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  • 1.  Curtain Call

    Posted 10-09-2017 11:46
    I'm looking to do something different at the end of this year's fall play. What is the most unusual way that you have staged a curtain call?

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    Marla Blasko
    Director/Teacher Theatre Arts
    Long Reach High School
    Columbia, MD
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  • 2.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-09-2017 14:40
    I was in a HUGE cast for a musical one time, and we lined up in the lobby (from the doors to the house, to the door outside) for people to walk through. It also encouraged people NOT to loiter in the house after the show.

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    Heather Cribbs
    Theatre Director
    New Smyrna Beach High School
    New Smyrna Beach, FL
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-10-2017 08:48
    At the end of "Lost in Yonkers", we staged the family like they were at the start of a Family Feud episode for the curtain call.  The audience was really confused, but burst out laughing when the cast broke "character" and started clapping and dancing.

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    Lisa Dyer
    Henrico VA
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  • 4.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-10-2017 11:29
    I directed To Kill a Mockingbird at a local community theatre and had the cast in a tableau on stage when the lights came up. Each group stood and bowed in turn, with the Finch family last.

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    Dianne Rowe
    Birmingham AL
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  • 5.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-12-2017 10:04
    After I do our regular curtain call, before I turn up the house lights I have the students exit the stage down the ramps we have on each side and down the middle steps.  They are clapping and dancing to the curtain call music and make their way to the lobby.  I then turn up the house lights for the audience to exit.  This clears the house since they want to get to the lobby to see the cast.  I have the cast and crew assigned to a different area of the lobby so they can thank the audience for coming and it gives each and every member a chance to meet and greet and be congratulated by the audience.  It then gives me a chance to lock the doors to the house so people are cleared out. If I didn't do this I would have parents in the auditorium with their kiddos forever and then the other audience members would not have a chance to mingle with the cast.

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    Jill Gable
    Theatre Teacher/director
    Jill Gable
    San Antonio TX
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-12-2017 12:41
    At Shakespeare performances, the ensemble would bow together & dance a jig to celebrate the story they just shared with the audience, so we loosely adapted that idea.

    We choose a fun, upbeat song that fits ironically with our show & each student, one at a time, dances on stage to the music.  When the whole cast is on stage, they take on ensemble bow & dance off. They love it. Last year, for Crucible, our curtain call song was "Another one bites the dust."

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    Jeana Whitaker
    Theatre Director
    Mesa AZ
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 10-13-2017 08:06
    Night of the Living Dead
    We did it in a converted cafetorium with the Zombies roaming the audience during the show.

    Curtain call.
    The show fades to black with the sound of Zombies munching on all remaining survivors.
    Simon and Garfunkel's "Sounds of Silence" Fades up
    Zero fade blinders on the audience with zombies standing facing the crowd.
    Applause.
    Zombies start advancing on the crowd.
    Zero fade blackout.
    Sounds of mixed screams and applause.


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    Brian Bozanich
    Director of Theatre
    Maumee Valley Country Day School
    Toledo OH
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 09-09-2019 20:17
    Brian, we are doing Night of the Living Dead right now for our fall play. Can you share what you did for blood?  Did you use any squibs for the gunshot wounds on Ben and the corpse with the police in the final scenes?  Thanks awfully much. - Julie Hanisch, Mukwonago

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    Julie Hanisch
    English/Drama Teacher
    Mukwonago WI
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 09-10-2019 17:28
    Hello,

    We did a similar ending as stated above by creating a receiving line outside the main entrance to the auditorium. ​

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    Crit Fisher
    Lighting/Sound Designer
    New Albany High School
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Curtain Call

    Posted 09-11-2019 10:14
    For “Jesus Christ Superstar,” we had chose to use no music for bows. The curtain closed on Mary, kneeling center stage and crying while holding the crown of thrones. 1 minute later, the curtain opened and they were all standing on the set silently waiting for the curtain opened. I had them logically ordered so that those bowing first were closer to the front of the stage.

    We also do two things I inherited but love. After the full cast bow, the full crew comes out of the stage door and stands in front of the stage. It was so cool in JCS because we had more crew members than cast members :). Full company bows, and then 9th-11th graders step back and seniors get final bow.


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