Entrance Applause - love it or hate it?- Page 3

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:24pm

Gypsy1757's post on the Wicked thread bemaoning the lack of entrance applause got me thinking about the "phenomenon" of applauding people purely for walking on stage.

Errrr. Do you truly, honestly believe that people are applauding purely because someone has walked on stage? That's oversimplifying it a much, don't you think?

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:29pm

I think it's wrong for directors to design shows to beg for applause. The entrance of every actor should be determined by the character they are portraying, not by their star power.

Updated On: 5/25/05 at 12:29 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:31pm

And why is applause "distracting"or the reason someone might "break concentration". Any capable performer knows how to hold for applause or laughter.

You hold your position until just after the laughter or applause peaks. As it starts to die down, you move on...that simple.

[TheColorOfFlame]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:32pm

People are saying that they don't want to applaud until an actor earns it.

I am saying that it is the entrance ITSELF that the applause is for.

As I stated in my previous post, an entrance is WORTHY of applause. It is an entrance, and entrances are by definition dramatic. Drama, in turn, elicits applause. And applause exists almost exclusively in the glorious confines of the theatre.

Therefore, theatre people getting their undies all twisted up over applause, entrance or otherwise, is like . . . oh God I can't think of an analogy . . . a cat turning up his nose at a bowl of milk because it's skim. Hahahahaha that was so bad, I'm terribly sorry for the ill-conceived analogy!

I have mono.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:36pm

Errrr. Do you truly, honestly believe that people are applauding purely because someone has walked on stage? That's oversimplifying it a much, don't you think?

Judging from the calibre of people I saw getting entrance applause in New York recently, I am left with no other option BUT to believe that, actually.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:40pm

Very interesting thread...I actually do not like the 4th wall to be broken at all, but some shows are designed to. I think it is a tough call given that the entrances are sort of expecting applause like many described here, but should the show be designed that way? Mama Rose's entrance begs applause a bit, but the show was written for it's star.

I have a difficult time sitting on my hands for a favorite of mine, but agree that they should earn it...I found the huge applause for Elphaba too much, but I am not an Idina nut.

Part of what is so distracting is that the applause also will start much talking about the performer, or trying to identify the performer, etc. I especially hate when it is so expected, that the wrong person gets the applause.

[justme2]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:41pm

That's the best point yet, Popculture boy....

In the last 5 years of theater viewing, I've watched as any actor who walks onstage is awarded with entrance applause. There is no stunning setup to make the entrance applause worthy, there is no 50 years plus of theater experience behind the actor to merit the applause. The actor simply showed up on stage.

And the sheep applaud.

[mikewood]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 12:57pm

baaaaaah. clap clap clap

sorry. I'm not bad; I'm just drawn that way.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:00pm

I love it. I think it's a great way to show the performers that they have your support from the very beginning.

[justme2]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:00pm

LOL, Mikewood! :}

[robbiej]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:06pm

Any actor who can't deal with entrance applause (either for themselves or for a co-star) has absolutely no business being on a stage.

I mean...it's not foreign (except, of course, to our friends whose theatre traditions don't include such a reaction) and it's not a new phenomenon by any means.

[justme2]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:10pm

I am not concerned with the actors and their being able to handle it; you are right, any actor worth their salt must be able to deal with any distraction while they are on stage.

My point in aimed at the audience member who applauds when someone like Marie Osmond or David Cassidy comes on stage to begin a performance. Not only do they not deserve this adulation for simply showing up, the audience hasn't even seen their performance yet!

[ShuQ]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:11pm

I don't think audiences applaud for just anyone though. Anytime I've been to NY, they only applaud for people they like and people who are well known. Hell, John Tartaglia didn't get entrance applause when I saw Q but the second time, Barrett Foa did.

I kinda think it's a matter of how many screaming teenage girls are in the audience.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:12pm

Well, with my easy to follow course, I can teach you how to deal with distracting audience members.

Oh, wait, I gave away the "when to start back up after applause or laughter" already.

Okay, you guys owe me.

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:14pm

I think there's an extraordinary amount of exagerration on this thread.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:16pm

Yes you're right. Absolutely millions of us are exaggerating all over the place.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:18pm

How so Kuhn?

[robbiej]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:19pm

'My point in aimed at the audience member who applauds when someone like Marie Osmond or David Cassidy comes on stage'

Are you kidding me? I'd applaud if either of them showed up at Whole Foods, let alone on a stage.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:20pm

Yeah, those were bad examples, I think. But the sentiment is fine.

[justme2]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:27pm

I realize that there are fans of Osmond and Cassidy that would indeed applaud if they showed up anywhere. Perhaps using Pop icons was a bad choice. But I stick by my statement. Watch the performance, then determine whether or not they are worthy of such applause.

Which is what the curtain call is for, by the way.

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:27pm

"In the last 5 years of theater viewing, I've watched as any actor who walks onstage is awarded with entrance applause."

That's what I call exagerration.
Updated On: 5/25/05 at 01:27 PM

[GYPSY1527]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 1:46pm

Since you used me as an example, I don't have to tell you guys how I feel about enterance applause BUT its a personal thing for me. If Joanna Gleason who i love and admire is on stage, I'm gonna applaud, if Victoria Clark enters in LIght in the Piazza, I'm gonna appluad and if BP walks down that aisle in Gypsy, you can bet some serious money that I'm gonna applaud. For me, its all in if I like the person on the stage. For exmaple: I didn't give enterance applause for John Lithgow but I did for Joanna. For me, same rules apply for standing ovations. If a person touched the core of me with their performance, they are getting a standing ovation. If they didn't, no matter how big a star, they ain't getting one.
This might seem like an odd statement but for me, Broadway perfomances are very intimate and personal. Its so much about how the performance touches you as a person, how the performance has touched your heart and how you relate to it. Its how you feel. So, if you've seen a show before and it means alot to you, for me it only seems natural to express that when the actor comes out on stage. Its all personal opinion though.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 2:02pm

"If a person touched the core of me with their performance, they are getting a standing ovation. If they didn't, no matter how big a star, they ain't getting one."

So if you enjoyed a supporting cast member, you would give them a standing ovation. But if you didn't like the lead, would you sit back down?

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 2:08pm

While that question wasn't for me, I will answer. In that situation I would stay standing but stop applauding.

[mikewood]

Posted: 5/25/05 at 2:11pm

I would continue to applaud but discontinue the onehanded headstand I was doing in his or her honor.


Gawd, what's wrong with me today?