On Stage with The Lincoln Theatre

From Load-In to Standing Ovation: The Hidden Magic of Show Day

• Bob Watkins • Episode 21

Share episode

What's It Like Backstage At The Lincoln?

Step behind the curtain of Marion, Virginia's historic Lincoln Theatre as Executive Director Bob Watkins reveals what really happens on show day. This rare glimpse into the unseen world of theatre production transforms how you'll experience your next live performance.

While audiences enjoy a polished 2.5-hour show, Watkins and his team orchestrate a 14-hour symphony of preparation, from the morning's equipment load-in to the evening's final breakdown. Through intimate video footage, we witness sound engineers meticulously crafting the perfect acoustic environment, volunteer ushers preparing to guide patrons, and performers readying themselves for the spotlight. "Sound check is usually my most enjoyable part of the day," confesses Watkins, highlighting the raw authenticity of these pre-show moments.

The Lincoln Theatre itself stands as a magnificent example of Mayan revival architecture, dating back to its 1929 debut. Beyond the ornate murals that immediately capture visitors' attention, Watkins points to Lola's—the box office area named after the original mural artist—as an often-overlooked gem showcasing local artistic talent. This dedication to preserving heritage while creating vibrant contemporary experiences epitomizes the Lincoln's enduring mission.

The episode features electrifying performance clips from Landslide, a beloved Fleetwood Mac tribute band that consistently sells out the venue. The footage captures not just the musical magic but the special connection between performers and the Marion community—a relationship that continues after the show during merchandise table meet-and-greets. For Watkins and his team, these moments fulfill the purpose behind their exhaustive day: creating unforgettable experiences that keep patrons returning year after year.

Ready to experience The Lincoln Theatre magic yourself? Visit TheLincoln.org to discover upcoming performances or stop by 117 East Main Street to see this historic treasure in person. After watching this episode, you'll never view a performance the same way again!

To learn more about The Lincoln Theatre visit:
https://www.TheLincoln.org/
The Lincoln Theatre
117 E. Main Street
Marion, Virginia 24354
276-783-6092

Speaker 1:

Welcome to On Stage with the Lincoln Theatre, where history and entertainment steal the show. Dive into the rich legacy of this iconic Mayan revival theatre, from its 1929 debut to its starring role in Marion, Virginia's entertainment scene. Guiding us through this journey is the man in the spotlight, our executive director, Bob Watkins. Spotlight, our executive director, bob Watkins.

Speaker 2:

From the moment you step through the doors, the Lincoln Theater transports you. Today we're taking a walk through its ornate beauty, unique design and deep history, and what a day in the life of a Lincoln performance is like. Welcome back everyone. Skip Monaco slash producer, back in the studio with Bob Watkins, executive director of the Lincoln Theater. Great to see you again, bob.

Speaker 3:

Hey, good to be back. Skip, how have?

Speaker 2:

you been.

Speaker 3:

Not too bad, Just always busy here for sure.

Speaker 2:

Always busy, always busy, I'm sure, and you've had some great shows lately, and something we've talked about for a long time is to find out what is it like from your perspective and from a band's perspective actually, what's it like on show day? So, bob, I'll turn it over to you.

Speaker 3:

It's always a little bit different each show day and it's always difficult to explain a little bit different each show day and it's always difficult to explain. So I believe we've got a video here that I'd like to share, to just let people see the day in the life there, and I'll kind of talk you through some of the stuff that happens.

Speaker 2:

All right, sounds good.

Speaker 4:

The crowd is great. Everybody welcomes us. We always have a lot of people after the show.

Speaker 3:

That come and take a lot of pictures and we've made genuine friends, so yeah, basically, we just start the day with a load in, so when the artists show up, they'll go ahead and bring their equipment in.

Speaker 4:

We go ahead and load it out onto the stage.

Speaker 3:

Start setting it up to set the scene for the night, and this is a view of that. And that's our sound engineer there. He's getting everything set and mic'd up for the show and start doing some tests and we'll probably start up some sound check here pretty soon. But that process is pretty tedious because we want to obviously set the scene and make it nice but at the same time make it sound good too. So there's a lot of stuff that goes on during this process. For sure. Such a beautiful game, ah, thank you, yeah. And then this is a another area that's kind of taken off of the scene, but this is in our box office, so they're just setting up their merch table to sell to patrons and go ahead and zoom back in here, and I believe they're gonna go ahead and zoom back in here and I believe they're gonna go ahead and start up some of this out.

Speaker 3:

All right, we've got a full crowd tonight. We've got a lot of ushers as well, so we're gonna have three people up on the balcony. We're gonna have seven people in the back row as well. We're going to have two people down on the front to lock people up on the stage. So we'll go ahead and have you up at the security in the front and everybody else. If you guys want to sign stage, we'll get ready to rock and roll. Okay, All right.

Speaker 1:

Go ahead and grab Mark ready to rock and roll, okay all right there you go.

Speaker 3:

I'm sorry. From backstage I'll say that sound check is usually my most enjoyable part of the day of the show, actually, because you get to see it all in a raw form. So now this just goes ahead and shows kind of like a walk-in. This is walking in to get ready. Everybody's chomping at the bit to get into the doors and everything. And right down here to the right we've got Lola's, which is our box office. That's where people go pick up their ticket, pick up their concession stands. That's where we always set up all of the merchandise.

Speaker 2:

Those are all volunteer ushers, right.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, we have a large group of fantastic volunteer ushers and, as you can see, especially with the sellout crowd, like we had for this landslide show, we do need them a lot to kind of take people and walk people through. Fortunately, landslide brings a lot of repeat patrons so they know their way around. Unfortunately, landslide brings a lot of repeat patrons so they know their way around, but for shows that don't, we have ushers that are sitting here right at the ticket-taking. This is Caroline. She's one of our ushers as well, so we just take them, walk them right to their seats, so it takes out all the guests for them. It makes the process a lot easier for the patrons to come in so they don't have to try to find where they're at.

Speaker 4:

What's your favorite detail in the theater?

Speaker 3:

that visitors often miss. Well, I mean, everybody sees the murals up on stage or up on the sides of the building and everything but.

Speaker 4:

I don't know.

Speaker 3:

The detail that I think people miss is probably down here at Lola's, because tucked in Lola's we have a picture of Lola, who was the artist for the mural, and Lola's is all dedicated to artists, local artists like Marianne. Um, that's probably the thing that I think people don't acknowledge the most is, uh, we're still sticking to that historical heritage, with the theater going with the local artists full of hope. You always have my five seconds, you, uh, do you always introduce the band, do you?

Speaker 2:

always introduce the band.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, I always do a little brief introduction and everything, and the band will get on stage and fire up.

Speaker 4:

Here we go, illusions of love, and is it over now? Do you know how to pick up the pieces and go home? Well, did she make you cry, make you break down? Shatter your illusions of love and now tell me Is it over now? Do you know how to pick up the pieces and go home? Go home, go home. Guitar solo Baby.

Speaker 4:

You come knocking on my front door, same old line you used to use before. I said yeah. Well, what am I supposed to do? I didn't know what I was getting into, so you had a little trouble inside. Now you're keeping some demons down. Stop dragging my, stop dragging my, stop dragging my heart around.

Speaker 4:

The end End rings like a bell Through the night and once you love to love, her Takes to the sky Like a bird in flight. And who will be your lover All your life? You've never seen A woman taken by the wind. Would you stay if she promised you heaven? Will you ever win? She is like a cat in the dark. She is the darkness. Well, I've been afraid of changing Cause I've built my life around you. But time makes you older. Even children get older, and I'm getting older too, and I'm getting older too. You can go your own way. Go your own way. You can call it another lonely day. You can go your own way. If you wake up, the door won't spy. If the dream's just a little wild, open your eyes and look at the day. You'll see things in a different way. Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Don't stop. It'll soon be here. It'll be better than before. Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone. Oh yeah, thank you.

Speaker 3:

This was a really cool part of the night.

Speaker 4:

Thank you, thank you guys again so much. We're going to see you over at the merch booth. Come see us. Thank you again. Thank you, guys again so much. We're going to see you over at the merch booth. Come see us. Thank you again, thank you Another satisfied crowd.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, wow, man talk about electric.

Speaker 3:

Oh yeah, I mean, after the show ends, that usually, uh, the artists will usually go down to their merch table and lola's and, uh, all the fans that that want to come down and meet them, do a little meet and greet and everything. It's just a really nice wrap up for the night and after that the work starts again to where we just everything that we started with, we just do it in reverse and get the stuff out and usually it ends up being about a 13, 14-hour day. Start to finish for us All the patrons see is a two-and-a-half-hour night of entertainment. But there's a lot that goes into that two-and-a-half hours for sure.

Speaker 2:

It looks like it. Well, man, I can't tell you how much I appreciate that it was an electric show. I'd love to see those guys again actually landslide, and they're a big.

Speaker 3:

I'm sure they'll be here again next year. We we they're a crowd favor Um. Every time we put them on the the venue list, we we definitely get people wanting tickets.

Speaker 2:

So I'm sure they'll be back. Awesome, awesome. Well, we'll look forward to that. Once again, bob, thanks for a great tour and a look behind the scenes on performance day. We really appreciate it.

Speaker 3:

All right appreciate it skip.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for coming yes, sir, we'll see you in the next episode.

Speaker 1:

Bye thanks for tuning in to on stage with the lincoln theater. Want more of Mary and Virginia's entertainment scene? Visit us online at thelincolnorg yes, that's thelincolnorg or drop by our theatre at 117 East Main Street. Let's keep the arts alive and kicking together.