Area Premiere: A Mini Serial. Post 3: WTC Sells Out

Following up on the good review, we were mentioned by one of the "big three" theatre critics in town, and made the City Pages' coveted "A-List" (actually for the 2nd time in as many shows).

Not sure if that played into attendance numbers over this past weekend, if word-of-mouth is spreading, or what, but our attendance is suddenly of control. Our Thursday night "Camden Night" was filled to the gills, with attendance further stretching our opening night record, this time pulling in a whopping 52 patrons. Additional chairs had to be brought in. Older, somewhat less comfortable ones. It was a boisterous night, made up (we imagine) of the blue-collar second-generation Camdenites; the ones who don't normally make live theatre part of their lifestyle, but know a good deal in their backyards when they see it. Laughter was frequent and loud, if sometimes somewhat oddly-placed, with the place generally sporting a faint odor of cigarettes and booze. There was a particular fellow in the back, with a deep resonant voice, who followed a number of lines delivered by actors onstage with a hearty affirmation of "hear, hear!" Good times, and quite rewarding.

The following day I sent emails to people I knew to be considering coming that night or the following, letting them know 1) if you haven't reserved your ticket, get on the stick 2) get there early if you want a good seat 3) consider going next weekend, when there's less people on the list - for the moment. And that night, had to squeeze even more chairs in and attendance was up to a whopping 56. Not too many more seats to squeeze people in.

Or so we thought.

The show tonight was unbelievable. Fifteen minutes prior to curtain we were told people were waiting in the lobby to see if there would be any no-shows. The box office people scrambled (ending up actually using the chair behind the ticket counter) and fit as many people as could possibly be squeezed into the space. Grand total of 66. And it was a fun-loving, seemingly theatre-literate crowd that went with every moment right along with us.

As far as the show itself, the repeated performances (seven under our belts thus far, with one weekend remaining) have continued to solidify. Second nature, now, are lines, "bits," and even appropriate places to anticipate holding for laughter (though "Camden Night" did throw us for a bit of a collective loop). It's immensely satisfying to have enough performances to continue to develop a character, and also to note & correct minor pieces of a performance that might not be to my satisfaction on a given night.

Two shows left, then some much needed down-time (until I fly to Austin on business the first week of March). It's going to be pretty crazy, not thinking, breathing, and dreaming The Underpants over the next five days.