Police state tactics over taking pictures in the theater- Page 3

[Seperite]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 2:31pm

Jane2 --

I am a member of one theater union (AEA), and have been for nearly 30 years.

What exactly am I "ignorant" or "uninformed" about? I witnessed a response to an act that I thought was excessive and inappropriate -- moreso than the inappropriate act itself. And I expressed that opinion here, in a forum dedicated to discussions about the theater. How exactly does that make me "ignorant" and "uninformed?" What is it that I don't understand about "theater operations?" I have seen every single show on Broadway this season (except the Audience,) and dozens or hundreds more in prior seasons, and have never seen a reaction like the one I saw yesterday.

If you and others agree with the reaction of the theater manager and usher...that's your opinion, and that's fine. But what the hell is up with the kneejerk personal attacks? Bewildering that people cannot express differing opinions without going on the offensive.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 2:41pm

"But what the hell is up with the kneejerk personal attacks?"

Isn't that one of those "curses" you said above made you clutch your pearls and wish for the days of yesteryear?

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 3:18pm

"What exactly am I "ignorant" or "uninformed" about?"

You aren't the only one, actually. It's a case of "until you walk in one's shoes, etc...."

What I'm saying is that if you have worked FOH for any amount of time, you would totally understand the actions you witnessed.

It's silly for me to even get involved in one of these debates about theater management. I can't help myself sometimes.

[wexy]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 3:50pm

Cut the offenders thumbs off and leave them marinating in a bowl in the theater lobby.
Maybe then people will get the message...

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 4:03pm

"Invading their privacy, embarrassing them publicly...it's all taking things a step too far"

[nyla123]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 4:45pm

People taking pictures with their phones, even without flash, is incredibly annoying and distracting. The screens are very bright and noticeable (and also these morons inevitably are the sort of people who have the sound on). I get that to an extent if the person is in the middle of a wide orchestra section and they take one picture and put their phone away, it's even worse when the usher demands that the picture taker delete the picture in the middle of the show, but that's probably the only situation I would be annoyed with an usher getting involved.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 4:55pm

^ right. and as I said, get annoyed with the producers because they instruct the ushers that at the moment they are caught taking pictures, they must delete them.

[billis2]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 6:17pm

Seperite, what exactly did the usher and the manager do that was "a huge production during the show"? Before the show was over, you were distracted by the usher trying to attract attention for what, 10 seconds? Maybe 30 seconds at the absolute most? And then the manager came down at curtain call and did what exactly that hurt your experience? Stood there and glared at someone?

I understand you think they were heavy-handed as they confronted the culprit. I don't think they were, but I understand that you feel differently. But that confrontation didn't happen until after the show was over. They didn't "make a huge production during the show," as you put it.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 9:07pm

"I do wonder if releasing an official pro recording would be one way to address modern technology and our current culture's expectations in keeping digital "souvenirs." At least the creators could get some money from that. I can see the pros/cons either way, though."

I'm not going to lie. I'm one of those people who wishes everything was recorded, and not just for posterity or for research purposes for people with credentials. I'm not going to see Wicked 14 times so I can see every Elphaba so I appreciate the youtube bootlegs. I still wish we had either a video recording or a cast album for The Apple Tree revival. But no, I've never pulled out a camera to record something myself. The one time I saw someone confronted, the man on his phone was so distracting that I was grateful the usher finally came over. I do agree that while ushers don't have to be excessively polite about things they should try to not be disruptive and ruin the experience of other audience members. But again, I've never seen an usher behave rudely to someone in that way.

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 9:58pm

Is it really that hard for you to not to turn off your phone when you're in the theatre and not take pictures? It's like saying you can't avoid taking a dump in the middle of your table at a restaurant or peeing on a casket at a funeral. Just don't do it. What they did is against the rules, and they are a jerk for breaking them. Shame on you for being a member of AEA for so long and defending such disrespect for the theatre. Rule breakers shouldn't act like spoiled little blotches when someone calls them out for being ignorant buttholes.

Updated On: 2/16/15 at 09:58 PM

[RockyRoad]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 3:33am

Wow. Just wow.

Reading this post and the other by the whiny bitches who demanded online sales for the It Shoulda Been You ticket special only goes to reaffirm how absolutely clueless the younger generation is.

Allow me enlighten you. Your parents lied when they told you that you were most important person in the world. You didn't deserve that "award" you received (that EVERYONE received) when you drew that god-awful picture. Throwing around big boy words like "police state" won't make people think your smart (only your shrink will believe that).

I wish this situation was an actual police state. They would have shot you.





Updated On: 2/16/15 at 03:33 AM

[Seperite]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 6:28am

Pmensky and Rocky Road --

Given your apparent lack of basic reading comprehension skills, it's a wonder you are capable of understanding the subtext of any theatrical production.

For the last time, I am NOT the person who took the pictures! If you want to know who the person (apparently) is, go to Kristen Chenoweth's Twitter page, where she outed (and lauded) the patron who took a picture during the show, and re-tweeted it. I have no connection to or relationship with that person.

As I have written over and over again, I never have, and I never would, take photographs in a theater -- during, before or after the show. I find the habit irritating and annoying. Only immature and selfish people with no decency, and no regard for the welfare of others engage in that kind of anti-social behavior.

The same sort of social malcontents and sorry souls who feel all high and mighty hiding behind their computer screens and hurling undue invective at others, calling them "bitches," "buttholes" and wishing that they were shot.

[Seperite]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 6:45am

Billis2 --

You are correct that the usher's efforts to attract the attention of the picture-taker lasted no more than 30 - 60 seconds...a small amount of time, in the grand scheme of things. Still, I found it distracting and annoying -- perhaps because the usher was in my direct line of sight to the stage. I have also seen so many people take photographs at the theater without being harassed (at a recent performance of Elephant Man, there was a woman actually taking a VIDEO of the performance from her seat, and no one tried to stop her) that this excited response from the usher seemed particularly out of place for the current, lax-enforcement-of-rules milieu. After the show, seeing the manager-type make the woman cycle through her phone pictures was also a bit of a shock. We do have privacy/unlawful search and seizure laws in this country. One person's violation of a theater's rules doesn't justify another's violation of her rights.

[Seperite]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 6:45am

If theaters are going to address this problem, there are three potential solutions I can think of. One: make everyone "check" their phone in at the door. Is that a nuisance? Sure. But if picture taking is such a serious problem, then it's warranted. You cannot walk into any federal courthouse in this country -- as a juror, a litigant, a tourist, or anyone else -- with a phone on you. Every phone is checked in, and recovered on your way out. It's a hassle, but necessary in this day and age if you want to prevent picture taking.

The second option is to revoke the patron's ticket and escort them out of the theater...at intermission. Disruptions during a show are disrespectful to the other patrons.

The third option is to jot down the name and photograph of offenders, share the information with other theaters, and bar entry in the future. Every theater has security cameras, so it's easy to get a picture of a patron who engages in bad behavior. Virtually all tickets are paid for by credit card, so it's easy to get the name of an offender, or someone in his/her party. Although it might not be possible to get the name of the actual offender, anyone who knew that the person who bought them tickets might be barred

Finally, a simple "no photography" announcement and insert in the Playbill might help, too. Yes, we seasoned theatergoers consider that to be self-evident. But Broadway attracts an enormous number of tourists -- and natives -- who are not regular theater-goers, and thus not necessarily savvy about the rules. While common sense would tell you that taking a picture with a flash would not be permitted, it may not be as obvious that flash-less photography is similarly proscribed. We live in a culture in which people take pictures of anything and everywhere all the time -- including at pop/rock concerts and sporting events, where picture taking is not prohibited. An obfuscated sign in the lobby advising people that the policy at a Broadway theater is not sufficient...an announcement prior to the show (which many, but not all, shows do) would go a long way towards preventing mistakes by well-meaning, but misinformed, patrons.

Any of these tactics would be effective, I believe, in putting an end to picture-taking in the theater. Excitedly running up and down the aisles and furiously trying to get a patron's attention mid-show is both less effective and more injurious to others' experiences.

[tazber]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 7:24am

Police state

Lol

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 7:28am

"The second option is to revoke the patron's ticket and escort them out of the theater...at intermission. Disruptions during a show are disrespectful to the other patrons. "

This would be the only true effective way of stopping it. Of course, you would have to make announcement about this policy and would be good idea to put it in writing also.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 7:54am

Whose rights were violated????

[brldisteach2]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 9:21am

Here's the thing-as an usher it's not always easy to see who is taking a picture or a video in the theater. The reason you see some people being talked to (and I take issue with the use of the term "harassed") and others not, it's because they are the ones who got caught. We stop the ones we can, but we can't stop them all.

In my experience, a lot of ushers try to deal with it as unobtrusively as possible, but yes there are some ushers that do this better than others.

On another note, I go to a lot of theater too and I find it incredibly distracting when people are taking pictures, texting, videoing, etc. around me. I'm happy when the usher or manager come to talk to them.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 10:11am

Seperite, I do think the checking phones in at the door would be a bit TOO much of a hassle. It would take a long time, and many audience members would have to arrive extremely early in order for them to even get to their seats in time for the show. Plus, what would stop someone else from taking a phone that isn't theirs when it's time to go home?

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 10:20am

"Whose rights were violated????"

Exactly. In order to delete the illegal images, the memory card must be searched.

[wexy]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 11:01am

A note on checking phones... Had to do it once at a film screening at BAM. People were reacted as if their child was being ripped from their arms...
There may have been 100 people, Took a few minutes to get it back. Couldn't see being done at a Broadway theater.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 11:56am

"The second option is to revoke the patron's ticket and escort them out of the theater...at intermission. Disruptions during a show are disrespectful to the other patrons. "

Not every show/play has an intermission. Taking pictures is disrespectful to the art of theatre. And have a good time searching the auditorium, lobby, and bathrooms for the perpetrator. If you even remember who it was.

"The third option is to jot down the name and photograph of offenders, share the information with other theaters, and bar entry in the future. Every theater has security cameras, so it's easy to get a picture of a patron who engages in bad behavior. Virtually all tickets are paid for by credit card, so it's easy to get the name of an offender, or someone in his/her party. Although it might not be possible to get the name of the actual offender, anyone who knew that the person who bought them tickets might be barred "

Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Go through that entire litany of assignments instead of simply making little old you uncomfortable for a few seconds. Get a grip!



"Finally, a simple "no photography" announcement and insert in the Playbill might help, too."

You are much more naive and ignorant than I originally thought. You - a
seasoned theater goer don't know that there are three warnings about photography - a sign in the lobby, an announcement before the show , AND a warning inside every playbill, not as an insert, but as a permanent part of the information.

NONE OF IT WORKS. NOTHING WORKS. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DO WHAT THEY WANT TO DO.

Updated On: 2/16/15 at 11:56 AM

[veronicamae]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 12:05pm

"Finally, a simple "no photography" announcement and insert in the Playbill might help, too."

This already happens...

In regards to checking phones - I had to do this at an advance movie screening notice. Someone worked the table, I got a number just like coat check, and my phone was put in a baggie until I reclaimed it. It didn't take any longer than my ticket being torn, but that was after waiting for the ticket to be torn, so it doubled the processing time. However, the house opens relatively late for seating, so I think the whole timeline of operation would have to shift backwards...30 minutes? And that likely results in increase labor costs.

I'm just glad I'm not the person that has to figure out how to fix the problem.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 12:29pm

Why don't they formally record productions and sell them to the public after a decent interval, such as five years?

How wonderful to see Gertrude Lawrence in The King and I, or Julie Andrews in My Fair Lady.

Anyone with a DVR could make him or her self a copy of that superb South Pacific revival when it aired live on PBS.

I suppose that there are intellectual property problems.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/16/15 at 12:30pm

Blame the unbelievably outdated Union rules for this.