PRE-SHOW
When The Wildlife of Little Hot Springs Valley made its theatrical debut at the Fall River Theatre in Fall River Mills, CA, it was quite an event! I showed up early and got my display table ready in the lobby.
Eventually, people started arriving at the theatre—lots of people. Before I knew it, I was shaking hands with many random people and being congratulated on my work. Some people saw my documentary on PBS and mentioned that to me. Dang, there were a lot of strangers. I was also selling quite a few videos. A reporter from the Mountain Echo newspaper even showed up and interviewed me and took my picture.
THE BIG EVENT
After the theater was packed, Donna Sylvester (theater owner) spoke to the crowd and said I’d go out and give an introduction. So, after I got her signal, I exited the lobby and sprinted down a theater aisle between two rows of seats. I then stood in front of everybody and gave some brief words before my video started.
Afterwards, I left the main screening room, went up to the empty balcony seats, and sat down. It was incredible watching my documentary on the big screen while a bunch of strangers below munched popcorn while honestly interested in my work. That’s a big change from the old days when some of my family members slept through my wildlife videos as they played on the living room TV. As my documentary started, Donna came up to the balcony and did a count of the audience. She counted 106 people. Both Donna and I were really surprised that many people arrived. Free admission and popcorn must have been effective incentives.
DISASTER
As my production played, I sat back and luxuriated in watching my work while I had very fleeting celebrity status. Then . . . disaster struck! About halfway through the feature (right after the fawn hopping montage), the screen completely blacked out. Donna came out and announced that there was a power outage (reason is a mystery, as far as I know). Apparently, the power was out all over the part of town where the theater was. Soon, a voice said: “Why don’t we get the filmmaker down here to answer questions?” So, I went back to the first floor and stood in front of the whole audience—again. I answered questions with a fair amount of articulateness, though I was improvising and fueled by adrenaline.
AFTERMATH
Eventually, I was needed in the lobby to sell more videos and before I knew it, people were exiting the theater in large numbers. Meanwhile, I was rushing to un-wrap DVDs, autograph them, and accept the various checks and $20 bills people were handing me. Many people were also taking my business cards. Some people had the fanciful notion that my autograph on a DVD cover would make it be worth a lot someday because of my chances of being famous.
Jeez, I’m flattered people even wanted my autograph. Really though, I’d be happy if my autograph is merely worth a lot to the people for whom I write it. Eventually, just about everyone was gone. Then the power came back on. But, alas, it was too late. My documentary never got started again. I really wanted people to see my entire production, but having an unplanned cliffhanger ending may have helped DVD sales.
Below is a shot I took of my video on the big screen when Donna was testing the DVD projector before the screening. The camera flash makes the video image look extra washed out, but it’s still neat to get a glimpse of it in a theatrical setting.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I want to thank everybody who stopped by to see my work. Your support and interest mean a lot, and I’m happy and somewhat stunned that The Wildlife of Little Hot Springs Valley is appreciated by so many people. Plus, I’m thanking the Fall River Theatre staff for their popcorn-serving and cleanup efforts. But, most of all, I want to thank Donna Sylvester. Her generosity is what made my first theater screening possible.