Maybe those tenets sound mild or self-evident to you. But American theater has a chronic inflammatory condition that gets triggered by perceived faux pas in audience etiquette.
Thursday, October 03, 2019
The dog whistle of phones in theater, or why audience behavior is always the wrong conversation
Maybe those tenets sound mild or self-evident to you. But American theater has a chronic inflammatory condition that gets triggered by perceived faux pas in audience etiquette.
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I think the main point that I get from this article is the same thing that Jeremy O. Harris said in his tweet, there is no right or wrong way to watch theater. I know that theaters have rules and it would be nice to have them followed but there is no right way to enforce them. It is nice of theaters to ask its audience members to put way their cell phones but to be honest as a theater maker and goer if I get bored during a performance, I am going to pull out my phone and play games. It is perfectly fine to have these rules and encourage audience members to follow them but at the same time allow people warm up to those rules especially new audience members. Like the author said we should focus on welcoming the audience instead of controlling them. When we welcome them, they will respect the wishes of the theater.
I’m a bit torn in the subject of phones or no phones in the theatre. Yes, the light might be disruptive to some, but I feel like that argument was created when phones with bright screens were just starting. Nowadays we are all so used to seeing them that I don’t think the claim is valid, this is for an audience member. I feel like the whole argument of not having phones out it’s a bit actor centered. Actors stopping the audience and breaking their role to scold patrons are such a big no no for me. As an actor, I can see how a phone might brighten someone entirely and break that idea of a void. But at the same time, phones could be used for so many good purposes, they could be incorporated to the play like the article mentions, or they could even be turned into accesibility tools!
I’ve always been kind of unclear as to where I stand in the cell-phone debate during shows. There’s part of me that says it’s disrespectful to the actors to be on my phone while they perform, but also I feel like if you are paying for the ticket it should be your choice whether you want to watch or not. If your phone screen is dimmed and you are not distracting the audience around you, I do not really see why it matters that you are on your phone. That audience member paid the money for the ticket, fully knowing that they will not get that money back and if they want to not pay attention then it should be their choice. I also think it is sort of rude for actors and actresses to call out audience members specifically using their phones during performances. Yes it is disrespectful to the actors, but these people are paying a lot of money to see the show, specifically for Broadway productions. We have no idea what that person may be needing to do on the phone at that time. It could even be an emergency. If an audience member wants to use their phone during a show, they should be allowed to if it does not distract other audience members.
I still don’t think that cell phones belong in the performance space and I don’t agree that texting your bestie who is watching the play you’ve written sets a good example. There is time to talk after the play about the play. While you may not have a problem with it, the audience member sitting next to your bestie may as it may be distracting to them. What this article fails to hit on is that while you might not care about phone use, the person next to you may not feel the same way and if you expect that they consider your feelings, you should also consider theirs. I would also like to respond to the comment, “I paid for the ticket, I should be able to do what I want”. This is not an ideal that you should have. Other people paid for their tickets, does that mean that they have to be subjected to your behavior? No and quite frankly, if you are that bored, you should either leave or maybe consider not coming to the theatre in the first place. When I go, my phone gets turned off and put away and I go into the world of the play. It’s a nice distraction.
AHH I quite literally wrote about this exact idea on another blog post about cell phone use during a production two weeks ago. In that comment, I wrote that "I think as people working in this industry as the artists and creators we have created an idealized way of 'experiencing' our work, which is more than fine! But, I also think we as artists owe it to our audience to help them along". The American Conservatory Theater is doing exactly that, and while everyone is entitled to agree or disagree with the norms they've set up, they're at least taking the steps to help audiences experience their productions. Again, we can't assume that people will automatically align with some of the older traditions in theatre (which, as the author points out, is a rather classist mindset), and if we want to help break those traditions we should at the very least tell that to our audience members! Let them know that it's okay to leave your phone on silent and just dim the screen if you as the production team are okay with it, but we also want to make sure we are being courteous to the other patrons who have just as much a right to be there.
I personally am not the biggest fan of cell phone use during productions and shows. I find the glowing of a screen highly distracting from the action on stage. This article talked about general cell phone use, but I also think a conversation could be had about recording as well. Some audience members use their cell phone to record as well, and this is, again, distracting to audience members, but also distracting to the cast and can adversely affect the performance, which we all paid for. When I saw The Lion King at the Benedum Center, an audience member a few rows behind me was taking pictures (with flash) during the entire Circle of Life sequence. In response to James above, I did actually hear about a patron during Hamilton who was an on-call medical professional. He had some device that flashed during the performance. Maybe some sort of allowances can be made in this case, or, like the article and Char have stated, having some productions that incorporate cell phone use.
AS an audience member I would rather not see the lights of someone else's phone, I get that they might be bored or maybe they have someone important to do but sometimes you just need to be in the moment. If you get bored during the show, don't go to another show after but do we really need to mindlessly fill our time with something when what is in front of us isn't seen as entertaining. I guess I am thinking about this topic as human interactions with cell phones in general, do we really need to be on them all the time? You pay to come to see a show and when you decide to use your phone that a pretty expensive web browsing session don't you think? I would love to see a more present audience and even if they aren't enjoying the show maybe they will start a debate that pushes theater to become better. Theater is an amazing experience and yes in ways it is dying but do we really need to continue to use so much technology to enjoy our time? Someone needs to write a play or musical about waking people up to the realities of technology and being present. I think a lot of people don't choose to live in the moment and be present and that's why I think theater is such an amazing art for (and being on your phone and distracting others takes away from that)
I don't like cell phones in theatre, I'll admit that. But, I do think this article brings up an interesting point: we all experience theatre differently. There is no equity in theatre-going. Nobody questions when rich, white theatre-goers take out there phones. I've even seen people respond to tweets about people on their phones in the theatre that those people paid for their ticket and they can do that if they want. There's no way that the people who say that are picturing anyone but an old, rich, white person. So, why is it that when a young, black man uses his phone in the theatre, people are outraged. No, I don't think anyone should use their phone in a . theatre unless it's an emergency, but if they're going to, there cannot be a double standard in deciding how we react. This is very much representative of how people of color are treated in theatre as a whole. This article really hit the nail on the head and no matter how you feel about phones in theatre, the responses are riddled with racism and classism.
I think this is a particularly interesting issue. On the one hand, it is incredibly annoying when someone has their phone out near you. It is distracting and makes it hard to focus on the show. On the other hand, that person probably has their phone out because the show is not sufficiently engaging. I am always seeing shows that try to embrace technology - encouraging people to live tweet the show, take selfies with performers or the scenery, or even drive the action of the show with audience participation via technology. Maybe it is just something I do not enjoy, but I generally feel like these shows are harder to connect to, like the technology creates a barrier rather than eliminating it. In the case of trying not to alienate people who just do not know that it is frowned upon to use their phone in the theatre, it seems obvious that the theatres should be responsible for establishing expectations. Even an audience of 100% seasoned theatregoers needs to be reminded to shut off their phones.
This is such an interesting article because it's a much more understanding and thoughtful take than the other one last week that was just negative towards people who use their phones in theaters. I do agree that it is really annoying when seeing live theatre to have any distractions. Those tickets are expensive and I want to see the theatre piece the way the director and creative team intended it to be seen. That being said, I can recognize that not everyone is trying to go to the theatre and appreciate it in that way. Sometimes people have an emergency and need to go on their phone, or maybe they never knew it was disrespectful. I think it's important to try and understand everyones point of view on this issue, and continue to be understanding towards people who don't follow those rules, especially because they may not yet know them.
This is such an interesting article because it's a much more understanding and thoughtful take than the other one last week that was just negative towards people who use their phones in theaters. I do agree that it is really annoying when seeing live theatre to have any distractions. Those tickets are expensive and I want to see the theatre piece the way the director and creative team intended it to be seen. That being said, I can recognize that not everyone is trying to go to the theatre and appreciate it in that way. Sometimes people have an emergency and need to go on their phone, or maybe they never knew it was disrespectful. I think it's important to try and understand everyones point of view on this issue, and continue to be understanding towards people who don't follow those rules, especially because they may not yet know them.
Call me old fashioned but if I paid good money to see a show that people poured their hearts and souls into even if I find that I'm not particularly interested in it I will never pull my phone out. Not only can it distract and anger those around you but common courtesy screams in my ear and tells me that I simply cannot do that to the performers, designers, technicians, and every other person whose good intentions, creativity, and hard work went into it. As far as the author's claims about the outrage against O. Harris' actions, I'd like to believe that contrary to the author's view that the outrage's about how he's a "young black man unapologetically claiming the right to question old norms and forge new ones in a historically white institution" it's more about respecting the performers and the audience. Personally, I think he should be able to hold a show and use his phone whenever he wants because he CREATED the show. But I also understand their outrage because the normal theatergoer doesn't get the curtain held for them and their not special enough to get to use their phones when they want. Overall I choose to believe that race has nothing to do with the outrage over O. Harris' actions and that phones for the general viewer should be stored in reverence for the show and it's participants.
I think this article is a really interesting turn on a lot of the articles that are usually talking about all of the things wrong with society’s inability to sit and watch theatre. I think it is important to respect the art form, but I also think that respect can come in many different shapes and sizes. Theatre is changing. We are changing. The art form and how we are able to view it is changing. While I don’t appreciate phones in theatre, I am not going to shame someone for using there’s. I like the house management policy that ACT has taken up, where they focus more on hospitality than rule enforcement. The more that rules are pushed and enforced of “don’t do this” and “you can’t do that”, the more people are not going to respond. The most powerful message in this whole article is the last sentence, “When you don’t state what your norms are, you still have norms; you’re just letting tradition — and its whiteness, its bigotry, its classism — write them for you” because we are at a point now where we can start dictating our own traditions.
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