Best spot for the show

Seventh Street is packed with cars as people file into the IU Auditorium. Women's shiny heels click on the pavement while the men's best slacks barely drag in melted ice puddles. They have all come to enjoy the same show; however, once inside, they scatter like oil beads on a hotplate. Some head straight to the orchestra seats, while others trudge upstairs to the balcony to view the show from a further distance.\nIt may seem obvious who has the better seats, but after a closer look -- and some scouting around shows -- perhaps it's not so obvious. In many places, the best seats in the house depend greatly on the type of show being performed, as well as the inclinations of the audience. \nFor example, the IU Auditorium is significantly larger than many theaters in Bloomington. Its high arched ceiling, gracefully draped red stage curtain and red velvet seats nearly have their own stage presence. The theater can hold up to 3,200 people at once, and its size allows any show to be viewed from various angles and distances. Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, said there may not be any best seats, but there are definitely favorites among Auditorium patrons. \nOne of those favorites is "row one of course," Booher said. "Mainly because of the thrill of seeing every facial expression and being able to make eye contact with the artists." \nBooher said row 21 is another favorite because the seats are elevated above the heads of those in front of them, yet the audience is still at eye level with artists on stage. Row 17 seems to have slightly more leg room than most seats, and Row 36, also known as the wheel-chair accessible decks, are raised above the audience like a "mini balcony." Row 1 of the balcony is also popular, Booher said, because of the sweeping view of the entire stage and the set.\n"All of these go very quickly, and we get specific requests for them for each show," Booher said. "But there are always a few of them that go to unsuspecting patrons who are lucky enough to get them. They end up being really happy when they arrive at the show and realize how great the seats are."\nJunior Nicole Bruce, an IU theater major, has been to many of the area theaters and notes there are seats that are definitely better than others.\n"The last row on the floor has some of the best seats," Bruce said about the IU Auditorium. \nShe said it's because here, the audience is close enough to see everything, but far enough away to catch the entire scope of the set. Anything farther, she said, is too far because detail becomes swallowed by the space. \n"I'd rather not see a show than to see it in the balcony," Bruce said.\nBruce sat in the pit to see "Rent," but said it was too close because she could not pan back and check out the whole stage at once. \nAnother popular theater in Bloomington is the Buskirk-Chumley Theater at 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. Its rustic setting with small, welcoming tables and chairs create an old-fashioned atmosphere. Gold and maroon aisle carpet grace the floors while lamps cast a soft cascading glow across the theater walls. \nThe Buskirk is smaller than the Auditorium and seats 615 at once. Danielle McClelland, director of the theater, suggests that because of its size, there are no bad seats.\n"It's hard to get bad seats," McClelland said. "The top of the balcony is not much farther away than the back of the floor. It's a very intimate house."\nMcClelland said if she had to choose, the best seats could be five to 10 rows back on the main floor in the center because there, the audience is eye level with the actors.\n"These seats are better for seeing actors because acting is about the face and expressions," McClelland said. "But balcony seats are better for dances because then you can get a sense of the whole stage and the dancers moving through space."\nThe Buskirk plays host to plays, concerts, film, variety shows and community events. \nSeats are, on average, $12, but they can range anywhere from free to $30, depending on the particular event. Seats are also first come, first serve. Only once in awhile does the theater take reservations.\nAnother smaller venue for aspiring actors is the Bloomington Playwright's Project, or BPP, on 312 S. Washington St. This theater is quite unique because the best seats are constantly changing.\nThe stage is basically just in one room, which is 33 by 34.7 feet. There are only 48 permanent upholstered seats in the small black box theater; however, these seats are arranged on four separate platforms and can be rearranged around the room to create different sizes and shapes of sets. \n"The stage itself can change from the size of a small bathroom to the size of the entire room," said Bruce, who is also involved with BPP.\nCandy Decker, BPP marketing director, said all the seats were taken out for one production last year, 'Kate Crackernuts', and the audience sat in folding chairs with pillows so more room could be created for the audience and more creativity could be used with the set.\nDecker also said main stage shows are $15 for the public and $12 for students and seniors. Unbeknownst to some, if there are tickets still available 10 minutes before the show, students can purchase them for only $5. But, these are not guaranteed.\nThe Dark Alley series are the BPP's late night shows. These are the last two weeks of the three-week long mainstage shows, and are performed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights at 10:30 for $6. \nBecause of the raked seats on the platforms and the small size of the theater, Sonja Johnson, the BPP development director, said most seats are good seats.\n"I guess there could be bad seats," Johnson said. "You could get stuck behind a pole."\nShe said she feels the uniqueness of the place makes for an experience most audience members don't get to feel in a larger theater.\n"Here, you can see the actor's eyeballs," she said. "You can see them sweat and spit, and the audience does not get the same sense of that in the back row of a large theater."\nOverall, the best seats to one may not be the best to someone else. \n"All in all, we have found that if people like the show that they are seeing, they don't worry too much about the seat location," Booher said. "But there is no denying the special feeling of sitting in one of those 'best seats'."\n-- Contact staff writer Jamie Lusk at jalusk@indiana.edu.