www.broadwayworld.com: As smartphone habits become harder to break, some live events are taking matters into their own hands — quite literally. Enter the Yondr pouch, a locking case that keeps your phone with you, but sealed shut, to prevent recording, texting, and scrolling during performances. The system has been increasingly visible on Broadway and across the live-entertainment industry.
8 comments:
I think that this is very interesting, it forces people to fully commit to the performance and lets the audience not have the option to break the illusion of the world and story they are watching. One of my big concerns is safety. What if there is an emergency outside of the venue and someone needs to despriestly needs to get in contact with someone inside the theater asap, and they can not because their phone is locked up. Another worry that I have is what if there is an emergency inside the building that isolates everyone from the doors and “break rooms” where someone could unlock the bag in order to call for help. I really like this idea of disconnecting and protecting the artists, especially when it comes to nude and vulnerable scenes, but I do think that it needs a layer and a better plan when it comes to emergencies.
Personally I think this is beyond reason, there are so many safety risks that this comes with, what if they need to contact people that they can only contact on their phones? I think that they should just use some rational to figure out why people are on their phones during a show. I think it could be interesting if they maybe just started removing people that are disrupting the show for others because of this but locking everyone out of their phones entirely seems a little ridiculous. I also think it's weird that people are even on their phones to begin with I mean you are paying to see a show, and you're not going to watch it? What's the point of being there just to scroll your phone? Again just seems so strange that people are even doing this to begin with. But I definitely don't think the solution is to lock people out of their phones entirely is the right solution to this problem.
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The fact that it has come to this is kinda crazy. I remember when I was watching Hadestown, a person two rows in front of me pulled out their phone for a song due to a new cast change, and an usher had to come over and handle the issue. This was indeed very distracting and brought me and many people around out of the show simply because someone wanted a video to post on TikTok (most likely). I just think it is wild that the implementation of phone pouches within live entertainment spaces is becoming popular. I honestly really do like the idea, and it almost forces them to be present and within the moment rather than worrying about videoing or creating a distraction for other audience members. I also think that the use of it in the new show Liberation is completely valid to protect the actors and their work. I think that this has become a solution to the problem due to how are lives have started to revolve around these small communication boxes.
This is a new concept to some, but to me, not at all. In my senior year of high school, this was introduced at school, though it was destined to fail with a bunch of sneaky teenagers. Though I have seen these in certain concerts and now schools, I am actually rather surprised that it has taken this long to get to the theater. At first, the idea of having my phone locked away during a show sounds inconvenient, but the more I thought about it, the more I appreciated the purpose behind it. Live theater is meant to be experienced in the moment, and phones often pull us out of that. I liked how the article highlighted not only creative protection but also respect for performers’ privacy—especially in shows like Liberation, where vulnerability onstage demands audience discretion. These pouches are less about restriction and more about helping audiences reconnect with presence, emotion, and shared experience.
So I really don't like this idea. Don't get me wrong, I think the use of phones during shows is a big problem and is something that needs to be addressed however I don't think locking up phones is the answer. I think it poses several problems, but the biggest one I think would be accessibility. This solution completely disregards disabled people. I think about deaf individuals who use their phones as a way to manage their cochlear implant, and I also think about diabetic individuals who use pumps that monitor blood sugar through their phone. In both of these instances I would argue it's dangerous to take away their phones and this solution just doesn’t account for that. I really wish this wasn't an issue but I think it speaks more about the current social norms of our society and our reliance on personal technology. I'm not sure if there is a good solution, but I really don't think this is it.
This article is really interesting. These pouches sound like a great idea to protect performers and keep all the audience members engaged. The magic thing about theatre that I have found in no other art form is the element of immersion. For the time that you are in a theatre, you are in a different world. The best way to ruin that immersive experience for those around you is to be messing around with your phone during the performance. This has happened to me a few times, and ushers have had to come over which just creates so much commotion and really takes me out of the world of the play. The idea of these pouches is great to prevent this. They can also be great for protecting performers in shows like Liberation. This also shows how much the producers of Liberation care about their actors, which I think is great! Overall, I am sure that the cost associated with these pouches is not small but I think that the benefits for audience and cast members definitely outweigh them!
This makes me very happy to see. I remember going to professional shows and seeing some people around me using their phones. I never really understood why they even came just to not pay attention to the entertainment in front of them. It’s extremely rude to the cast and crew and can be distracting to other audience members. If it’s an urgent matter then they should walk out instead of disturbing the people around them. The Yondr pouches are perfect for theatre productions because they also prevent people from recording the shows as well, especially ones that can be pretty inappropriate but also to prevent copyright infringements. It also prevents spoilers of the show, which I tend to come across a lot on instagram. While it makes me want to see the show, it also tells me a little bit about what to expect, which sometimes it’s nice to be surprised. I also do like the fact that the phone isn’t permanently locked until the end of the show and can be accessed in certain areas of the theatre if needed.
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