Dream - Afternoon Frivolities

In this dream, I find myself in a house where the backyard is shared with everyone else on the block - somewhat like all of the neighbors had torn down the backyard fences to make one open area.

    My place was closest to the swimming pool and, on this afternoon, the pool was filled with frolicking kids having fun and making a big ruckus.
    The sound was too unsettling for me to do anything else, so I decided that I might as well join them in the pool.  Before changing into my swim trunks, I take a look out my back window.  Okay, it’s only small children in the pool, with a few adults, on the deck, who were obviously not dressed for swimming.
    Not wanting to be the only adult in the pool, I changed my mind; I would feel too awkward.

    Instead, I decided to go see a movie.  There was a convenient theater only a couple of blocks away, so I spruced up a little and then left to walk over there.

    On the way, I encountered a man who approached me and inquired if I was interested in becoming a street vendor.  Knowing that those guys don’t make much money and I already had a nice job, I didn’t want to accept.  I told him that I would consider the offer and asked him for contact information.  He gave me a business card and then I continued heading for the theater.

    Once I arrived, I bought a ticket and then went inside to buy some popcorn at the concession counter.  Then, I looked at my ticket stub to see which auditorium to go to.
    Inside the theater, the auditoriums were located at varied elevations and are mainly poised at peculiar angles along sloped, curved corridors.  The movie I selected was to be shown in Auditorium 7.  This was the one not along one of the corridors, and instead was around the corner from the lobby.  I had never been in that particular auditorium before.
    Entering the room, I observed something unusual about it - all of the seats were turned sideways, facing the wall rather than towards the screen.  That wasn’t the case in the other auditoriums I had been in before; what was up with these seats?

    After I took a seat, the movie began; incidentally, without previews.  As it turned out, the film was about a morbidly obese man who was constantly eating.
    The subject was making me uncomfortable about eating the popcorn.  Perhaps I should have looked into what the movie was about before purchasing a ticket.  I started to debate with myself that, perhaps, I should just set the popcorn down and stop eating.
    I quickly tired of craning my neck to watch the picture and the plot wasn’t getting much better.  So far, nothing of any real substance had happened.  The main character kept eating just about everything.

    Just as some sort of a plot was developing - he got a phone call that his friend had died - the movie abruptly stopped.  The lights remained off for several minutes.  The audience was so quiet, that I began to wonder if they were still there.  I could see a few people at the end of the isle, between the screen, and me but I looked around for others.  Okay, the auditorium was still filled - it was just that everyone was refraining from talking.

    Then, the lights came on and a woman entered the auditorium and passed a document -sized glossy card to the audience.  She announced that the card detailed the theater’s plan to combat the threat of terrorism.  She further said that the card was not to be kept.   We were to just read it and pass it on.

    When the card got to me, I first noticed that it had a detailed mapping of a system of corridors and stairways that ran behind and between the auditoriums.  These passageways would not normally be accessible by patrons, but rather to theater employees.  They had entrances that were concealed by decor.  Below the map was a block of text in English, followed by a block of text in Spanish.
    I read the English text.  For some reason, I was making comments to a woman, sitting next to me, about what I was reading.  The text mentioned that the backstage passageways would be used to track terrorist suspects and could also be used as part of an emergency evacuation route, depending on circumstances.
    I passed the card to a couple at the end of the isle.

    After everyone had a chance to view the card, the woman announced that we would be treated to a live performance.  She added that the company was still refining the specifics of the routine and that we would be asked to fill out a survey and evaluate the performance after the show.
    The auditorium wall opened up to reveal a stage.  At least the stage was directly in front of the seating, so now I wouldn’t have to strain my neck anymore.

    Several women in colorful skirts came out and engaged in elaborate dancing to music.  When the first tune ended, four of the performers lifted one entertainer high into the air.
    When the next song began, a fifth performer yanked down the skirt of the woman the others were holding up.  This selection was a musical number about ‘panties’.
    Although I was enjoying it, I felt as though I should make a comment about the inappropriateness of including such a concept in a mainstream stage act.  Our entertainment venues are increasingly becoming more and more immoral, and this was going just a bit too far.  I hadn’t seen the survey form just yet, but I was determined to find a way to include that sentiment somewhere therein.

    Then, I woke up.