Our First Audience

Posted by Rob Riley (Tom in The Crowd You’re In With)

We had an invited dress rehearsal for The Crowd You’re In With last night, and our first audience was a terrific crowd. It’s incredibly helpful to have actual human beings out there responding to the material and to our performances. We appreciated (and were sometimes astonished by) the laughs in unexpected places. And we relished the audience’s gratifying, quiet attention when the show slows down and becomes contemplative toward the end.

Rebecca writes dialogue the way people actually speak, which makes saying her words a genuine pleasure. After the show, I discussed the play with my 25-year-old unmarried niece and a few older, divorced friends, and the conversation really brought home the universality and relevance of the play.

Different people will respond to this play in different ways. I predict a lot of couples may find themselves in pretty deep conversations after seeing it… and who knows, some babies may be born as a consequence of these chats!