Cultural Event Report #1
On August 24th, the comedy troupe Second City came to Emens.
Before the show started, I had the unfortunate task of locating my average-height friends in a sea of rather tall people when I arrived at the auditorium. Luckily for me, I received a call from my high school friend Zach Tabor, who had been waiting outside the doors for almost 45 minutes. He was at the front of the line, so I went and stood with him. We talked for a bit, caught up on life, and he helped me spot my Dehority friends ...who happened to be right next us. I made introductions and we all went in and sat together. We spent the down-time waiting for another friend, Jacob, who took it upon himself to arrive as close to the start time as possible, and laughing at Zach's antics. About a half hour after we got our seats, the show started.
And what a show it was.
Overall, the group was really funny, but there were times that I thought they went overboard with profanity and innuendos. I realized that it was an improvisation show geared towards young adults, so they could get away with raunchier humor than most shows, but occasionally I found myself sitting slightly wide-eyed with my jaw a bit lower than normal. However, after the initial feeling of "I can't believe they just said that" passed, I usually laughed pretty hard, especially considering that Zach was sitting near me and he has the most contagious laughter on the face of the planet.
There were a couple of times during the show when the comedians took suggestions from the audience for what the theme of a skit should be. One that sticks out in my mind involved the Scramble Light. The poor performers had absolutely no idea what the Scramble Light was, so when it came time to talk about it, they went with a logical choice of what it could be: a healthy breakfast place.
Scramble... eggs... Light... healthy....
It was a stretch, but I appreciate a good pun, so I enjoyed it, and the crowd went crazy with laughter.
My absolute favorite skit was called "Campus Safety!" Basically, it was two friends demonstrating self-defense moves on each other, but at the very end, one accidentally kills the other. The living friend looks at the dead one and says, "Get up" repeated, sounding more upset each time.
(Wow, that's morbid.)
But it was hilarious, and my roommate and I still quote it all the time.
I really liked the show, and I have a lot of respect for the talent we saw. Improv is one of the most difficult types of comedy because there are so many variables. Also, the crowd has a huge impact on the show. If the crowd sits there like a sack of wet logs, then it's really hard for the performers to do well, because performers feed off the energy of the crowd. If the crowd is responsive, though, like it was the night of Second City, it completely changes the atmosphere of the show in an energized and positive way.
If I ever have the chance to see them again, I will.
Cultural Event Report #2
I'm a student usher at Emens Auditorium, and I had the incredible privilege of working the night of Beauty and the Beast. Not only did I get to watch the entire show, but I got paid to be there. It was two of my favorite things wrapped into one: theatre and earning money! :)
Anyway, back in the day, in high school, I was involved in all of our school musicals. Singing, dancing, and acting are three things that I absolutely love, and I'm sad to say that I'm not involved in any of the three this year. (Next year, however...)
Back to the show:
There is something simply breathtaking about seeing a musical performed on stage. In a movie, the actors have the chance to redo a scene if it does not turn out quite right. They can "Take two!" anytime the director sees fit. With a stage production, however, the actors have one shot. They either get it right or not. There is no opportunity to look at the crowd and say, "Hold on a sec, can we try that again? She was a little under pitch and his wig was falling off." It takes an immense amount of talent and attention to detail to pull off a show.
And my, what a show it was.
Emily Behny, who played Belle really personified her character. It was as if the directors had plucked Belle straight from the animated Disney movie and made her 3D. It was especially touching considering that she's a Ball State grad, too. I imagine myself in her shoes, standing on Emens' stage and thinking of the countless times she had stood there over the course of her years here.
Well, I'll give a synopsis of my night:
I arrived an hour and a half before show time, just like all of the other ushers. As soon as we opened the doors to let people in from the cold, a crowd started forming. By the time we opened the house doors, the doors that lead into the auditorium itself, there were probably at least 700 people crowded into the lobby. By the time the show started at 7:30 nearly all of the 3000+ seats in Emens were filled. By 7:40 all stragglers were in their seats, and I snuck in and stood in the back of the auditorium.
Watching musicals live always brings a little sadness to my heart. Like I said at the beginning of this report, singing, dancing, and acting, are all very near and dear to my heart. In high school I was in four choirs: a school choir, show choir, jazz/madrigal choir, and barbershop. I also did the school musical every year, and my senior year I was cast as Maria in The Sound of Music, a role I've always dreamed of having. Seeing Emily up there on stage, I realized that she was living out her dream. A dream that I share with her. She was on the stage in front of thousands, feeling the rush that accompanies belting out show-stoppers and being blinded by stage lights, a rush that is unlike any other.
Intermission came and went, and the second act began. I was able to watch the entire thing, and it was truly magical. At the very end of the show, the beast was transformed back into a man... It happened right on stage. (I still don't know how they did it!) At the end of the show, when curtain call began, I felt like I couldn't clap loudly enough. The singing, the choreography, the dancing, the way the pieces of the set moved seamlessly about the stage, the costumes, the energy... everything was mind-blowing. There were times that I forgot I was standing in Emens Auditorium on the Ball State campus. I felt as though I were standing in the middle of the story, watching it all unfold for the first time.
Tale as old as time...Song as old as rhyme...Beauty and the Beast...
On August 24th, the comedy troupe Second City came to Emens.
Before the show started, I had the unfortunate task of locating my average-height friends in a sea of rather tall people when I arrived at the auditorium. Luckily for me, I received a call from my high school friend Zach Tabor, who had been waiting outside the doors for almost 45 minutes. He was at the front of the line, so I went and stood with him. We talked for a bit, caught up on life, and he helped me spot my Dehority friends ...who happened to be right next us. I made introductions and we all went in and sat together. We spent the down-time waiting for another friend, Jacob, who took it upon himself to arrive as close to the start time as possible, and laughing at Zach's antics. About a half hour after we got our seats, the show started.
And what a show it was.
Overall, the group was really funny, but there were times that I thought they went overboard with profanity and innuendos. I realized that it was an improvisation show geared towards young adults, so they could get away with raunchier humor than most shows, but occasionally I found myself sitting slightly wide-eyed with my jaw a bit lower than normal. However, after the initial feeling of "I can't believe they just said that" passed, I usually laughed pretty hard, especially considering that Zach was sitting near me and he has the most contagious laughter on the face of the planet.
There were a couple of times during the show when the comedians took suggestions from the audience for what the theme of a skit should be. One that sticks out in my mind involved the Scramble Light. The poor performers had absolutely no idea what the Scramble Light was, so when it came time to talk about it, they went with a logical choice of what it could be: a healthy breakfast place.
Scramble... eggs... Light... healthy....
It was a stretch, but I appreciate a good pun, so I enjoyed it, and the crowd went crazy with laughter.
My absolute favorite skit was called "Campus Safety!" Basically, it was two friends demonstrating self-defense moves on each other, but at the very end, one accidentally kills the other. The living friend looks at the dead one and says, "Get up" repeated, sounding more upset each time.
(Wow, that's morbid.)
But it was hilarious, and my roommate and I still quote it all the time.
I really liked the show, and I have a lot of respect for the talent we saw. Improv is one of the most difficult types of comedy because there are so many variables. Also, the crowd has a huge impact on the show. If the crowd sits there like a sack of wet logs, then it's really hard for the performers to do well, because performers feed off the energy of the crowd. If the crowd is responsive, though, like it was the night of Second City, it completely changes the atmosphere of the show in an energized and positive way.
If I ever have the chance to see them again, I will.
Cultural Event Report #2
I'm a student usher at Emens Auditorium, and I had the incredible privilege of working the night of Beauty and the Beast. Not only did I get to watch the entire show, but I got paid to be there. It was two of my favorite things wrapped into one: theatre and earning money! :)
Anyway, back in the day, in high school, I was involved in all of our school musicals. Singing, dancing, and acting are three things that I absolutely love, and I'm sad to say that I'm not involved in any of the three this year. (Next year, however...)
Back to the show:
There is something simply breathtaking about seeing a musical performed on stage. In a movie, the actors have the chance to redo a scene if it does not turn out quite right. They can "Take two!" anytime the director sees fit. With a stage production, however, the actors have one shot. They either get it right or not. There is no opportunity to look at the crowd and say, "Hold on a sec, can we try that again? She was a little under pitch and his wig was falling off." It takes an immense amount of talent and attention to detail to pull off a show.
And my, what a show it was.
Emily Behny, who played Belle really personified her character. It was as if the directors had plucked Belle straight from the animated Disney movie and made her 3D. It was especially touching considering that she's a Ball State grad, too. I imagine myself in her shoes, standing on Emens' stage and thinking of the countless times she had stood there over the course of her years here.
Well, I'll give a synopsis of my night:
I arrived an hour and a half before show time, just like all of the other ushers. As soon as we opened the doors to let people in from the cold, a crowd started forming. By the time we opened the house doors, the doors that lead into the auditorium itself, there were probably at least 700 people crowded into the lobby. By the time the show started at 7:30 nearly all of the 3000+ seats in Emens were filled. By 7:40 all stragglers were in their seats, and I snuck in and stood in the back of the auditorium.
Watching musicals live always brings a little sadness to my heart. Like I said at the beginning of this report, singing, dancing, and acting, are all very near and dear to my heart. In high school I was in four choirs: a school choir, show choir, jazz/madrigal choir, and barbershop. I also did the school musical every year, and my senior year I was cast as Maria in The Sound of Music, a role I've always dreamed of having. Seeing Emily up there on stage, I realized that she was living out her dream. A dream that I share with her. She was on the stage in front of thousands, feeling the rush that accompanies belting out show-stoppers and being blinded by stage lights, a rush that is unlike any other.
Intermission came and went, and the second act began. I was able to watch the entire thing, and it was truly magical. At the very end of the show, the beast was transformed back into a man... It happened right on stage. (I still don't know how they did it!) At the end of the show, when curtain call began, I felt like I couldn't clap loudly enough. The singing, the choreography, the dancing, the way the pieces of the set moved seamlessly about the stage, the costumes, the energy... everything was mind-blowing. There were times that I forgot I was standing in Emens Auditorium on the Ball State campus. I felt as though I were standing in the middle of the story, watching it all unfold for the first time.
Tale as old as time...Song as old as rhyme...Beauty and the Beast...