Absolutely appalling behavior at Seminar tonight...

At this evening's performance of Seminar (which I really enjoyed, incidentally), I witnessed theater behavior that may in fact top it all. It was NOT the woman in the front row who put her bare feet on the stage. It was NOT the two girls across the aisle who were texting the entire evening. Those things would have been bad enough.

However, this one tops them all. About halfway through the show, I noticed a bright light sort of behind me. I turned around and saw a guy sitting in the middle of the last row on his macbook. No effort to cover up the bright light emanating from the front and back of it. And he proceeded to stay on his laptop, doing what (surfing the net? posting on bww?), I don't know for the remainder of the play. Absolutely no shame at all and didn't seem to care in the least. If I was seated at the aisle I would have went and gotten an usher, but my getting up would have disturbed at least 5 or 6 people.

After the show, we happened to walk past the guy on our way out. He was talking to a bunch of other people and I overheard their conversation. Turns out he's one of the sound designers for the show, which makes this even worse. I get that may have needed to be on his laptop doing work for the show, but there is a soundbooth located in one of the boxes where he could have set up shop and not distracted the paying audience. Who allowed him to set up IN THE HOUSE and be on his computer during the performance? It's bad enough when an audience member engages in distracting behavior, but to have a member of the production team do it is even worse.

I couldn't find the house manager after the show to tell him/her (and the show has no intermission, obviously, so that was out) about it. I'd like to write a letter letting them know how distracting it was, but not sure who to send it to. The theater? The producer's office? The Shuberts?

Updated On: 11/5/11 at 11:19 PM

As annoying as this is, it's standard for previews - they're taking notes, etc. and trying to fix things.

Was just at Godspell last week and Ken Davenport was on his iPad the whole show taking notes and at Wild Animals You Should Know tonight the whole team was in the back row with their computers, etc.

I've noticed this lately, as well. The last time I saw it was at the first preview of SONS OF THE PROPHET. It's beyond distracting and I can not for the life of me fathom how anyone with the production thinks it's acceptable.

The woman in front of me at the Godspell first preview was also on an iPad taking notes. It is horribly distracting, and am sad to hear it's a developing trend.

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For a Sound Designer or Sound Mixer, it may have been essential they sit in the house instead of the sound booth because they wanted to hear the show from there the audience sits.

If that's that essential than it should be done during a rehearsal. It's completely disrespectful to the paying customers.

It's also more than a little hypocritical to expect audiences to shut off all electronic devices, while they don't. Electronic devices are distracting regardless of who's using them: an audience member or someone from the production team.

There may have been changes since rehearsal that required the sound person to need to sit in the house.

Regardless of the reason, anyone from the production team who needed to be in the house with a laptop should have made an attempt to shield the light.

The Production Stage Manager will know who it would have been -- you should address a letter to the PSM.

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I sat next to the director of a play during a pre-Broadway tryout. He talked to his twink assistant through the entire show, who took notes that he dictated. I knew it was the director so I didnt say anything but I was irritated. He talked through the entire show.

I mean, he couldnt take his own notes. He had to have an assistant with a steno pad who he would speak the notes to. Whatever.

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Theater folk are too important to not be able to use their iPads. We (the public) should just be grateful they're letting us in to see their production.

I was there tonight too and noticed the girl with her feet on the stage. Ridiculous. But I agree the iPad/laptop trend needs to go. It's ridiculously distracting. For what it's worth, I enjoyed the show.

Updated On: 2/15/14 at 12:20 AM

Um, how is the sound guy diddling around on his iPad in clear view of the audience any different than my checking Facebook during the show? Distractions are distractions and that's a big one.

I personally would find bare feet on the stage more appalling, people who take their shoes off in theaters gross me out.

But anyway, I seriously doubt that anyone on production staff would have their electronics in full view of the audience if it weren't necessary for what they were doing. I'm sure that everything for the light and sound teams is on the computer since that's how everything is run these days and it would have been counterproductive to be taking notes by hand.

I know we have the "but they charge full price!" argument on here all the time, but previews are previews. The tickets were purchased for a preview performance, and fixing things like sound issues are all part of it and should be expected, especially by people who go to the theater on a regular basis. And again, I doubt the sound designer or his/her assistant or whomever was taking notes or adjusting things in the back row would have had their computer out unless it was necessary for what they were trying to fix.

So if I was sitting in the back row and it was essential for me to do something i could just go on my laptop? Good to know...

Don't be so obtuse. If you work for the production and notes and charts are kept on computers then, yes, you can be on your laptop. If you just want to watch porn at the theatre then, no, you shouldn't be on your laptop.

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adamgreer:

Re: Sons of the Prophet. When I went to the 3rd preview, I too saw the director and playwright were in the last row with assistants between them on laptops taking notes. It was bright and distracting.

Re: tonight at Seminar. I was in the 2nd to last row of the orchestra and Theresa the writer and Sam Gold the director were sitting behind me. The laptop could have been theirs. Why they needed to take notes in the first place, who knows? It was excellent.