Drawar

Although I'm a semi regular (2-3 times year) attendee to various theatre performances I would say the thing that stops me from being a more frequent attendee is I just don't know when something I might like is on until after the event. Their publicity is almost silent.

I really do wish I attended it more often, but its just one of those things where it is never the first thing on my mind on what I am going to do tonight. Plus there is only once place in the whole city where I encounter a billboard (therefore a reminder) that there actually are shows going on.

I would love to go more often, but we don't have any shows come very close to where I am.

Downtown Dallas does get some good shows, but the on broadway theatre there is horrible, less legroom than a flight in coach seats, there's posts in the way of the view of stage...

But aside from that, it's the publicity. I never know something is showing unless I take a trip downtown (45 minute drive when there's no traffic, 1.5 hours if there is.)

When I lived in Louisville, KY I went rather often. Several good theatres, both on and off broadway. We even had a theatre just a mile from my rural hometown. My sister directs there now.

In the world of movies and TV and other media, it is expensive to promote theatre in a way that captures the attention of non-theatregoers.

It either has to be a big event (like Cirque de Soleil) or a touring show with a lot of money behind it (Chicago, Hairspray, etc.) or it has to have some kind of gimmick that helps it promote itself through media or word of mouth (Evil Dead: The Musical is a good example). Or through fringe festivals and world theatre festivals and other events like that.

Otherwise, theatre basically has just enough money to promote itself (through postering and free weeklies and such) to those people who always go to the theatre and, basically, no one else.

I actually regret not going much. With that said, I decided to take an American Musical Theater course this semester and it's been nice (looking at issues, themes in musicals, etc.) I decided to attend one in the next few weeks (to write about) which is actually a dinner theatre. Crappy food and a show, what could be better?

I'm almost afraid to ask but--what's the show? (I can already tell you what the dinner is, and I'm in a different country.)

I go pretty often and at one time used to perform in a local theater, but I don't have the time now. One problem I have is keeping up with them. They aren't advertised as much as they used to be.

I want to see Cirque de Solei.

Because the theatre around here sucks (North Carolina). I mean I'm sure I've missed some gems but all in all ... meh.

I usually scope out the listings when I'm in a good city, but honestly it's been a couple years.

I go to the theatre fairly regularly, around once a month. Not often to 'big' shows or musicals but I like to see new productions of classic plays or avant-garde or contemporary plays. There are a couple of local theatres here and they are always playing host to national and international touring companies.
I try to avoid most 'performance art' as, although it is popular and tends to get fairly large audiences, I find it is often not thought-through and tends to use increased volume to make up for lack of meaningful content. And even when that isn't true it seems to rely more on the personality of the 'performer' than on the text.

I got to the theatre about once a month, attending traveling Broadway classics, shows/musicals, small theatre performances, international performances, and the "off-Broadway" type of plays.

The only thing stopping me, is the lack of a bona-fide theatre where I live.

I'm sure if I broadened my search out to the farther reaches of North Idaho, I may be able to find a school play or two, but those don't really do it for me. I need highly produced musicals to get me going to the theatre.

Dance performances are pretty interesting, I think, but I guess I'll have to be the sore-thumb, uncultured bumpkin here and say I just generally don't like stage performances. Really, of any sort. And plays have always bored me to tears, even those that I could respect for their obvious efforts in writing and performance work.

I guess I also am sometimes a bit frustrated with the type of people (sorry, bit of a stereotype, but go with me) who frequently go to the theatre and feel the need to tell you and exaggerate on the symbolic meanings of that which they witnessed to prove points about their intellect that do not need proving. ("I went to see this wonderful ballet performance. Oh, you should see it. It is about fate on the surface, but underneath it is actually about the condition of mankind and its struggle against the caste systems of the world.")

All this said, I'd like to see some modern dance performances, but without all the "posh" people yammering on about it after it shows. :|

Picky, I know.

In the West End, it's either expensive (£30-£40 per person) or the seats are rubbish ("partially obstructed view"). Sometimes both. Most theatres in London are also poorly designed and give you very little leg-room. I'm not tall and even I find them uncomfortable.

The whole experience just feels cramped every time. I find it very off-putting, even though I quite like a bit of dance or music performance.

On the leg room thing, at 6ft 3' I the number of times I've lost the feeling in my legs in a UK theatre goes into double digits. Most of the time these days, because of my job, I'm not sitting in a seat in the theatre but somewhere else filming the show, we need more theater's with standing room! ;o)