A pigeon entered Powell Symphony Hall along with busloads of schoolchildren yesterday morning. It flew about in the auditorium. Perched. Flew. Perched. Flew. This caused a delay in the proceedings. The musicians waited patiently. The schoolchildren got a big kick out of it all. The stage crew opened some backstage doorways and, finally, the pigeon saw light and it was away into the big blue.
When I was told this story, I was reminded of an outdoor performance of Macbeth at a Shakespeare festival in Boise, Idaho. In the first act, in the midst of all that evil getting stirred up on stage, a flock of Canada geese flew over the audience. All heads turned away from the stage, following those geese. I thought, nature trumps culture, every time.
