Every professional deserves respect, from the man selling you hot dogs on a cart to Bill Gates. We all work hard every day at jobs to provide for ourselves and our families and to find fulfillment, hopefully while loving what we do. That same consideration should most definitely carry over to theatre professionals through basic audience etiquette. Also, as human beings, we should generally respect one another enough to sit quietly and attentively through any performance.
On Sunday, July 2, theatergoers flocked to the Booth Theater on Broadway to see the Tony-nominated play Hand to God. Before the actual show even began, an audience member crawled up on stage during the pre-show music and plugged his phone into an outlet on the set. Little did he know, the outlet was simply a set piece and not a functional electrical source. Also, this 19-year-old young man clearly missed his lesson on basic theatre etiquette. Let's face it, he also missed his lesson on simple human dignity. When I was a little kid, my mom wouldn't let me touch anything in stores, especially fragile objects. You would think a young adult would know that if it's on the stage, it's not for anyone but the actors to touch. The young man, later identified as Nick Silvestri, issued a public apology (which you can read here). The internet has exploded in the past few weeks with people insulting Silvestri and others even applauding him for causing hilarity in the theatre community. Rather than continuing to blast this young man's choices, I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss some audience rules.
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One would think that such rules are common sense and, to many, they are. However, with the dawn of social media and cell phones, rude theatre practices have become more and more prevalent. Think of theatre etiquette as going to a really fancy dinner as a young child, and being under the constantly watchful eye of your parents, waiting for one little hair to fly out of place. Or, you know, you can also think of it as going to a show where performers work their butts off in order to put on a good performance eight times a week. So here are five simple rules to help you not act like a total jerk of an audience member. I swear, it's really not that difficult.
1. Phones
Turn it off and put it away; it's that easy. Sure, you can check it at intermission and Instagram that cute selfie you took with your program, whatever floats your boat. Just do not, under any circumstances, use your phone during a performance. As an actor who's been on stage and seen faces lit up with their phone screens, I can confirm: WE CAN SEE YOU. It's inconsiderate and you're wasting all that money you spent on a ticket.
2. Talking
This one is just as much for the performers as it is for your fellow audience members. I cannot even think of how many times I have been enjoying a show when I hear the person next to me loudly whispering commentary to their neighbor. It can wait. Also, do not sing along to musical numbers in a musical. I'm so glad that you think Aaron Carter is fulfilling all of your childhood dreams by playing Matt in "The Fantasticks" off-Broadway (yeah, it actually happened), but I don't need to hear about it while I'm trying to listen to him sing "Soon It's Gonna Rain."
3. Laughter/Applause
This one is a bit harder to gauge. Please feel free to laugh and applaud for the wonderful performances occurring on stage. However, please also be aware of your fellow audience members and the actors on stage who want to hear what's going on. I sat in front of Mary Murphy (yes, the Mary Murphy: ballroom dancer, choreographer, extremely loud "So You Think You Can Dance" judge) when I went to see the musical Kinky Boots on Broadway. I didn't even know who she was at the time, but my dad kept on saying afterwards how a woman was laughing loudly at every little joke right behind us. You can be as loud as you want on TV as a judge, but please understand that other people want to hear the story on stage.
4. Food/Drink
This one depends on the venue and type of performance. Some theaters allow food and drinks of all kinds in the audience, while others have strict policies. Everything from candy wrappers to the crunch of popcorn can take away from a performance.
5. Keep feet on the floor in front of you
Going back to that whole fancy dinner metaphor, show a little respect to the people around you by not sticking your stinky feet on their chairs. I'm sure you want to show off those great new shoes, but save that for another time.
These seem pretty simple, right? I thought we were beyond needing articles of this nature, but, unfortunately, the incident at Hand to God proved otherwise. So when you go to the theater, just obey the common-sense principals of respect. And please, please don't climb on the stage.
