The Receiving Line Discussion

Better late than never...

There is...was a discussion on Indiana Auditions about receiving lines. Hudson alerted me to this and by the time I got there to check it out, it had kind of run it's course, so I thought that, for whatever it's worth, I'd post my opinion/comments here.

I like receiving lines. We do them in kid-theatre for three reasons: 1) The parents/friends/fans want to see the kid-actors they came to see. We send the kids out around the back and straight to the lobby to greet their parents/relatives/friends. The kids are happy; the parents are happy. 2) Lots of children come to see our shows and to them, theatre is an unfathomable, unattainable magic. A receiving line after the show brings that magic face to face with the kids in audience. The kids get a chance to see the actors, shake hands with them, and talk with them. It's an amazing moment in different ways (see 'Payton Cole is a Class Act') for both participants. 3) Finally, we are always looking for new kids and new talent. Bringing the actor down from the stage and face to face with children in the audience shows them that actors are flesh and blood, just like they are--and that perhaps their dreams of being on stage aren't as far-fetched as they think. I will always remember my first play--the Norwell Little Theatre's production of "Camelot". After the show, all the actors were in the lobby greeting people and talking and laughing. I was too awed by them--their tallness, and their costumes, and their poise and presence to go and meet them, but I will never forget it.

With adults, too, it's much the same. I want to see who came to me (I can say 'I" now because I am an actress). And you never know, there might be kids out there for whom meeting an actor or actress is 'a defining moment', like it was with me.

So...there's my case for receiving lines. They're great.