Last night I went and watched my friend Stephen Milton perform in this year's Shakespeare in the Park. It's a yearly production that is performed for free (donations are very welcome) in Southmoreland Park ̵ just west of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. This year's production was of Julius Caesar, a play that I always hear referenced, but have never seen.
Everything about the show was great. The acting, the sound, the incredible set, nearly everything was perfect. This post isn't a review of the performance, but rather what WASN'T great about the venue which will lead into other things.
The park is a great venue. The seats are set on a hill so there is hardly a bad seat in the house. I suppose at some point during this year's run, the hill became a bit wet and muddy due to all of the rain we've had. So, to try and keep the hill dry, the organizers laid down a layer of hay... which has since become wet, hot, dry and is now decomposing... that has created an awful awful stench. But, if you look at it from a certain perspective, maybe that's what things smelled like back in Shakespeare's day.
No, this post isn't a review of the play, or the venue... but of things that I think people love. Not stereotypes, per se, but purely blanket statements of what people like, don't like, or just general observations.
For example, babies love large, quiet audiences. They're extremely capable, and willing, to be quiet when others are trying to concentrate on something. Babies also love Shakespeare (that was a stereotype, sorry).
People love hearing cars drive by with loud bass and rap music. In fact, the louder, the better!
Another one, it's okay, and often encouraged, to not follow instructions that ask patrons to turn off their cell phones. This is one of the first rules I ever learned... it's okay to not listen to people, especially pilots and/or cops.
A coming-of-age fact: 99% of movie-goers pay $10 to listen to others make fun of a movie, not to see the movie itself. I'll tell you what, I'm NOT going to waste my hard-earned money on Hollywood, give me a good heckler and I'm set.
There's no such thing as double-parking OR a "bad" parking job. C'mon, rules are meant to be broken and so are parking lines.
I'm sure there are many more out there, but I don't have them written down. Do you have any? If so, post 'em below!
+ original post date: July 10, 2004 03:32 PM
+ categories: Family/Friends, KC, WTF
comments1
(comments rss feed)
Glad you liked the show, excellent thoughts, i whole heartedly with them all. One thing I love is the KCPD Helicoptor Squad likes to make sure we are all safe by circling the park often and loudly. Easily talking over it is one of the highlights of my night. Also the hay/mud mixture smelled alot better today after sitting in the hot/humid sun all day, but not drying any. I would compare it too that lovely smell you get when approaching a zoo. Lovely smelling indeed.
+ author: stevepanic
+ posted: June 25, 2005 10:14 AM
post a comment