Researching My Freak Nation
Some questions for all y'all my beloved gentle freaks: be you nerds/geeks of any stripe, gamers, Rennies, goths, steampunk, kinky, poly, Pagan or other "alternative" spirituality, trans, queer, bi/gay/les, burner, spinner...you get my drift
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2. Well the Shakespeare Theater the season tickets are like 400ish for the season which is like 5 shows. So 80 bucks? Parties I usually bring something so say 20 bucks? Cons and gatherings... usually I get roped into being staff and don't pay much or anything. However I'd be willing to pay full price for something like, say, FSG, if it were air conditioned.
3 and 4. So first off -- I'm a tough room. You know this. I'm harsh on live performances, gatherings, etc.
The stars pretty much have to align and the moon has to be in the seventh house to get me to go anywhere I won't be comfortable -- which includes, unfortunately, things that are mostly outdoors in the summer. That said, when someone I care about asks me to please come and its for a good reason (I am the sole arbiter of the meaning of the word "good") I'll go. So that pushes me over the edge. Mostly I weigh money and time vs. return. How much will I like it? How much fun will I have? etc. etc. The other people that will be there also have a bearing on it. And sometimes I'll go to an event just because I know one or two people will be there and I haven't seen them in forever. I can't point to a single thing though and say that it pushes me over the edge. But the earth has to move to get me out of the house.
I also want to address the whole performance thing. There's performance and then there's performance. If I go to a game and really what I'm there for is to watch the performances of game writers who never got an acting career -- its gonna piss me off and I won't return. I don't go to "games" to see a performance. Some rituals have the same thing going on. Frankly I find church a little boring and that extends from established religions to pagany stuff. So often a ritual is amateur performance art and I'm supposed to watch and magically feel the gods and stuff sparkle in the air around me. Rarely happens. Usually I'm mentally.. Are we there yet? I'll give rituals a second chance to change but if its not participatory I won't be back.
If we are talking pure I watch and someone or something else performs for me -- it has to be good. I have to know it will be good. I enjoy professional theater. I don't much enjoy amateur theater although I will show up at the performances of close friends. Sometimes my friends performances are good and sometimes the pros are not so much. I accept that for live theater. But those are my general preferences.
A concert. I go to a concert for the overall experience but I can get pretty bored to tell you the truth. I enjoy the evenings at Wolf Trap because I'm not stuck in a seat for 2 hours just "watching." Also I'm usually there with friends and there's an atmosphere thing going on.
Having a bad time the last time I went regardless of reason (if its a repeating event) Will pretty much ensure that I won't be back. I understand it may not be the fault of the event but given what it takes me to go anywhere in the first place, having the memory of a bad time is a real impetus killer. Weather. As mentioned above, if I'm uncomfortable I'm not going to go. Its one of the main FSG killers for me.
Accessibility: I mentioned FSG being air conditioned but also, I don't go to the fire circles because I'm not sure that I will have the energy to get back up the hill after dancing chanting and drumming until 3am. So I don't go.
Distance. Braving traffic from VA to MD on a weeknight can go well into 2-3 hours depending on the day and where one is going. Anything further than that might require a day off and days off from work are in real short supply.
The number one thing for me is time. Do I have the time to go to your event? Usually the answer is no.
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