SmokeyLady said: "In light of todays tragic events... I still wonder what security measures are being taken to keep us all safe when we go to a broadway theater.
" You should change the thread title to something relevant like "theater security in general."
If they were going to do a proper job of checking bags they would have to open up the theatres earlier. Don't some theatres (maybe Lincoln Center) make you check large bags... or was I imagining that?
Mr Roxy said: "If any are taken, hopefully they will not be trumpeted on the news so those we are trying to stop are not alerted to them and take counter measures to neutralize them."
Most of the point of security measures is to deter people from trying to do something, not to lure them in in an attempt to catch them.
I never gave it much thought til last summer when I went to a concert at a small venue here (CT) and they checked my purse. I immediately thought, they never do this in NY. I go to the theatre much more often than I see concerts. Sometimes I'll wake up in the summer and decide to hop on a train and go to a matinee by myself. I wouldn't mind it one bit if people were checking bags. I'm in the minority, but I actually think it's a good idea.
Some theatres do check...but not every patron. I usually carry a back back with me and I'd say some one peeks about a third of the time.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
A lot of theaters check my backpack, but I always sail right through that check because it is empty... despite the front pocket containing two Honest Teas. Shhh....
dramamama611 said: "Some theatres do check...but not every patron. I usually carry a back back with me and I'd say some one peeks about a third of the time.
"
I must look nonthreatening. I need to work on being more badass. Maybe I need to cultivate my resting bitch face.
When I saw the A Little Night Music revival, the Clintons were also in attendance and I was shocked that hardly any security measures were in place upon entering the theater. I don't even think they checked my bag in that case. I wish bag checks would happen more often not only as a security measure but to also prevent patrons from bringing in outside food to consume during the show.
I usually carry a small bag with me (when I visit) that contains my camera and a few small items. Some theaters check, many don't. I have even asked "do you want to look in my bag?" They don't. I hope it wasn't because I asked. I could be a "polite nutcase".
Glittergrrl said: "dramamama611 said: "Some theatres do check...but not every patron. I usually carry a back back with me and I'd say some one peeks about a third of the time.
"
I must look nonthreatening. I need to work on being more badass. Maybe I need to cultivate my resting bitch face.
"
By the way.....BOTH theaters I went o on Saturday looked inside my bag.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
Can't they just make a specific show paranoid-accessible, add $100 to each ticket, and let the audience queue up two hours early to go through metal detectors? And the rest of us will be fine doing our normal thing at every other performance?
I would feel more comfortable too if they had more stringent security measures in theaters. I wouldn't mind the inconvenience if it means a safer environment. The Broadway scene from the movie "The Siege" always comes to mind.
Felt so bad for the people watching ragtime. So devastating.
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
haterobics said: "Can't they just make a specific show paranoid-accessible, add $100 to each ticket, and let the audience queue up two hours early to go through metal detectors? And the rest of us will be fine doing our normal thing at every other performance?
"
It is all fun and games ( and bitchy sarcasm) till somebody gets hurt.
I leave security matters to people with knowledge, not fear. If actors/theaters are getting threats and concerns, they will assess those threats and act on them. If you only protect yourself from the threats you can imagine, you are limited by your imagination in a way someone with darker intent is not.
To decide safety looks like that TSA clown college at airports is pure folly, as study after study has shown they are window dressing to make people THINK they are safer. Look at their record, every new security measure like everyone taking their shoes off happens AFTER someone does something to get around their system successfully.
You can't terror-proof the world, and inventing threats where they may not regularly exist isn't helpful. But if you want a broken system where you can pay more for tickets, and have to go through metal detectors to feel safer when you still aren't, that is certainly a very American response to things.
The fact that someone can do something horrible in a theater doesn't mean they can't also do it in a water park, a restaurant, a sex club, or anywhere else. And if they screen everyone going in, then how hard will it be for someone with devious intent to become an usher, a bartender, a janitor... like I said, your vision is limited by how you would act as a terrorist: "I could buy a theater ticket and walk in..." that has no relation to someone who will not be as thwarted by a metal detector, and just see that as a mere obstacle.
Which is still to say that there is no credible reason to believe this is a major issue in the first place.
"Which is still to say that there is no credible reason to believe this is a major issue in the first place."
I agree with you except to say that this won't be the first time a theater is targeted. And I am just not talking the concert venue in Paris. Lets not forget the theater hostages in Russia. To say it is not a credible issue is silly.
SmokeyLady said: "I agree with you except to say that this won't be the first time a theater is targeted. And I am just not talking the concert venue in Paris. Lets not forget the theater hostages in Russia."
OK, one Russian theater in 2002 and one Eagles of Death Metal show in 2015 (which was a mere part of a larger attack), means that 264,573 people attending Broadway last week would go through metal detectors? Where is the justification for that leap?
If someone good at statistics can run these numbers, where would attending a Broadway show run when it comes to risk of fatality? Below drowning in a bathtub sober? Above jaywalking without looking?