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What would you have said?

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A dog interrupts Eric Whitacre's sleep:
 
 
 
The director stops the choir, looks around, and says "Are we OK??"
 
Let's brainstorm other possible responses to the dog, or their owner:
 
1.  "What, doesn't your dog like Eric Whitacre?"
2.  "Hey, we are having audience participation on the next song, not this one."
3.  "Sir, would you please control your wife?"
 
Your turn!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. I don’t think it’s funny. Why is there a dog in the concert hall? Who allowed that? Where where the ushers? It’s completely inappropriate and disrespectul to the music, the performers, the audience, and the venue to bring a dog into a concert setting, unless it is a service dog (and they rarely bark). Yes, the dog is doing “what dogs do best” – and since dogs do, indeed, bark, and do so unpredictably, they do NOT belong in an indoors concert setting. If I had been conductiing, I would have waited until the dog and its custodian were removed from the concert hall before continuing. I’ll bet that as the music continuned, every person in that hall was thinking more about the dog (“Will it bark again? What will happen?”) than about the music. If it’s OK for one person to bring a dog, is it OK for two people, or three, or ten, or twenty?
     
    That said, “Out, damned Spot” is very clever.
     
     

  4. That is too funny.  The dog is just doing what dogs do best.  People whisper and open krinkly wrappers and dogs bark.  You just keep singing.
    4.  Sing on through the bark, sing on through the talk, though your plans be tossed and blown.  Sing on, sing on with hope in your heart, & be sure, you’ll never sing alone.  (with apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein)

  6. “Thank you, very much!” Please retain your enthusiasm until the conclusion of the piece at which time we will accept your ‘Wows’ with ‘Bows’!”
     
    or   “Thank You, and now for part two!”  or  “Did someone say ‘da capo?’
     
    ep

  7. 4. With due respect for humor, Number 3 is unfortunately outdated.  It makes about as much sense as “Ma’am, would you please control your husband?” (One sexist remark deserves another, n’est-ce pas? 😉
    5. “Yes, we’re singing about the moon…but E. Whitacre didn’t put that part in..yet.  You can audition later this week.  Don’t call us, we’ll call you.  (Big smile.)”
    Actually, I like Dr. Mack’s response.  It balances care for the audience and their situation, with appropriately dogged [no pun intended] determination to continue the concert.
     
     
     

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