Theatre Etiquette

[SingActDance]

Another note: I do not care if that's your best friend/sister/mama/second cousin singing a solo. Do NOT shout out their name during the show.

I was just in a production where a co-worker of a woman onstage shouted out "Woooo, go FriendsName!!!" in the middle of a very emotional song. I was livid.  In an ironic twist of fate (and since the universe has a sense of humor), I realized later that I actually know the culprit. I ran into her at a party and she actually stated that she was the one who did it and sounded somewhat proud of her outburst. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to tell her what a boor she was for that.

[Auntie Mame]

Another one to touch on with negative patrons: if you know a show is against your politics, ethical code, and everything else you believe in do not berate the actors.

Likewise, do not come storming out of the theatre mid-performance and berate the house staff. They have even less control over artistic decisions than the actors do.

This happened several times when I was working at a theatre .

Yes! Do your research before you go to a play.  When I saw "Rent" I had the misfortune to sit behind a woman who kept muttering to her companion "This is disgusting, I can't believe they are showing this onstage, how can they do that" and on and on.  I wanted to snap "Lady, It's RENT!  Do 30 seconds of research before you see the show and your delicate fee-fees can't handle the subject matter" (I wanted to, but I didn't, I stayed quiet and ignored).  Likewise, the couple that stormed out of Avenue Q.  Seriously?  One quick Internet search or one glance at the paper's theatre review and you can easily see if this play will be offensive to you.

[Marisol]

If you are having a bad coughing fit.  As in a non-stop throughout the entire act hacking a lung up cough.  Please remove yourself from the theatre.  Do not sit there and cough at your loudest non-muffled best.

Please.  It is distracting to the actors.  It is distracting to the audience.  And, it makes for an awful recording of the performance. 

This person was coughing without break. 

[Venus193]

X-posted from the Concert thread:


If you have a cold, bring cough drops and follow rule regarding wrappers.  If you have a very runny nose, bring enough tissues to take care of the problem without having to blow.  If it's too bad to follow this rule, do not attend.

[LadyStormwing]

• Please wait until the actors have cleared the stage or the house before leaving your seat for either intermission or the end of the show. To do otherwise can not only seem rude, it can be dangerous, as an actor moving at high speeds through a dark house or aisle is counting on all pathways being clear.

I just finished a run of a show this weekend and one actress almost took out a woman using a walker. The woman wanted to take an extra moment and not rush for intermission, but nearly got trampled in the blackout when part of the cast exited through the house - the woman just stopped in the aisle when it went completely dark and the cast couldn't see her until it was almost too late. Fortunately, no one was injured, but we will be making special announcements regarding this from now on.

[Miriam]

I went to see my best friend perform her senior solo recital (it was beautiful, there were tears) and everyone was surprisingly well mannered. It's a small theater room btw, kind of private for music students and visiting family members. During the brief intermission between her act and the following performer the doors opened and students who missed the first act entered to find seats. One brought their child who was smiling and (seemingly) well-behaved. He even had a toy truck to keep him busy.

As soon as the second performer got on stage and began singing we hear a *CLUNK. Whaaat...? *CLUNK, the freakin' kid is throwing his toy truck against the wall. This continued for the entire fifteen minutes of the performer's act. He was wonderful and I felt terrible no one intervened other than the usual "Shhh". At least it didn't happen during my friend's or some un-Ehell approved actions would have happened.