#10 seeing a show three times in a row

specifically, seeing a show three times in a row which i am not involved in. 
thursday, i went to Godspell.
friday, i went to Godspell.
saturday, i went to olive garden...then i went to Godspell. 


obviously, i'm not just some crazy person who loves Godspell - jeff is in it! and he's pretty great in it, if you ask me and many other people. but putting him aside, seeing a show three times in a row was a fascinating experience. 


first, the audience affected my experience. thursday was a small group, and the energy was a bit low. the show was still enjoyable, but some of the jokes fell flat. friday, the audience brought a lot more excitement, and the cast seemed to feed off of that. saturday, the audience was even more responsive - the cast had to pause for laughter several times. 


second, my seat changed things up. thursday, i sat in the very back of mezzanine right, which made me feel more like i was watching a movie or television and less like i was experiencing live theater. i felt like i could talk if i wanted to - this was partly because it was so empty and there weren't other patrons around us, but partly because of the distance. i did refrain from talking, except for one part where they all repeat "the law and the prophets" over and over again and it sounds kind of rappy and i like that part so i rapped along. friday, i sat in orchestra right. that was annoying because i wasn't getting a big picture of the show. saturday, i was at the very front of mezzanine center. i loved that! i felt like part of the action - i had to hold back from high fiving the cast as they ran by during one song. 


third, my company altered my experience. thursday, i was with theater kids. i knew they would enjoy the experience and that they were similarly there to root on specific actors. i was relaxed the whole time. friday, i went with my sister who tends to find theater boring and her new boyfriend, who i had no clue what his views on theater were but his first question after sitting down was "so...how long is this going to last?" this made me nervous and edgy the whole time - every time something was slightly avant garde, i wanted to either explain it to them or apologize, but i could do neither. i was put at ease a little bit at intermission when jenna said she was enjoying it, but there was still an element of eek for me. saturday, i went with a friend who is a theater kid but has no prior knowledge of the book of matthew. i felt comfortable but prayerful as well, hoping that the show would open a great conversation. it didn't end up doing that for us, but i'm hopeful that it gave her some kind of new understanding of what we believe. 


fourth, the sheer repetition of the show for me gave me new insights each time. i noticed little things that the actors were doing that added to the show. i started to understand some of the scripture in a new light. i also noticed when mistakes were made and had a very critical eye by the third viewing - that's probably the worst side effect. 


all in all, i enjoyed the experience, and was glad to support jeff in something he's so gifted at. plus it's a great show. i think i'll see it again this friday.


later today: my new experience of tending to a gaping wound!