Award Winning Playwright Almost Slaps a Theatre Patron (and what that apparently says about our theatre)- Page 5

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 11:39am

This thread doubles as an interactive production of Oleanna.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 12:41pm

You know how people have these little habits that get you down? Like Bernie. Bernie liked to chew gum. No, not chew. Pop. Well, I come home this one day and I am really irritated and looking for a little sympathy and there's Bernie laying on the couch, drinkin a beer and chewin. No, not chewin...poppin. So I said to him, I said, "Bernie, you pop that gum one more time..." And he did! So I took the shotgun off the wall and I fired two warning shots...into his head. 

 

Look, adampeterson nailed it. Everyone has the right to hear the show they bought tickets for. If you are distracting, whether in an engaged or disengaged manner, then you are part of the problem. His analogy to smoking in a room where everyone has the right to breath clean air was perfect. 

 

I also agree with newintown that I too would have acted in a more gracious way to someone who just gave me (and a friend) free tickets to a show I badly wanted to see and couldn't afford, even that person offended me in some way. No, they don't "own" me, but I would be indebted to them for their gift. If she was so offended by the popping the gum comment (which to me clearly has zero to do with race) then she could have simply refused the tickets! 

[tazber]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 1:27pm

CELL PHONE CONERVSATIONS = DISENGAGED, CLAPPING AND VOCALLY RESPONDING TO A MOMENT IN THE PLAY = ENGAGED. Do we understand the difference yet?

 

I don't see the difference at all. Because you fail to mention the fact they are both disruptive to everyone else in the audience.

Do you understand the similarity yet?

 

As Gaveston posted on page 1, there is a type of theater that encourages call and response, and plays written for that style of theater are written to include audience participation. It's ingrained in the script and direction. And in that setting it's obviously fine.

 

But generally speaking Broadway and Off-Broadway theater is not that style of theater.

 

Also, I'm not sure what the endgame of the author's issue would be. Is she saying that it should always be acceptable for people of color to react in a call and response manner just because that's how they enjoy theater? 

 

The implications of that seem way more racist to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 01:27 PM

[SamIAm]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 2:22pm

As someone else on this thread said, I wasn't there, so it is difficult to make a judgement. IF the show was written for and called for call and response, then Jane may have been out of line to say something. OR perhaps she didn't understand the context of the show OR perhaps she was being subtly (or not so subtly) racist. I don't know. What I do know is that if you go to the theater often, you have probably been exposed to cell phone conversations, people eating and crumpling paper and candy wrappers, people having conversations and just about everything else. Perhaps this woman was out of line or perhaps she had just had one too many bad experiences. We certainly can't tell without hearing her side of the story.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 2:35pm

"Anyone that is non-white cannot be racist."

 

Well, that's just ridiculous. Did we learn nothing from Avenue Q?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 2:36pm

Anyone that is non-white cannot be racist.

 

This is false, regardless what book you may have read.

 

Guess who are the only ones that have managed to segregate entire races from one another? I'll give you a hint: white people.

 

World history indicates this is also a false statement.  As do currently many other countries around the world.  

 

You sound especially hostile regarding this issue. The language of your response suggests some blatant examples of covert racism.

 

You sound especially hostile regarding this issue.  The language of your response indicates blatant examples of open racism.

 

Making sweeping generalizations? I'm not so sure about that.

 

I suggest you read your own remarks.  I copied and pasted them for your convenience.

 

I'm not so sure about that. I suspect you're probably white, or have significant privilege in your life, otherwise you should be very willing to accept the way another audience member, of a different race--and sure, let's list some colors to appease your senses; black, indian, filipino, mexican, puerto rican, etc--may react to play.

 

I suspect you're jumping to conclusions again.  When did I indicate otherwise?  What did I say to make you believe I am unaware of multiple races?  This would be one of those sweeping generalizations I mentioned.  Please tell me where I have been, what I have seen, with whom, and how I reacted. 

 

If a patron is engaged with the play, regardless of the manner in which they are engaged, why shouldn't they be allowed to carry on?

 

What if they are white?  Do you believe the only way a person of any race  can engage in a play is by creating an audible sound?   What if the sounds of others distracts someone from engaging in the play?  And what if the distracted individual is non-white?  And what if, and this has been an experience of mine, what if the engaged individual is white and vocally engaging in the show non-stop, preventing someone white from hearing the play?

 

Do we all understand what defines someone as racist? 

 

I do.  I have understood for many decades long before you felt the need to provide your own unsolicited definition.

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 02:36 PM

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 2:57pm

No, there's no issues with race in the theater community, what makes you say that?

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 3:00pm

And you racist accusers don't make sense. You claim that this white person shushing a black person is doing it because of racism. So exactly what are you saying, the white person should keep quiet and endure the disturbance throughout the show?

 

oy vey

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 3:10pm

It's arguable whether or not her reaction is an overreaction but it's hardly hysteria to point out that black people are, indeed, subject to relentless judgement in small (and large) ways that white people aren't, and that the accumulative impact of these experiences can be enormously stressful.

[DivaProf]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 3:14pm

Of course not being there, it's difficult to know exactly what happened.  But the gum-popping comment seemed out of line and it's unclear what motivated that.  Why would one audience member tell another audience member entering the theatre without gum something like that?  I'm assuming Ms. Morisseau is in her late 30's.  I wouldn't assume that anyone close to 40 would "pop gum" unless I'd witnessed them chewing gum.  It is difficult without having all information to know whether that was in fact racism on the part of the older woman, but that particular statement does seem to have been motivated by something other than Ms. Morisseau's behavior.  Her race? Age? Assumed income level because she didn't have her own ticket?  It is hard to imagine that the gum-popping comment came from a nice place so of course the interaction eroded from that point on... I agree with others that I would have just refused the ticket.  So no, shushing Ms. Morisseau may not have been out of racism.  But the gum-popping comment doesn't reek of innocence either.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 3:26pm

Diva Prof said "Assumed income level because she didn't have her own ticket? " 

 

NO. NO ASSUMPTION was made. A question was asked.  My comments, if you are referring to me, come from not believing the whole story. She may have been the richest person on the planet. So why didn't she use a credit card? Why did she comment she didn't have the money because she hadn't received her "award winning" check? Oh, come on.

 

And, speaking for myself, is gum chewing assumed to be a black "thing?" You mean she mentioned gum chewing as a racist comment? I never heard that before. Most people I've seen chewing gum are white. You sound racist in assuming they are black.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 3:51pm

Jane, as far as the cash/credit card thing goes- I believe she did have a credit card and went to the box office window to ask about discount ticket options. They offered her a discounted ticket, but the discount was not steep enough for her (and/or her friend?) to purchase a ticket. 

 

Then "Jane" came along with two extra tickets. Morisseau remarked that she didn't have any cash on her to give "Jane" for the tickets. "Jane" said don't worry about it- they're free. Just don't pop your gum. 

[DivaProf]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:05pm

I'm questioning why the woman in Ms. Morisseau's story assumed that Ms. Morisseau would pop her gum.  I'm not only including race as a potential explanation for the popping gum statement--also Ms. Morisseau's age and possibly assumed income level.  I'm not certain what you think I'm saying about you, Jane2.  I'm simply saying that I don't know whether the woman seated next to Ms. Morisseau was racist or not, only that her comment about popping gum to someone who wasn't even chewing gum didn't seem to come from a nice place.  It could have been racist or ageist or classist or just pure bad manners, but again, I'm referring to the other patron, not you, Jane2.

Also, I absolutely don't believe that African-Americans are disproportionate gum chewers or gum poppers for that matter. 

 

[rob136]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:12pm

To me, it sounds like it could easily have been a joke or light-hearted. You're giving away tickets to someone and they're thanking you profusely, so you make a quip about not using the tickets to chew gum in a theatre. Wasn't there, so I don't know how the comment was said, but that seems as likely an explanation as any.

Age is probably most likely, though. Race almost certainly played no role, because it makes no sense to associate gum with people of color.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:32pm

If I were in Morisseau's shows I would have taken the gum comment as joke too, albeit a weird one. Morisseau makes far too many assumptions about "Jane's" motivation for the comment. I have a feeling "Jane" would have said it to anyone she would have handed the tickets to, regardless of race, age or any other factor. I think she was just saying don't punish me for my good deed by being an obnoxious seat partner. Wouldn't anyone hope that of a stranger they had just given their tickets to? 

 

If Morisseau did think it was racially motivated and was so offended by the comment she should have walked back up to "Jane" with the tickets and said thanks, but no thanks. 

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:33pm

Truth is, what are we talking about here? We're going on and on based on  one side of a story which may have been made up.

 

As others have said, we really don't have anything to base our opinions on.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 4:39pm

Because we've been summarily told that if we suspect the story was anything other than objective fact, then we are white privileged racists.  As a result, we were instructed in the custom-tailored definition of racism and that only one opinion is valid.

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 04:39 PM

[sabrelady]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 6:47pm

^^^

What Mister Matt said.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 7:20pm

Look, I absolutely get it. There are appropriate moments to respond to a play and completely inappropriate moments. But we need to come to terms that different people will respond to moments they recognize. And as long it does not break the concentration of the performers, it should not be a problem.

 

And, yes. I have witnessed countless people of color and new theatergoers being shamed because behavior that was not consistent with other members of the audience. I myself am a theater professional and constantly see this behavior and actively work to dismantle wherever possible. My aim is to make all people feel welcome to the theater. Not just the old white ladies that make donations to the theater. If we constantly rely on that audience base, we will not have anyone buying tickets in 10-20 years.

 

Defintion of disengaged (according to Merriam-Webster): "to stop being involved with a person or group : to stop taking part in something".

 

Ex: Ms. Morisseau recognized a moment, acted in a way as a response to the material. Again, you (other posters and general audience) may not recognize this as a moment to engage with. I am not implying this is an immersive theater experience by any means. She was not jumping on the stage, popping gum, standing up and shouting, talking on her cell phone. She specifically mentions being very interested and intrigued with the material.

 

Definition of engaged (also according to Merriam-Webster): "to induce to participate".

 

Again, Ms. Morisseau indicated a brief moment in the play where she clapped along. She did not say she clapped along the entire play and continue to talk. She also mentioned she laughed at moments she thought were funny that perhaps others did not. So what? I too detest patrons that decide to talk about what's for dinner or where they will be drinking after the show. I think we can all agree that patrons that disengage in this manner are exhibiting inappropriate behavior for the theater or otherwise.

 

@MisterMatt and Jane2: Do you know who created the social construct of race? The very people that decided to deliberately parse out each race from one another with unique and often demeaning qualities? Any idea at all? White men. Therefore, any non-white person cannot be racist. It is not a custom tailored definition. It is history and fact. I do not care to console your white fragility.

 

http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/view/249

 

@Jane2 specifically: Oh, darling. 'You people'? No need to beat around the bush. Use the pejoratives you have been withholding this entire time. You amuse me greatly. It sounds like someone (or many people) have called you out on this behavior before.

 

Do you know how many times on this board that posters have referred to moments with  a black audience as "CP time"? Or otherwise known as "Color Purple" time? So, yes. I am uncomfortable with accepting racist behavior on this board. If you allow me the time, I can continue to find innumerable examples of this behavior. I have no problem doing a little research unlike you.

 

I'll also have all of you consider another variable. Black and non-white Americans have been at the mercy of a white culture their entire lives; each and every time they are told how they should behave. If you have been subject to this your entire life, don't you think you would be as frustrated as Ms. Morisseau? Any time a person of color is given a platform, they are immediately shut down and told their story does not matter. I do not care to hear of the one or two examples where this was not the case. By and large, this is usually the case.

 

I acknowledge the fact that the title of her article with the use of "Award-Winning Playwright" was a little heavy-handed, but her point is completely valid,

Updated On: 12/13/15 at 07:20 PM

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 7:28pm

"@Jane2 specifically: Oh, darling. 'You people'? No need to beat around the bush. Use the pejoratives you have been withholding this entire time. You amuse me greatly. It sounds like someone (or many people) have called you out on this behavior before."

 

Oh, you poor dear. My "you people" went right over your head. WHOOSH! Nope, no one has ever called me out on whatever behavior is amusing you. I love to amuse people, hence my book, but not  you. 

 

Anyway, nothing in this thread can be taken too seriously since, as I already mentioned, we only heard one side of one STORY.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 8:03pm

So only white people can be considered racist. LMFAO! Have you ever seen how Black Patrons are treated in some Korean markets? Oh, I guess that isn't racism, just passing mistrust of a person due to the color of their skin.

 

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 8:06pm

I am aware I intimidated you with by exposing your lack of resourcefulness and general knowledge of history of race in America. Well, at the very least, you're not denying that you engage in this behavior. I'll take the small victories where I can.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 8:12pm

@SNAFU: Yes. That is correct. The behavior you describe is prejudice, NOT racism.

[Jane2]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 8:15pm

Broadway Belcher- all I can say to you is LOL.  Whatever you say. LOL.

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 12/13/15 at 8:23pm

I know it's difficult to realize the truth sometimes. No sweat.