OnStage Blog: This may be an extreme statement, but don’t worry-it’s not the actors or the directors, designers, playwrights or producers that have failed me. Imagine this scene: you’ve taken off an evening of work to go see a Broadway show. You’ve been waiting for weeks to have the time and the money to burn on a show you’ve been dying to see. You arrive at the theater a few minutes early, take time to use the restroom, chat with your date for the evening, check out the theater, or read a snippet of the playbill. At 8:00, the omnipresent voice announces to turn off all cell phones and refrain from unwrapping food or other disturbing noises. You oblige, quickly turn off your phone, sit back and eagerly anticipate the excitement that the next two hours will bring.
20 comments:
Audience etiquette is not something that is taught enough. I will admit, a lot of people simply do not know how to go to the theater, because it's not exactly affordable for everyone. Nevertheless, audience etiquette should be taught in schools starting in kindergarten because everyone deserves to have a good theater-going experience. I think the author of this has some very good points, like theater designed specifically for children, and that theaters should advertise their audio assistance devices a lot more, but I don't think a bad audience should completely ruin your theater experience. It's still a show, it's still amazing to see, and yeah the audience should not be a distraction, but when they are, that's not supposed to push you away completely from the theater. See the box office, maybe they can help you get tickets for another showing, or maybe they can talk to the distractors, and if it gets bad enough, they can remove them from the theater.
Theatre etiquette is unfortunately a problem that many people struggle with on a show-to-show basis. This article comments on how experiences can be ruined by small talk in theaters and I couldn't agree more. I especially was exited by the last line, go to the movies, I thought it was funny because it kind of puts into perspective, the class that live theatre has compared to cinema, and somehow making live theatre something more valued. Well, it is, theatre is usually more expensive, its harder to put on, and there are live people making that entertainment happen. This something that disconnected theatre goers forget, not only is speaking and other nonsense disrespectful to their fellow audience members, its highly disrespectful to the actors on stage and all of the technicians and designers putting on the show. It is important that if someone really has no interest or respect for the art itself, they shouldn't come to the show, as artists we want to create work for people that may not necessarily appreciate our art, but has the ability to appreciate art itself.
This is a difficult problem to deal with. Out of the many people seeing a Broadway show at one time, many of them probably are not regular theatre goers. There are not many people left who see theatre frequently, understand it as an art, and have full respect for it left. And most of those people have been involved in theatre in the past. The average non-theatre person might not know how to behave at a show, or they know, but they brush off theatre etiquette as unimportant. It is important, for the reasons the author states. However, I feel as though this author is over-reacting a smidge. It is important for non-theatre people to observe our work and feel a part of it. And maybe the chip-eater, after having been to a few shows, will stop eating chips after gaining an understanding. I wish the author would have just asked the people distracting them to stop. Kids however, who are too young to be still and quiet, could just go to the movies. Theatre is expensive and complicated, and I don’t think theatre can be fully appreciated by children if it the show isn’t a kid’s show. They probably won’t even remember it later in life.
I love going to live performances. Even if I hate what I am watching, I love walking into a theatre, sitting down, and waiting for the curtain to come up. Because of this, I absolutely loathe when people are not respectful in these places. I think one of the best things about live theatre is that the performers are directly responding to the atmosphere of the audience. There is no screen that protects the performer and gives them the luxury of obliviousness. Therefore, I completely agree with the author of this article when she says that lack of etiquette is harmful to the performers, directors, designers, and technicians that worked so hard to bring the show to life. If you are going to see a Broadway show, you should be aware of the guidelines of behavior, especially because the tickets are exactly cheap. A live show isn't massed produced like a movie is so if you go through the effort of buying a specific seat at a certain show, you should read up on how you should behave and respect the experience of others around you. Honestly, I even find it bothersome when people in the audience clap in the middle of a scene. I understand that they are just showing their appreciation but then I can't hear the dialogue that comes up next. There are appropriate times written into the blocking and script that is meant for applause and there are times when the audience should just wait until the end to clap.
In regards to the hearing assistance offered, I did not know about it but I think thats super cool and should be advertised more so that more people can take advantage of such a thing.
I agree with Truly when she says that kids are too young to be still and quiet for two hours. They won't enjoy their time and will not even reminder the experience later so whats the point of forcing them to sit through a full length show. Kids should be exposed to theatre through TYA which is designed specifically for the attention spans of children.
But really, just go to the movies if you can't behave.
I completely understand where the writer is coming from. My mother is that lady asking my dad “what just happen?” Or “is he going to die?”. So I can relate in many other venues like the movie theatre that example. Almost everything said in this article I have been though and could not agree with more so. I think a possible solution to the food rapper problem, could be that the concession staff be required to open all snack foods before handing it to the patron. That way you are already read to go once you sit down. It is kind of the same way the are required to open alcohol bottles or pour beer and wine into a cup or glass. I know they open alcohol up for legal reasons but I think it would help a little. Working on the other problems might take a little more ingenuity.
While I think the individual complaints made in this article are valid to a degree, I think the way they have been presented in this article is outright condescending. First of all, I think it is dramatic to say any of these things “ruins” the production. I suppose if you are very easily distracted by surrounding sensory input and it is difficult for you to refocus, even one person opening a candy wrapper could substantially interfere with your ability to enjoy the production. Or similarly, if people are talking within earshot of you the whole time, sure, that’ll be annoying. But to act like the entire institution of theater has been ruined because your fellow audience is imperfect seems, as the author put it, like a snobbish, entitled, experienced theater attendee. I agree, food in the theater is both distracting due the noise and problematic for cleanup for the house staff later. Most theaters have a policy against food or drink in the theater, and this policy could likely be more clearly outlined with lobby signage and stated in pre-show announcements, but in the end, people are inevitably going to bring food in now and then. If someone is eating loudly next to you or immediately behind you, I don’t think it is unreasonable to quietly lean over to them as ask them to stop eating or eat more quietly as their chewing is distracting you from the production.
As for the problem of people being unable to hear the production, that seems like theaters need to be more proactive about informing all audience members about potential assisted listening or captioning devices to allow them to hear the production. You can’t blame people for not using a resource that was never properly presented to them.
Also, sometimes people have to pee. It happens. That is how being human works. That person didn’t necessarily KNOW they’d have to pee, or even if they knew they likely would, maybe there wasn’t an aisle seat available when they booked tickets. Or maybe they wanted to be able to sit in a nice seat with their group despite the fact that for a reason outside of their control they’d potentially have to slip out of the theater mid show.
When it comes to people coming late, I agree, it is obnoxious to complain to the ushers regarding late seating, but most likely people are late because something unexpected happened, same reason people are late to anything that starts at a rigid time. Even if they somehow misread the ticket (which seems unlikely, but whatever) it isn’t like that was due to some sort of apathy. Life happens, people are people.
As for taking children, I agree if your child is too young to be able to enjoy the production, it might be better for both the parent, child, and everyone around to not bring your child. But maybe your kid is old enough that they would enjoy the show, even if they get a bit antsy. Maybe that child typically actually can sit for reasonably long periods of time, but for whatever reason tonight didn’t go as planned. Or maybe they are old enough to enjoy it and you want them to start getting used to theater but they are still going to lean over and ask some clarification questions of their parents, and as with many kids, are still getting a handle on whispering. (To be continued)
(Continuation of previous comment) I think this article as it is worded fails to acknowledge and respect two important factors. The first is a combination of statistics and people being imperfect. Everyone forgets to turn off their cell phone at some point. Everyone has to pee eventually. People are late sometimes. And when you put say, 500 people in a room, odds are good that at least 1 of those 500 people will have one of those things happen. That doesn’t mean that person is ALWAYS is late, ALWAYS needs to pee during shows, or ALWAYS has their phone go off. It means that is just so happened to happen to them this show. If you see a lot of shows, you will run into a fair number of instances of someone having forgotten something this one time.
The second important factor is that not everyone knows what “proper theater etiquette” is, and not everyone agrees. If you’ve never gone to see a show in your life, and then you go to New York and decide to go see something on Broadway, you won’t necessarily know everything there is to know about how people expect to you behave in a theater. I don’t think that means you shouldn’t see theater. Also, people who have grown up seeing a lot of theater and who generally have the opportunity to see a lot of theater are (as much as I hate that it currently this way) typically reasonable well off financially, so the idea of expecting people to know how to behave in a theater is elitist. It is reasonable to be frustrated at distractions during a show, but I think it is unproductive to classify the people who cause those distractions as rude, use a tone that implies they are doing what they are doing out of sheer selfishness, and talking about it as if you have been personally attacked.
In the end, live theater involves a large number of people all sitting in a room together experiencing a production. And the people sitting in that room all have individual lives and circumstances and different understandings of the expectations. And some of them will need to do things that others of them would prefer they didn’t do. But, if you need to exist in a world where everyone understands and follows your personal expectations for their behavior, and if they don’t you will become so enraged and indignant that you cannot set aside the imperfection and enjoy the overall experience, maybe live theater is no for you. Maybe you should stay home and see a movie.
I would love to train everyone in theatre etiquette starting in kindergarten, or better yet we should have etiquette tests for every audience member as they enter the theatre. Theatre should obviously be only shared with the small group of individuals who can memorize and master a set of arbitrary rules so as to not disturb this one guy. Perhaps I’m being a bit dramatic, but the extremely elitist attitude in this article exemplifies so much of what is wrong with "theatre people." Especially with Broadway plays, which is for many people an entry point to the world of theatre, this author picking apart every behavior that does not match his perfect expectations of the world only contributes to making theatre a space exclusively for people lucky enough (read rich enough) to have grown up with it. I am deeply troubled to see my peers, who I am sure if this was an article about bringing theatre to people who had not been exposed to it before would have been praising the effort, side with this author about this issue. This hypocrisy is why theatre remains a largely closed bubble, despite consisting of "open-minded" and "progressive" people. Frankly, I do not want to work in an industry where we shame and ostracize people for being inexperienced at being entertained.
I agree with Julian and Helena that the author should be more understanding towards other audience members. People are people. Even in the most prestigious and pretentious gatherings, when there are more than two people in one space, one of them will do something annoying but not entirely stupid or controllable. The phone call in the middle of kissing could be the baby sitter calling with emergency. The candy could have been saving a life by keeping the blood sugar level steady. You never know what is going on in the person's life and therefore cannot point and shame any of them. Maybe, if the author is so adamant about having perfect environment to watch the show, pay a little more and buy box seats. It can feel more prestigious, not to mention you don't have to seat with other people but your company, and you will not be shamed that one future day when you have to suddenly rush out looking for toilets. For any reason imaginable.
The people who have expressed understanding toward distracting audience members are kind and probably right. I am NOT on of those people, however.
I have experienced distracting audience members more times than I can count. And though it doesn’t ruin the work of the people onstage, it does ruin the evening. Period. What could have been a relaxing, enjoyable evening becomes and irritated, angry exercise in endurance when the person three rows behind you decides to crack their gum for an hour (an actual experience I’ve had.) For me, it isn’t understandable. It’s just really damn rude. That person is saying, “your experience doesn’t matter – I can do whatever I want.” There are almost always thoughtful alternatives: if you need to communicate with someone to find out if something is an emergency: text them or if you have low blood sugar and know there’s a possibility you might need to eat something, unwrap the candy before the show starts. If you’re really hungry because you didn’t plan well and eat before the show, sorry, sucks for you, but it doesn’t give you the right to annoy everyone around you. Bear it out because it’s your fault. Being a good member of a public experience requires effort.
And frankly, this shouldn’t have to be an etiquette that’s taught. It just takes some awareness of people other than yourself. All one has to do is looking around the room: does this seem like a quiet space? Are other people unwrapping things or eating loudly? Does this seem like an environment in which I should make noise? Does this seem like a casual place? NO? Then have some spatial awareness and manners and DON’T DO IT.
Of course I agree with this person about the annoyance of disturbances that occur during a show, as I am sure many people do. They seem very aggressive about these issues, which I understand since Broadway shows cost money and I get very bother when this is happening around me too. It is almost a losing battle because as much as we want, we cannot change everyone to act the way we want them to or even how they are supposed to act. There are rules about cell phones and announcements made and even ushers that walk around to stop people from being on their phones. Even with all of those lines of defense people still look at their phones in the middle of a performance and it is very distracting and disrespectful to everyone else in the room. As much as all of the annoying people bother you, I am not sure it is worth not going to the theatre at all because sometimes these things do not happen and you can have a very pleasant theatre experience.
Jesus this article comes off as pretentious. I mean I get it, it can be frustrating when you've paid a decent amount of money for a ticket to see a show and someone is being disruptive. However, this doesn't mean you can make a sweeping judgement about everyone who makes noise in a theatre. The reality is that that when you go to a live show you have to be prepared for all the things that come with it, and other audience members are just a part of the experience. It especially bothered me when he said, "If you are unable to sit quietly for two hours without distraction, live theater is not for you. Please, go to the movies." First of all this is definitely not the way to make the theatre more appealing to the general public. Second, I find it ironic that even though he's calling out people for not being able to sit still without distraction when he can't just simply ignore the people around him. Maybe he should just get a Netflix subscription and get his entertainment in a place that people won't bother him ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I mean yeah. I can't say I don't agree with this guy, even though he's being super douchey about the subject. This is something I think about a lot, because honestly the people who are sitting around you at a show have the power to make or break that show. You could drop $500 on a ticket to Hamilton, wait four months to see it, and think it's going to be the greatest three hours of your entire life. Then if you're sitting behind someone who is on their phone a lot, or someone next to you is loudly eating or talking or singing along during Satisfied, it could and probably would ruin the entire experience. Honestly, I have no idea how this complete downward spiral of theatre etiquette can be stopped, because at the end of the day people are people, and people are going to do whatever they want. If ushers had to actually enforce the general house rules of shut the fuck up during the show and turn your phone off, they would end up having to be more disruptive than the original inciting issue. All I can say is hope for the best, and try to be the change you want to see in the world.
I understand the sentiment expressed within this article. I too have had similar experiences and felt similarly irritated. However, I completely disagree. The theatre is and should be for everyone especially those people who do not know how to behave. If we decide that only those who are cultured enough or who have enough knowledge are permitted to attend shows then we are losing sight of the opportunity to expose so many to live theatre. How can they learn how to behave if for instance as the author suggests they cannot come to a show as an older child? One may understand the concepts of proper theatre etiquette, but often it is experience that reinforces this. Then what to the person who perhaps was never been afforded an opportunity to learn such behavior? Not too long ago many were unable to afford the costs of attending live theatre with the economic crash. It is only now many years later that we are seeing the attendance of live theatre reach similar numbers to where it was before these last years of economic hardship. Personally, I believe that theatre is the gateway to better, kinder, more cultured and thoughtful people as it exposes us to different views and ideas beyond our own. So I say let in everybody you can.
All of the author's points are entirely valid and I agree with him for the most part. If you do not believe your attention span, bladder, or appetite can wait the length of a show, you might want to consider another venue for your entertainment. That said, this man's nights are very easily ruined! I know it's not fun to see a cell phone pulled out near you, or to hear someone chewing...but is the show ruined? Ruined? I don't know about that. He is clearly a man who appreciates live theatre, so surely he must know that the audience is filled with live people as well. You can only regulate a house full of real people so much. He begs these people to go to the movie theatre because they don't appreciate the art the way he does, but doesn't it sound a little bit like he is the one with the problem? I'm sure the lady with her chips is quite content to be eating her snack and watching the story play out in front of her. The guy on his phone might be feeling restless in his seat, and scrolling through his emails while the show goes on might just feel better for him. Christopher Peterson, though...he's all rage, sitting in his $34 seat (wild!), knuckles white, teeth clenched, because these rotten people should have put their money into a different art form. Well, Christopher, if you didn't want your evening so dramatically ruined, maybe you should have turned on the TV at home.
I think there is a hard balance point to be found. One never knows if this is the first time that someone has been to a show, or are just a rude individual. However, there is a lack of general education about audience etiquette from grade school all the way up to adulthood. This is a hard gap to fill and how best to approach it has been and will continue to be an issue for a long time to come. The biggest need is for people to understand that each person around them is experiencing the world differently and at different points in our life. Understanding that one’s rights end when they start changing that experience for others around them can take some time for people to learn and implement in their theatre-going experience. I say this and I have been known to snap at my own mother for the way she had he phone out in previews of a movie. It needs everyone on both sides to take a breath and work together to teach and be willing to learn and change.
I have attended quite a few broadway shows. One of my fondest memories is when my parents took me to see the original Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. I was mesmerized by the show and every aspect of it. I was also a well behaved child during that show. My parents took great care to make sure I understood proper behavior for live theatre. That I wasn’t at home, and that I wasn’t to bother or distract anyone else around me. My parents also made sure they purchased aisle seats knowing that at some point, I would have to go to the bathroom outside of intermission. In reading the comments above, I see a lot of people attacking the author but very few attacking the problem or even offering an alternative. Here’s an idea, let’s stop attacking and come up with a solution. The one problem I can instantly identify is patron services. Theatres are trying to find ways to keep patrons happy. A $20 ticket to a movie where you can eat all kinds of snacks at your seat is much different to a $250 ticket to a show on Broadway. More and more theatres are allowing patrons to bring all kinds of beverages and snacks into the house. Maybe we go back to the time where we didn’t allow that except on certain nights. Also, when I attended as a kid, Cell phones didn’t exist. Now we have people glued to them. I can’t tell you the number of times that I was nearly ran into by a student who has their face buried in their cell phone. People are glued to their devices. Several years ago there was a move to install devices in theatres that can disable a cell phone signal. It didn’t take off mainly because parents wanted to be in contact with the baby sitter. I get that. I also see more and more younger people who are attending these shows fail horribly on the manners portion of life. Talking loudly, hooping and hollering when their actress friend comes on the stage and general bad behavior. Some people feel entitled, as in “I paid for this seat, I should be able to do what I want”. Sadly this behavior spans the generations. The elderly are just as guilty as the youth. So let’s boil it down. Stop allowing patrons to bring food and drink into the house, and while were at it, have the ushers do their job. Part of the ushers job is to police the house. If you see someone breaking the rules, call them out on it. Maybe not in the way Patti Lupone did with the person who took a picture of her during a show, but at least be a bit more aggressive in enforcing house rules. Parents can educate their children who are of the age to sit through a 2 hour show, and patrons who know they have issues that require bathroom access, get an aisle seat. You can do that as part of a group, speak up when they are buying tickets. You too can have a great experience when you ignore the text message, wait till intermission for your snack and plan for other issues in advance. Everyone will have a much more enjoyable experience.
So straight out of the gate this article is overly melodramatic and snobby. Though the author does make some valid points (I have to admit that cell phones set my teeth on edge as well) but the way she describes and maligns fellow theatre goers is pretty excessive. As a theatre goer you have agreed to participate in a live event and therefore you are agreeing to be exposed to other people and their needs as well as any natural chaos that may occur in the course of the show. You are attending LIVE theatre after all. Human beings are unpredictable and if you want to experience storytelling without interruptions then you should go see a movie. I do think however that we can do a better job in teaching the "uninitiated" of theatre attendees about "proper" theatre etiquette. Adding better signage, having a special page near or at the front of the program, and fleshing out the overhead announcement before the start of the show could greatly help many patrons who otherwise would not know better.
Hm. To some extend I agree with this author. Theatre is something we have dedicated our lives to and for some people to come and continue to text during our shows is quite disrespectful. As technology continues to innovate, it seems as though theater's have welcomed it with open arms or tried to ignore it. It is hard for me to think up other solutions to this problem because it seems like a rule that must simply be followed. We can't take peoples phones away or stop a show to shame an audience member who's phone starts to ring. Maybe a solution could be having one of the actors come out and tell the audience to turn off their phones. This way it has more pathos. As for the chips in the theater, I think there is a simple solution, just don't sell them. Find another quieter snack to sell.
Don't go to the movies either. This notion of disrespecting the art in front of you by way of distraction is not a new one. I think in order to understand why this culture of disrespect is rising so much - especially in terms of theater - we should look to how theater is failing modern audiences. Netflix, for example, is one of the prime competitors for the audiences live theater vies for, and fights to maintain. Streaming shows is convenient, on-demand, and private. Manners for watching shows on Netflix are nonexistent; there is no regulation against crunching noisy popcorn or taking a phone call during a show. And yet, all forms of modern entertainment - live theater included - do not conform to such principles (or a lack thereof). People are seeking what is easy. This is why theaters are seeing a decline in audience numbers, and overall membership. It is not easy to go to the theater, especially when Netflix is just that - easy, individualized, and unregulated. Modern audiences simply do not wish to adhere to the rigor of old-world theater attendance anymore.
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