BWW Blog: Please Silence Your Cellphone…and Read This Post

One of the main reasons to study theatre is to examine why we make theatre in the first place. Simply put, it's meant to be a shared experience, meaning audiences are necessary to the process. Lately, it's come to my attention that audiences are not always focused on what is happening in front of them. How many actors on Broadway have had to call out people on their phones? Remember when someone tried to plug in their phone onstage during Hand to God? Side bar: Hand to God was an amazing production.

Why is it that no one can turn off their cellphone and simply enjoy what is happening right in front of their eyes? Are our imaginations now limited to screen-size capacity? It seems so simple to me: when you are at the theatre, you should pay attention to the work happening onstage.

It is incredibly frustrating for performers to see other people's faces lit up when they have worked tirelessly to find their light. It also ruins the experience for fellow audience members when at the pivotal moment of song or a dance, someone takes out their phone to snap a photo or shoot a video, therefore blocking fellow audience members' views and also violating many theatres' policies against photos and videos. It is important to remember that what we see onstage involves much more than your favorite actor. When someone takes a photograph or video at the theatre, they're photographing costumes, scenery, lighting, props and other careful artistic decisions. Many artists do not want their labors shared with everyone, why would they work so hard if you can just google the production or watch a bootleg? Bootlegs take away from the intimacy of the theatre. While I too love to see images or clips of shows, I know these promotional tools are carefully selected and regulated by creatives and I believe we should respect that. Respecting artistic visions allows for theatre magic to remain magical.

Beyond cellphones there is the issue of people constantly getting up and down, neglecting that just because a musical interlude or a dance break may not be important to them, to some people, they relish the orchestrations, or that the person up there may have been practicing this solo for eight months. It is obviously not realistic that no one will ever have to get up in the middle of a performance and situations and emergencies do arise, but it seems all too frequent. Some things can wait until a break for applause or intermission.

Furthermore, let's talk about talking in the theatre. Sure, everyone does it. I am guilty. We all are. But there is a difference between exchanging a look and a "this is incredible" and having a full-on conversation. A dance break or an instrumental solo is not an invitation to discuss the plot line, a personal opinion or where to go out when the show ends. That dance break and that trumpet solo are also part of the story. Let them be experienced and give productions the attention they deserve.

I think we are truly all too used to pressing "pause," getting up to get a snack, answering a text, turning off something we don't like and going to the next thing. Theatre requires audiences that pay attention. Everyone can be impatient, including me, but I wish we could find a way to make audiences pay attention again in the theatre. We need theatre because it's a chance to slow down, reflect and escape the craziness of the outside world.

One thing I like to remember is that somewhere in the audience, someone is experiencing the theatre for the first time or someone is watching their child make their debut, etc. Let's show them some attention and respect. Let's all care about each other a bit more. We can all be better audience members.