DVC Drama

These people are so incredibly rude and pretentious… we are actually here at this moment to watch a family member perform as a part of an orchestra. It was important for my stepsister for us to bring her niece (my daughter) to the performance because as she put it «it could be my last one».
The lady running the backstage portion of this performance obviously has no children and has a disdain for them. First off, her tone when she told us we couldn’t bring a stroller in to the venue was as if we were idiots that should have known strollers are strictly not allowed in public places, she cited some fire code (of which I can not find being as I have the resources to check fire codes and public laws via my cell phone) I don’t know about you, but I don’t leave my expensive stroller anywhere that won’t be unattended, I work in law enforcement and know people steal things just to make $ 5 on the street. Secondly she would not allow us to enter the venue because the opening brass group was «warming up» and «it would be a distraction». These are grown men, are they not professionals? If they aren’t I feel scammed into paying to see this charade. Lastly, we asked the woman, if the baby started to fuss would it be a distraction to leave the auditorium? She was a little hesitant but related the baby would be a bigger distraction so coming out would be better.
Just as we thought, the baby started to fuss, while in the seats, during a song. We came to the back of the auditorium, in the hallway. While asking my wife if she needed a bottle or burp cloth the usher came back and told us to be quiet ever so sternly.
What kind of place is this? If you don’t allow small children then you need to post it someplace, in that case we wouldn’t have bought tickets and drove an hour to come down to this crappy theater. It’s obvious these people have no social skills and they think a community college Sunday performance is more important than the big city ballet we went to earlier this year. I am in no way belittling the performers, but the staff is a joke. This isn’t broadway, I paid 8 bucks to be here people. Two frappucinos at the Starbucks around the corner cost more than this and at least the baristas treat people with respect.

DVC Drama is the public performing arm of the Diablo Valley College drama department. Every year they put on five plays in the DVC Performing Arts Center, recently remodeled with all new seating. They also are one of only two Concord/​Pleasant Hill-​based theater companies (along with Butterfield 8) now that the Willows Theater has shuttered. Plays are very reasonable ($ 20 for nonstudents), with tickets usually available right up to the time of performance. Finally, there are acres of free parking (just be careful of the meters, they are patrolled 24 hours!).
We’ve seen a number of performances over the years and have always been very satisfied. However, it’s been a few years since our last attendance, and we noticed some changes recently when we attended their latest performance. Historically, they had used a mix of student performers and more seasoned actors. This is no longer the case (budget concerns?) and the actors now seem to be only students.
We were disappointed with the latest production, the drama, Grapes of Wrath. Entirely manned by student actors, perhaps it was simply too ambitious a choice. In almost every case, the acting was disappointing and not up to the normal standards of community theater. The pathos of the dramatic moments in the play, as a result, were not convincing. Additionally, some key parts of the narration were hard to hear, spoken way too softly.
Certainly student performances are worth supporting and we need to cut them a little slack. Perhaps others, not having seen earlier performances that weren’t 100% student productions, would be less critical. I suspect many productions (especially musicals and comedies) will remain quite satisfying, and I do still plan to attend future performances. I’m just not sure whether I will be attending any DVC heavy dramas anytime soon.