Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Pre-show announcements

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JoyExcellence
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Joined: 2/21/08
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Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:01pm

My biggest pet peeve is a live announcement. I think it's rather pompus for a director to get on stage and do the welcome message... it's like tooting their own horn. I also think it puts a kink in the 'flow' of the show... breaks the magic, so-to-speak.... to actually "see" the person talking. That's what programs are for.... lobby displays.... gallery pictures.... etc.

I like a pre-recorded message, or a live feed from the booth, asking patrons to turn off cell phones, etc... and most especially, announcing the next performance and thanking them for attending.

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mary051756
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:13am

I have sometimes written a brief annoucnement and used a character from the show to deliver it to the audience. The announcement might expalin that the show is taking place in 1900 England, and that since cell phones weren't invented th3en, we would appreciate if they would turn them off, etc.

“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” EMERSON

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JoyExcellence
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 9:19am

I think explaining the show is fine... but my prior post refers to the whole, "Hi... I'm the director... I run this company.... I.... Me.... I...." that type of thing!

Setting the scene is an entirely different ball of yarn

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MartyW
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Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:52am

In our last show our director (Hi Patrick) did a little "bit" during the curtain speech... I'm sure you have seen it in one place or another... he's on stage and his cell rings and he takes the call... and from this he gets to remind the audinece.... Well the last night he didn't do it and we had no less than FOUR calls during the show... (one lady was the cause of three of them.. she didn't know how to turn it off!!!)

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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spikesgirl
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Posted: 5/24/08 at 6:27pm

We always do a live announcement with the house manager, this is sometimes great and at other, not so much, as some don't project as well.

Marty - we had your same audience member in our show recently. She was finally escorted out of the house and spend the entire first act on the phone, chatting...why come to the theater then?

Charlie

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sconjott
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Posted: 5/25/08 at 3:20pm

I've been in theaters that use NO Announcements, Director Announcements, Director Announcements that practically told the audience the plot complete with cliff notes (because the audience was obviously too stupid to be coming to the theater in the first place and had to have everything explained to them), Stuffed Shirt Pre-recorded Anouncements, and finally In Character Pre-recorded Announcements. I have to say the In Character Pre-recorded announcements not only serve their main purpose very well, they also set the mood and really get the audience ready for the show.

We recently did Greater Tuna and wrote a pre-show script for Arles and Thurston. The audience picked up far quicker than the first time I saw Tuna performed... hmmm then again we WERE a LOT funnier.

The In Character Announcements seem to engage the audience instead of boring them like some of the more "professional" announcements. And if you're doing a musical, just remember to play the announcement BEFORE the oveture. You won't break the flow, you won't disrupt the "magic", you'll enhance it.

There are NO small roles, only small actors...

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jaytee060
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Posted: 5/25/08 at 4:21pm

Here is an interesting note regarding preshow announcements. We just closed a run of Gore Vidals THE BEST MAN.

Every night of production the director made a clever announcement about turning off cell phones and pagers....No problems......EXCEPT the closing night when he dicided not to make the announcement.

Four (4) cell phones went off during the first act. One ladies went off twice. What does this tell us? 1.) Announcements are useful. 2.) Audience members are there to be entertained, Not Think.

"REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT"

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MartyW
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Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:19am

_popupControl(); LOL... Hey Jim.. Fraid I beat you to that story up a few... I still hate em, but that night proved the need...

Marty W

"Till next we trod the boards.."

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lynda gee
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Posted: 6/26/08 at 9:45am

As most of our shows take place before cell phone invention, we include this in our announcements by saying something like "please turn off all cell phones and beepers since this is ____ and cell phones have not been invented yet." It always gets a chuckle.

Another cell phone story: I heard that during the revival of "A Funny Thing...Forum" when Nathan Lane would hear a cell phone, he would run out to the audience and grab the phone saying, " They can't talk to you now; they're at a Broadway musical!" I'm sure that was the nudge it took for that person to turn off the phone!

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75director
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Posted: 6/26/08 at 12:11pm

Personally I hate the pre-show/curtain speech (a rose by any other name...) but find it to be a necessary evil these days. We vary our use of it, mostly it's pre-recorded but occasionally I will do it live in front of the audience. This is usually reserved for hawking subscriptions for next season, or giving them instructions about completing a survey and whatnot.

We always try and make the announcements fun, pre-recorded or otherwise. For example when we did "Seussical" the announcement was written in "Seuss-style" verse. And in "Over the Tavern" the announcement was a priest leading a prayer thanking the sponsors and praying the members of the congregation would turn off their phones. We can usually tell how responsive an audience will be to the show by how much they chuckle during the pre-show announcement.

Several posters discussed using signs in the lobby and on the doors to get these messages across, my experience is that 99% of people don't read signs, unfortunately. One example is the sign on our front door that states very clearly, something to the effect of, "if this door is locked and it's business hours, go to the side door". I don't know how many people, including the UPS man who tell me, "I tried the door but it was locked" and when I ask if they read the sign on the door telling them what to do if the door was locked they look at me blankly and say, "well, no". There was even a lady once who looked me straight in the eye and said, "Oh, well I don't read signs." Hope she always guesses correctly at the restroom doors.

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Topic: Pre-show announcements( Topic Closed)
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Author	Message
JoyExcellence Player Joined: 2/21/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 5/21/08 at 11:01pm
	My biggest pet peeve is a live announcement. I think it's rather pompus for a director to get on stage and do the welcome message... it's like tooting their own horn. I also think it puts a kink in the 'flow' of the show... breaks the magic, so-to-speak.... to actually "see" the person talking. That's what programs are for.... lobby displays.... gallery pictures.... etc. I like a pre-recorded message, or a live feed from the booth, asking patrons to turn off cell phones, etc... and most especially, announcing the next performance and thanking them for attending.
	IP Logged

mary051756 Lead Joined: 1/31/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 47	Posted: 5/22/08 at 7:13am
	I have sometimes written a brief annoucnement and used a character from the show to deliver it to the audience. The announcement might expalin that the show is taking place in 1900 England, and that since cell phones weren't invented th3en, we would appreciate if they would turn them off, etc.
	“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” EMERSON
	IP Logged

JoyExcellence Player Joined: 2/21/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 11	Posted: 5/22/08 at 9:19am
	I think explaining the show is fine... but my prior post refers to the whole, "Hi... I'm the director... I run this company.... I.... Me.... I...." that type of thing! Setting the scene is an entirely different ball of yarn
	IP Logged

MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 5/22/08 at 11:52am
	In our last show our director (Hi Patrick) did a little "bit" during the curtain speech... I'm sure you have seen it in one place or another... he's on stage and his cell rings and he takes the call... and from this he gets to remind the audinece.... Well the last night he didn't do it and we had no less than FOUR calls during the show... (one lady was the cause of three of them.. she didn't know how to turn it off!!!)
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

spikesgirl Celebrity Joined: 3/30/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 129	Posted: 5/24/08 at 6:27pm
	We always do a live announcement with the house manager, this is sometimes great and at other, not so much, as some don't project as well. Marty - we had your same audience member in our show recently. She was finally escorted out of the house and spend the entire first act on the phone, chatting...why come to the theater then? Charlie
	IP Logged

sconjott Lead Joined: 5/24/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 35	Posted: 5/25/08 at 3:20pm
	I've been in theaters that use NO Announcements, Director Announcements, Director Announcements that practically told the audience the plot complete with cliff notes (because the audience was obviously too stupid to be coming to the theater in the first place and had to have everything explained to them), Stuffed Shirt Pre-recorded Anouncements, and finally In Character Pre-recorded Announcements. I have to say the In Character Pre-recorded announcements not only serve their main purpose very well, they also set the mood and really get the audience ready for the show. We recently did Greater Tuna and wrote a pre-show script for Arles and Thurston. The audience picked up far quicker than the first time I saw Tuna performed... hmmm then again we WERE a LOT funnier. The In Character Announcements seem to engage the audience instead of boring them like some of the more "professional" announcements. And if you're doing a musical, just remember to play the announcement BEFORE the oveture. You won't break the flow, you won't disrupt the "magic", you'll enhance it.
	There are NO small roles, only small actors...
	IP Logged

jaytee060 Star Joined: 1/18/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 63	Posted: 5/25/08 at 4:21pm
	Here is an interesting note regarding preshow announcements. We just closed a run of Gore Vidals THE BEST MAN. Every night of production the director made a clever announcement about turning off cell phones and pagers....No problems......EXCEPT the closing night when he dicided not to make the announcement. Four (4) cell phones went off during the first act. One ladies went off twice. What does this tell us? 1.) Announcements are useful. 2.) Audience members are there to be entertained, Not Think.
	"REMEMBER ME IN LIGHT"
	IP Logged

MartyW Celebrity Joined: 2/02/04 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 555	Posted: 5/26/08 at 8:19am
	_popupControl(); LOL... Hey Jim.. Fraid I beat you to that story up a few... I still hate em, but that night proved the need...
	Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.."
	IP Logged

lynda gee Walk-On Joined: 12/06/07 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 6/26/08 at 9:45am
	As most of our shows take place before cell phone invention, we include this in our announcements by saying something like "please turn off all cell phones and beepers since this is ____ and cell phones have not been invented yet." It always gets a chuckle. Another cell phone story: I heard that during the revival of "A Funny Thing...Forum" when Nathan Lane would hear a cell phone, he would run out to the audience and grab the phone saying, " They can't talk to you now; they're at a Broadway musical!" I'm sure that was the nudge it took for that person to turn off the phone!
	IP Logged

75director Celebrity Joined: 8/19/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 122	Posted: 6/26/08 at 12:11pm
	Personally I hate the pre-show/curtain speech (a rose by any other name...) but find it to be a necessary evil these days. We vary our use of it, mostly it's pre-recorded but occasionally I will do it live in front of the audience. This is usually reserved for hawking subscriptions for next season, or giving them instructions about completing a survey and whatnot. We always try and make the announcements fun, pre-recorded or otherwise. For example when we did "Seussical" the announcement was written in "Seuss-style" verse. And in "Over the Tavern" the announcement was a priest leading a prayer thanking the sponsors and praying the members of the congregation would turn off their phones. We can usually tell how responsive an audience will be to the show by how much they chuckle during the pre-show announcement. Several posters discussed using signs in the lobby and on the doors to get these messages across, my experience is that 99% of people don't read signs, unfortunately. One example is the sign on our front door that states very clearly, something to the effect of, "if this door is locked and it's business hours, go to the side door". I don't know how many people, including the UPS man who tell me, "I tried the door but it was locked" and when I ask if they read the sign on the door telling them what to do if the door was locked they look at me blankly and say, "well, no". There was even a lady once who looked me straight in the eye and said, "Oh, well I don't read signs." Hope she always guesses correctly at the restroom doors.
	IP Logged