Live Theatre SCs

[notspearsdamnit]

Well, our local theatre season has been in for about a month and a half now and the first show was a success. The show was Beauty and the Beast so we had tons of families bring their kids. So far, two types of SCs have really stood out:

1) Liars: First let me explain that the theatre company doesn't allow children under the age of five into the theatre. Because of this, countless theatre patrons have lied about their kids ages. I work with children between the ages of 3 and 5 and know what they look like. We have had kids who admit clearly that they are not five and the parents totally deny it! I have seen kids who are clearly three years old get in. I don't get it.

2) Late people: This one really pisses us off. I have had people say, "Does the play really start at 8:00?" No, it actually starts at 8:03 and 47 seconds. Sheesh. Then we have the ones who are late. Our rule is that if the person's seat is too far down or not on an isle they have to wait until the intermission to have it. We will put them up in the theatre so they can see the show, though. This is much more lenient than most theatres who won't even let you in if you are late. It never fails how many people whine, "But I paid for these tickets!" Yeah, so did the other people who go here on time, they did not pay to see your ass in their faces as you climb over them. They also don't seem to grasp the concept that the longer you argue with me about it the more of the show that you "paid to see" you will miss. Idiots.

[Mixed Bag]

Not to take away from righteous indignation, but I can't help but recall that in high school we had a teacher who didn't think it appropriate we miss a day of instruction for something so mundane as an assembly where afficionados were performing--even, in this case, big band music, which he probably grew up with. Since we suddenly discovered we had a sub that day, we asked to go (he stayed behind), and while we were let in despite being a bit late, the faculty person guarding the door thought it appropriate to accuse us of considerable inconsideration. Sorry, sir; future generations will check the Internet to get the dirt on you and your colleagues instead of thoughtlessly signing up for puritanical teachers--will you be glad to see that coming?

And some adults wonder why young people don't respect them more. :worship:

[Barefootgirl]

What has the teacher's attitude got to do with you being late to the theatre?

People coming in late to shows is one of my really irrational dislikes. Fortunately most theatres won't actually allow late-comers in until the interval, which is a good thing in my book. I made the effort, I got here early and found my seat in time, what was your excuse? Its also very disrespectful to the performers, as its incredibly off-putting to have the audience faffing about while you're trying to act.

[Boulder_Bear]

I love going to movies. I watch lots and lots of movies. The one thing I hate is people that get there after the movie starts and start looking for a seat very noisily. I don't mind if people get there during the previews but those that get there even later 10-15 mins into the movie really annoys me. If they have missed that much of the movie go to another showing.

[Mixed Bag]

Unlike a standard performance, this assembly didn't have an announced starting or seating time, so we didn't know its status at the time we arrived. I was just pointing out that in this case the indignation of the doorman was based in ignorance and lack of consideration for students unfortunate enough to have enrolled with a staid martinet, and I think that attitude was the greater sin here.

[Barefootgirl]

I'm not looking for a fight, honestly...:)

But why should the doorman care who your teacher is, or why you are late? All he cares about is that the performance is not interrupted. Saying, well, we're late because we have a mean teacher may seem like a perfectly reasonable excuse to you, but it means nothing to the doorman.

Admittedly, if the performance didn't have an announced start time, then it is a bit different, and presumably you and your friends wouldn't have been the only people arriving at random times throughout the show. Was it a school assembly? Isn't school assembly normally at the same time every day?

[technical.angel]

I teched quite a bit of theatre, as was an usher or house manager for quite a few of them. After some kids calling 911 from our lobby phone on the first night of one play, I got to sit in the lobby, with the phones in sight, so kids couldn't crank call 911.

Let me tell you, opening doors during a performance is nothing compared to half the emergency vehicles in town pulling up outside the theatre!!!

Jenni

[Mixed Bag]

Assemblies are occasional.

I was just recalling the feeling of being excluded by the teacher, then, when another teacher said we could go, eagerly joining the group instead of reflecting that we should deny ourselves the pleasure on the chance that the other high schoolers were already quietly sitting, then meeting up with another adult who made us feel bad for following directions and thereby setting an example of rudeness for the young people he presumably claimed to have authority over and wisdom for.

But I didn't mean to get off topic or dispute the overall premise that people should be on time--I wish events would start on time to encourage it. :)

[Barefootgirl]

I was at a Proms concert in London a few years back. If you don't know the London Proms, they are held in the Royal Albert Hall, a building with, let's say, idiosyncratic acoustics. You can hear everything that happens outside the Hall, usually. The other thing about Promenade concerts is that there is quite a bit of "audience participation" from the promenaders who stand in the arena. Sometimes they back-chat the conductor, or chant in unison, or cheer the first violin, etc. It never disrupts the music, it happens in between pieces and is all part of the atmosphere of the proms concerts.

Anyway, on this occasion, the conductor was getting a bit fed up with the noise from the Promenaders and rather forcefully told them to shut up. About five minutes later, a police car came zooming down the road outside, siren on full blast, and it could be heard quite clearly in the hall. The conductor held up the start of the piece for a moment to allow the noise to pass, at which point almost the whole audience of Promenaders piped up, "IT WASN'T US!" it got a good laugh out of the conductor and the orchestra, anyway....

[South Texan]

they did not pay to see your ass in their faces as you climb over them.
My biggest beef after having to endure people who show up late and then push their way past me to get to their seats are those who cannot wait to get out of the theater as soon as the show looks to be ending. These people stand up and start to push down the row to get out of the theater BEFORE the show ends or just as the applause starts. I guess they think they will get to their car faster and thus get away from the theater before anyone else. It just ticks me off to have to deal with them when I am trying to enjoy the show or show my appreciation for the performance.

I witnessed two old ladies try this stunt during a performance of Cats. They ended up having cast members grab them in the aisle and dance with them as the show really had not ended just yet. It caused much hilarity for the audience and visible mortification for them.

I also once witnessed a symphony conductor step down from his platform and turn towards the audience as he waited for the RUDE late people to finish talking/laughing in the aisle and get in their seats. The deer in the headlights look these people got when they realized everyone was watching them was priceless.

[RebeccaOTool]

I'm in a LOT of community theater preformances, and the worst thing is when someone's cell phone goes off during a preformance. It DESTROYS the illusion. :(

[Lehk]

I'm in a LOT of community theater preformances, and the worst thing is when someone's cell phone goes off during a preformance. It DESTROYS the illusion. :(

i am a strong believer in faraday cages for live performance halls. totally legal as it's just a wire mesh and it silences all mobile devices inside the cage.

you can set up relays to allow staff walkie-talkies to work through the cage.

[BlakeMP]

I'm in a LOT of community theater preformances, and the worst thing is when someone's cell phone goes off during a preformance. It DESTROYS the illusion. :(

A-FREAKING-MEN.

I know you all hate it when you're in the AUDIENCE and a cell phone starts ringing. Lemme tell ya, as an actor, it's even WORSE. You're standing up there, waiting for your cues, going through your lines, and you're utterly distracted by thinking "I can't believe that ASSHOLE is just letting his phone ring."

On the other hand, it's nice when you're doing the sort of play where you can improvise and screw with the audience. Righteous retribution.

[alphaboi]

i am a strong believer in faraday cages for live performance halls. totally legal as it's just a wire mesh and it silences all mobile devices inside the cage.

you can set up relays to allow staff walkie-talkies to work through the cage.
I thought that was illegal! Why the hell don't movie theatres and such do it then?

[LostMyMind]

It was an issue that someone set up a jammer (which is an active signal jammer) which is illegal. However, if during construction you build your room to block incoming signals, that's perfectly legal. Otherwise half of Miami would be in trouble, I had a client down there wanting to have all their "techs" on laptops with wireless network connection. They quickly found out that some of these buildings block signals, so they had to get external powered antenna just to get their signal through.

There is also an issue of informing folks that signals won't get through. So emergency people don't get cut off.

[morgana]

I also once witnessed a symphony conductor step down from his platform and turn towards the audience as he waited for the RUDE late people to finish talking/laughing in the aisle and get in their seats. The deer in the headlights look these people got when they realized everyone was watching them was priceless.

This brought back a memory from YEARS ago. I was listening to a folk singer, in a very small nightclub venue. The two "ladies" at the table in front of me, right at the edge of the stage, just would not shut up. Most of the audience could hear them clearly, and several people (:D ) shushed them repeatedly. Did no good.

What finally did shut them up was the singer stepping away from his microphone in the middle of a song, walking with his guitar up to the edge of the stage *directly* in front of them and less than a foot away (like I said, small venue), and finishing his song singing right at them.

Of course, the noise of the rest of the audience giggling was almost as bad, but at least they got up and left so the rest of the show could go on uninterrupted.

[Barefootgirl]

Even the really big stars have rude people in their audiences. Even Al Pacino.

I knew i remembered this story from somewhere. It's taken from a Ralph Fiennes fansite, iof all places...

While Al Pacino was playing the lead in Hughie, a one-man play by Eugene O'Neill, in Los Angeles, a mobile started ringing, and kept ringing.

"Answer the damn thing!" he shouted, and then beckoned for its owner to hand over the phone. To thunderous applause, he roared into it: "This is Al Pacino. I'm trying to do a show here! Call back later."

[Pagan]

I'm in a LOT of community theater preformances, and the worst thing is when someone's cell phone goes off during a preformance. It DESTROYS the illusion. :(

The Santa Fe Opera doesn't allow cell phones or pagers in the theatre at all. If you're a doctor, etc., you check it in outside. If it goes off during a performance, an usher will come and get you. Someone comes in late, they have to wait until the first intermission. The ushers don't even let you in the back. And, except for certain operas, no children are allowed. Now, I know some people don't like things like that but, really, a performance of "Lucia di Lamamoor" and a lot of other operas is no place for a child! And very few small children are going to sit through a 3-4 hour opera that doesn't even start until 9pm (not dark enough until then)!

[AmericanZero8503]

I work in audio production at school. We went to a conference and was learning how to use audio software. The guy hosting the lecture was telling us a story about how they were recording a pianist in Sydney when a cell phone went off in the audience. The audience had full knowledge that a CD was being recorded that night. The pianist stopped his set, got up, and stopped his performance. However the guy at the lecture showed us how to remove the cell phone ring from the audio...now if we could do that in real life.

[Mixed Bag]

I hope these cages come to be installed as decorative trim, if necessary, rather than an excuse to demolish a fine old building which can't be unobtrusively retrofitted--lots of now-quaint items started out as utilitarian.

But will the cage around the building prevent two-way radio communication between two cellphones that are both inside? Woe to the crew with a nearly sold-out performance who won't ask others to move so a large group of last-minute arrivals can sit together. :runaway:

[Darkmage]

I hope these cages come to be installed as decorative trim, if necessary, rather than an excuse to demolish a fine old building which can't be unobtrusively retrofitted--lots of now-quaint items started out as utilitarian.

But will the cage around the building prevent two-way radio communication between two cellphones that are both inside? Woe to the crew with a nearly sold-out performance who won't ask others to move so a large group of last-minute arrivals can sit together. :runaway:

1) Just cover the walls in chicken wire then paint over it. Now you have a cool artsy look that just happens to block most cell and pager signals. It won't be perfect, but it should be good enough. To do it right you would want a fine copper mesh, but that is a lot more expensive then chicken wire. Another note, to make the cage work you have to do the ceiling and the floor. You can probably get away with not doing the floor, but the ceiling is a must.

2) Two-way radio within, no problem, those do point to point communication so they will operate within the cage. However, cell phone walkie-talkie feature will not work because it round trips to the cell tower which is not reachable from within the cage.

[XCashier]

Even the really big stars have rude people in their audiences. Even Al Pacino.
Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon Dursley from the Harry Potter movies, amongst other roles) has had similar problems. Taken from http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0341743/bio

June 2005: he ordered a man out of the National Theatre, London, when his mobile phone went off for the sixth time during a performance of Alan Bennett's "The History Boys". The actor stopped in the middle of his lines, fixed the offender with an icy stare and said: "I am asking you to stand up, leave this auditorium and never, ever come back". Other members of the audience applauded as the man left the theatre.