Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is that if you are planning to go to
Speaker 1: a concert, or a museum or another experience like that,
Speaker 1: study up ahead of time. That way, you will understand
Speaker 1: more about what you are experiencing, and that extra knowledge
Speaker 1: will help you maximize your enjoyment. So this past summer,
Speaker 1: I was lucky enough to attend several amazing concerts Taylor Swift,
Speaker 1: for instance, and a combo Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks Extravaganza.
Speaker 1: I also found out that Phish was playing at an
Speaker 1: open air venue near me, and I figured I should
Speaker 1: check the band out. Before each of these concerts, I
Speaker 1: made a point of listening to the artist's work whenever
Speaker 1: I was in my car. As a result, I became
Speaker 1: more familiar with my favorite works and I learn more
Speaker 1: about some unfamiliar pieces. By the time of the concerts,
Speaker 1: I was ready to sing along. Familiarity makes everything more enjoyable.
Speaker 1: I think about this sometimes whenever I visit a museum
Speaker 1: that has one particular or highlight piece, you know, like
Speaker 1: the Scream at the museum in Oslo, or predictably enough,
Speaker 1: the Mona Lisa at the Louver, despite all the other
Speaker 1: amazing art that is at that museum as well. People
Speaker 1: race through to see their one familiar work. But imagine
Speaker 1: if several other works felt just as familiar. That is
Speaker 1: what studying ahead of time can do. So if you
Speaker 1: have a cultural experience coming up, consider studying ahead of
Speaker 1: time to make the most of the experience. If you
Speaker 1: are going to a concert or musical, listen to a
Speaker 1: recording beforehand. If you are going to a play, consider
Speaker 1: reading the play first, or maybe watching the movie version,
Speaker 1: if there is one. If you're going to an art exhibit,
Speaker 1: get a book from the library and look at images
Speaker 1: of the artist's work, or maybe you can find images online.
Speaker 1: You may enjoy finding out what experts have to say too.
Speaker 1: You can read a review of the performance or exhibit
Speaker 1: you're going to see, or you can look for criticism
Speaker 1: or commentaries on the artist's work in general. Now, I
Speaker 1: understand that for some cultural experiences there may be something
Speaker 1: to not knowing exactly what is going to happen. May
Speaker 1: maybe there are plot twists, like in the play Harry
Speaker 1: Potter and the Cursed Child. So I'm not saying you
Speaker 1: absolutely have to read the whole script of something like
Speaker 1: that beforehand, but I do think that one of the
Speaker 1: reasons people enjoy the Harry Potter play is that they
Speaker 1: are already familiar with the Harry Potter characters. So really,
Speaker 1: most people have studied ahead of time. They know how
Speaker 1: Hermione or Ron will act, and they know Harry's backstory.
Speaker 1: They are not coming in completely unaware at all. Just
Speaker 1: like savoring an experience while it's happening and reflecting after
Speaker 1: the fact, studying beforehand lets us stretch out the fun.
Speaker 1: You know what to look and listen for. You know
Speaker 1: what is significant and what is not. You are aware
Speaker 1: of what you are appreciating, and that can take the
Speaker 1: appreciation to an entirely new level. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
Speaker 1: please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows,