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During a quiet flute solo, my 7-year-old son slid out of his seat and started scrambling on the floor of the theater, whispering frantically, "I lost my Smarties, I lost my Smarties!"
I'm grateful at moments like these when a theater has a child-friendly mission.
Earlier this month, I took my two boys to Sample Night Live, a preview of upcoming plays, music, poetry readings and art events presented as a variety show. Its mission is to build new audiences for regional dance, theater, music and spoken word.
"Really the whole reason it was founded was for kids," said Barbe Marshall, a local freelance theater director and a founding member and producer of Sample Night Live.
"A group of us were talking at a holiday party and were sort of complaining about a common problem — how do we get young audiences in? And how do we find new audiences? We thought what if there was an organization that did nothing but offer a place for every arts organization to come in and offer a quick sample. ... The idea grew like crazy from there."
The first Sample Night Live was produced in January 2008 at Bryant- Lake Bowl. It moved to the History Theatre in St. Paul in December 2008 after getting funding from a few local foundations.
Think of it as a potluck, where everyone brings a small dish. The format is perfect for small appetites, Marshall says. "Kids might not handle three hours of Shakespeare, but they love 10 minutes of Shakespeare."
The monthly show
"We also try to put on something to get people into the house. A novelty act," Marshall said. "So, we've had our fire eater. We've had a unicyclist who juggled swords and an escape artist."
The first hour of the show before intermission is rated "G" and deemed suitable for all ages. The second act gets the uncensored material, including some comedy improv and burlesque.
IN TIME WITH THE MUSIC
As we entered the theater, ushers handed the kids goodie bags, programs and a ballot. The act with the most votes each month is invited back for the December show featuring audience favorites.
While my sons dug into their goodie bags, some musicians ambled onto the stage. A man in black glasses strummed his guitar and started singing, "Maybe baby, I'll have you. Maybe baby, you'll be true ..." backed by another guitar, a bass and drums. It was a preview for the History Theater's show "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" opening in October. The boys bounced their heads along to the beat while sucking on Smarties.
After another rockabilly tune, the evening's guest host, Graylyn Morris (aka Brodini the magician), promoted the annual Selby Jazz Festival, which he also hosts.
"Welcome to Sample Night Live," Morris greeted the audience warmly. "The only place where you can see 12 shows in one night."
He introduced Todd Bass, who recited several of his poems, and Julie Johnson, who played flute. I let the words and music drift over me, so I don't remember more than one line, "whales leave contrails of blowhole bubbles behind them ... ."
Then, I was jerked out of my revery by the Smarties crisis.
Next up were the Warblers (Chris Osgood and Dave Ahl from Suicide Commandos along with Brian Roessler) doing Bo Diddley's tune "Hong Kong, Mississippi" with some tongue-in-cheek Asian licks, followed by a gritty and updated version of the folk tune "Drill, Ye Tarriers, Drill." The boys liked that one. They were less able to connect to Spencer McGillicutty, an indie-pop group that is releasing an album at the Fine Line later this month.
Their favorite act was comedian and improviser Tom Reed, who came onstage in his persona of Lounge-Asaurus Rex, wearing sunglasses and a red satin shirt with a collar so large the tips stretched to his armpits. A gold medallion dangled over his fake chest hair.
Reed bantered with a woman in the front row, and when she said she worked for a broker dealer, he launched into a hilarious improvised song with his piano accompanist that included wordplay that went over my sons' heads, but they loved it anyway. He is also one of Sample Night Live's regular hosts and will be the emcee in November.
The entire show is interactive. During the hour, Morris called out winning ticket numbers and gave away CDs and tickets to performances and a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. by artist Keena Woods, who had other work displayed in the lobby.
IN STEP WITH CULTURE
The audience participation was fun, but it also highlighted the emptiness of the theater. It seats 600, but there were only 150 or so people there that night.
And despite the fact that it's designed to attract families, the only other family in the theater was Kjirsten Zellmer, who happened to be married to one of the musicians.
"They liked it," she said of her sons, Eli and Theo. "One thing that works well is the short format. They don't have to have a long attention span. Being able to clap a lot helps, too. It keeps them engaged."
She also questioned the ticket price, and I agree. While $20 for local theater is reasonable, it's steep for a parent who stays for only the first hour.
But all in all, we enjoyed it. It was a good way to preview a handful of lesser-known entertainers without devoting an entire evening to a single show. I left feeling hip and in-the-know for the first time in years.
And who knows what sort of passion might result from a 10-minute sample.
"My grandfather was farmer in middle of Nebraska after the turn of century," said Marshall. "What happened was that he used to go to the vaudeville house. They'd do all these short snippets of whoever was touring. And it was the local vaudeville house that gave him a passion for opera. He used to bring his two daughters to New York to see opera, and they became huge fans, too.
"We're going for that sense of vaudeville but colliding it with a rock 'n' roll sensibility for the next generation."
Maja Beckstrom can be reached at 651-228-5295.
THE SCOOP
What: Sample Night Live
Where: History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul
Information: 651-788-5992 or samplenightlive.com
Hours: 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of every month
Cost: $20 adults, $10 students and seniors, $5 children 5-12, free for kids younger than 5
Target audience: Art lovers with short attention spans
Crowd pleaser: Clapping so often
Avoid: The second half of the show. It's uncensored.
Tip: Pioneer Press readers can get $5 off a full-price ticket by typing the code word "members" when they order tickets online. If you are a St. Paul Public Library cardholder, you can get up to four free tickets to Sample Night Live by reserving online using your library card number at samplenightlive.com.
