Tuesday, December 03, 2019
Broadway is locking up cellphones because audience members can't control themselves
www.nbcnews.com: Last month, I caught a 10 p.m. performance of the new Broadway musical “Freestyle Love Supreme.” As I was preparing to walk down the aisle to grab my seat, an usher asked me to verify that my phone was silent or off and then placed it in a foam pouch. At first, I thought she was confiscating it. But after she sealed the pouch via an electronic device, she explained that I could hold onto it and have it released from captivity after the show.
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There was an article a few months ago that also touched on the issue of cellphones in the theatre and I was surprised by how many people believed that it was up to the audience members to do what they liked with their spent money. I have to say I agree much more with this author who stresses that the point of theatre is to be immersed in a new world and a new experience. Even if that particular show isn't your cup of tea that doesn't excuse you to sit there on your phone. It can be extremely infuriating for those around you as I experienced when I sat behind a very rude individual in Come From Away. I have to say that when I first read the article title it made me laugh. Not because the issue is inherently funny, but because it's both sad and unsurprising that this is now occurring. If we lived in a society of more considerate people, maybe these measures wouldn't be necessary. In my opinion, there is nothing more disrespectful than distracting others as well as failing to appreciate other's art.
Wow I’m really disappointed with Broadway theatre audiences. Can’t we just put our phones away for a couple hours? The world is not going to end because you didn’t immediately respond to a text message. I have a different opinion if you’re a professional that uses their phone for work, but you’re also committing to going to a show. Not being on your phone is your commitment to buying a ticket to a Broadway show. I understand the difficulty of making it through a performance without looking at your email or texts or waiting on a call, but it is really important to ask yourself why you’re at the damn theatre to begin with if you’re just going to be on your phone the whole time. I agree with the writer of this article on that point especially. Going to the theatre is about immersing yourself in the experience of a fantastical world that is not the one your phone is connected to 24/7.
While the other people in the article were fed up with these cellphone users, I can’t help but sympathize with these theatergoers. Our world trains us to be attached to our phone and being asked not to look at it for 2 hours is quite difficult. Imagine how many parents are seeing a show and need to communicate with their kids or other such things. Yes, as a theatergoer I find it annoying to have to put up with cellphone users but I understand it. The thing that is never talked about and I think needs to be is theatre practitioners on their cellphones. If I see another conductor on Instagram or ASM swiping on tinder I’m gonna have a conniption fit. It is your job to pay attention and on Broadway especially you are paid enough to not be on your phone while you work. I think these pouches are a great idea and I think that I personally need one for my life. I love my phone but also I find it the most frustrating and distracting devise ever. I have to turn it off constantly during the day because even if I am paying attention to the lecture or conversation I feel a need to be checking my phone.
This is very interesting topic being discussed in the theatrical world. While I do understand the arguments of both sides, I must agree with this article. To put it simply, theatre has been around for a long time and people used to attend regularly or infrequently but never had a concern about the home. Before phones and other devices when you were at the theatre, you were at the theatre, if there was a problem you would find out when you got home or if you used a payphone. There was less worry about things and more enjoyment of life. Now everyone is sucked into their phone and all the arguments made against doing things like this theatre is doing all revolve around the fact that people are addicted and anxious. Everyone needs to know what is happening right now at every moment causing this anxiety. On the other hand, we are in a different world then we used to be and we do have the ability to know things immediately, however, you should not go to a theatre and search out these experiences if you are not going to participate in them.
I see both sides of this discussion. First of all let me say that I would not be okay with an usher sealing my cell phone in a locked pouch. That's not because I am a millennial and possibly too attached to my phone, but it's because that is a bit excessive, controlling and outside of protocol. I completely understand the want and need for audience members to pay attention to what is going on and to be fully immersed into the show, and also not distract others. The whole point of the theatrical experience is to be a part of it and this isn't achieved if the audience is distracted. It is also disrespectful to the people working on the show for you to be blatantly sitting in front of them but not paying attention to them. This all goes back to theatre etiquette. On the other hand, a part of our jobs as artists and creatives is to create a show and world/entertain the audience to the level that they forget their phone even exists. If you have to lock up people's cellphones to get them to look at the stage then there may be a few problems that needs to be addressed with the creative team. With that being said, I know that receiving messages and so on can be a forced distraction. Which is why they are asked to silence and put their phones away. There are times, though, when people need to have their phones on them. There are parents with kids who, no, they cannot "check-out" for two hours. A lot can happen in those two hours. Not to be dramatic, but it can very much so be a life or death situation. So they need to have some means of communication handy. Also, with everything going on in the world today, we need to have our phones on us. This is all such a grey territory. We can only hope that our audiences are being respectful and trying to appreciate the work that we have created, but we cannot force them to do anything.
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