AMT Lab @ CMU: On January 26, 2014, Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music offered a little something extra to its audience both in Pittsburgh and afar: tweet seats. Last summer I wrote an article about tweet seats that provides an overview of decisions that need to be made before implementing this heavily debated audience engagement technique. With this advice in mind, the School of Music set out to define how and why tweet seats might be a good idea for live performances.
8 comments:
This is an interesting concept, but I read the link to the actual tweet conversation and most of the tweets sent during the show either could have waited until the end or were something that no one who wasn't actually attending the show would have cared about. Commenting on the strings section isn't that interesting to anyone not actually there, and anyone who is there can hear the strings for themselves and don't need your commentary. The one thing I really liked was the responses from the conductor to the questions during intermission. That was a use for this that I hadn't thought of. I'm not sure how this is actually set up, but I hope that the phones aren't distracting to the performers or audience members.
This is really cool to see in action at CMU since I recently attended a lecture sponsored by Heinz College that included a discussion on tweet seats. They brought in the Director of Marketing from the Palm Beach Opera who discussed social media and other technology and how it could be used by arts managers and marketers to engage an audience before, during, and after performance. She said that her organization had had these "tweet seat" nights multiple times and that they had been very successful. In many ways similar to the objectives in this article, her version of tweet seats was meant to engage a younger audience. I think tweet seats are great because it gets an audience to think about what they're seeing and share about it rather than just fall asleep or zone out. In the case of classical music or opera, this added interaction might be a good way to counter the younger generation's shortening attention span. This article suggests it and the lecture mentioned that there is some controversy about encouraging the use of electronics during a performance. I think the SOM did a good job by asking people to turn down their brightness and sit in the balcony. The opera company had special nights, I think they may have been dress rehearsals, that they designated for tweet seat events. I think it's a great step and if attention is paid to keeping it from hindering the experience of the performance and other guests it could grow even more effective.
I've joked for years as an audience member that I've wanted to bring a teeny notebook and a pencil with me to performances so that I could jot down my thoughts as they happened for better discussion later. "Tweet seats" seem like the next logical extension of that impulse. Historically, live performances were very much a social occasion, with audience members milling around and talking during the show. Tweet seats, particularly if they were in a balcony or at the back of the house, seem significantly less distracting than audiences of yore, and provide real time feedback to the production team on how the production is perceived.
The problem with this strategy could be that it turns everyone into a critic, and shifts people's attention from absorbing the art to commenting on it, but, as a person who absorbs through commenting, I would feel more catered to, rather than shushed, as an audience member in this model.
Tweet seats could very easily become a new trend in this kind of setting. I love this concept of having a section of seats dedicated to tweeting during the show, but there are many potential problems with this concept. My biggest pet peeve when going to a show or performance is seeing people on their cell phones. I find the concept to be extremely rude and distracting. The tweet seats are intriguing for sure, but I hope they are in the back of the theatre or venue to not diminish the experience for everyone. I would also expect these tweeters to maintain silence during the performance. Tweeting is an interesting concept, because the only people who would be looking at the tweets are people not at the concert or show. I don't know how much these tweets are going to be referenced after a performance has finished. I could see tweet seats be popular at fashion shows or cotter various venues, but the potential for failure is huge.
I think the idea of Tweet Seats is interesting, but doesn't it pull the audience out of the performance? If you can't be immersed fully in the performance, how can one post a fully knowledgeable tweet about the performance, or have an intelligent conversaton about it.
I worked on a performance of The Misanthrope which used tweeting and texting on stage with the audience live. It was an interesting concept, but the audience was not engaged with the work of the artists.
Perhaps there is a better way to facilitate conversation during a performance that is not as distracting to the one tweeting and those around them.
I attended the concert on the 20th, along with a few other DPs, and we all sat in the tweet seat balcony. I don't have a twitter, but I did send a few texts during the concert. However, I didn't text during movements. I waited until breaks to use my phone, so that the technology wouldn't distract me from the concert. In that area I saw a lot of people on their phones, and I think that a flaw with tweet seats is that encourages phone use. It's a great concept for those who use it, but it also allows people to use their phone without seeming rude. Tweet Seats are really cool, and the ability to be in contact with the conductor during the concert is cool, but it also acts as a distraction and an enabler.
I attended the concert on the 20th along with Thomas and sat in the tweet seat section, not to tweet but because I like the way the sound blends together when you get to that point. I did not tweet or even use my phone for that matter, but I did not find it disruptive at all. I think, especially in a musical setting such as this, being able to tweet about the performance gives the viewer the ability to share what he is experiencing with others who might not be experiencing the same feeling. It can open some other peoples eyes to how you perceive the music, especially with such a piece like The Planets (which was what I went to see)
This isn't the first time I've heard of 'Tweet Seats', but was still surprised to hear about it here at CMU. The idea of tweet seats is definitely an interesting one. In a way it is possible to help promote further understanding and analysis among audience members. But at the same time, like others said, it is definitely making phone use seem ok. What I mean is that I'm sure many people did things besides tweet about the concert. I love the concept, but in practice, it probably is a bigger distraction more than anything else.
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