Community Theater Green Room Discussion Board: Bus Stop

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nahtod1
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 6/08/08
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Topic: Bus Stop
Posted: 7/24/08 at 7:56am

Pros and COns please. You guys advice is always helpful? Thanks in advance Smile

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Linda S
Celebrity

Joined: 4/16/05
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 312

Posted: 7/24/08 at 8:39am

Pros: Good writing and wonderful characters.

Cons: Stocking a full diner with retro appliances and food. There is a lot of food. There's the cooking of it, the safe storing of it. The talking and eating at the same time. I hate working with food.

Linda

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DWolfman
Celebrity

Joined: 7/07/05
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 134

Posted: 7/24/08 at 4:22pm

Pros: As LindaS stated, wonderful writing-distinct, memorable, characters-classic name recognition

Cons: Ditto on period items and food. Other problems are the overlapping combinations of people stuck in a one room set. Very few places for characters to "wander off." Another possible con is the male-heavy cast list. Also, the Virgil character has to play the guitar. I've seen it done with his back to the audience with piped in music, but I like it better when the actor can handle both the role and the instrument. And hopefully your audience will not be expecting a "Marilyn-clone" for the actress playing Cherie.

All in all, it's a magnificent piece of theatre when done well and, since it's a staple in community theatre histories, many people do.

Even a man who is pure of heart...

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spikesgirl
Celebrity

Joined: 3/30/08
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 129

Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:03pm

Pros - small, one unit set. Good balance of men/women parts with a flexibilty of ages. Easy to design, easy to build, easy to strike.

Cons - the food made me crazy. Our director insisted that we have a fully operational 'kitchen' as it were, so the actors/actresses could brew coffee, make toast and fry eggs. It made our patrons crazy, but on the good side, concessions were really high for that run! Food safety is important, so make sure if you do go the real food route that someone knows and understands basic food safety and sanitation rules. And make sure you have a food only trash bin so that it can be taken out each night. Otherwise, you might end up with a not-so-nice surprise!

Charlie

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tristanrobin
Celebrity

Joined: 4/25/05
Location: United States
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 704

Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:25pm

For record, I didn't find the food to be a problem (except for the milk drinking). A hot plate and fridge behind the counter worked out everything for us.

One of my favorite additions was a juke box (a member of the cast collected antique juke boxes) that allowed us to have people play songs as background music without having canned background music. Loved it!

I found the blocking to be relatively easy - but I gotta give the set designer some props for giving me a unit which had lots of options for private areas.

For me, because we didn't have a lot of backstage space, the headlights in the windows and the running back and forth in front of the restaurant window in the snow was a bit of a pita. But workable.

All-in-all, I found the experience very rewarding and wholeheartedly endorse it!

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nahtod1
Walk-On
Walk-On

Joined: 6/08/08
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 0

Posted: 7/31/08 at 8:03am

Thanks guys

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Author	Message
nahtod1 Walk-On Joined: 6/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Topic: Bus Stop Posted: 7/24/08 at 7:56am
	Pros and COns please. You guys advice is always helpful? Thanks in advance

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Linda S Celebrity Joined: 4/16/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 312	Posted: 7/24/08 at 8:39am
	Pros: Good writing and wonderful characters. Cons: Stocking a full diner with retro appliances and food. There is a lot of food. There's the cooking of it, the safe storing of it. The talking and eating at the same time. I hate working with food. Linda
	IP Logged

DWolfman Celebrity Joined: 7/07/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 134	Posted: 7/24/08 at 4:22pm
	Pros: As LindaS stated, wonderful writing-distinct, memorable, characters-classic name recognition Cons: Ditto on period items and food. Other problems are the overlapping combinations of people stuck in a one room set. Very few places for characters to "wander off." Another possible con is the male-heavy cast list. Also, the Virgil character has to play the guitar. I've seen it done with his back to the audience with piped in music, but I like it better when the actor can handle both the role and the instrument. And hopefully your audience will not be expecting a "Marilyn-clone" for the actress playing Cherie. All in all, it's a magnificent piece of theatre when done well and, since it's a staple in community theatre histories, many people do.
	Even a man who is pure of heart...
	IP Logged

spikesgirl Celebrity Joined: 3/30/08 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 129	Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:03pm
	Pros - small, one unit set. Good balance of men/women parts with a flexibilty of ages. Easy to design, easy to build, easy to strike. Cons - the food made me crazy. Our director insisted that we have a fully operational 'kitchen' as it were, so the actors/actresses could brew coffee, make toast and fry eggs. It made our patrons crazy, but on the good side, concessions were really high for that run! Food safety is important, so make sure if you do go the real food route that someone knows and understands basic food safety and sanitation rules. And make sure you have a food only trash bin so that it can be taken out each night. Otherwise, you might end up with a not-so-nice surprise! Charlie
	IP Logged

tristanrobin Celebrity Joined: 4/25/05 Location: United States Online Status: Offline Posts: 704	Posted: 7/24/08 at 6:25pm
	For record, I didn't find the food to be a problem (except for the milk drinking). A hot plate and fridge behind the counter worked out everything for us. One of my favorite additions was a juke box (a member of the cast collected antique juke boxes) that allowed us to have people play songs as background music without having canned background music. Loved it! I found the blocking to be relatively easy - but I gotta give the set designer some props for giving me a unit which had lots of options for private areas. For me, because we didn't have a lot of backstage space, the headlights in the windows and the running back and forth in front of the restaurant window in the snow was a bit of a pita. But workable. All-in-all, I found the experience very rewarding and wholeheartedly endorse it!
	IP Logged

nahtod1 Walk-On Joined: 6/08/08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0	Posted: 7/31/08 at 8:03am
	Thanks guys
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Topic: Bus Stop( Topic Closed)