Our upcoming shows, Children of the Night & Sleepy Hollow: The Hex of the Headless Horseman, will be taking place on the outdoor stage at MainStage 222 – MainStage Irving * Las-Colinas. It is an excellent outdoors venue, with great acoustics, brilliant lighting, and an almost infinitely configurable seating arrangement. It is, however, outdoors. That poses some challenges, especially in October… in Texas.
First, you may ask – what are the benefits of staging a show outdoors? There were a couple of reasons that we opted to step outside. First – indoor venues are often quite limited seating. Larger audiences matter. It’s the same amount of work to entertain 200 people as it is to entertain 20. Big audiences not only help at the box office, but they also create an energy that the actors feed off of. There’s a certain pleasure of being part of a happy crowd that makes for a more enjoyable theater going experience.
Outdoor venues are easier to customize. There aren’t walls in the way, or other fixtures that have to be moved or camouflaged. Less decor is needed, and they also offer more freedom to dress up. We aren’t planning on bringing in a 50 foot tall inflatable bouncehouse, but we *could*. And outdoor venues offer all that while feeling less formal and limiting.
And then there’s Covid & Monkeypox…
In the midst of an ongoing pandemic or two, outdoor venues have other strengths. They allow more social distancing, have natural fresh airflow, and sunlight provides UV sterilization of airborne particles. We still encourage you to follow local guidelines and mask up, but we know that individual masking can be a feeble fig leaf of protection in a crowded space with poor airflow.
In a similar vein, outdoor venues are also more environmentally friendly and sustainable. They don’t use electricity for climate control and use less artificial light. Outdoor spaces can be cleaned with a water hose or leaf blower instead of harsh chemicals, and they accumulate fewer contaminants over time. 222 MainStage, where our show is located at, is also in walking distance of the Downtown Irving/Heritage Crossing TRE and DART stations, which means its easy to reduce your carbon footprint via public transportation.
In general, outdoor venues are also more family friendly. Wide aisles and clear zones provide roaming space for children to stretch their legs during intermissions. Just a reminder, our Children of the Night show is PG-13 and may not be the best outing for children under the age of 10. There are a few bloody murders, some torturous bondage, frightening supernatural beasts, sexual innuendo, and even a bit of salty language. Come to think of it, outdoor venues also offer the benefit of letting our cast be total scream-queens without quite so much tinnitis.
Since this particular outdoors venue was in less demand than the indoor stage, it also allowed us to schedule an extra weekend of shows. That’s another 3 chances for our cast to further develop their characters. 33% more of our show was a big deal for us. It also means that if you love Children of the Night, you have more opportunites to come back and see it again!
Outdoor stages are at the mercy of the weather. We are doing Children of the Night rain or shine, which is a bit of a gamble. No one can control the weather. There is an indoor venue at 222 MainStage, but it is only available on some days of our show. We will try to limit the outdoor effects with shade umbrellas for hot days and propane space heaters for wintry temps. While our cast and crew are made of stern stuff, we understand that heat and cold, rain and snow, cricket invasion and mosquito swarms may scare off some audience members. We’ll leave it to the cast to scare the rest!
