They're... still innocent. Receptive and Responsive. Honest and Untamed. They don't yet feel the social pressures of donors and benefactors. Feeling them embrace to the enormity of an epic show in an epic space is humbling. I'm always reminded of my own feelings of awe. Whether it's during the first table-read, aka, the first day of school, or during the tech rehearsals that transform a barren space into a bustling new worlds (both "on-stage" and "off-stage), or even experiencing the lights dim before a show begins, that feeling *never* goes away.
It's magic. It's fascinating. It's everything.
And hearing my young audiences respond to the show, sometimes with the most... worldly of vocabularies (note the euphemism) is eye-opening and inspiring. Student matinees remind me of the birth of my passion for theater and live performance. That's where my desire to be a storyteller came to be. Seeing students have their first taste of what I had excites and rejuvenates me.
Yes, we've got our fair share of nappers -- can you blame them, it's dark and cold in there. And yes, we've got whisperers and live reactions. But dammit, I like performing for the little rascals. They live. THEY MUTHAF*CKIN LIVE. What more would you ask for?
So I promise, never to be afraid, of the matinee. Why? It's gon' be lit.
PS. Hearing a bunch of teenagers lose it over a kiss, or the lights going down is hilarious. I forget that those things were once unchartered territory for as well.
Correction.
The. Dreaded. Student. Matinee.
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not .... There are so many things surrounding a student matinee that go against protocol or standard practices that it's now wonder that so many fear it. Who the hell wants to wake up early in the morning, after an exhausting two-show day that ended just short of midnight for the uncharted waters of the ... 5-18 demographic?! You know, the same demographic that makes folks not want to become a substitute teacher? Not all of us are born with Sister Mary Clarence gumption... or want to have to tap into that "check-a-kid-that-should-have-had-corporal-punishment" strength.
Unlike the geriatric early bird performance (big-ups to AARP), or the rambunctious Friday evening post-work-week crowd aka one shot/two shots/ three shots/ a dollar, or even the appreciative family midday Saturday audience - an early morning student performance is. the. realest.
 |
| Bus line wraps around the theater as. It's gonna be an epic performance. |
- Will they cooperate?
- Will they understand it?
- Will they talk back?
- Will they fall asleep?
- Will they use their phones?
How do I feel about student matinees? I. Love. Them.
In my experience, most are experiencing live theater for the first time. For them it's still an exciting novelty. Seeing them react to the show and spit responses to the ensemble is thrilling. They're... still innocent. Receptive and Responsive. Honest and Untamed. They don't yet feel the social pressures of donors and benefactors. Feeling them embrace to the enormity of an epic show in an epic space is humbling. I'm always reminded of my own feelings of awe. Whether it's during the first table-read, aka, the first day of school, or during the tech rehearsals that transform a barren space into a bustling new worlds (both "on-stage" and "off-stage), or even experiencing the lights dim before a show begins, that feeling *never* goes away.
It's magic. It's fascinating. It's everything.
And hearing my young audiences respond to the show, sometimes with the most... worldly of vocabularies (note the euphemism) is eye-opening and inspiring. Student matinees remind me of the birth of my passion for theater and live performance. That's where my desire to be a storyteller came to be. Seeing students have their first taste of what I had excites and rejuvenates me.
Yes, we've got our fair share of nappers -- can you blame them, it's dark and cold in there. And yes, we've got whisperers and live reactions. But dammit, I like performing for the little rascals. They live. THEY MUTHAF*CKIN LIVE. What more would you ask for?
So I promise, never to be afraid, of the matinee. Why? It's gon' be lit.
PS. Hearing a bunch of teenagers lose it over a kiss, or the lights going down is hilarious. I forget that those things were once unchartered territory for as well.