But is it worth a standing ovation?
Thursday, May 03, 2018
Please Stop Giving Absolutely Everything a Standing Ovation
But is it worth a standing ovation?
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But is it worth a standing ovation?
But is it worth a standing ovation?
9 comments:
I am definitely in the boat of people like the author who do not believe every performance merits a standing ovation and often get annoyed when I bring friends or family to a performance and the egg me on to stand up at the end just because everyone else is. I believe a standing ovation is no longer the thing of grandeur and praise it used to be and that people just believe it is the cultural norm for theatre and other live performances. There is definitely a mob mentality when it comes to standing during the applause at an event and I honestly think a bunch of people in the audience just don’t know what they are supposed to be so happy and excited about. The Death of a Salesman performance that left the audience shocked reminds me of our production of More Than Words which actually did leave me silent and still at the end and honestly that was more genuine than a standing o.
I have to say I agree with everything in this article. I am not one to stay seated when everyone around me is giving a standing ovation, I totally fall into the crowd with that one, but I have thought a lot about standing ovations and even applauding. Applauding is more of an expected thing, so at the end of a scene or song I’ll clap, but I usually do that because I am supposed to, not because I was moved to do so. I then know, that when a scene ends and I am uncontrollably clapping, that they did something good. If I am pulled to my feet, I know they did something incredible. I am all for supporting people who give it their all onstage, but I don’t think you need to give a standing ovation for every show, that makes the special ones a little less special. If you give a standing ovation for everything, how will you know what stands out.
I'm in the same boat as this writer. Standing ovations don’t mean anything anymore because audience members will give everything a standing ovation and once enough people around you are standing, the pressure to also stand up is so high. People are so easily excited and want to show there support to the actors- or panelists as the article also mentions- which really devalues the standing ovation. I think about this a lot whenever I read a rehearsal report from school of drama shows and like 90% of the time there is a standing ovation. Like, sure, we put on some good shows, but only maybe a couple actually deserve a standing ovation. It’s crazy because in this age if you don’t stand or if the majority of the audience doesn't stand it feels like you’re saying you hated the show. But it’s not because if you're clapping, you liked it, if you hated it you could just sit there doing nothing or you could have just left. I’m all for changing the mentality of theatergoers to limit their standing ovations to shows that is extraordinary.
I understand that a standing ovation is consider to be a high praise for seeing a good show; however, I also agree with the author’s point in this article that not everything should deserve an ovation and also that it is used so often to praise the show, cast, and crew that it starts to have less meaning and importance. A standing ovation is not as exciting to receive, it’s like if your birthday was every day it wouldn’t feel as important or special. The rarity of it is what make a standing ovation feel like something was really so mind blowing and worth seeing on stage. I often find myself standing only because everyone around me is, it is not because I don’t think the show was good but I feel guilty for not joining the crowd around me in the same kind of enthusiasm. I think that we should acknowledge that even just sitting and applauding can be enough to appreciate a good show.
Thank you. THANK YOU for this finally being said. Like my peers who have already commented, I whole heartedly agree with this article. My opinion is that standing ovations are a praise that the production must earn; it's really not something that should be handed out to every school play, ever touring show, every freaking music recital, the list is continuous. A standing ovation is not something I present lightly; a show and its performers must have had to emotionally move me in some way before I consider standing during curtain call. This year, when I went to go see an unnamed musical at an unnamed university, the audience gave a standing ovation. And there was nothing about this show that even has the potential to hit any heart strings. It's a farce, and not a very funny one at that. I think for whatever reason, current audience members feel the need to give a standing ovation to any show that has a music element in which a performer sings. Like its somehow incredible to them that performers can both sing and act.
Yes, Yes Yes. This is one of my biggest pet peeves when going to see shows. Not everything is the best thing you have ever seen and not everything is supposed to bring you to your feet. This can literally ruin some of my opinions of shows honestly. I see the point and the things from theatre goers who are less frequent and don't see as much so they don't quite understand what they are seeing or how it ranks up but after awhile people have to learn to just stand when they feel moved to not just because its what they are supposed to do because they worked so hard yes they worked hard everyone does on almost every performance you see. And for those people in the audience who just stand because they feel like they have to I mean come on I get peer pressure is a thing but you need to show YOUR appreciation not someone else its art everyone has different opinions.
I think this is especially true here at CMU. I really liked how this article brought in some reasoning for why this is happening form an outside source, instead of speculating, and I must say that makes a lot of sense. I think here especially, where people are watching their friends and want to let them know that they liked or enjoyed the show and are happy for them, but I definitely don't think every show I have seen here deserves s standing ovation, but almost every show I have been to has gotten one. I have also noticed that here, it is usually started by students and other patrons gradually join in likely due to the pressure of being mostly surrounded by standing people. I think it is this pressure that makes a lot of people feel obligated to stand, reflecting an inaccurate opinion of the audience as a whole.
I’m so glad to have found this article because it is something that I do feel strongly about. This is especially true at CMU because we are in a school setting and we would all like to support the work of our classmates. Yet for this exact reason we must also limit the use of standing ovations. If an actor receives one every night, how are they sure that their work was something special? How is good work differentiated from stellar work? I believe that it should be a part of standard audience etiquette to consider what work deserves the standing o. It is also a useful tool for stage managers who compose performance reports every night, and often report on the audience reactions. I like the detail in this article that explains how the audience was simply in shock and silence following Miller’s Death of a Salesman. I find this reaction to be much more telling than an automatic and unthoughtful standing ovation.
I agree with Sidney that this is an issue that I do feel very strongly about. Every time I go see shows and everyone is giving a standing ovation and I am not I kind of think that everyone probably thinks I did not like the show, but usually I do like it, but I still think a standing ovation is something that truly needs to be deserved and means that it was really something special, and if every performance gets one then is any show really that special? I also agree with Ali that standing ovations happen here so often because people are watching their friends and they just want to be supportive, and it really does cause everyone to join in. I do not think that no show deserves a standing ovation, I give plenty, I just think that the actual act of standing for someone’s performance loses its importance when it happens all of the time. I don’t think it will ever go back to not happening all of the time, I just wish it would.
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