SparklyUnicorn Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Not enough to do anything about it, but I'm bored and feel like complaining about something. The choir e-mailed about the call times for the concert and added "please note parents are not allowed to enter until the doors open". Well, herein lies the problem. The call time is 1/2 hour before the doors open. I have to go when the doors open because that is when they sell tickets (the only time they sell tickets by the way). Show starts 15 minutes after that. Half an hour. What am I supposed to do for half an hour? It's freaking winter...and very cold....and brrrr...and there is nothing nearby. It just seems mean and thoughtless. And this is their own show. So not some professional sort of show where they are charging 40 + bucks a ticket (where they'd have a much much earlier call time anyway). I'll live. I'm just not a fan of freezing my tail off. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Sorry you have to deal with the cold, but this is really an almost universal practice. I've been to countless choir concerts, some as a parent, some as extended family, and some a loooong time ago as a choir participant. They never ope the doors until 30 minutes before the concert begins because the kids are rehearsing until then. They are warming up, going over the beginning of each song to nail down their entrances, and they're practicing getting on and off stage. It's nice when there's an outer foyer for audience members to linger in, but if that's not available, everyone just waits in their cars until they see the doors open, or they go to Starbucks, or go for a walk. It's no fun if it's freezing, though. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Well, they DO have a foyer. I would not expect to go in and watch them warm up. So it seems mean to not let us into the foyer when it's so cold. I get it about them warming up and all that. Although how much warm up can one do in half an hour. The call time is usually not that close, but it's a school night and the concert is late enough so that's why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 Are you sure the foyer won't be open? Could mean just that you can't go into the auditorium early 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Are you sure the foyer won't be open? Could mean just that you can't go into the auditorium early Well, last year they didn't open it, but it wasn't cold and the call time was much earlier so I had time to go somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashfern Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 My dd had to be at the venue by 5:30 for a 6:30 start time. For every minute that they are late, they lose a point since the concerts are part of their grade. There is absolutely nothing close by and the parking is horrible anyway. We take a book and sit in the car for an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 My dd had to be at the venue by 5:30 for a 6:30 start time. For every minute that they are late, they lose a point since the concerts are part of their grade. There is absolutely nothing close by and the parking is horrible anyway. We take a book and sit in the car for an hour. It's freezing and pitch dark though. I just think it's mean for this factor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) It stinks, but sometimes it's inevitable. Sometimes we carpool so that one parent takes a bunch of kids and everyone else can show up later. What I hate is when parents get the instructions and decide it's stupid so show up with their child five minutes before the show starts. In our case it's dance, and we have been working at top speed back stage to get everything ready to start on time. We start lining up the performers fifteen minutes before the show starts, taking littles to the potty before that, plus making sure everyone has the right costume, tights, shoes, hair, etc. and that everything is intact and secure before that. There's a reason that call time is way before curtain time. When someone brings their little one right before curtain time, inevitably in the wrong costume, and scheduled to dance in the second or third number, we backstage mamas are NOT happy. We may smile at mom as we wisk the child backstage, but we are NOT smiling while we try to change the costume, make sure everything is correct and secure, and run the child up to the wings where her peers are already lined up and ready to go, having been briefed about what to do if the child in question never shows to help calm their anxiety about their friend's absence. Make your peace with it and move on. Edited December 20, 2017 by justasque Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 I usually think 'yay, I am there early enough to park reasonably close', then take my coffee and go for a walk. There is no close parking. It's on a college campus in the middle. Parking is around the perimeter. So it's a hike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 (edited) The lobby won't even be open? I do agree that it isn't super unusual to have a different call time and box office time. But I do think it's a little weird they won't let you mill around the lobby if it's out in the middle of no where. Usually doors open means the doors to the performance space and not the door to the building where my kids have performed? My kid's current call is an hour before the theater actually opens. I am known to park my car somewhere I can get decent wifi and watch Netflix. :lol: Edited December 20, 2017 by WoolySocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 That would annoy me too. All you're asking for is to hang out in the foyer instead of sitting in your running car to keep warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted December 20, 2017 Share Posted December 20, 2017 How old are your kid(s)? If they are teens, I'd send her, him or them ahead for the call time and would sit in my warm car for twenty more minutes before walking to get my ticket and get in line. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 They expect you to walk from your car parked on the outskirts, to the auditorium to drop off the kids, then walk ALLLLLL the way back to the car if you want someplace semi-warm to sit down, then when it's time walk AALLLLLLLL the way back to the auditorium for the show? In the cold and the dark? Ugh, I'd be annoyed too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 OP, it's not clear whether they are talking about the (internal) theater doors or the building doors. If it's the building, I assume they feel that the foyer isn't big enough to hold everyone. Regardless, I'd ask for clarification, given the weather. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lang Syne Boardie Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 (edited) Is there a student union building or a library on campus where you can wait indoors? If the college is still open enough to host performances, there's probably someplace that people can hang out? In our experience, like many pp's, you're locked out of the auditorium, sanctuary, or hall, but the foyer is open. The one place I can think of, that is an old fashioned town hall building with no foyer, has a nearby building for setup and overflow... Edited December 21, 2017 by Tibbie Dunbar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth86 Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 Annoying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted December 21, 2017 Share Posted December 21, 2017 The staff is probably arriving when the kids do and they need that thirty minutes to get sorted before dealing with the general public. Things like hanging any signs and getting the ticket table ready eat up that time fast. As soon as you open those doors then audience members will need attention and you just can’t be ready for them the minute you get in the door. It can be nearly impossible to rush here and there through a space that’s clogged with people. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 They expect you to walk from your car parked on the outskirts, to the auditorium to drop off the kids, then walk ALLLLLL the way back to the car if you want someplace semi-warm to sit down, then when it's time walk AALLLLLLLL the way back to the auditorium for the show? In the cold and the dark? Ugh, I'd be annoyed too. Yes. That's what happened. I ended up driving around a bit and then I parked and hiked all the way back there. It was not fun. At least the concert was good though. And walking alone in the pitch dark to a far off spot on a mostly deserted campus...rather sucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Is there a student union building or a library on campus where you can wait indoors? If the college is still open enough to host performances, there's probably someplace that people can hang out? In our experience, like many pp's, you're locked out of the auditorium, sanctuary, or hall, but the foyer is open. The one place I can think of, that is an old fashioned town hall building with no foyer, has a nearby building for setup and overflow... Nope. It was mostly empty. It's not a very big college. 2000ish students I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 How old are your kid(s)? If they are teens, I'd send her, him or them ahead for the call time and would sit in my warm car for twenty more minutes before walking to get my ticket and get in line. Well, he is 12, but even I was afraid of not finding my car after I parked because the parking was so far away and I'm not very familiar with the campus. It's not a huge campus, but there are all kinds of buildings and it was poorly lit so everything kinda looked the same in the dark. He had no idea where to go and he's a bit skittish so he would have flipped out if I just dumped him off and said find your way there. Obviously I survived. I just wish they had a better way of handling stuff like this. It's generally not a problem, but I feel like it was thoughtless. They ask a lot of us in general so I don't think I'm being a poor sport. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Oh, on campus. I just go to the library unless the weather is bad, in which case the foyer and the door to the hallway to the bathrooms are usually open, so I hang out in the foyer and talk to other parents or pace the hallway (adding to my 10,000 steps) Everything is closed. It is winter break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 What I hate are call times that are a good 2+ hours early. Cheer does that-DD’s division typically starts at about 8:00 AM, and the coaches want them in full uniform, hair and makeup at, oh, 5:30. NOTHING is open at 5:30, unless there’s a Waffle House nearby! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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