The run of the show I am in comes to a close today, and as I prepare for the final matinee I reflect on experiences, good, bad, and thoughtworthy I’ve encountered on the run.

One was the matter of applause. I have a short solo early in the piece which was composed for my voice. It’s a lament which tells the history of my character and explains a decision I was forced to make. After the aria, although there is a pause where I confront the lead, there is no applause. This puzzled a young actor in the cast.

“Your voice is fabulous. I don’t know why they don’t applaud.”

Me: “It would break the dramatic tension.”

Young Actor: “I know, but still….”

Although I cannot explain it, the fact I get no applause is a compliment to me. I was wondering if any posters here had similar experiences and might explain?

To me, when members of the cast and orchestra are complimentary that means far more than applause. One evening I was shocked when our very critical baritone told me he had a tear in his eye during my piece. But my heart absolutely melted when our shy cellist slipped behind the wings last night and told me, “That was beautiful.”

I’m off to warm up and leave for the theater. I look forward to reading your experiences.

PB

That's pretty awesome. That would've been interesting to see.

I was doing Romeo and Juliet at a crappy little community theatre (that's one of my favorite places to be, so don't think I hate the place) and it was opening night for it, and I was playing Tybalt. Well, the tradition at this small theatre was to shake people's hands after the show, and have them tell us great job etc etc.

Well, that night, everyone went up to Romeo, Juliet, and Mercutio, looked them straight in the eyes, and said "Wow! Great! Fantastic!" Then, they got to me, and they barely made eye contact with me, and said "Good job..." Now, at first, I was offended, 'Why are these people avoiding eye contact with me? I felt like I did a pretty great job, and if I didn't, I still think they would've been polite...What's the deal?'

Then, I remembered watching a video about the girls who played the girls in The Crucible at the Steppenwolf in Chicago, and they were booed at the curtain call. They were despised by the audience, which is good! That's what you want!

So, I felt complimented that people were either afraid of me, or thought I had a huge stick up my ass, because saw the side of me that I wanted them to see. Now, I could be completely wrong, and I might have just done a crappy, CRAPPY job, but ignorance is bliss. :-D