HowlRound: None of us wants to piss off Patti LuPone. But it seems that an increasing number of theatregoers are doing just that, especially with their use of cellphones during performances. “I am so defeated by this issue that I seriously question whether I want to work on stage anymore,” she said in a statement in July. Nor was that even the worst example of audience behavior that month; an attendee at Hand to God, the Broadway play about a possessed puppet, found himself the subject of national headlines when he climbed up onstage to try and charge his phone in a fake, electrical outlet on the show’s set.
7 comments:
I personally do not like disruptive audiences at all. I do not like when people are talking or on their phones during a performance. The people on stage put in a lot of time and effort to create a production. They deserve the respect for putting on a production and giving people a performance. I do not like when people sing a long to shows either. The people in the show are trained and it is their job to sing those songs. I did not pay to see a show to listen to the audience sing the songs. When I saw Motown there were a lot of people singing in the audience and that bothered me a lot. I understand that it is a Jukebox musical and a different type of audience would go see Motown than Phantom of the Opera because they either grew up or really like the genre of Motown music. Those types of people might not be your typical theatre goers.
I kind of understand what this article is attempting to get at by saying unruly audiences should be accepted because it has been a thing for a while. But the argument that this article makes just does not seem very sound... I understand that different cultures in different time periods had different standards for how an audience should act, and that should definitely be understood, but it is also important to note that we are in this culture in this time period and it is understood that audiences should be able to handle sitting still for two and a half hours in a dark room. Another point that the author of this article failed to bring up was that that is not all the audience is doing. They way she worded this article, it seemed as though that was all the audience did. Nobody should be expected to sit silently in a room in the dark for several hours. She made it seem like this monotonous hell, when in fact, they are actually watching a play. They are being entertained and it is likely they chose to be there to be entertained. I understand the uproar about unruly audiences because they have consented to coming to a dark room to sit and be entertained, if they wanted a more interactive experience, they could go see a concert or something.
I have been on a big inclusive theater kick lately. I am all about bringing theater to people who wouldn't normally see it. With that comes the obvious fact that people who aren't in the theater a lot, don't really know the rules. And while I am all about hyper inclusive theater, and bringing what I find to be incredibly special to others, I also don't want a phone going off in the middle of my show. It so rude, and I've worked so hard to make it perfect and when you're infant cries, or you text in the middle of it I just get so frustrated. I will admit that sometimes shows are a little boring, or have 15 minutes where they are a little less interesting, and it's unrealistic for us to assume that people are going to sit still and not move or talk for three hours. But I just don't want to have to hear someone scramble to grab their phone, and then subsequently hear the other audience members talk about it for the next 2 minutes. I am all about exposing non theater audiences to theater, but if they are going to be under my roof, they should have to play by my rules, no more coddling.
The first sentence of this article should stop the bad behavior, because never were truer words written, “None of us want to piss off Patti LuPone”. I know historically theaters were more rowdy, as in even some of the cases here, the audience, and sometimes the performers were drunk. That tends to make people rowdy. There are shows now where the audience is encouraged to get a little loud, like We Will Rock You. While that isn't the norm, I’m happy that things have changed and we focus more on the piece. Yes, people may check their phones, but no one can excuse that idiot that tried to plug his phone in on stage. I don’t understand why people can not go 2-3 hours with out looking at their phones, theres even an intermission. Going to the theater is often an expensive experience, especially when seeing a broadway show, if you dont want to be there and be present, why go?
This is a tough topic because on one side I want the audience to be quiet and respectful of the actors and other audience members trying to pay attention but yet there is this argument that in the past the audience would be loud and boisterous. So which side should we be on? I think this question goes along with the idea that things need to progress and grow as we move forward into the future. Our world evolves and new morals and laws get decided upon every day and I think that this is the time for theatre audiences to pay attention. Theatre has to evolve along with everything else in society so this is the time to listen and be respectful and maybe in the future the idea of the audience being more boisterous will be more acceptable.
I'm all for all different types of people enjoying theatre. However, I think there's no excuse for cell phones ringing in the theatre. When there's an announcement right before the show, there is no reason to have your phone ring in the middle of show. A couple years ago, I saw a production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and someone's phone rang while Jesus was dying on the cross. I saw Hamilton recently, and someone's phone rang during the final scene. It's so easy to turn your phone off and not risk permanently ruining a show for someone. Turn your phone off.
I think there is something cool about shows where a very vocal audience is the expectation, one of the most notable examples being The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I recently went to a show with a lot of heckling in the audience, which was occasionally entertaining, but some people around me were pretty clearly annoyed by it. I think the problem comes when there is a clash of expectations. When one person is going to a show thinking being boisterous is acceptable, they are going for that experience, and are probably wanting the rest of the crowd to act similarly as they like that type of energy. On the flip side, people who want to just be immersed in the story are likely to be annoyed by their fellow audience members pulling them out of the show. To be honest, I think having heckling be a part of shows more often could be interesting, especially since live theatre is one of the few mediums where the audience’s comments can affect the way the actors perform. That being said, for the vast majority of shows I see, I’d personally prefer that the audience stay silent and let me focus on the show.
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