Despite my major dip in energy levels yesterday afternoon I got it together in time for the show last night, and what a show it was!
Due to a fortuitous combination of factors the audience was really responsive right from the start. Directly after the first scene I’m alone on stage for what seems like 15 minutes, but in fact is mayeb only five. And every night I’ve been asking the audience the same question ‘which drawer are the little people files in?’ It’s a simple question with an obvious answer, but I like it because it’s a simple question with an obvious answer and the audinece can get used to particpating in the show.
The first two shows I got no response, but last night somebody yelled out immediately ‘bottom drawer!’ (Correct!) And it went on from there.
The show was fast and fun, and I was able to play with the audinece more than in the other shows. In fact I made two unscheduled breaks, once to question a woman who had spilled a drink, in the first half, and another in the second half to shush a couple of bitches who were yakking it up in the front row. It got a little uncomfortable, but I managed to effectively restrain my knee-jerk audience interaction impulse, which is to abuse my power as performer and humiliate the fuck out of them. Instead they were gently reprimanded ina way the audience could agree with, and we were able to get bakc on the script and carry on.
The fact that teh actors were more comfortable I think contributed to teh audiences comfort level and everybody, on both sides of the stage, enjoyed the show immensely. This was reflected by the amount of people that stayed afterwards to enjoy a beverage and rehash favorite moments with cast and crew.
