— from Juliana Schallhorn and Philip Keene —
On Thursday, January 29, we were fortunate to find ourselves at the performance of Deborah Sparks’ production of The Transylvania Express’O. Wow!! What an amazing evening featuring so many of Orcas Island’s talented performers in this work conceived and directed by Deborah Sparks; by far one of the most fun and entertaining evenings we have experienced ever, anywhere in the world. Deborah Sparks truly is a genius.
We wish to thank Deborah, The Orcas Center Board and Staff, and all of the cast and crew of The Transylvania Express’O. Thank you each and everyone for a most memorable event. At moments like this one, we feel so happy to have The Orcas Center available.
:-D Hooray for another satisfied community member! Nothing like laughter in January, right?!
Jake, Sparks, Bagby, all of you – Thanks again; It’s all your fault! Onward. . .
We too had the pleasure of attending a performance. What a talent group, and what a creative presentation.
Unfortunately our evening, and thus our enjoyment, was somewhat marred by the seating. We arrived early since it was open seating. Upon entering we found the entire row of the best seats with reserved signs on them. Unfortunately we found ourselves seated on the floor level behind the row of tables and chairs. We were afforded a beautiful view of the back of the heads of the people seated in front of us.
Come on Orcas Center, it’s either open seating or reserved seating. Having an event which is open seating but with the best seats reserved isn’t fair to your customers and your less well healed donors who can’t afford special priviledge. It will certainly make us think twice before attending any future Black Box shows.
Jim: Sorry your seating experience was less than ideal. First, so you know, there was very little in the way of reserved seating like that. None of the performers (meaning me) were allowed any reserved signs. The only seats that got reserved were for people who worked extensively on the show (designers) and there were fewer than 10 seats reserved in the entire run of 7 shows. They weren’t ever reserved for friends and family, as far as I know. Second, we always struggle over how to get the most & best seats in the audience without breaking fire code, which is fairly stringent on what is allowed. Steps, railings, aisles, capacity – its all regulated explicitly, so we do the best we can. I hope you’ll keep coming back. Your feedback is important, and noted.
After a few SOLD OUT experiences with your so successful shows, Sparks & Other Producers, and being aware of the number of people not able to attend because of it (sold out, I mean), and knowing that it showcases Orcas talent and creativity (including yours) so it will always be popular, and aware that, if it continues in the Black Box (which is a good venue for that type of show) you’re going to bump lots of otherwise hopeful attendees…….why not extend it enough nights to accommodate all who want to come? Sure, there might (maybe not) be a few unused seats, but it would make people like Jim (who had a bum seat), and me (who has only been able to see 1 of your 3 performances) happy.
Follow the lead of the Actor’s Theatre to have enough performances to let us ALL enjoy our homegrown talent…or move into the Theater.
Jake, We attended the show on January 23. The entire row of seats, or at least the majority of the row, to the immediate right when you entered all had reserved signs on them. The people that were trying to seat on the right side were commenting about it and wondering why so many seats were reserved. So somewhere along the line seats got reserved that you aren’t aware of.
I’m sorry that a letter that began as an atta girl to the Creative Genius of Deborah Sparks, along with the OC staff and board and the entire cast and crew, has become sidetracked.
I’m the culprit, guilty as charged. No, I’m not a well-heeled donor. I’m the volunteer behind-the-scenes set & prop designer, who after weeks of working in the Black Box, asked a favor … not thinking that holding seats (which I paid for) would be offensive to others. I shouldn’t have done it. Lesson learned!
I hope this discussion has in no way detracted from the much-deserved recognition of time, effort and talent that went into creating an over-the-top event meant to be enjoyed by everyone who attended, regardless of where a person was seated.
Chris, The problem is that seating is very limited at The Black Box, and as good patrons we’ve learned that for any event which is open seating one should show up early to ensure that one gets good seats.
But you are right, this should not detract from the awesomeness of the production. Your work on the sets and customs was fantastic and it contributed as much to the success as did the actors. Thank you for your efforts. And thank you to all of the people involved in making it a really fun evening.
Weird thing about timing. The Transylvania Express’O ended with Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell. When we got out to the car to leave, Meatloaf’s Paradise had just started playing on the radio. To fantastic sing-a-long songs by Meatloaf, back to back.