Esplanade ON-Stage Series brings a ‘cool vibe’

By Chris Brown on September 13, 2018.

cbrown@medicinehatnews.com @MHNBrown

Bob Ross would call it a happy accident.

When the Esplanade’s Lobby Series came up against a scheduling conflict, Trampas Brown made the best of it. The Lobby Series show was moved into the theatre and a new series was born.

With the smaller audience there for the lobby show it made no sense to put them in the regular seats. So they went on stage with the performer.

“It was phenomenal. The crowd loved it, the artist loved it,” said Brown, the Esplanade’s superintendent of operations and programming. “It was a really cool vibe.”

Next month will see the first official show of the Medicine Hat Brewing Company ON-Stage Series. Newfoundland duo Fortunate Ones will kick off the five-show series on Oct. 4.

Brown said people get to experience the Esplanade in a whole new way, seeing areas the public doesn’t normally get to see and taking a seat on stage.

“We bring people in through the backstage hallways. They come through the no-access signs, and we set the bar up on the loading dock,” Brown explained last week. “The performer stands where they would normally stand but instead of facing the seats they’re facing the backstage area.”

Tables and chairs fill the rest of the stage to create an intimate experience for everyone. Brown likened it to a club or cabaret setting.

The audience can look up from their seats to the fly tower 80 feet above and see the rigging backstage.

The intimacy of the show brings the whole experience home for performer and audience. The front rows are feet away from the artists, Brown said, allowing the artists to talk with audience members.

“Because of that it becomes a really personal experience. You could reach out and touch them if you really wanted to,” Brown said. “Not that we encourage that,” he quickly added with a laugh.

Right now ticket sales are being capped at 120 for each show.

Brown said there’s great talent lined up for the series.

Luke McMaster is set for Nov. 15, followed by Don Amero (Dec. 6), Hillsburn (Jan. 24) and Earle & Coffin (Feb. 27). The aim is to get artists who opened for artists on main stage shows a second go-round in the ON-Stage Series.

Individual show tickets and a series bundle pack are available at tixx.ca, by calling 403-502-8777 or in person at the Esplanade box office or the Medicine Hat Mall customer service desk.

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