Theatre Development Fund – TDF: I didn't see a lot of theatre growing up, but every winter my parents took me and my sister to a concert by the Boston Pops. The evening was an occasion: I had to wear a dress, and it always seemed like an exciting event until we actually sat down to listen. The music, which was classical, sounded nice but, without fail, I would fall asleep. "Lizey slept through it again!" my mom would proclaim. Yet waking up to the crease of my father's blazer imprinted upon my cheek and my family's jokes about my snoozing I was never quite ashamed. I felt, if not exactly celebrated, at least seen. It was an honest response to the experience.
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Life is exhausting. Many people have very busy lives that they choose to finish off with a night out seeing theatre. With so much going on in daily life, it comes as no surprise that many people find themselves sleeping during a theatrical performance. Placed in a dark room with eloquent music and few screaming children, it is almost hard not to fall asleep. Eliza Bent confesses to sleeping through theatre as a child and an adult in the industry. Many students can relate as many have fallen asleep during class a time or two. Bent says that she has started embracing her slumber during plays. As one way to embrace her slumber, she went to a play that was designed for people who frequently sleep through theatre, but this experience was unique for her because she did not fall asleep as she observed the other people in the theatre. Bent sharing her experiences helps aid anxieties of others who also fall asleep during productions.
In conscious memory, I can only recall falling asleep during one production I have watched. It was the Broadway production of Indecent, and to be frank I am very upset for nodding off mid-show. However, I had just experienced a long day of travel from Los Angeles, and was running on a mere hour or two of sleep. Similar to Eliza, I would start nodding off during some of the less eventful moments but then suddenly jerk awake as there was a sudden crescendo in action or a shouted line. That being said, I am quite sad that I did nod off, because what I do remember of the show was very powerful and moving, which was also confirmed by the friends who attended the performance with me. Although I believe falling asleep during a production can be rude to the performers and whole production crew who worked tirelessly to create the show, I understand why some may do so, having been a victim of fatigue and sleep deprivation the one time I unfortunately nodded off myself.
Elena Keogh
The society in which we live today, is ever changing and as a result moving very quickly. It is evident through its people, who are constantly on the go and moving, sometimes only stopping and sitting to sleep. So when Eliza admits that she has fallen asleep during a theatrical production, it does not shock me. I will admit that while I have never fallen asleep during a live performance, I cannot remember the last time I watched a movie in which I did not fall asleep. That being said, I do believe that it is a testament to the production staff. If the actors, directors, designers, and playwright can work together to create something that is so captivating that it holds an audience members attention throughout the entire span of the show, there may be something spectacular on our hands. I also believe Eliza's statement reflects the times we are living in, and hte desire audience members may feel to escape the outside world. Theatre is something that is therapeutic, relaxing and a detox from this crazy world we live in. And if that means the occasional audience slumber, then so be it.
The role of the audience was one of the topics we discussed in the first class of Acting for Non-Major by Anne Demelo. In my opinion, although there are some theatrical works that expects the audience to act in a certain way, such as Sleep No More by Punchdrunk or Dream of the Red Chamber, a performance for a sleeping audience by Jim Findlay as mentioned in the text, in its most basic form, there are nothing assigned to the audience, because theatre is the place, where the audience receive visual, auditory, and more of emotional information than to give. That is to say, I believe falling asleep in the theatre is nothing to be ashamed of if that is the consequence of what you received from the show. Nevertheless, I also consider children being taught going to the theatre is a special thing where you need to dress up and stay awake is important, as to be able to behave in manners as a prerequisite for participating in the theatrical arts.
- Natsumi Furo
I found this article very interesting. Since we are all people working in theatre, it is hard to hear that the hard work on display becomes tossed aside in the eye of one patron due to boredom. However, it can be inevitable. For me, I have to be in a certain mindset to truly engage with any film, TV show, or piece of theatre I watch. Most times, that state of mind is move into with the assistance of whatever I am experiencing, but other times other factors take control. Maybe I spent too much time focusing on an assignment earlier in the day, maybe I went on too long of a run, maybe I stayed up late talking to a friend. Moments like these make it harder to focus when they happen closely to the time you will experience the next presentation. Often though, these forms of entertainment can be so exciting that they wipe out any feelings of slumber completely.
Theatre, as an art form, is subject to so much scrutiny over whether it's quote on quote "good," but with each playwright, there is a different structure; with each designer, a different style; and with each play, a different purpose. So it is only natural that some works may appeal more to some than others. The urge to fit in and become part of a greater whole is a large part of being in the theatre community due to the multifaceted nature of putting on a production. So when Bent shares her terror at being a non-Shakespeare-loving thespian I wholly understand because as an artist it can be difficult when you view another's work, especially an acclaimed artist, and feel as if you're missing something that everyone around you is admiring. While I have not slept during a live performance yet, there may well come a day when I too encounter a performance that despite its and my best efforts cannot keep me from the lulls of sleep. -Magnolia Luu
I think the idea of falling asleep in protest to be an interesting idea. While I’m sure that everyone involved in the productions wants the audience to stay awake, a sleeping audience member has already paid for the ticket. The theater makes money regardless of if the patron sleeps through the show or not. Also, Edward Albee is not going to know and therefore take offense if someone sleeps through his show. Therefore, I don’t see how this is an effective form of protesting. The only thing this achieves is that the viewer does not have to see the show. I love the end of this article, where people falling asleep and waking up for random moments is part of the fun. It even the writer is not talking about a tradition show, noticing how people react is part of theater, if they are sleeping or not. However, I could also see how this is distracting if someone is not extremely knowledgeable for the show.
This article is a little upsetting but also brutally honest about the author’s opinion on different forms of theatre. While I was not ever put to sleep by watching opera, I understand the complexities of trying to stay alert and follow all the points of the piece of work on stage while it is being performed in a completely different language. But with that being said, it’s every moment of the opera that makes it into those big, beautiful dramatic moments, like Butterfly’s suicide in “Madama Butterfly” (as the article mentions briefly) or the fiery aria by Donna Anna and Don Giovanni in “Don Giovanni” or Violetta’s dramatic final breath at the end of “La traviata”. The scenes that culminate to this, while not as grossly intriguing, are the catalysts for big moments. As theatre artists, I can definitely say that it is frustrating to hear that people are not as fully immersed into the work as we dedicate so much time to them, but it is also nice to hear that there are moments that are memorable and stick with people throughout time, even if there are moments that it can be hard to fully engage and stay awake, and because of this I do appreciate the honesty this article presents.
It sucks to think that someone may fall asleep during the production you've put so much of yourself into, but it happens. Overall, I think the world would be so much better if we all had more empathy. We need to understand that life happens and people get tired. Theatre happens at night! We're tired! I recall only one time where I've been "in-and-out" during a production. I was in Washington, D.C. for the March for Our Lives, my best friend and I had been up until 1am making posters, then woke up at 4am to get on a plane to D.C. It was wild. Through a crazy series of events (long story), the two of us received free tickets to The Wiz at the Ford Theatre. It was honestly one of the coolest things thats ever happened to me! But, it started at 8pm; I was exhausted. I was falling asleep every once in a while, I'll admit. I still thoroughly enjoyed the show, but I may have missed about 1/3 of it. It doesn't mean it was boring. Yes, I think it is inherently disrespectful to the art form to fall asleep, but luckily nobody saw me.
Many people feel as though falling asleep during a production is extremely rude, and while it is rude, it happens all the time. From what I can remember, I've fallen asleep during one or two myself. Along with the author of this post, I too struggle to stay awake during any Shakespeare performance, but through embarrassment, force myself to stay awake. I don't think any "theatre person" should be ashamed of not liking an extremely popular playwright, such as Shakespeare, just because they are a thespian. Personally, if there is a play going on that I know of and know it would put me to sleep, out of respect, I just wouldn't go. I would rather stay home, then disrespect the hard work put on my the entire cast, crew, and production team by falling asleep during their production.
I have had many people fall asleep during productions put on by my high school. The school was a boarding school that also included day students. For every production, all of the boarders were required to attend the show on Wednesday night. It's the middle of the week. There's school the next day. Some of them have loads of homework to do. Others simply just didn't want to be there. Naturally, many of them were bound to fall asleep. In the beginning, it would annoy me a lot. My fellow cast and crew members and I spent countless hours preparing for this night, and the boarders would come in and not even give it a second glance. After a while I just got used to the fact that sometimes, things like that happen. There are always going to be those nights where you don't have the audience you wish you had. On the other hand, there are also going to be the nights where the audience is absolutely engaged and loves every minute of your production. To me, people falling asleep during a production is just something I've learned to accept. I would always look forward to Friday or Saturday nights when our house was packed and the audience truly enjoyed our hard work.
OH this hits hard. Up until this summer I had not been able to watch a show performed in English, without falling asleep. Every single show I attended in Purnell for the past two years, I have not been awake for I’ve tried watching Shakespeare, operas, Musicals and I still doze off. It makes me feel awful not to be able to enjoy my peer’s art! I’m not entirely sure why, I wish I could say it’s a solely language barrier thing, but it wasn’t until I came across ‘”where did we sit on the bus” by Brian Quijada that I was able to stay awake for an entire performance, I remember walking to the theatre and saying “alrighty, nap time”. I was pleasantly surprised when I pulled through the whole show. I think content and style influences a lot on my mind and my attention span. Watching art I can’t engage with makes me turn off my brain.
This article is particularly interesting because people who love theatre often feel angry or hurt when the audience doesn’t seem engaged or someone falls asleep during a performance. After reading this article, I still think it can be disrespectful to fall asleep during a performance that people have worked incredibly hard on, but I can see where the author is coming from. Sometimes you go to a show and it’s just not doing anything for you or you’ve just had a really long day. I’ve watched shows before where I just didn’t understand the plot and it was a struggle to stay focused. Often people are going to a show after a long day of work, or school and they just can’t help but feel a bit sleepy. Maybe we shouldn’t be so hard on people who fall asleep in theaters since we don’t know what is going on in their lives.
-Jillian Warner
I mostly agree with this article. I feel like it is just something that can happen in theater, and most people are aware of it. I mean sure, it is understandable why the actors and technicians alike could find it a tad insulting, but I feel like it is not really that big of a deal. I know it has happened to me before, and it will probably happen again. I mean I know it happens all the time in the movie theater, and in this example I feel like the two experiences can be comparable. I do feel like I am much less likely to fall asleep during a show I am really interested in, which must say something about the quality of the shows that I do fall asleep during, but it could still happen either way I suppose. I guess my point is that we should all lighten up a little. If you are too concerned about the people falling asleep during your show, I feel like you have bigger problems to worry about.
This article has a rather fun tone to it and keeps it real in terms of talking about sleep and how boring theatre can be. I think that as a community, we have a tendency to indulge ourselves and convince other that the work we do is legendary and world changing. Sometimes theatre can be bad, it can be sleepy, and it doesn't always have as much of a profound as we hope. This article focus' in on Shakespeare, and yes there is worth to watching well done Shakespeare, but as the article points out, the language is antiquated and if I was already feeling sleepy walking into a show like Richard II or The Henry's I would also probably pass out in my theatre seat. What everyone should take from this article is that theatre can be boring and put you to sleep, and that is ok! So its up to us to create theatre that doesn't put adults to sleep in their chairs.
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