Some of my beginner improv students recently saw a 3 team improv show at a well-known Chicago blackbox theatre. I asked them what they liked/didn't like about it. The best comment I heard was:
Play For Something!
When you're playing in a theatre, you want butts in seats. Not only do you want them there for financial reasons but also to give the actors on stage something to play for. Some additional comments were:
I'm not saying they're right; I'm just saying that's a popular thought. Many of us are susceptible to half-assing our efforts on stage and not playing well for small houses because,
How do you combat this?
The Rule of Two
How do you know you have a good house? The most quoted rule of thumb I've heard is:
I disagree. My rule is
Here's why.
If you have 30 people in your cast and you have 31 paying patrons in the audience, you've satisfied the generally accepted minimum of attendees but the audience is going to say "Man, they sure do have a lot of actors in this thing. I would think more people would be here to see it." An 80 seat blackbox theatre with 31 people in it for a 30 person production is going to look a bit pathetic.
However, if each actor had least 2 people to come out each night to see them, then the audience is going to look proportional for the amount of talent on stage. Back to our example. If you have 30 people in your cast with 60+ paying patrons in an 80 seat theatre, you're increased the probability of having a very fun, entertaining show.
So, when you invite people out to see your show, work a tiny bit harder to get ensure you've got your minimum 2 people come out. Give yourself (and your team) something to play for.
P.S. I do realize I am ignoring some factors such as seating capacity and extreme numbers of cast members in the production (1 or 2). A one-man show having 2 people in the audience in an 80 person venue isn't exactly a success to most. My rule is for productions that have 5-20 actors on stage in totality.
"Well, it was kinda weird being, you know, one of 4 people in the place that weren't performing."
Play For Something!
When you're playing in a theatre, you want butts in seats. Not only do you want them there for financial reasons but also to give the actors on stage something to play for. Some additional comments were:
- "It must be hard to play your best when you don't have the audiences' energy to feed from."
- "Actors broke character when they'd look out into the crowd and see nobody there. They didn't take it as seriously as they would've with a full house."
- "The only one laughing at anything was me because, well, I felt like I had to."
"Oh my. Nobody's here. This show is probably gonna suck."
I'm not saying they're right; I'm just saying that's a popular thought. Many of us are susceptible to half-assing our efforts on stage and not playing well for small houses because,
"Well, why should I give them everything if nobody's here to watch it?"
How do you combat this?
The Rule of Two
How do you know you have a good house? The most quoted rule of thumb I've heard is:
"As long as you have more people in the audience than on stage, then you've got a good house."
I disagree. My rule is
"As long as you have twice as many people in the audience than on stage, then you've got a good house".
Here's why.
If you have 30 people in your cast and you have 31 paying patrons in the audience, you've satisfied the generally accepted minimum of attendees but the audience is going to say "Man, they sure do have a lot of actors in this thing. I would think more people would be here to see it." An 80 seat blackbox theatre with 31 people in it for a 30 person production is going to look a bit pathetic.
However, if each actor had least 2 people to come out each night to see them, then the audience is going to look proportional for the amount of talent on stage. Back to our example. If you have 30 people in your cast with 60+ paying patrons in an 80 seat theatre, you're increased the probability of having a very fun, entertaining show.
So, when you invite people out to see your show, work a tiny bit harder to get ensure you've got your minimum 2 people come out. Give yourself (and your team) something to play for.
P.S. I do realize I am ignoring some factors such as seating capacity and extreme numbers of cast members in the production (1 or 2). A one-man show having 2 people in the audience in an 80 person venue isn't exactly a success to most. My rule is for productions that have 5-20 actors on stage in totality.
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