HowlRound: I fear my phone ringing in a theatre almost as much as I fear losing my Spanish. Both, in a way, deal with severed connections. When a phone goes off, and it will, there’s nothing to do but cringe. Will shushing the victim only add to the distracting volume? Or do we pray the actors don’t break the fourth wall to tell off the incendiary patron, inadvertently causing more glowing phones to surface and capture the show-within-a-show?
15 comments:
Our phones are such a huge part of our lives that it makes sense that they're reflected onstage. However, there is a level of disconnect that happens when you see a character use their phone onstage. Their body language changes; they shrink in on themselves, lower their face and essentially block out the audience. I'm not partial to over-the-top, proscenium acting either but I personally enjoy connecting with the story and the character, not watching someone check their email. Privacy (which I saw in every stage of production) tried to overcome this by breaking the fourth wall and inviting audience members onstage, but this just made the show seem like an odd mixture of an educational lecture and a magic show. So I agree that using a phone onstage reflects life in this time more accurately, but to me, it's not an amusing thing to watch.
Cosette brings up some good points about how using phones on stage would detract from a performance. I have not seen Privacy, but I found the image from this play in the article to be particularly intriguing because it shows that Privacy allowed its audience members a new level of interaction with the play by speaking silent words on the screen. I have not seen any of the mentioned plays, but I can see the merit of having soliloquys occur through phone calls, as was done in The Flick, because it adds an element of mystery (the audience members only get half of the story, both visually and sound-wise). But, phone calls are very different than texts. The modern day has shifted heavily towards using SMS to communicate, and I wait for the play in which all communication is done via text messages shown on a screen (thinking about this idea has made me pretty excited, in all honesty - this seems like a very interesting concept).
I almost didn't click on this article because I'm getting a little bored of all the articles about peoples' phones going off in the theater. However, this article seems to take a slightly different spin on it because it connects phones as a story-telling device within a performance with the phones people may or may not have hidden clandestinely in their laps during the show. Within the show, phones can be used as private conveyors of ideals, revelations, and moments of personal connection. This contrasts starkly with how we see them being used while a show is going on. I don't want to seem like someone who rallies against personal technology for no reason other than it's new and scary, but I personally side with those who want to put the phones away. Part of seeing a show is connecting with the actors onstage and stepping into the world that they try to hard to bring to others. Because phones are intended to connect people so personally but in such an isolated way, I truly think that it impedes the audience-performer connection. An interesting thought, then, is if shows that use phones as a story-telling device have to work harder to achieve that connection.
This is a very interesting view on cell phones in theater. I think that most people agree having a phone go off during a performance is highly distracting and embarrassing. Calling the person out for it creates an even bigger distraction, but no one wants to let that just go. Examining the role cell phones have in the story telling of theater is very interesting. I think that in any modern story cell phones would be a part of it, just as much as phones are a part of our daily lives. However, I think that the way we connect with phones and then to each other is something few people actually favor, so seeing a modern day show where you watch characters have conversations with each other in dialogue is much more interesting, but in actuality it is a conversation that most would have over text. I am excited to see what new playwrites are doing with the idea and how it will or will not be part of the way we tell stories on stage.
It's certainly an interesting paradox to examining the use of cell phones within our interpersonal relationships in a setting where cell phones are one of the most taboo things to have on. I have to preface by mentioning that I've pretty much always had a cell phone, starting in about middle school, as many kids nowadays do, however, there is still something strange about seeing cell phones used in drama. When a character is using a cell phone, I can't tell if I'm simply pulled out of the moment because it feels more fake than some of the other elements on the stage and I begin to think about how the cell phone related blocking on stage was maneuvered, and whether or not they're going to be using/showing the actual interfaces of the phone, etc. I didn't see The Humans, but it does seem like the cell phone moments in the show may have been very unique compared to the other cell phone usage on stage that I have seen in the past, but it definitely must be a challenge for a director to incorporate cell phone conversations that are called for in a script without coming off as too cheesy.
I have to say that I'm kind of enjoying some of the comments above mine. People saying things like, "Yeah, this is life, but it makes me feel so disconnected. The body language is keeping me from engaging with the character." There is a reason why we are so uncomfortable with seeing people on their phones onstage! Because it is uncomfortable in real life too!
It is so funny to me that people in the theatre can put down their phones for two hours and suddenly feel like heroes compared with the people onstage. Like dude, you just put yours away. You're complaining because actors are supposed to engage with us and aren't, but isn't one of our prime functions as humans to engage with each other?! Honestly, I praise this production for having the guts to bring a play into modern time. If people are upset by how disconnected it makes them to the theatre, maybe it will inspire some change in the way they navigate the world with their own devices.
I like how this article has a somewhat neutral voice on the aspect of cell phones and their use in the theatre by explaining to us mostly facts about the current use in recent shows. The article doesn't however really talk about any elements of the shows that were really elevated by the use of cell phones. I can see what the productions were aiming for, they thought that since the cell phone is such a vital part of who we are as a community, then they should be a part of or theatre making. While I can get on board with the concept, it it hard for me to imagine myself enjoying a play where most of the interaction is through a phone on to a screen. Of course, this is total speculation on my part and I am sure there are ways in which this aspect can be used to enhance a story, I'm not sure how many stories can really benefit from that. maybe its the stigma that phones have long held in the theatre realm that keep me from recognizing this innovation and maybe that's something to be addressed. In the end, if this new use of cell phones does enhance a story and the audiences experience, then Yay! I think the idea that the author brings up about how the cell phone is to current theatre telling as the letter was to traditional theatre telling is very interesting and a valid point. I'm all for innovation, but my current belief is that people go to see theatre for the live interactions, the energy that is shared on stage and I think that the long interactions with a cell phone might hinder that energy.
It is nice to see an article regarding cell phones that is not just telling everyone for the millionth time that you should turn off your phones in the theatre. Though I do not mind ranting about people's phones ringing during a show, it is a nice change to talk about how cell phones can be useful. When I saw The Humans this summer, I did not even notice the use of cell phones in the show. By that I mean they did not feel out of place in any way. Every use of a phone in the play seemed very natural and necessary. Like a couple of other people have said, cell phones have become such a major part of our society that it is hard to accurately portray people existing in this time period in a show without mentioning or showing a cell phone in some way. I have not seen Privacy, nor have I seen any show that encourages keeping cell phones on during a show, though I have heard of that happening. I am not sure how I feel about that, but I guess it is a way of creating more immersive, personal theatre.
I remember the first time that I read a play that involved digital communication. It was "Water by the Spoonful," and I was about 14 or 15 years old when I read it. I still remember when I was reading it - the play felt ground breaking to me. Since reading that play, I've always tried to image how to stage digital communication. (I've yet to see a play that has involved it... Maybe I should go to New York this season to quench my onstage digital communication thirst.) I've wonder less about how digital communication effects the theatre, but how to allow it to best enhance the theatre. I like that this article begins to grapple with that question. It is undeniable that digital communication is in our theatre, because it is so highly present in our lives. It is time to turn our attention to how to best utilize digital communication to represent our current state of humanity.
The article was interesting but I couldn't take my eyes off the picture where the phone was projected on a backdrop. After thinking about that technique the plays that contain cellphones made for sense in the presentation standpoint. I think technology should bleed even farther into theater when it is incorporated in a clean and sensible fashion like the projection. Maybe one day technology will be one of the main pieces of drama seeing how modern day technology is becoming more and more common and abundant. Not that technology is a bad thing, its wonderful, it will just take a lot of experimentation on hoe to portray electronics naturally and effectively on stage.
What confuses me about this article is how it claims that actors are on stage having these intimate moments with their smart phones. But are they really? Or are they just using the device to retrieve the intimate moment. They talk about how some of the actors read e-mail memos, the only thing the smart phones are doing is displaying that email. It is like say if an actor has an intimate with a letter they are sharing that moment with the paper it is written on. Just because it lights up and vibrates at you doesn’t make it any more special than that paper. Don’t get me wrong I am a big fan of the use of technology and other media in theatre and when it is used correctly it can really change the message of the performance. I look forward to seeing how artist continue to use this medium in theatre and other art forms, but I hope it doesn’t lead to something that will take me out of the world.
When I was younger I saw the Grinch on Broadway (twice) and both times the actors on stage paused to make comments to the audience- breaking the fourth wall- about sound offenses in during the show. The first performance that I saw- there was a baby crying in the audience and the Grinch during a monologue looked out to the crying baby and said “Oh come on, I’m not THAT ugly!” he stayed in character while also adding a humorous bit of improve that everybody enjoyed. At another point in that same performance a different baby way crying- fittingly at the same moment that the Grinch was crying in the show and- as the Grinch would do, he had a cry battle with the baby, every time the baby would pause from crying the Grinch would start even louder and then back to the baby until eventually the baby stopped. The Grinch, as competitive as he is added a “haha” towards the baby before returning to the scene. During the second performance that I saw- same cast, there was a cell phone that was going off in the audience with the ringtone of carol of the bells- The Grinch acted as if it was a who character playing music and as the Grinch would do he yelled that they turn it off as he was sick of Christmas music. In the end- Audience sound offences are rude and in most cases, the characters cannot stop and improvise. This is just one way to look at the positives.
I found this article very intriguing, and it bothered me in a way I thought it wouldn't. For years, it's been the norm to turn cell phones off in the theatre, and with recent shows doing the opposite, it feels wrong. But more than that, the idea of phones taking a major role in modern theatrical productions seems backwards. Obviously theatre is evolving, and today the smartphone plays a huge role in all of our lives, but at the same time the idea that they almost act as a character in some modern productions feels immensely over the top. I also agree with Claire, that the visual of the phone screen projected on the backdrop is almost too blatant and overpowering in my opinion. I think cell phones can be incorporated into plotlines somehow, but the idea of having them take a main role needs to be something that is carefully designed, as in my opinion their role could very easily become cringeworthy in a theatrical setting.
The most important question posed here to me is that of: do phones inhibit or extend our personal relationships?
The most surface level answer is yes, because increased communication=more communicating. I wouldn't talk to my mom.... ever if I didn't have a phone to call her on. I guess I could write letters, but hearing her voice and only being a button away is a lot easier and more fun. Increased communication through phones and texts messages (or any digital medium that allows the two parties to communicate instantaneously) leads to a more invested relationship, as you know what your friends/mom/boyfriend is doing like you were hanging out with them.
On the other hand, is this always a good thing? I've been turning my phone on "do not disturb" a lot these past few weeks and have kind of enjoyed the lack of pressure to answer texts immediately. There's a setting where it only notifies you for phone calls, which I always see as more urgent, and I feel more invested in what I am doing through the day if I'm not staring at my phone all the time. It allows me to answer my boyfriend without the pressure that if I don't answer IMMEDIATELY he will think I am avoiding him, or letting me do my work with minimal distractions.
There are two sides to every debate, however, and I do not think this question will ever have a clear answer.
I used to not turn my phone off in the theater. I used to only switch my device onto vibrate mode. Now I can not do that. I must turn my phone completely off. Turning off my phone in the theater removes my stress of worrying if it will magically make a sound, or if it will vibrate incessantly. The powering down of my phone gives me peace of mind and allows me to truly sink into the world of what is happening on stage.
I had the opportunity to actually sit in the audiences of two of the plays mentioned in the article. In The Humans, I did not really think of the action of the play as me watching someone play with their phone. It helped to tell the modern day story of a family, its trials and tribulations on Thanksgiving day. The play was actually so realistic that it made me feel uncomfortable as if I was peering into a families personal life, and matters. The use of the phone in this play was artful and very much necessary to the telling of this story.
Privacy, down at the Public, used the phone and the idea of a phone in a very different way. The entire play was actually based around a phone. The audience was asked to keep their cellphones on and to pull them out at different points throughout the production. The use of the phone allowed for some cool breaking down of the fourth wall. They used and exposed cell phones so often that it actually made you uncomfortable. The play offers scary facts and ideas about a cell phone, and the lack of privacy it often brings with it when you slide it into your pocket. The use of the phone on stage in this case was also very necessary. In fact, without the use of the phone, the play would have no plot. (Rachel Dratch was fantastic!)
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