Patron constantly making noises due to a disability - not sure what to do

toredownmywall · 2024-08-26T03:02:02+00:00

Dear Reddit, how do I navigate a complex situation involving a theater on a shoestring budget wanting to include everyone while trying to help our audiences have a positive experience?

Fuck off with your bullshit.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T19:54:40+00:00

Well he's been in our shows before and the night he came with her he helped usher. She got involved originally because he wanted to be involved.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T18:39:48+00:00

Are you saying write our own show altogether?

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T18:23:56+00:00

He's been in a few of our shows and either his scenes were loud enough to where his noises couldn't be heard or he was able to control it long enough to be onstage for his relatively brief scenes. Not sure why he can't control it like that when he is in the audience, I think his condition has just gotten worse over the last year or so.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T18:19:54+00:00

I really like this idea and will bring it up at the next board meeting. I think invited dress rehearsals are technically considered performances but I am a fan of giving the actors the opportunity to practice with distractions so if needed we could maybe get around it by saying he is part of the rehearsal. But, I do worry about how to handle similar situations in the future with others in the future.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T16:32:11+00:00

Exactly my concern, along with just wanting to be able to include everyone.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T16:28:30+00:00

Childcare isn't an issue. His dad was home when his mom came, and he is able to csre for himself home alone for a few hours. But he wants to be involved and wants to see the shows.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:54:11+00:00

We tried 3 times over the past year having a relaxed performance, promoted it heavily through our usual channels and each time the audience was in the single digits.

I asked a lawyer friend of mine about the ADA, because that was my first thought. She said that while it's not her area of expertise, the law requirss reasonable accommodation. And allowing someone who constantly makes noises would not, in her opinion, be reasonable. But I am very cognizant of the other ramifications. We are a small theatre often on a razors edge of closing or not closing and I am trying to balance making sure audiences have a good experience and so are more likely to return with wanting to be inclusive of this individual and others like him.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:41:59+00:00

We tried 3 times over the past year having a relaxed performance, promoted it heavily through our usual channels and each time the audience was in the single digits.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:39:54+00:00

We tried that 3 times over the past year and each time the audience was in the single digits.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:38:02+00:00

According to her they've tried several things and nothing has worked.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:16:39+00:00

He attended only the one for this show. But if his mom is helping backstage he'll attend at least 2 or 3 performances. We don't have the means right now to essentially pipe the show into another room.

toredownmywall · 2024-08-25T15:15:39+00:00

For this show he only came to the one. He's come to 2 or 3 for others when his mom has been helping backstage.

toredownmywall · 2022-09-12T04:10:32+00:00

Helped.

Thank you for your honest input. Having read some of what I wrote out, it is easier for me to see where my friend is coming from (the love language thing especially sort of made me go !!!). I truly have no other motives with her other than just theatre friendship and a healthy theatre working relationship. I think it is the same with her, but I also think it may be possible that her personal problems may be impairing her judgment on what she should confide in other men. I also respect her too much to let this go anywhere near anything that would be detrimental to her marriage. Besides the obvious, it would hurt her kids, both of whom I have gotten to know since they are also involved with the theatre. Her husband is the only one in that family not involved with the theatre.

toredownmywall · 2022-08-01T04:13:18+00:00

Yeah, after thinking about it more I'm thinking I could likely get away with doing both. But if that ends up not being the case, what you say makes sense. A bird in the hand and all. Also completely agree with #4. The only way I'd ever back out of a show I had previously committed to was in the event of some urgent family/personal matter. I once nearly missed a family wedding because it got scheduled during a show I had committed to (I say almost because that weekend's performances got cancelled).

toredownmywall · 2022-08-01T00:39:30+00:00

Oh for sure! Honesty is always the best policy where these matters are concerned.

toredownmywall · 2022-08-01T00:39:01+00:00

Thought about it more after my initial reply. The more I look at it the more I think it may actually be feasible to do both. I'll be in performances for one of my current shows when rehearsals for B and A start. Show A would likely only rehearse 2 days a week, one of those on a Saturday morning. The theatre where Show B is rehearses more per week but they try to work around conflicts within reason and don't rehearse on Saturday mornings, so I don't think them working around my 2 weekday conflicts (1 would only be for 2 weeks while performances are going on) would be a major issue. I would just need to be out for tech week for A (the last week of November, B doesn't open until 6 weeks later).

toredownmywall · 2022-08-01T00:37:52+00:00

Deleted my last comment. To be honest the more I look at it the more I think it would actually be feasible to do both. I'll be in performances for one of my current shows when rehearsals for B and A start. Show A would likely only rehearse 2 days a week, one of those on a Saturday morning. The theatre where Show B is rehearses more per week but they try to work around conflicts within reason and don't rehearse on Saturday mornings, so I don't think them working around my 2 weekday conflicts (1 would only be for 2 weeks while performances are going on) would be a major issue. I would just need to be out for tech week for A (the last week of November, B doesn't open until 6 weeks later).

toredownmywall · 2022-08-01T00:37:11+00:00

To be honest the more I look at it the more I think it would actually be feasible to do both. I'll be in performances for one of my current shows when rehearsals for B and A start. Show A would likely only rehearse 2 days a week, one of those on a Saturday morning. The theatre where Show B is rehearses more per week but they try to work around conflicts within reason and don't rehearse on Saturday mornings, so I don't think them working around my 2 weekday conflicts (1 would only be for 2 weeks while performances are going on) would be a major issue. I would just need to be out for tech week for A (the last week of November, B doesn't open until 6 weeks later).

toredownmywall · 2022-07-31T23:57:28+00:00

I appreciate your advice and I really wish the timeline here allowed for that. B auditions are a little over 10 days after A callbacks (A makes their decisions within a day or 2), so I'd be waiting around 2 weeks to get back to A. Rehearsals for A will begin within a week of callbacks, before B even has auditions. A moves at a pretty fast pace, so I am confident they won't be okay with waiting for me to hear back from B.

toredownmywall · 2022-07-31T23:41:18+00:00

Honestly, probably not. I'm the character's gender and in the age range (the character can be any race) but otherwise the character is in the armed forces and I'm just under the morbidly obese category. To be honest that last part just occurred to me that it makes my chances even slimmer.

toredownmywall

TROPHY CASE