Ever wonder what goes on at parties held by theatre people? It varies from theatre to theatre, from show to show, but I can give you some observations from our experience.
- There is a lot of beer. We’ve tried having a spread of hard liquor and some wine, but the drink of choice is beer. And generally pretty creative beer, like Dallas Blonde or Old Chub. Typically we’ll have a couple of six packs in stock (so you don’t need to worry about purchasing a fast fake id
online), then most people will arrive with a six-pack in hand, and at the end of the evening we’ll have more beer than when we started. At this rate we’ll be able to open a beer-only store sometime in 2016. - Every now and then parties will have themes. We’ve had a “Nasty Liquor” party, where we served tiny portions of a dozen nasty liquors from around the world. (Spoiler alert: They all taste like licorice!) And we had a “Drinks of Summer” party inspired by a New York magazine article. But the hands-down winner was the “Trailer Trash” potluck, with food rules like “must contain Spam”. We deep-fried things that were never meant to be deep-fried (banana Moon Pie, anyone?), and we lived to tell the tale.
- The quality of the party usually depends on the quality of the repartee. And the quality of the repartee depends on the attendees! If Raymond B is there, you can spend at least 30 minutes listening to him switch from one obscure accent to another without missing a beat. If Kevin T shows up, he’ll amuse you with a spot on rendition of “Kyle’s Mom is a Big Fat B” from South Park. And sometimes there are special guests who leave an indelible mark on everyone’s memory. Sugar was one such guest. (“Sugar” isn’t her full name.) She arrived drunk and left drunker (with a designated driver). Her behavior in between was so awful that after she left, we spent the rest of the party doing Sugar imitations, and I have the video to prove it. Lots of shouting “Boo yah!” and “Game on!”, for reasons known only to Sugar.
- Few people drink to get drunk. Getting completely wasted is considered bad form, and no one drives if they’re obviously impaired. One time I drove a drunk guest home, going from East Dallas to West Fort Worth, with someone following in the guest’s car. It was either that or let him spend the night on our sofa and I wasn’t going to risk our upholstery.
What you generally won’t find at theatre parties:
- Actors quoting Shakespeare
- Spontaneous songfests
Because in the final analysis, actors (like non-actors) need a break from their work! And that’s what a truly wonderful cast party provides.