My experience at a live presentation

Post Reply New Topic

My girlfriend was given two free tickets to a stage show at our town theater featuring this nationwide traveling Shaolin Monks troupe.

I'll confess...I'm not that dramatically into martial arts. I think they're kinda cool, but I'm not a massive fan; that'd be my girlfriend. I was still happy to join her for it, as it's something she's really into that I knew I'd enjoy a little bit with her...since she's always paying attention to my focus on action figures, cartoons, economics, and history. Plus, she and I don't really get to do too much stuff right now, as I've been financially strapped for a while, and she doesn't have that great of a job currently....oh yeah, and she still needs to prioritize better on her finances too.

So anyway, while I was there, not only did I observe the show, but also the audience around me.

The show was decent, but to be honest, nothing blew me away about it...reason being, sure...the Shaolin Monks were doing amazing stunts and all that....but they're trained to do that; they're trained very, very vigorously to do that. It's like being amazed at some guy doing his job as a safety inspector at a local nuclear plant.

And, whatever really extraordinary-seeming stunts they did...science can easily explain pretty much all of it. Half of it seemed like the Shaolin version of David Copperfield to me.

Another way I was looking at it as well: the ones they bring on tour across the nation to showcase on stage: they don't just bring any students from the classes...they bring the best of the best, so I'd expect them to be able to pull all this off.

The audience just seemed totally blown away by it...at one point, they even had some audience participation( oh thank god I was on the balcony with my girlfriend)...actually they did audience participation more than once, and it was sorta humorous for about 3 minutes, and then I just thought it got incredibly boring...but the audience just kept laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.

While I enjoyed spending the time with my gal seeing it--and we'll likely do it again--I no longer regret not going to experience these things with people back in the day. I realize I just wouldn't have the same appreciation and experience with it that they would.

Also worth noting....there was some little kid brought on stage during the first audience participation. He was wearing a red outfit, and could barely follow the instructor, and my gal suggested that he had stage fright. I told her he reminded me of me at that age...and it brought back the memory of some American Indian guy coming to our Sunday school place and he got on stage and was singing, and encouraged some audience participation. My parents urged me to go up, but I declined...and they were mad at me. Years later, I regret nothing.

I used to travel with a circus and worked as a roustabout setting up the tent and bleachers and stuff, and I enjoy watching how a show is put together and choreographed more than just watching the show itself ... and I love to narrate the behind-the-scene stuff to others as long as that does not spoil things for them.

How the hell did you manage going to such? I mean, the crowd and noise....

I'm not usually too fond of crowds and noises, but I think I might have more of a tolerance to the former than most other Autistic folks here.

If anything the huge crowds just get me a bit more nervous and anxiety ridden, and being in a really big theater didn't help.

But it's not like I was going to fireworks, or anything like that.

I think this is one of those things that I have a bit of an easier time handling than most other folks here. If that's the case, that's the case...we're not all exactly the same.

I can assure you though for the most part I can totally sympathize about them with you regardless.

How do you handle crowds and noise? You go when you are in a good mood and relaxed; you wear comfy clothes and bring hoodie/earplugs/sunglasses/etc.; then when it's over, you go by yourself and veg out for a while until the stress wears off.

Works for anyone who doesn't automatically melt down in a crowd.

that explains why it was easier with my girlfriend; I was with someone who'd make the experience easier on me.

And, should I ever to go Comic Con, it's about stuff I actually care about.

If I take a "safe" person with me to an event, I cope alot better with the crowd/noise etc. I can focus more on my friend than the rest....like we have a bubble around us. BUT if I went with certain people it could be horrible.... e.g. I may say, "we have to move because of that persons perfume." OR "i dont know why but i have to get out of here." It makes it a drama if you have someone with you who says "get over it" or "you'll be fine. its nothing." THEN it becomes even worse and "puts you off" trying to attend other events, for fear of displaying any outward anxiety and attracting atttention.

I find that. I'm a Spurs fan and I can easily go to White Hart Lane and stand in a crowd of 36,000 people. When I'm there, I'm not thinking about the crowd, I'm thinking about the match.

Exactly...when I go to Mattel's presentation at Comic Con, I'm interested in the Power Point presentation, not the cheering crowd that'll be behind me. Plus, being a retailer I do have to pay some attention to the crowds' reactions...I think you can figure out why.

I saw the Shaolin monks performance on a trip to China last year. We went to the "Shaolin Temple" which is one of the places where Kung Fu was created. The performance was pretty awesome the guys were very agile and flexibe. If you blinked you would miss their moves. It is also the place where the series "Kong Fu" staring Jet Li was shot. I particularly had never heard of the series before.

Sorry to be off-topic!

Being a Sunderland fan I regularly stand in crowds of 45,000+ and the noise doesn't bother me either. It's easy to be invisible in a big crowd but get me in a group of 5 or more and I start to be uncomfortable. 10 would be the worst number of people to socialise with, too many people to concentrate on but not enough where I didn't need to know who everyone was.

Exactly.

I love being lost in a crowd. It's when I feel most secure about myself. All those people and yet I don't know a single one and I am not expected to interact with them in any way. Freedom.