Will you PLEASE be quiet??!!
Mon, 26 Aug 2002, 09:26 amLeah Maher32 posts in thread
Will you PLEASE be quiet??!!
Mon, 26 Aug 2002, 09:26 amHey kids,
Not wanting to take attention away from the interesting three way romance developing in the "Reviewers in the Missed" thread, an interesting point has been raised way down there in the Reviews forum; what do you do about noisy audience members?
The amazing Mr Kelso in the equally amazing Copenhagen at the Octogon very recently apparently employed the simple break of character and "Would you please be quiet, the rest of the audience is tying to listen." before returning to character and picking up from where he had been so rudely interupted.
Is this the best way to go about it? Or should you just ignore it and hope it goes away? Or send a runner out in the interval to hunt down the culprits and have a quiet word? Or get the cast and crew together in the car park afterwards to make sure these inconsiderate audience members never bother another actor again?
Suggestions? Stories? Annecdotes?
Leah
Not wanting to take attention away from the interesting three way romance developing in the "Reviewers in the Missed" thread, an interesting point has been raised way down there in the Reviews forum; what do you do about noisy audience members?
The amazing Mr Kelso in the equally amazing Copenhagen at the Octogon very recently apparently employed the simple break of character and "Would you please be quiet, the rest of the audience is tying to listen." before returning to character and picking up from where he had been so rudely interupted.
Is this the best way to go about it? Or should you just ignore it and hope it goes away? Or send a runner out in the interval to hunt down the culprits and have a quiet word? Or get the cast and crew together in the car park afterwards to make sure these inconsiderate audience members never bother another actor again?
Suggestions? Stories? Annecdotes?
Leah
Re: Will you PLEASE be quiet??!!
Mon, 26 Aug 2002, 12:54 pmGood topic Leah, this is certainly a bug-bear of mine. It seems to have got worse and worse in recent times. And if anyone reads the reviews over at theatrepeople.com.au, you'll see that Sallyann Wilson has been deploring audience behaviour in a number of her recent reviews.
It's not just talking through scenes either. Mobile phones are a major problem. In one play I was involved with at Williamstown Little Theatre (Vic), a small theatre with just 5 rows and around 70 seats, a woman in the front row not only had her mobile switched on, but when it rang, answered it and carried on a conversation! Even had the temerity to comment on the play to whoever she was talking to.
Alas, Williamstown have now resorted to an invasive voice-over just prior to dimming lights before the play starts, it's sad that this is required.
Todays audiences also seem to pay scant attention to curtain up times, at a production I directed earlier this year, there was not one night (out of 15) where we did not have latecomers. One night, a group of about 8-10 turned up at 8:40 for an 8:15 performance.
Why this is happening I don't really know. We can blame television and say that audiences have become used to productions of about an hour, and struggle through anything longer. Or that they need 'ad breaks', but TV has been around for 50 years now, and I'm sure things are worse now than they were 10 years ago.
I'm not sure what can be done, perhaps we should start sending out 'How to be an audience' leaflets with ticket sales?
It's not just talking through scenes either. Mobile phones are a major problem. In one play I was involved with at Williamstown Little Theatre (Vic), a small theatre with just 5 rows and around 70 seats, a woman in the front row not only had her mobile switched on, but when it rang, answered it and carried on a conversation! Even had the temerity to comment on the play to whoever she was talking to.
Alas, Williamstown have now resorted to an invasive voice-over just prior to dimming lights before the play starts, it's sad that this is required.
Todays audiences also seem to pay scant attention to curtain up times, at a production I directed earlier this year, there was not one night (out of 15) where we did not have latecomers. One night, a group of about 8-10 turned up at 8:40 for an 8:15 performance.
Why this is happening I don't really know. We can blame television and say that audiences have become used to productions of about an hour, and struggle through anything longer. Or that they need 'ad breaks', but TV has been around for 50 years now, and I'm sure things are worse now than they were 10 years ago.
I'm not sure what can be done, perhaps we should start sending out 'How to be an audience' leaflets with ticket sales?
- ···
- ···
- ···
- ···
- ···
- ···