What are your thoughts on this year's Christmas Town? Do you think InvadR will be added to this year's lineup? Do you think any shows will get replaced?
Christmas Town
- Thread starter Eric
- Start date
As long as Scrooge no More is playing, I'll be happy.
I found this on the Audition page:
Looks like Miracles is gone.
Although I don't think Miracles was the best in recent years, I think it had quite possibly the most beautifully orchestrated soundtrack of any Busch Gardens show. This new show better have good lighting and something pretty to look at, or else I don't think people will buy into it. However, I am excited to see if Busch Gardens Williamsburg can pull off a large show that is strictly vocal. Tampa has done wonders on a smaller scale with their Three Kings show. Similarly, a bit of lighting and a nice backdrop brought that from a cute street show level to a larger must-see show.
They are going to need to be even better than Gloria, and they can't afford to do that thing that so often happens in Gloria where every person is doing his or her own thing, trying to upstage everyone else. This could be a very good show, and hopefully it will bring a few more talented vocalists to the park to stay.
They are going to need to be even better than Gloria, and they can't afford to do that thing that so often happens in Gloria where every person is doing his or her own thing, trying to upstage everyone else. This could be a very good show, and hopefully it will bring a few more talented vocalists to the park to stay.
Other than straight up opera, outdoor vocals have a tendency to be on the sucky side. (Without perfect sound mixing.)
unless you are in a perfectly elliptical space with the stage and actor/ singer standing precisely in one of the 2 foci vocals on an outdoor stages are always problematic. The Greeks used a perfectly circular space as did Mr. Jefferson. In these cases the human voice would carry to the permittee very well. The Romans, who preferred not to be, "in the round" tended to use elliptically shaped spaces. This sort of space has the advantage of directing the sound exactly to the opposite focus. (not coincidentally the workhorse of the lighting industry, the ERS uses the same principal with its mirror.)
I say all this to re-emphasis what MAZ is saying.
The upshot, we are not in ancient Greece or Rome, nor are we in the Rotunda at The University. (ask me about nose whistling the Good Ole Song sometime)
The space in question has none of these advantages and thus must rely on sound re-enforcement. (untrained and or badly trained voices who are used to using only mics do not help, but I, as usual digress)
Further complicating the issue, most of the mics are not handheld but body mics and the speaker locations are sub optimal. All this adds to a... sub-optimal environment for sound reinforcement.
I say all this to re-emphasis what MAZ is saying.
The upshot, we are not in ancient Greece or Rome, nor are we in the Rotunda at The University. (ask me about nose whistling the Good Ole Song sometime)
The space in question has none of these advantages and thus must rely on sound re-enforcement. (untrained and or badly trained voices who are used to using only mics do not help, but I, as usual digress)
Further complicating the issue, most of the mics are not handheld but body mics and the speaker locations are sub optimal. All this adds to a... sub-optimal environment for sound reinforcement.
To be honest, I really like Christmas Town but it's not a strong enough draw to justify the drive from Raleigh and standing in the cold. Maybe if the shows were crazy good or if the food was off the chain...
Perchance the extreme change in show types was due to performing conditions. Weather constantly affected performances. It could be quite dangerous on an exposed stage considering the amount and type of physical performances involved. A less active show with more vocals and less movement could likely perform better, and more often, in these adverse conditions. Perhaps even more time for more hugging.
If I see even a single god damned hug in this show...
I'm just glad they are no longer asking dancers to risk career-ending injuries by dancing on that stage in those temperatures.
I do wish they would create a new dance-focused show inside during CT, however.
I do wish they would create a new dance-focused show inside during CT, however.
WEAK excuse! Haha. I make the 4 hour drive from Winston Salem every year for it; I also run the Dash too but it's worth the drive. Even the atmosphere in Colonial is pretty cool.Merboy said:
It's going to be a Barney Christmas sing-a-long with free hugs in the crowd.Thomas said:
Someone's going to need to explain this hug joke to me.
There was a lot of random hugging, where actual choreography should have been, in Miracles. Hugging flies in the face of Thomas' view of proper, contentious human interaction.
I'd have to say I agree with Thomas' assessment. Personal space is highly underrated.
Seriously? Hugging? As a form of entertainment?
Seriously? Hugging? As a form of entertainment?