A Rant by Miss Broadway
Being an actress who is actively involved in the theatre, there are many opportunities for something to bother me. Today, I'll be talking about my number one pet peeve in theatre: inappropriate audience etiquette.
There are many, many people who have no idea what proper theatre etiquette looks like and that has become painfully obvious to me as I have performed. This could be overlooked if they ever looked around and noticed they were the only one doing what they were doing. But here's what really happens.
They don't even notice it.
Not only that, they don't even care in the first place! Now, what I don't understand is, why do they even come to the theater if they don't care and won't pay attention anyway?
To start naming these annoyances would take too long, so I'll go over my top three pet peeves and discuss them
First, talking during a performance. Why do people do this?! Are YOU the one on stage? Are YOU the one who's been slaving away for the past three months to learn your lines and blocking and choreography? No? So BE QUIET! We've been working so so hard so that the audience can enjoy the show and have a good night. But you're out there yapping away like it's nothing!
Second, noisy refreshments. Yes, this is partly on the theater for providing them. But, really, you couldn't have opened that crinkly package before the lights when down and we started the show? Next time, please open your things after you buy them so we aren't distracted by the loud crunch of plastic.
Lastly, using your phone during a performance. I have seen this way too many times from both an actor's perspective and an audience member's perspective. NO ONE LIKES IT! You're blinding the people around you and the actors on stage are immediately drawn to look at you. We may have just spent the last half our building the tension and drama, but God forbid you can't wait another ten minutes to look at the Twitter notification you just got.
So, if you learn anything from this, let it be the following three rules to live by:
1) Unpackage any treats before the show starts
2) Keep conversations to yourself until the lights have gone up and the show is over
3) Shut off your phone and put it somewhere you can't reach until the show is though
Thanks in advance!
- Miss Broadway
There are many, many people who have no idea what proper theatre etiquette looks like and that has become painfully obvious to me as I have performed. This could be overlooked if they ever looked around and noticed they were the only one doing what they were doing. But here's what really happens.
They don't even notice it.
Not only that, they don't even care in the first place! Now, what I don't understand is, why do they even come to the theater if they don't care and won't pay attention anyway?
To start naming these annoyances would take too long, so I'll go over my top three pet peeves and discuss them
First, talking during a performance. Why do people do this?! Are YOU the one on stage? Are YOU the one who's been slaving away for the past three months to learn your lines and blocking and choreography? No? So BE QUIET! We've been working so so hard so that the audience can enjoy the show and have a good night. But you're out there yapping away like it's nothing!
Second, noisy refreshments. Yes, this is partly on the theater for providing them. But, really, you couldn't have opened that crinkly package before the lights when down and we started the show? Next time, please open your things after you buy them so we aren't distracted by the loud crunch of plastic.
Lastly, using your phone during a performance. I have seen this way too many times from both an actor's perspective and an audience member's perspective. NO ONE LIKES IT! You're blinding the people around you and the actors on stage are immediately drawn to look at you. We may have just spent the last half our building the tension and drama, but God forbid you can't wait another ten minutes to look at the Twitter notification you just got.
So, if you learn anything from this, let it be the following three rules to live by:
1) Unpackage any treats before the show starts
2) Keep conversations to yourself until the lights have gone up and the show is over
3) Shut off your phone and put it somewhere you can't reach until the show is though
Thanks in advance!
- Miss Broadway
I could not agree more with pet peeve number 1! The only reason an audience member should be talking during a performance is when they laugh because of what happened on stage. Other than that, it really shouldn't be too hard to keep quiet until intermission of the show is over completely!
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