Klarinet Archive - Posting 000027.txt from 2002/07

From: w7wright@-----.net (William Wright)
Subj: [kl] Stage manners
Date: Mon, 1 Jul 2002 11:56:27 -0400

I attend concerts in my own town, but not in neighboring towns. I'm
beginning to wonder whether 'stage manners' in my town have drifted from
the norm, perhaps the result of 'inbreeding'?

When orchestras assemble on an open stage with no curtain, the chit chat
between performers sometimes is quite informal.... calling to each other
across the stage, bursts of laughter, entering and then leaving the
stage again, much talk and little tuning/warmup.

Is there a (perhaps alleged?) protocol for assembling on a stage when
there's no curtain? For that matter, do classical orchestras every
assemble behind a curtain as they do in (say) Broadway-style musicals or
operas?

Thank you,
Bill

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