Police state tactics over taking pictures in the theater — Page 5

Also, in the theatre I work at, we used to check cell phones and cameras, but it got to be too much in the last 10 or so years when almost Everyone has one. To check the phones of 1000-2000 people would be a logistical nightmare (time involved, storage, etc.). The examples expressed on here were for venues of 100-200 people. I don't think there would be space or security to store over 1000 phones during a show.

Kad --

Barring offenders from future performances is not a police-state tactic. It's wholly appropriate tit-for-tat.

Attending theater is a privilege, not a right. If you don't know how to behave in the theater, then that privilege can and should be taken away. Children under 4 are generally not allowed in because they don't have the temerity to sit still for hours. If a particular adult has demonstrated that he/she doesn't have the maturity to sit still for a couple of hours without whipping out his/her phone and disturbing fellow patrons and the performers, then that person, too, should be banned.

Theaters are places of public entertainment, but run by, and for the financial benefit of, private companies. If the bad behavior of one patron deleteriously affects or diminishes the enjoyment of other patrons, or puts the actors in danger, the theater owner has the right to revoke his/her privilege to attend. That punishment would suit the crime.

Dear little Seperite,

Given your apparent lack of basic reading comprehension, allow me to make this much easier for your level of comprehension.

You don't set the rules of the theatre. You never have. You never will. But your self-entitled attitude thinks you should rule the world because you are the most precious thing ever. Time realize that someone lied to you.

You thought you would have learned a big-boy lesson when you posted this same message on All That Chat and they roasted you (they don't play nice like we do here).

Now, be a good boy and back to the sandbox while the adults talk.

What The World Needs Now.....
What The World Needs Now Is...

---

One thing I haven't seen mentioned while skimming the thread is the distraction and disruption that often comes to other audience members who are in closer view of the offending party. I know that it sure distracts and pisses me off if I'm next to or behind someone who is doing things on their phone. The OP says that their theatregoing experience was disrupted by ushers swooping in quickly to intercept, but I'm sure that there were other audience members with a better view of the photographer who were having their experience disrupted BEFORE the usher intervened.

While I disagree with the OP that the tactics are excessive, the issue is slightly more complicated than simply confronting the offendors and telling them to stop. It can often be more distracting stopping someone from using their cell phone or taking a photo than the actual offense. Quite a few shows insist that neither the ushers nor security confront the offender, since it is more distracting. However, many shows, as Jane2 describes, insist that it be dealt with by the house staff. It gets further complicated (on Broadway, at least) as to who is responsible for enforcing this. The usher's union insists that it is not in the collective bargaining agreement for ushers to "police" the audience and enforce the no cell phones/photography rule, likewise outside security insist that cell phones and cameras are not their responsibility either. Of course, ushers in many theaters will enforce it at the direction of the chief usher and house manager if permitted, and many of the security personnel will also assist as a courtesy to the house staff.

With that said, taking pictures inside a theater is illegal if those pictures capture any aspect of the production design (it IS a copyright violation), so to have an usher or security address the problem mid-performance is NOT excessive. Flash photography can also distract the perforers on stage. . . I've seen performers almost fall off the stage or run into walls/sets becuase of it.

Hi, Dawn D. You do know that a couple was arrested for , er , fornicating in St. Patrick's. I don't remember the details but I am no longer surprised about bad behavior.

Jane2 said:
I had to do that back in 2000. We had to go to great lengths to follow the rule. We had to carefully remove the roll of film so as to avoid exposing it. Then we had to pay for the whole role to be developed and printed, then send the patron all the legitimate images.

and brldisteach2 said:
During the time when people still brought in cameras with film, one company would take the film, develop it, and send the person any picture that wasn't of the show.
I'm surprised the legal team of your employers didn't step in. Unless you are law enforcement, you have no legal authority to confiscate the possessions of anyone. Your recourse for people failing to turn over or delete pictures taking illegally is to call the police, who have such authority. I chalk it up to people not knowing any better. I've seen ushers on Broadway snatch cameras and phones out of people's hands (during Hairspray, the staff at the Neil Simon were notorious for it). It doesn't happen anymore, at least not that I've seen.

"you have no legal authority to confiscate the possessions of anyone."

We did not confiscate anyone's possession. We did not take their camera. Was the roll of film their property? Some of the pictures, yes, but the ones of the production were acquired illegally and were not their property. We returned their property to them and kept the illegal section.

---

^ bravo!

---

Amen!

---

Ushers should be equipped with Tasers.

---

The bottom line is that people need to learn how to follow rules and laws. Yes, productions want butts in the seats but that should not give patrons free reign to possible disrupt a performance or annoy people sitting near them. And whether I am comped in, paid discount or full price, I don't want to be distracted while watching a show.

Unfortunately I feel that picture taking before, at intermission and after is kind of like a "gateway drug" to taking them during the show. But I get the social media thing. I witnessed an argument between an usher and a patron who evidentally took a lot of pictures during a show and he was saying that taking pictures was the reason he came and that someone should have told him. Well, we were told twice upon entering the theater.

People have just gotten too entitled and don't like to be told what to do. And not only have I seen picture taking but also people climbing over seats and feet up on the seats in front of them. I would never have been allowed to do any of those things as I was taught not to.

---