The great outdoors provides many pros and cons, sparks many great memories, and for some, bad memories. It's either a staple of your childhood or a star in your nightmares. Now, imagine an immaculate set, lighting trusses, sound equipment, various storage pods and trailers, and a bunch of sweaty people walking around trying to pull a show together. Welcome to outdoor theatre.
Personally, I love the outdoors, so I get along with outdoor theatre, despite how many bug bites I get when my bug spray fails me for the fifth time in a week. It basically just combines my two favorite things, and also makes me think it's just a five-week-long camping trip with some of closest friends and acquaintances. All in all, outdoor theatre is a ton of fun, but like any other life experience, there are some pros and cons.
Here are some of the pros and cons I've experienced while working on my theatre's biggest show of the season.
Pro: Creative Possibilities Are Endless!
For once, designers have the free reign of not designing in a typical theatre space. They're free to do whatever they please, as long as it's within budget and reasonable for the team responsible for putting it all together. With an open outdoor space, it's a blank canvas just waiting to be put to use.
Con: No Privacy
Our show is in a public park, so anyone can walk up and see the progress the show has made. This is actually special and unique to outdoor theatre, and it's really great that people are able to do this. The only reason this is a con is that being out in the open kind of takes away the "wow" factor of an audience seeing a show. Sure, you get to see it all being built from day one, but if you sit and watch the rehearsal every day, you pretty much know what you're in for when coming to the show, therefore losing a bit of the surprise.
That being said, I'm still wowed every rehearsal, so maybe this isn't a con after all.
Pro: You Are Finally Tan!
This is a pro, especially for the tech team in theatre, because we mostly spend our days indoors for hours on end. Being able to run a show outdoors means more vitamin D and more looking like you actually live in Florida.
Con: Bugs. Bugs Everywhere.
No matter what time of day it is, there are going to be bugs of every kind swarming around all areas of the stage. It's annoying and even more so when the bug spray you just put on five minutes ago doesn't keep them away. Excuse me while I try not to scratch my legs during my downtime.
Pro: Watching The Show
As a crew member in a theatre, you don't really get to see the show's final product unless you're watching from the television in the green room. With outdoor theatre, you can just peak through the wings and see everything happening around you. You still don't get the full effect of performance, but at least you're not limited.
Con: The Show Could Cancel At Any Moment
Part of the uniqueness of outdoor theatre is that you are susceptible to any of the elements that the outdoors decides to bring you. That being said, sometimes a storm may come through and you either have to hold the show until it stops, or cancel it completely. What sucks is that this can happen at any point in time before, during, or after a show. What doesn't suck is that it's a different experience every night, and you just learn to have fun with it!
