Playbill.com: Olivier and two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone, who is currently filming the new season of the Showtime series "Penny Dreadful," has issued a statement to Playbill.com regarding the recent AT&T tweet that suggested theatregoers watch a football game on their cell phones during a live performance.
17 comments:
YES PATTI! Yet again Patti LuPone speaks the truth. If you can not be with out your cell phone for an hour or two at a time, I think you have bigger issues than seeing or not seeing a sports moment. Live theatre is a completely different organism than live sports are, if you don't want to be at the theater don't go. This ad sends me into a rage because of more than they are just being disrespectful to the arts. This ad is everything thats becoming wrong with how we interact with technology instead of people. Do we not realize that for hundreds of years we could go with out looking at some lit box all day long and revolving our lives around it? People would interact with thats around them, actually look up and see whats in front of them, spend actual time with other people. This is about more than being an ass in a theater, its about people every growing inability to just spend time with other people with out some technology to distract us.
How disrespectful for a company to put down people’s lives and passions. Even if they say that it was not to be taken literally, it totally was meant that way. Don’t put anything out there you don’t mean. I wonder how many people passed that ad before it was published, because they aren’t thinking straight. They wouldn’t want another add to come out putting down their industry and what they like to do. It can’t all be taken as a joke. People need to step up and start thinking about what they are putting into the world because it affects those around them. I know for a fact especially now AT&T is struggling with the repercussions of this ad and will regret it forever. They just lost a huge chunk of their customers to being disrespectful and foolish. We as theatre people don’t encourage phone use in the theatre and we still get problems with it but it also doesn’t help when a national company goes against what we ask to do before every performance! Be respectful of the world around you.
As much as it annoys me that AT&T would make an ad like this I find their response to the incident worse. I appreciate that they took they ad down, that part I think is good. Its their apology I have an issue with, “We love and listen to the thespian community. The ad wasn’t to be taken literally and we meant no disrespect,” seriously AT&T? That has got to be one of the least believable apologies I’ve ever seen. If they meant anything in that tweet they would have made a different add. All this apology does is show that AT&T thinks the theater community is easily appeased and can be bought off with cheap words. I would have thought that after all the recent incidents involving phones in theaters AT&T would have realized this was a bad direction to go for an advertising campaign. I guess not, at least we still have Patti LuPone to explain the error of their ways.
As always, thank God for Patti LuPone. I honestly just want to know what was going through the mind of the person that created that ad. Of all the millions of scenarios you could place someone in for an ad about watching something on a portable device, you choose the theatre?It's just such a mind-blowingly stupid idea that I don't even feel mad. I just feel sorry for AT&T for having such an idiotic advertising department. Apart from using cell phones during a show being very annoying and disrespectful to the actors and everyone working on that performance, it's also a pretty common thing that's considered annoying by your average theatregoer. It seems like telling people to be annoying is a pretty poor marketing strategy.
I have been following this issue since the tweet first came out, and what I think is even more preposterous that the initial tweet is AT&T’s response to the backlash. They STILL have not apologized. Their most recent response to broadwayworld.com was “The show must go on”, essentially telling everyone to get over it because they had. Well, AT&T, you offended an entire industry of working professionals and need to apologize for your actions. I greatly appreciate everyone who has spoken out against this issue, but Patti LuPone brought up not only an emotional response but also a technical one. The lights of the phone can be seen from the stage and are distracting. Buildings that have been designed for impeccable acoustics have impeccable acoustics, and the sounds created by phone usage can be heard by many people around you if not much further throughout the theatre. By perpetuating the usage of phones in theatres, AT&T is promoting rude behavior and the disruption of others in addition to divided attention between something that an audience member has paid for and something they are streaming (likely for free and can watch later).
Patti is unstoppable! I love this woman, and I would be curious to know someone who disagrees with her statement. True theater people understand the value of the space and a live performance. To be honest I don’t even like when there is audience participation in a show that involves people burring their faces further into their private technologies. But I may be alone on that opinion. Live theater is a shared experience, even if people are not talking with people all the way through it is meant to bring an audience member to world that was created for them. Why purposefully take oneself out of the experience? That is a waste of a ticket. Also streaming games live during a show is INSANELY disrespectful to the performers and those would spend their lives creating this artwork. Not to mention the fellow audience members who came to see the performance, not someones phone.
I find this whole ordeal about the AT&T tweet soooo hysterical! Like the majority of the theatrical community I find it to be a very rude ad, but I would definitely say that I am not offended. There is definitely a market out there for people who would rather be watching football on their iPhones than watching a live stage production. I get that, and even though I disagree with their personal views I still respect their opinion. What I find so funny is both the way that theater people have responded. So many people took it as a personal attack, and I one hundred percent understand where they are coming from, but I cannot see how this is a personal attack. Yes this is rude, but this is not personally attacking you. AT&T did the respectable thing and pulled the ad and tried to laugh it off but apparently the damage had been done. My only question is of all the niche markets out there, why this one?
Shame on AT&T. This advertising is everything about where our popular culture is heading. Sports are more important than any other type of entertainment. You can also make judgments on which demographic this ad was targeting. To me it says “Straight men, did your girlfriend drag you to the boring theatre?????? Defy her boring activity and watch other men smash each other over a piece of leather!!!!!!” Not only is it disrespecting the live entertainment industry it’s also continuing to tell straight men (I'm not trying to be exclusive but that's their main target) that there is nothing for them at these events. I’m sorry but humanity is found at the theatre not on the sports field. I’ve also worked in some small venues in which cell phone activity was more than obvious. While working at a storefront in Chicago an actress got up in an audience member’s face and told them to put it away. If you’re that bored by the performance then you should just leave.
Wow. More than just being a super tasteless and disrespectful, this ad embodies one of the major flaws in today's society. It is a common - and not unfounded - complaint that our collective overuse of technology is rendering us unable to live in the present moment we are occupying. Theater is meant to directly bring an audience into the "now", to challenge and excite in real time. AT&T could not have picked a worse backdrop for their already terrible ad premise. Though the message that media on one's phone supersedes a real-life interaction is wrong, perhaps this ad could have been more justifiable if it had been set at a grocery store, or other similar location.
On another note, I am very pleased with how AT&T's ridiculous ad was called out. It is encouraging to see the theater community pull together and demand the respect they are owed. Hopefully, AT&T will think more carefully about their next campaign.
I think the ad AT&T made was horrible and way out of line. Why would anyone go to a theater to see a show if they were planning on watching a football game on their phone? If you want to watch sports then stay home and watch them at your house on a TV. What is the point of paying for a ticket to a show if you are not even going to watch the show live in front of you? I am very glad that the theatre community has joined together to express their horror for this ad. I hate people that use their phones during a performance. When I see a show that is the only time I ever turn my phone completely off. The performers deserve your full attention especially because they can see anyone in the audience if they are on their phone. Just because the lights are shinning in their faces does not mean they cannot see the faces of the people in the audience.
I really loved how this article included all the tweets of supporters at the end. I really enjoyed going through them and seeing how the theatre community really responded to this ad. I am so overjoyed to be a part of a community that feels so passionately about being respected by the rest of the world. Our impact on the world is important to us and we care about how we are represented. We care so much that we are not afraid to stand up and speak out. We know what we want and we are not afraid to use our voices and get the respect we need and deserve. I also love the bravery of people like Patti LuPone, who use their success and fame to spread awareness about an important imbalance. She is able to work with her community, her fellow thespians, and make a necessary and global change. Few leaders in other fields can get results like this, theatre is special.
That AT&T advertisement really was completely insensitive, and for that matter so was their non-apology apology. I hope somebody in their marketing and communications department gets chewed out or fired for that. I'm glad that the theater community is publicly proclaiming their (rightful) outrage. At the same time, it is a little depressing that AT&T thinks the average customer sees no problem with checking the status of the football game while they are seeing a show. I really hope there is a company - reality disconnect there and not an actual link. I feel like in the past couple months there have been several incidents regarding audience behavior at theatrical performances. I am glad the performers, and Patti LuPone in particular are speaking up when this occurs. I really hope there is a way that we as a theater community can educate our patrons on why good audience etiquette is important and how to practice it in the future...
My comment is likely to be unpopular on this page. I personally think that the ad is very clever, and were I not respectful of the theatre, I would be praising AT&T for it. Obviously disruptions in the theatre are rude and interruptive and basically everything we don't want in the middle of a show we've been slaving over for weeks or months, but this is an advertisement for the people who are already not keen on seeing a play. Of course it could have been presented in a more tasteful way, but I think what AT&T is trying to say is that even if you're somewhere you don't want to be, you can still catch the football game. The reason they likely chose the theatre is because it is the place most people think of when they think "I cannot use anything electronic here," or "I am here for two hours and nowhere else." This can be very restricting for non-theatre people, so by presenting their product in the middle of it all, AT&T presents itself as a sort of escape, a care package in the middle of nowhere.
Let me restate that the respect of the theatre is extremely important to me and that I would never, ever condone watching a football game during a show. I simply enjoy the advertisement for what it is: a clever play on words and a funny way to give non-theatre people a source of relief in a place where they aren't as comfortable as they would be on their couch with the game on.
My issues with this ad are extensive. First of all, cell phone use in the theatre is bad enough, it doesn’t need encouragement. So I’m very happy so many people, including Patti Lupone, are speaking out against it. But what really bothers me about this ad is the way AT&T automatically assumed the average person would rather watch football than the performance. Firstly, whoever is watching football during an award winning performance is wasting upwards of $100. Because why on earth would you buy tickets to a show and spend that money just to watch football. If you are that bored with theatre as a form of entertainment, then STAY HOME!!!! Don’t go watch theatre if you don’t enjoy theatre. What AT&T has shown with this ad is that theatre is a joke, some boring thing people are forced to sit through. They completely ignore the fact that theatre is an art form 10 times older than football, and that believe it or not, people actually enjoy watching it. Theatre already gets little respect from the social powers that be, and AT&T is further perpetuating that. Theatre isn’t a joke, it’s not an institution to be laughed at and made fun of. It’s full of people who have dedicated their lives to this art, and AT&T has decided that watching sweaty men stand around in a field is more interesting.
“THIS IS THE THEATRE! HAVE WE FORGOTTEN OUT MANNERS??!!”
I love that video. Everybody should check it out.
ATT definitely got this one wrong.
Okay, but let’s get down to the actual matter at hand. Many people aren’t being kept engaged at the theatre, and are resorting to texting. Now, you don’t have that problem on Broadway, because they’ll just kick ‘ya out. You don’t have that problem at any touring show, because they’ll do the same thing. Where you get this problem is regional/non-profit theatres that can’t afford to offend their patron base, because just one subscriber could affect the bottom line in a significant way.
How about this? I can’t believe our world has come to this. A cell phone section! And the good news is: It Costs The Same As Orchestra Seats, but is in a less obtrusive area!
This article was great. I still can not believe that an person would be on their phone during a show. Whether it was an elementary school play or Broadway, it is just rude. The fact that such a large company as AT&T created an advertisement that promoted using your cell phone during a show, just so you can watch a sport game is beyond awful. Not everyone understands the magic of live theater, and that one of the most beautiful parts its that it is real and happening for you, a sports game is being televised by millions of people and scores are everyone, but the miss a part of a show to watch some football thing is crazy. Even if you do not really appreciate the art of theater, the ticket to get in cost quite a bit, so why not watch what you are paying for? I love that this article took a stance and help bash AT&T for the ad. Of course the company responded with they did not mean anything by it, but the damage was done, people saw it and gave them ideas to do just what the company wants. I'm glad the theater community is coming together, even if just using the power of Twitter, to stop this from happening.
I love my cell phone as much as the next person, but I know when to use it. It has become acceptable for us to use our cell phones (and other devices) in times and places where it once was considered rude. I agree. I often find myself looking at my phone in the middle of conversations with people and I try my best not to. Even though theater lighting is bright, you can still see the glow of a cell phone. As an audience member, I find it incredibly distracting. When teaching at UT, I would often have to remind my students to put their phones away. As far as the advertisers go – I think there are ways to get their point across other than ‘you can watch the game on your phone in an otherwise dark theater while a show is going on.’ And why is it the man who is watching the game? I say we build a giant faraday cage around the theater so that cell phones won’t work, but all theater communication will.
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