The show isn’t the only show.

When you go see a movie, they’ve got it boxed and clocked and packaged at about 100 to 120 minutes.  From that opening blackscreen all the way through the opening credits, a whole team of people have carefully engineered your entertainment experience.  That’s the “movie” you’re paying for, right?

But what about those of us that like seeing the previews?  I usually love watching and giving an instant, blink judgment of a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” right there in the theater.  If you can find a way to enjoy the previews – rather than thinking of them as something to be endured – then your admission dollar gets stretched further.

And what about focusing on the simple sense experience of watching a movie?  I still like the big-ness of the room.  If it’s crowded, I love all the people-watching and seeing what demographic showed up to watch.  I saw Pixar’s Up with a whole roomful of moms and little kids, but watched a late-night showing of Inglourious Basterds with mostly teenagers and college kids.  If you’re lucky enough to see a show in a mostly-empty cinema, then you get that great feeling of having the room to yourself.  Maybe you can even ignore the screen completely and snog a cutie somewhere near the back.

Then, of course, there are those of us who (sometimes) like to watch the DVD “Special Features” to learn about how a movie was made.  If the voiceover is good, it can stretch your entertainment dollar even more to find out how they did certain shots, how an actor got hurt during scenes, or about whatever problems they had the hardest time resolving.  It can be fun to peek behind the wizard’s curtain and marvel at all the work that went into it.  Or just use it as an excuse to snog a cutie on your couch.

Further, when it comes to the movies, there always seems to be those waves of Access Hollywood and David Letterman pieces which focus on the stars who made the movie.  You get glimpses of the personalities and characters involved.  And that’s yet another way of enjoying the “movie” – that piece of art that’s supposed to be boxed and clocked and packaged somewhere between 100 to 120 minutes.

In short, the “movie” itself often just represents the tip of the iceberg of your entertainment experience.  Don’t try to explain to certain people that Twilight or Harry Potter is just a book or just a movie.  There’s more to it than that.

Hopefully on point, this week I was invited to watch one of the final Birmingham Ballet Nutcracker practices before their public performances this weekend – December 12 and 13.  At a rehearsal with fifty-ish dancers, there sure is a lot more happening than just the show.  Not only learning, but chatting, running around, wiggling, eating, gossiping, homework, reading, young relationships forming and straining.  If you appreciate an ensemble cast, there may be nothing better than observing from behind the scenes.

Which I think may be at least half of the enjoyment of dancing in, acting in, directing, or working with a performance.  All those people get to participate in this extended “show” that I’m talking about.  The thing they sell tickets to isn’t the story’s only chapter.  It’s just the last one.  Well, depending on who’s narrative you focus on, it could be the first or a middle chapter.  That’s especially true with something like the Nutcracker, where the performers’ ages range from the little-bitty to clearly-an-adult.  Who knows if one of these five-year-olds will grow up and star on Broadway?

To enjoy a performance, there’s not really a need to read those other chapters, but understanding them probably amplifies your enjoyment.  Just ask the parents how much fun it is to watch their kid get all ready and nervous for the show and then to pick them up afterwards all excited and pink with that rush of “We did it!” adrenaline.  Who wants ice cream!  Even after watching just two practices, I almost feel like I’m getting to know the performers.  Which makes me look forward to the final performance that much more.

It’s a technique which “So You Think You Can Dance” and “American Idol” have distilled into gold.  If you know the performers, you’ll probably enjoy their performance more.  I think on-stage people inherently know this because it’s so much fun to be part of a show, but our local arts marketers might learn a lesson.  Find more ways to introduce us to your performers doing the things they do well.  Don’t hold this stuff back to the limited audience of only the people who were involved.  Share your Facebook production pictures.  Take “in costume” shots really early in production to show the rest of us how it’ll look if we buy tickets.  Show us the set.  Video a clip of the performance to spread the word.  Let your performers use their talents and charisma to sell us your show.

Thanks again to Cindy Free and the Birmingham Ballet for letting me feel involved.  I’m looking forward to this weekend’s performance.  A link to my earlier piece on the group’s practice session can be found here.