Entrance Applause - love it or hate it? — Page 2

"The question is why do we need to applaud anyone when they first enter? They haven't done anything but show up on time. I don't agree that stars or legends need to be applauded. They know we are eager to see them because our butts are sitting in the seats. There is plenty of time for applause after a song or at the curtain call."

I agree. Star or not, I don't think walking on stage is so much of a task that it needs applauds. And as for showing appreciation, doesn't it speak for itself that one has bought the ticket for the show? If some more appreciation is needed then one can save it to the stage door or curtain calls.

Entrance applauds for the star maybe allright in a CONCERT, but I don't think it is needed in a THEATRE PERFORMANCE.

"Entrance applause happens because that performer has made a name for themselves and the audience is acknowledging their accomplishments."

The audience is acknowledging their accomplishments by showing up. Why slow the beginning of the show down with applause?

Stanislavsky "denounced lazy, self-indulgent actors who lived for applause".

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The second time I saw Linda Mugleston as Ruth in WT, she got some entrance applause (of course, that entrance was written for Rosalind Russell to get a big hand!). I took it as people letting her know they were glad to see HER, even though someone else's name was above the show's title. It is distracting, though, and I imagine especially so if you're up there. At least she earned the standing ovation - I HATE it when people automatically jump up at the end of a mediocre show - then they look at you funny if you keep sitting!

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I agree that it's not necessary. But if a favorite performer of mine walks onto the stage, and everyone else applauds, I'm doing the same.

"Should the audience not make ANY noise during a show, no laughing, no "Ahhh" moments?"

You are talking about a totally different thing than what this thread is all about.
I didn't say the audience shouldn't make ANY noise during a show, I said the entrance applauds is not needed in a live THEATRE performance. If it's a concert then it is a totally different thing when the audience is there to see the performer, when in a theatre the audience (I'm not talking about any die-hard fans of any star) is there to see the SHOW.
There's a difference.

I hate it. It always breaks the fourth wall.

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Sorry if I sounded harsh.

Didn't mean to.

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I don't like entrance applause but it certainly doesn't ruin my enjoyment of the show.

And since it such an established tradition, it is not like it is going away. I imagine that if you are veteran, established star, not getting it would be more of distraction than getting it.

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Slight change of topic here:

Mike,

Who's getting beat up in your avitar and why?

And Goth, I'm laughing about the bit of running actors out of town.

That was a tradition that deserved to die.

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I just don't see why you guys find it distracting. It is literally an integral part of the theatre experience.

Many entrances are designed specifically FOR entrance applause - Elphaba in Wicked is a GLARING example, as when she runs downstage out of nowhere, staring dreamily into the balcony, she seems to quite literally embrace her own entrance applause. The music and moment before her entrance are also synced dramatically to stir audience applause, as Glinda introduces her ("...in school!") and the music crescendoes blissfully.

The fact is, an entrance is WORTHY of applause. It is an entrance, and entrances are dramatic. You will find that even in movies, when a celebrity or star is first displayed, a good director will have designed a dramatic way of framing him or her for the first time - perhaps he or she turns to face the camera, or his or her hands are viewed first, or feet walking on the street. A kind of suspense builds up as an audience prepares for a star's first appearance.

If a director wants to avoid entrance applause altogether, so as to maintain the flow of a scene, he or she will find some way to avert it. But you'll notice that when it occurs, it occurs because a place has been deliberately created for it in the staging of the production.

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Entrance applause is annnoying and many of you have already touched on the best reasons why.

I agree with many of the points, particulary applauding an actor for simply showing up on stage. It's their job to show up and begin the performance on time and in character. Applauding them breaks that fourth wall and the concentration that is needed to set the tone of the show.

I understand the points people are trying to make about someone being a "legitimate star", but when I saw Chicago in SF, people were applauding for Bianca when she first appeared and not when Brenda first came out. Both are the stars of the show and to show favor to one over the other BEFORE the show even starts is not right.

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TheColorOfFlame - you are absolutely right.
And I think good or trained actors can handle the few seconds while they have to stop the scene.

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If someone (preferably a legitimate legend) is given an "entrance" then applause is desireable and hightens the moment. Some stars have so much wattage and history, even they are not given an "entrance", it becomes on anyway because of who they are (i.e. Stritch, Peters, Rivera, Kitt etc..)