Hats Off Party...An Amazing Way To Say "Thank You"

Saturday night many of my friends dressed up in their finest and went to a party. For only the second time, I joined them. The theater's been putting on this event for years to show appreciation for those who volunteer their time and talents to make the theatre a cultural and financial success.

The place was packed. 

It makes sense--the theatre, with its two stages, presents at least nine full-length shows a year, not to mention special events and children's performances. For us, it's like a church for performing, and we're the congregation. So, when the theatre throws a party, people come in droves to feel that spirit of friendship and camaraderie.

And they all looked fantastic, even without hats!

When I attended a few years ago, I went for the food. Saturday night, I went for the program, or part of the program. I performed in one show at the theatre in 2018. Some years, I've done as many as four shows. Looking at the schedule this year, it's likely I won't be on either stage in 2019. 

Because of social media, you can tell what's important to your friends. Since I have hundreds of theater friends on Facebook, my timeline was inundated by pictures and comments and videos of smiling beautiful people posing for selfies, or seeing themselves on stage. It's a testament of what--not only the party--but also the theatre means to them in their lives. I know I've dedicated numerous photos, comments, videos, and blog posts to the theatre, the shows, and my friends.

I noticed the same thing happening after I attend a writing conference the weekend before. I sort of live in both worlds, a performer and a writers. The week before my social media timelines were flooded with pictures of authors and artists mugging for selfies and videos, letting everyone know of the great time they were having at the LTUE writing conference.

I left early, didn't really talk to many people Saturday night. I had obligations with family. It might be a long time before I'm again invited to the festivities at the theatre a few miles down the road. And even if I don't go, there will no doubt be pictures and videos to show me--and everyone else--just what a great time they had. Thank you Centerpoint Legacy Theatre for the invitation. You throw a great party, even if no one's wearing hats.

For Me, I'll Stick To The Fun Stuff...

I remember going to a writing symposium a few years ago and I attended a panel on increasing your online presence. It was created to help authors and artist to improve their visibility online, and therefore, help improve sales if and/or when they published something or unveiled a work of art.

One thing stuck out at me. They said if you want more blog followers, you needed to be specific--the more specific the better, at least, that's what statistics showed. I can definitely understand the logic. If you want to get your fix on a certain subject, if you know a blog has what you're looking for, you'll read it. You want to hear about video games, there are blogs out there. Theater = the same. Food, crafts, photography, movies, writing, editing, relationships--it's all there just waiting for those interested in those topics to come and enjoy.

I walked away from that panel a bit conflicted. There were a couple of things I wanted my blog to do. I wanted to write daily, and I wanted to make sure I did something creative on a daily basis. Being specific on this blog didn't really fit into my goals. Sure, I could write a daily blog on writing. That would mean I'd have to come up with writing stuff to blog about everyday. I mean, as you can perhaps tell, I am not spending hours and hours on these things.

I had to conclude that I wasn't going to get thousands and thousands of followers. For me, I'd be fine with a several dozen a day. And that's the way it's been for many years. I noticed this last week a post about about political things hardly registered a blip when it came to page views. However, the post just the day before got several hundred. Granted, I posted the earlier on on Facebook and highlighted several friends in that post. I'm sure that helped, but I've had posts get hundreds of hits without doing that. I don't do a lot of political posts--I don't like going there. Politics (especially lately...) seem to cause people to shut down their brains and stop people from actually talking to each other.

No, I think I'm going to stick with the fun stories. They are, by definition, fun.

Attending A "Hats Off" Party...

Tonight the theater where I've been spending so much time lately held a party. They do it every year and every year (in which I've been in a show...) I've been invited. Tonight was the first time I've been able to attend. It's usually held at the same time as a certain writing symposium held in Utah County.

The invitation said semi-formal, but most were dressed to the nines. It's fun to get all gussied up sometimes, I guess.  Everyone seemed to be having a great time. At various locations in the lobby and upstairs there were food and drink stations, each with a theme from a show form 2016. Very creative, but what do you expect from a bunch of artists and performers?

There's mingling, noshing, catching up, then everyone goes into the main theater for a program. I needed to cut the evening short so I missed out on the program, but I've heard it's a lot of fun as well. I toted my camera around with me and took a few pictures. I could, and probably should, have taken more pictures, but it was fun to mingle, nosh, and catch up.

Tonight was a really nice thing for the theater's board of directors to do for us. They don't have to, but I'm glad they do. The performers on stage do all they can to make the event special for the audience, for each and every one of them. Tonight, that's what they did for us. It is appreciated.