Theatre Etiquette
Theatre Etiquette
thtrteacher
Chorus Member Joined: 4/7/05
#0Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 4:55pmIf you were asked to create a book of theatre etiquette what rules would you say must be included?
#1re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 4:57pm
Don't talk. Ever.
No candy wrapped in cellophane.
Don't talk.
Dress appropriately.
Don't talk.
Cell phones off.
Don't talk.
#2re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 4:59pm
Yeah, shut up or stay the heck out!
Actually, when it comes to dressing, a state funded theatre where I live announces on its web site that "you can wear anything you want, we're here to entertain you, not the other way around".
"Curse you, Lady Glyde!"
bunchamuncha
Leading Actor Joined: 3/7/05
#3re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:00pm
No kids unless you can control them.
And no foot tapping to the score.
If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience.....
Don't be taken in by the guff that critics are killing the theater. Commonly they sin on the side of enthusiasm. Too often they give their blessing to trash...
Tallulah Bankhead
#4re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:02pm
When standing to let people by in your row, don't say to someone who looks familiar, "Aren't you famous???" When the now embarrassed actress murmurs, "no," and her friend says to you, "Yes...", do not then follow-up your original stupid question with this even stupider one: "So, are you here to check out the competition?"
You can't make this stuff up, folks.
Have I ever shown you my Shattered Dreams box? It's in my Disappointment Closet. - Marge Simpson
Updated On: 6/12/05 at 05:02 PM
#5re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:04pm
Rath, that's hysterical -- sad, but hysterical.
Regardng dressing -- I admit, I've been a bit casual this summer, and sweating off my makeup doesn't look so good by the time I hit the theatre. It's nice to look well kept, clean, and neat, at the least. I despise the low slung jeans, dirty shirt and baseball cap favored by many.
Deet: Shira, I Love You!
gavrochegirl
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/16/05
Plum
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
#7re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:04pm
Sit still, shut up, and remember that $100 only bought you the privilege of watching the show, not treating the theatre like your living room.
Actually, we were never allowed to eat in the living room in my house, either.
Updated On: 6/12/05 at 05:04 PM
#8re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:07pm
I paid to see the stars sing...not the person next to me..
o how i hate that
Bluecat
Swing Joined: 2/4/05
#9re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:16pmNo scented products! Nobody wants to smell your perfume or aftershave, no matter how good you think it smells. Many people have severe allergic reations to scented products, so be kind to others and go without.
#10re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 5:19pm
All of the above, and I must reinforce the "don't sing a-long to the songs rule", also...
stay for curtain calls. It's incredibly rude to the cast to see half the audience leave while they're trying to take their bows. Of course if you're in a hurry then you should leave, but if you just don't feel like waiting for a taxi for an eztra five minutes, then stay and give the company the thanks they so richly deserve. (IMO of course)
~And let us try, before we die, to make some sense of life~
Madame X
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/13/03
#11re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 7:43pm
Don't talk
Don't whisper b/c you're not as quiet as you think you're being
No food allowed into the theatre (candy, suckers, chips, pretzels included)
KEEP YOUR SHOES ON - YOU ARE NOT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!
Don't talk
Don't sing along
Don't come to the theatre drunk
Cell phone off (it would be great if they could install 'jammers)
Stay for bows
Don't talk
basically, be considerate and be human.
That's a crazy story Rathnait62.
"Some of us have it worse, you know, Dana. Some of us are dating lesbian men. Okay? C'mon."
#12re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 7:46pm
Do not arrive late- after overture....its rude and disrespectful to the performers and people around you
Do not unwrap hard candy during a performance
Do not 'bop' during lively numbers- I had a woman sitting next to me practically dancing during Great Big Stuff
Do not not turn off your cell phones
Do not talk to the person next to you
Do not get up to go to the bathroom during the show- wait until intermission or afterwards
Happy...Everything!
Kaye Thompson
#13re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 7:53pmDo not let your children run around. Or tug the hair of the girl sitting in front of you who has waited THIRTEEN YEARS to see a Broadway show. It's cute that your little girl is excited, but please, have her take it out on a doll or something!
"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."
bdwaybaby
Swing Joined: 6/12/05
#14re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 7:55pm
All of the above plus a new one that I had to deal with last night.
I went to see Spamalot and was sitting in the first row of the balcony, the couple next to me took off their shoes and put them up on the ledge! I don't get where people think this is acceptable behavior, especially at the theatre.
MissElphie
Broadway Star Joined: 4/4/05
#15re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:12pmYes, PLEASE DON'T SING ALONG! I will never get over the woman behind me's rendidtion of Memory the one time I saw Cats...
LittleBitRacist
Featured Actor Joined: 12/5/04
#16re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:14pm
I think the rudest thing ever is when peoples cell phones go off. ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONE NOISES. No opening of cell phones with the big light screen, and it must be silenced under all circumstances, it isnt hard to switch it to silent of off. Have the respect for the actors and the people around you to not distract anyone with your stupid noises.
Plus:
Control your kids or dont bring them
STAY FOR CURTAIN CALL!!!!! ahh this bugs me so much. youve sat hours already, u can give the actors a minute or two for all their hard work.
If you must talk, speak in a VERY discreet wisper than no one else can hear.
Come on time
#17re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:37pm
All of the above, especially the shoes. I saw RENT and my friend took off his big old smelly Timberland boots. I thought I'd die (from the smell AND the embarassment.)
Also, don't fall asleep. If you must fall asleep, make sure you aren't a snorer. My father slept through Light My Candle when I took him to see RENT. (Why is it always rent?) He snores. I smakced him awake. He snored, I smacked...the cylcle continued.
Also, no big hats. You shouldn't wear a hat at all, but if for some reason you must, keep it small.
No making out mid show. We didn't pay $100 to see your soft core porn. We could get that for 25cents anywhere on 42nd Street.
Ok. I'm done
Megan Mullally as Karen Walker on Will and Grace: "Tell me more. Tell me more. Like does he have a car?"
#18re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 8:46pm
DON'T get up and switch seats during the middle of the show, especially if you're particularly tall. Either wait until intermission, or don't do it at all.
Don't scream and whistle during the songs, please. Even if someone has hit a particularly high note or performed some acrobatic feat. I know that in some places, it's widely accepted, but when I'm performing, it's just distracting and I often lose concentration.
If you have to sneeze, cover your mouth and don't make a fuss about it.
Don't stick your things out in the middle of the aisle.
#19re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 9:14pm
No flash photography - yes, when they say that at the beginning of the show, it applies to you too!
Don't groan loudly if they announce an understudy.
If you don't think you'll be back before intermission is over, don't leave your seat!
#20re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:15pmFor the love of all things good: BATHE!!!
Variations on a Theme blog: http://panekattack.blogspot.com/
WiCkEDrOcKS
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/13/04
#22re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:27pm
I also vote for please do not fall asleep.
I was horrified that the man ( I will not use the term gentleman) did this at Democracy. He was of an age that he would know what this show was about and the person he was with had a press kit. I was mortified to see him snoozing away half way through Act 1. (sigh)
Oh yeah and please for heaven sakes reinin the kiddies.
"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."
Conan O'Brien
MaxonBdwy
Swing Joined: 6/10/05
#23re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:30pmEverything in "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" (The Frogs) and Don't Come late!
taperina
Understudy Joined: 11/11/03
#24re: Theatre Etiquette
Posted: 6/12/05 at 10:55pm
No school groups...I had an unfortunate experience at Hairspray where a school group was being particularly loud and obnoxious in the balcony. Don't give your child a play by play of the show...if they can't understand what is going on, they shouldn't be there. Explain it at intermission if you must. Oh and the local theatre here in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) has a list of theatre 10 Commandments on their website. I think it is perfect:
Thou shalt not take any food or drink into the auditorium.
(It is not a cafeteria or a lunch room)
Thou shalt not arrive late.
(This is an insult to performers and annoying to those on time)
Thou shalt not talk during the performance.
(Your're not at home watching television)
Thou shalt not sing along with the performers.
(Save that for after the show on the bus ride home)
Thou shalt not sit on the edge of thy seat and lean forward.
(Everyone behind you has to do the same)
Thou shalt not attend with hats or big hairdos.
(No one pays to look at the back of your head)
Thou shalt not place feet on seat in front.
(The back of the seat in front does not belong to you)
Thou shalt not go to and fro from thy seat during the performance.
(This disrupts the show)
Thou shalt not remove the name plaques from seat arms.
(These are not your trophies to take home)
Thou shalt not attend with anything that flashes, beeps rings or buzzes
(Accompaniment provided by the orchestra only)
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