Cell Phones Banned in NYC Performances — Page 2

God. They could enforce it just like they enforce the no pictures rule at most theatres. But can you imagine being an usher and having to tell people to keep their phones away? I think I could do it but would other people want to? Like on an airplane..?

"Never mind confiscating a phone, we can't even delete a picture when a patron is caught taking one. The patron has to do it themselves while house staff watches."

...and it's satisfying to have them do.

And, honestly, nearly everyone I have asked to delete a photo does it without much of a fuss. People ask and I explain the copyright issues, which many of them have never even considered.

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I have noticed over the past few years that it is not so much the phones ringing anymore, it is the texting and the annoying light from the phones. I asked a lady one evening recently if she could please turn her phone off as it was distracting and she said "It is off, I am reading texts from work". Then that means your phone is on! (And I told her that. She turned it off.)

Ushers can take phones if pictures are being taken but some patrons get really upset if you touch their phones. I have seen patrons put them away after taking pictures and when the usher approaches them, of course, they lie and refuse to pull their phones out.

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Jane, they can take them at any theater, I think it is the decision of the individual theaters not to take them to avoid altercations with patrons.

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The only way to effectively end cell phone usage in theatres is to block the cell phone reception signal, as many theatres in other countries do. Unfortunately, it's illegal to block cell phone reception in the United States.

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