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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 8:54:23 GMT
Bit of a funny one this.
I follow lots of MT actors on Twiddler and the like, and I see huge amounts of involvement in the bad behaviour debates, ranging from the bemused and amused to the borderline aggressive (you know the kind of thing 'WE SEE YOU in the front row with your phone, how disrespectful, what is your problem, you're a terrible individual etc etc.")
Now to be clear, audience behaviour and the decline thereof drives me berserk. All I want is to sit in my seat in complete peace with no talking, eating, picture taking, arm rest elbowing etc etc and will happily call it out.
But for some reason, for me personally, I don't feel comfortable when the MT actors do it. The bemused/amused is fine. But the really aggressive ones I really don't like. I guess ultimately, the audience, including the badly behaved ones are paying their salary. I also feel the policing of the audience should be done in other ways, by the ushers, by better announcements, by raising awareness and ultimately by the audience themselves.
Bad audience behaviour is complex. It is almost never an individual deciding to be evil but rather reflects the way society is and social norms, attitudes and behaviours. So singling out individuals for a social media flogging (when they are paying your salary) doesn't sit well. I guess I sort of think two wrongs don't make a right.
Just wondered what other people think? Reason I put this under musicals is that the MT actors seem much more keen to jump on this bandwagon. Further, I think it's more unclear for an MT audience what is and isn't expected of them (I wish it could be made clearer!)
A kind of parallel is that I work in patient facing healthcare, and we encounter poor behaviour all the time. But there is a myriad of reasons for this and it is very much our job to remain professional and never criticise or react to this (unless it tips over into threatening, of course). It should be managed in other ways, but not by us.
Anyway, just some random Saturday morning thoughts really!
(Oh and the whole "why can't people turn their phone off for two hours and immerse themselves" line from MT actors also falls apart when SO many of them tweet DURING shows from the wings. If THEY can't switch off their phones for the whole show and immerse themselves, how can they expect the audience to? Attachment to phones is an awful problem endemic in society; am thankful that I can turn mine off for a show, but no idea how I can persuade other people!)
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Post by Jane Parfitt on Oct 12, 2019 9:40:09 GMT
I'm afraid the "I pay your wages" attitude is very much part of the problem.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 9:49:47 GMT
I'm afraid the "I pay your wages" attitude is very much part of the problem. Oh I totally get that - that attitude is totally wrong! And I think needs challenging from many places, just not necessarily from the actors. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 9:53:36 GMT
To me, the answer is simple. Those actors recognise that it is the ENTIRE audience who are suffering due to one individual. When it is one-on-one patient / carer interaction, or an actor tweeting in the wings, it affects nobody but the individual(s) involved. When some clown on the front row is disruptive, everybody on stage and many sitting behind can see it and suffer. As the actors are our "hosts" for the evening, it is their job to make sure the show is delivered at its best to the majority, I think. Therefore they are right. Yup, excellent points, I can see that. I suppose I've noticed it so much of late as it is often the usual social media suspects that jump on every "shocked&appalled/faux outrage" bandwagon. (I guess i have answered my own question and should stop following those that do this!). |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 12, 2019 10:20:45 GMT
WE CAN SEE YOU seems to becoming a bit of a thing on Twitter. I haven’t got a problem with it really. But the people it’s aimed at won’t take any notice because they think they’re the exception to the rule. Clearly it’s so much more important that they get that pic on Facebook or Twitter so that they get a bit of much craved attention from people they don’t know.
Theatres aren’t tough enough. There should be a very clear announcement before every show that people using phones WILL be asked to leave.
Last week the same person was told 3 times to stop filming &Juliet. The FOH was running down the aisle, catching their attention, wagging the finger apologetically and scampering away as if they were embarrassed. Wrong attitude. There should be one FOH in every house who is trained to handle this sort of trouble, in other words a security person who will remove people.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 10:26:38 GMT
WE CAN SEE YOU seems to becoming a bit of a thing on Twitter. I haven’t got a problem with it really. But the people it’s aimed at won’t take any notice because they think they’re the exception to the rule. Clearly it’s so much more important that they get that pic on Facebook or Twitter so that they get a bit of much craved attention from people they don’t know. Theatres aren’t tough enough. There should be a very clear announcement before every show that people using phones WILL be asked to leave. Last week the same person was told 3 times to stop filming &Juliet. The FOH was running down the aisle, catching their attention, wagging the finger apologetically and scampering away as if they were embarrassed. Wrong attitude. There should be one FOH in every house who is trained to handle this sort of trouble, in other words a security person who will remove people. 100%. FOH should be dealing with this so actors don't need to get involved. (The on trend "WE CAN SEE YOU" as you say, makes zero difference). I am massively of the opinion that the announcement before the show needs to be totally changed to grab attention. Like Patti doing the Company one. Or JD doing the Joseph one (though sadly the latter had minimal impact). The usual monotonous one is pointless, people just aren't listening. Is like the aviation safety announcement/videos. When BA changed to the celeb one, people actually watched it again! At Starlight in Germany the ushers are like ninjas - they are brilliant and all over bad and disruptive behaviour. As you say, the ones here are borderline embarrassed. Or have totally given up...... |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Oct 12, 2019 10:37:32 GMT
Lasers.
Those laser pointy things where you can put a red dot on people. That’s the answer.
Yeah I know they can blind the person if you put it in their eye but that’ll learn ‘em eh 🙂
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Post by sf on Oct 12, 2019 12:47:52 GMT
Theatres aren’t tough enough. There should be a very clear announcement before every show that people using phones WILL be asked to leave. Not just people using phones. When I went to see Groundhog Day, there was a loud group sitting immediately to my right; two-thirds of the way through the first half, a woman in the row in front turned around to shush one of them, and he responded by tipping his drink over her. She complained to the house manager at the interval, and so did a couple of other people, including me; the front-of-house staff reseated those of us who complained (in the boxes, the performance was otherwise sold out), but they didn't throw out the drink-thrower despite the fact that at least three people who did not know each other and who were not part of any group had identified him, and despite the fact that what he did constitutes common assault. That's inexcusable. |
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Post by intoanewlife on Oct 12, 2019 13:01:16 GMT
Personally I think they should be able to throw sh*t from the stage at these arseholes and then continue on as if nothing happened.
I saw Come from Away a couple of weeks ago and the 3 people in front of me all got up 3 or 4 times EACH during a 90 minute show to go out and buy drinks or answer/make phone calls.
They were in the 2nd row so they literally disturbed everyone in the stalls each time they did it.
I think they thought they were in their living rooms.
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Post by intoanewlife on Oct 12, 2019 13:01:58 GMT
Theatres aren’t tough enough. There should be a very clear announcement before every show that people using phones WILL be asked to leave. Not just people using phones. When I went to see Groundhog Day, there was a loud group sitting immediately to my right; two-thirds of the way through the first half, a woman in the row in front turned around to shush one of them, and he responded by tipping his drink over her. She complained to the house manager at the interval, and so did a couple of other people, including me; the front-of-house staff reseated those of us who complained (in the boxes, the performance was otherwise sold out), but they didn't throw out the drink-thrower despite the fact that at least three people who did not know each other and who were not part of any group had identified him, and despite the fact that what he did constitutes common assault. That's inexcusable. That is disgusting! |
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Post by longinthetooth on Oct 12, 2019 13:07:13 GMT
I think performers have every right to call out offenders - I would go one further, and cheer them to the rooftops if they stopped the show until the perpetrator had been removed. Draconian maybe, but people would soon get the message.
Someone said that people ignore phone warnings because it doesn't apply to them. I can confirm an incident like this, when we asked a woman to stop filming, and she said it wasn't for her, it was for her Nan in hospital!
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Post by Theatre Fan on Oct 12, 2019 13:46:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 14:17:02 GMT
Lovely people, is there any chance you could stop sharing this tweet on here, please? (I’m not suggesting anyone removes it, just I’ve seen it twice now and it’s pretty unpleasant stuff.)
You could argue it’s sort of vaguely amusing, I suppose - until the final line, which is just dismissive and sexist.
On the subject of the thread... interesting to see Rebecca Caine’s take on this last night (that by saying something, an actor makes it all about them).
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2019 14:20:29 GMT
Theatres aren’t tough enough. There should be a very clear announcement before every show that people using phones WILL be asked to leave. Not just people using phones. When I went to see Groundhog Day, there was a loud group sitting immediately to my right; two-thirds of the way through the first half, a woman in the row in front turned around to shush one of them, and he responded by tipping his drink over her. She complained to the house manager at the interval, and so did a couple of other people, including me; the front-of-house staff reseated those of us who complained (in the boxes, the performance was otherwise sold out), but they didn't throw out the drink-thrower despite the fact that at least three people who did not know each other and who were not part of any group had identified him, and despite the fact that what he did constitutes common assault. That's inexcusable. Dreadful. Though part of me thinks that if FOH weren’t inclined to remove people who throw drinks, I might have bought myself a little glass of red at the bar and returned the favour to said ‘gentleman’, secure in the knowledge I could then toddle off to the box and enjoy the rest of the show... |
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Post by danb on Oct 12, 2019 14:41:25 GMT
Lasers. Those laser pointy things where you can put a red dot on people. That’s the answer. Yeah I know they can blind the person if you put it in their eye but that’ll learn ‘em eh 🙂 Laser sights!!! Yassss! Never miss, straight between the eyes...oh...just the laser? Meh, might work. |
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Post by danb on Oct 12, 2019 17:25:13 GMT
Multiple accounts Monkey, multiple accounts 😊
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Post by viserys on Oct 12, 2019 17:59:19 GMT
Lasers. Those laser pointy things where you can put a red dot on people. That’s the answer. Yeah I know they can blind the person if you put it in their eye but that’ll learn ‘em eh 🙂 Laser sights!!! Yassss! Never miss, straight between the eyes...oh...just the laser? Meh, might work. They do this in Moscow. I almost jumped out of my skin when a laser beam was suddenly hitting a lady in the row in front of mine because it was so unexpected but I think it's brilliant - minimum disruption (unlike an usher having to lean into a row to try and talk to someone across several seats) and the offender knows they've been seen. Maybe Stasia can tell us more about the practice. |
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Post by Stasia on Oct 12, 2019 20:36:28 GMT
Yep, some of the theatres in Moscow have been using lasers to make people turn off their phone screens for over a decade. Very helpful in a situation when an usher needs to communicate with someone sitting in the middle of 40-seat row. Lasers are pointed on the screens, not in the people’s faces.
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Post by Stasia on Oct 12, 2019 20:45:58 GMT
Two questions: they didn't throw out the drink-thrower despite the fact that at least three people who did not know each other and who were not part of any group had identified him, and despite the fact that what he did constitutes common assault. That's inexcusable How would the house manager have reacted if someone did what I would have done after that inaction... which is to pull out my phone and dial 999. That's the correct response to assault. Anyone else worried that someone called hitmewithurbethshot has "liked" a post about targeting with guns  . Same thing with a person throwing her drink at me after I shushed herhappened with me last year. And guess what? FOX did nothing. She was local, British, elderly and “respectful”, and I have accent. So they said they can’t do anything as apparently it was I who started the row. This is why I seriously hate Hornchurch theatre now. And yes. It happened in the middle of front row with the whole cast seeing it. I am still humiliated and can’t properly talk about it without starting to cry. |
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Post by hitmewithurbethshot on Oct 12, 2019 20:46:25 GMT
Anyone else worried that someone called hitmewithurbethshot has "liked" a post about targeting with guns . I’m up for whatever gets results 😂 |
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Post by marob on Oct 12, 2019 22:02:09 GMT
I usually sit as near to the front as I can, partly because I like seeing the actors up close, but also because I'm really easy to distract. The faintest rustle of a sweet wrapper and suddenly thats all I seem to focus on, not the people on stage. So I get how distracting and annoying other audience members can be.
I do kind of agree with @dom's original post though. I understand that they want to vent their frustration, but there's something a bit iffy to me about actors criticising their audience. It just seems vaguely entitled, especially in the current climate where so many shows aren't selling. It is ultimately a business, and they shouldn't really be taking to twitter to slag off their customers. Any kind of bad behaviour should be dealt with quickly and quietly by ushers, though that happens all too rarely.
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Post by shady23 on Oct 12, 2019 22:19:59 GMT
As well as Tweeting I hope they are informing the front of house staff where the offenders are.
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Post by Penny on Oct 13, 2019 7:19:08 GMT
Two questions: How would the house manager have reacted if someone did what I would have done after that inaction... which is to pull out my phone and dial 999. That's the correct response to assault. Anyone else worried that someone called hitmewithurbethshot has "liked" a post about targeting with guns . Same thing with a person throwing her drink at me after I shushed herhappened with me last year. And guess what? FOX did nothing. She was local, British, elderly and “respectful”, and I have accent. So they said they can’t do anything as apparently it was I who started the row. This is why I seriously hate Hornchurch theatre now. And yes. It happened in the middle of front row with the whole cast seeing it. I am still humiliated and can’t properly talk about it without starting to cry. Ah sorry you have been made to feel like this Stasia , Hornchurch is one of my local theatres and unfortunately there is a certain type of person that goes there that thinks they are a cut above others , some of Hornchurch is quite “posh” and so attracts a certain kind of person . I was there Friday night and although most of the audience were well behaved there was some poor behaviour in the bar with people pushing in and also during the show . |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2019 9:00:26 GMT
As well as Tweeting I hope they are informing the front of house staff where the offenders are. I'd say INSTEAD of tweeting they should most definitely be informing FOH! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2019 9:09:36 GMT
I usually sit as near to the front as I can, partly because I like seeing the actors up close, but also because I'm really easy to distract. The faintest rustle of a sweet wrapper and suddenly thats all I seem to focus on, not the people on stage. So I get how distracting and annoying other audience members can be. I do kind of agree with @dom's original post though. I understand that they want to vent their frustration, but there's something a bit iffy to me about actors criticising their audience. It just seems vaguely entitled, especially in the current climate where so many shows aren't selling. It is ultimately a business, and they shouldn't really be taking to twitter to slag off their customers. Any kind of bad behaviour should be dealt with quickly and quietly by ushers, though that happens all too rarely. I am the same sadly and am SO easily distracted. Is a really annoying attribute; my Dad is slightly deaf and is never distracted by anything going on in the auditorium and can always focus 100% on the stage. I get really cross with myself sometimes when I've paid for a show and am then focussing on the tiniest distraction. Anyway, as you, for shows where I think behaviour will be a problem (and I am cursed with loving many of the 'family' musicals where it's an issue), I also prefer to sit as far fwd as possible. Bat was very much an example. And by the end of Joseph this Summer, had decided I could only sit row A centre aisle lol! Yup, that's kinda what I was getting at with the original post. It doesn't sit comfortably with me partly as it does seem vaguely entitled - and the tone of the frequent posts which are from all the usual suspects enhances that. They then get all the "poor you," "how awful," "aren't our working conditions a disgrace" etc etc replies and it goes on and on and you just get the impression that everyone is loving the moan and the outrage. In stark contrast Rebecca Caine is a consummate professional and what happened to her a couple of days ago really was ludicrous and I think she was totally justified tweeting about it. But her tone was very different to the (more frequent) kind of tweeting I am talking about. |
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