Stage elf
  • FRONT OF HOUSE
  • Stage Directions
    • Finding a Show
    • Choosing a Show
    • Getting a Ticket
    • Choosing a Seat
    • Getting a Discount
    • The Theaters >
      • Broadway
      • Off Broadway
      • Washington, DC
    • Theater Tips
  • Stage Presence: A Blog
  • Stage Door Tips & Tales
    • Stage Door Tales: A Blog
    • Stage Door Stars!
    • Stage Door Tips/Etiquette
    • Stage Door Locations >
      • Stage Doors on Broadway
      • Stage Doors Off Broadway
      • Stage Doors in Washington, DC
  • StageSprites [taking the kids!]
  • UpStage...Theater News Feeds
  • Curtain Call
    • About Me
    • Contact Me

Stage Presence...

Random & occasional musings on theatre-related topics...   

The Collective Breath

3/12/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Sometimes, there's not a great deal to say about something that means a great deal....but what there is, is worth saying.  

So, this is just a short ode to those moments when I'm in an audience watching a live performance, and I'm captivated and enthralled, and transported...and I realize I'm not even breathing, because I don't want to miss a second, or make a sound that would break the spell.   But the best part?  It's not just me...everyone is transfixed...no coughs, no rustles, no whispers, not even any audible breathing.   That collective breath is magic.  It is the power of the actors and the story and the setting to make us one for an instant.   One of the many gifts of live theatre is the give and take between the actors and the audience.  And it can happen even in a show that isn't a hit, or one you don't love...because it's really about the human experience of having someone tell you a story.  Remember when you'd hold your breath as you listened to a bedtime tale?  Waiting to say  "good night, moon," or hear "happily ever after," or "and then Harold dropped off to sleep."  One of my fondest memories is of being read aloud to, and I love reading aloud to this day.  I'll look up from the page, and see my niece still, but somewhere else...in the story with Harry, Hermione and Ron.  And we're there together.  Just like at the theatre, but there, we're with strangers,  strangers with whom we've gone on a journey without leaving our seats.  We may never know their names, but we breathed together for a moment; and it was magic.

The next time you're in a theatre, and you find yourself completely in the moment, listen to the audience and you might hear...absolutely nothing.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Stage Directions
    Stage Door Tips & Tales
    Curtain Call
    Picture

    Archives

    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2016
    December 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    June 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Alan Burkitt
    Andrew Keenan-bolger
    Benj Pasek
    Broadway Cares
    Broadway Easter Bonnet Competition
    Celia Keenan Bolger
    Celia Keenan-bolger
    Charlotte Gooch
    Cherry Jones
    Christopher Plummer
    Colm Toibin
    Condola Rashad
    Craig Wallace
    Cyndi Lauper
    Deborah Warner
    Dublin
    Fifth Of July
    Fiona Shaw
    Green Chimneys
    Harvey Fierstein
    Holly Twyford
    Joe Iconis
    July Fourth
    Justin Paul
    Kimberly Gilbert
    Lauren Bacall
    Lgbt
    Maggie Keenan Bolger
    Maggie Keenan-bolger
    Matthew Gardener
    Michael Kahn
    Mitchell Hebert
    New Musicals
    New Theater
    Off Broadway
    Orlando Bloom
    Playbill
    Playlist
    Rachel Sullivan
    Richard Rodgers Theatre
    Richard Thomas
    Romeo And Juliet
    Schmackary's
    Shakespeare Theatre Company
    Signature Theatre
    Smash
    Social Media Marketing
    Stage Door
    Swoosie Kurtz
    Testament Of Mary
    Theatre Weekends
    The Black Suits
    The Laramie Project
    Tom Hanks
    Tonya Pinkins
    Tony Awards 2013
    Top Hat
    Tweet Seats
    Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co.
    Zachary Quinto

    RSS Feed

Copyright 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials on these pages, including photographs, other than those clearly attributed to others or found on third-party websites linked to herein, are copyrighted by the the author and owner of this site.  No part of these pages, either text or image may be used for any purpose other than personal use. Therefore, reproduction, modification, storage in a retrieval system or retransmission, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, for reasons other than personal use, is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.
  • FRONT OF HOUSE
  • Stage Directions
    • Finding a Show
    • Choosing a Show
    • Getting a Ticket
    • Choosing a Seat
    • Getting a Discount
    • The Theaters >
      • Broadway
      • Off Broadway
      • Washington, DC
    • Theater Tips
  • Stage Presence: A Blog
  • Stage Door Tips & Tales
    • Stage Door Tales: A Blog
    • Stage Door Stars!
    • Stage Door Tips/Etiquette
    • Stage Door Locations >
      • Stage Doors on Broadway
      • Stage Doors Off Broadway
      • Stage Doors in Washington, DC
  • StageSprites [taking the kids!]
  • UpStage...Theater News Feeds
  • Curtain Call
    • About Me
    • Contact Me