My year in theatre

Last year at about this time, Larissa gifted me A Theater Goer's Journal. The idea is that there is a page for each show where I can paste in the ticket, record details about the show such as cast members and who I saw it with, rate the elements such as direction and set design, and write reviews. It's been a fun project and I've enjoyed keeping up with it.

The first play I recorded in the journal was Peter and the Starcatcher at the Utah Shakespeare Festival (USF) on September 20 last year.

I have seen 45 plays since then.

Yes, I have attended 46 plays in the last 52 weeks.

I'll give you a moment to let that sink in.


Granted, my idea of a fun vacation is to pop down to USF for the weekend, or head to New York City to see as many Broadway shows as possible, and I did both last year (multiple times in the case of USF). And granted, I buy season tickets to Hale Centre Theatre every year and have earned free tickets to CenterPoint Legacy Theatre the past few seasons. But, wow, how in the world did I manage to see so many plays in such a short period of time?

There is a place in the book to record ticket prices, so I did the math: I spent over $1100 on theatre tickets this year. A good chunk of it was spent on community-produced plays, most of which involved my friends in one capacity or another. I am lucky that I was given complimentary tickets to 13 of the plays or I'd have to add another $200 or so to my total.

Never let it be said that I don't support community theatre!

I've filled nearly 2/3 of the journal already.

So... I think it's time I pull back a little on my patronage. Since I have been involved in local theatre for 20 years, I've made a LOT of friends in the theatre community. Many do several productions a year. For a long time, I felt guilty if I missed a show, but I've come to notice that although most of them are thrilled to see me and genuinely grateful that I support them, very few feel the need to reciprocate. I understand that life gets busy, but if one of those friends hasn't seen me in a play in the last two years or so, I feel ok about missing theirs. Even worse are the friends who go out of their way to assure me they'll come to my show... and then miss it and never say anything about it; I think they hope I don't notice, but after they fuss they made, I definitely notice and it irks me. It's sad that our busy schedules mean I won't see most of those people otherwise... until we do another show together, of course ;) That's what Facebook is for, I suppose.

I've veered off topic, haven't I?

I love live theatre. I love that six productions of any given play will be different (Steel Magnolias and Shrek are popular this summer, aren't they?) as will six performances from any one production. I've seen plays here in Salt Lake City that were every bit as well-done and entertaining -- if not more -- as anything I've seen in New York. There is so much to explore and enjoy.

Utah Shakespeare Festival Summer 2014.
#fourplaystwodays

There is also real life to enjoy, and I think I need to spend a little more time and money on that. Of course I still want to support my dearest, most supportive friends and fans, but if I'm not able to make it once in awhile, please cut me some slack. $1100 in one year really is excessive.

Let's see if I can stretch this journal through the next 52 weeks, at least!